Disney Alaska cruise departures from Seattle WA?

[Happy100]

I know a few years back Disney did some Alaska cruises departing from Seattle, WA. Any chances they will again?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I know a few years back Disney did some Alaska cruises departing from Seattle, WA. Any chances they will again?

Well, there's always a chance. But, I think, once they tried it and it (apparently) didn't work. So they returned to Vancouver.

 

[Happy100]

PrincessShmoo-What do you mean by didn't work?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I would say it's not that " it didn't work" it did work and quite well. The thing is Vancouver works better. A bit less to sail to from the ports of call, and DCL had to add a small stop in Victoria to satisfy the USA rules on foreign port calls when sailing from Seattle . Most cruises to Alaska depart from Vancouver. So it works better from there and as I understand it no plans to go back at this time, bar the possibility of one off stops a year.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I would say it's not that " it didn't work" it did work and quite well. The thing is Vancouver works better. A bit less to sail to from the ports of call, and DCL had to add a small stop in Victoria to satisfy the USA rules on foreign port calls when sailing from Seattle . Most cruises to Alaska depart from Vancouver. So it works better from there and as I understand it no plans to go back at this time, bar the possibility of one off stops a year.

To elaborate on this, looking at all the separate itineraries offered on all the major lines (since some ships alternate departure ports each week with one-way intineraries), you have about half of those itineraries leaving from Vancouver. Most of the others either leave from an Alaskan port, such as Seward or Anchorage, or Seattle, and some of these are one-way cruises that end in Vancouver.

ETA: OP, if you specifically want to cruise Alaska out of Seattle, check out the following ships: Norwegian Pearl, Crown Princess, Holland Westerdam, Holland Amsterdam, Norwegian Jewel, Celebrity Solstice, or a couple of others I might have missed!

 

[mmouse37]

Didn't the sailings from Seattle a few years back have shorter port times in the Alaskan ports due to the longer time it to to get there or am I remembering incorrectly?

MJ

 

[Pens Fan]

Didn't the sailings from Seattle a few years back have shorter port times in the Alaskan ports due to the longer time it to to get there or am I remembering incorrectly?

MJ

We were on one of those cruises. Our last two port stops were very short. I remember in Ketchikan being on the ship having lunch around 1 PM as the ship sailed away. The last port was a very short stop in Victoria. I don't remember the exact times, but we were only there for 3 or 4 hours at most and it was in the late afternoon, early evening timeframe. While the cruise was amazing - one of our best vacations ever - I would have loved to have started in Vancouver instead. One other downside was instead of sailing up the inside passage and then back down, the first day we were out at sea, booking up to the top of the inside passage. It was really rough sailing as we were really moving along. You also missed out on a day of the beautiful inside passage scenery. Still - if my only options were to cruise from Seattle or not cruise Alaska at all, I do it again in a heartbeat!!

 

[anricat]

At first I was bummed about the extra cost of getting to Vancouver, but now that I learn more about the city, I'm really excited to visit! We're planning an extra couple of days before our trip to explore Vancouver and I can't wait.

Only one more year to go!

 

[Happy100]

Didn't the sailings from Seattle a few years back have shorter port times in the Alaskan ports due to the longer time it to to get there or am I remembering incorrectly?

MJ

Ohhh... that makes sense.

 

[Happy100]

At first I was bummed about the extra cost of getting to Vancouver, but now that I learn more about the city, I'm really excited to visit! We're planning an extra couple of days before our trip to explore Vancouver and I can't wait.

Only one more year to go!

We live in Vancouver Washington so Seattle is a shorter drive then Vancouver BC but your right Vancouver BC is great!

 

[Happy100]

ETA: OP, if you specifically want to cruise Alaska out of Seattle, check out the following ships: Norwegian Pearl, Crown Princess, Holland Westerdam, Holland Amsterdam, Norwegian Jewel, Celebrity Solstice, or a couple of others I might have missed!

I will look into them. Have you done any of those cruises? Any you would recommend?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Didn't the sailings from Seattle a few years back have shorter port times in the Alaskan ports due to the longer time it to to get there or am I remembering incorrectly?

MJ

Yes re the stop in Victoria.

 

[mylittlebuttercup]

I will look into them. Have you done any of those cruises? Any you would recommend?

We did the Norwegian Pearl for our honeymoon. We had a wonderful time as Alaska is a stunning destination, and this itinerary takes you through Glacier Bay, which is truly something special. We really enjoyed their spa and spent most of our free time there, but in terms of other ship services, Disney is definitely superior. Of course, we had not sailed Disney at that time and did not realize that.

 

[NancyIL]

Didn't the sailings from Seattle a few years back have shorter port times in the Alaskan ports due to the longer time it to to get there or am I remembering incorrectly?

MJ

Seattle is a popular port for Alaska cruises. However, ships that sail round trip from Seattle (or any US port) have to make a port call at a foreign port, and most do so in Victoria. It's a short stop - usually from ~6 or 7 p.m. until 11:59 p.m. On DCL - the port stop in Victoria had the ripple effect of having to depart from Ketchikan (and Juneau, I think) earlier. By departing from Vancouver, DCL spends more time in the ports, plus it has the more scenic sailing between Vancouver Island and the mainland.

 

[bumbershoot]

I will look into them. Have you done any of those cruises? Any you would recommend?

Friends of mine were on Ruby Princess (I believe) and LOVED loved loved their cruise. It was a multi-generational trip, and my friends are still in their 20s, and everyone adored the cruise and the ship.

 

[dcassetta]

I will look into them. Have you done any of those cruises? Any you would recommend?

I've sailed three times to Alaska, twice on Princess and once on Disney. First was in the mid 90s, on the Island Princess (sister to the Pacific Princess - the Love Boat), then the Dawn Princess in 2001 and the Wonder in 2012.

Loved the Disney cruise, but Princess has some real advantages in Alaska. Most of their sailings are one-way and and Princess has permits to sail both Glacier Bay and College Fjord. Also Princess has some amazing pre-or post-cruise offerings at their lodges.

 

[quickcat]

We were on the Ruby Princess this past June from Seattle and its very rough waters when you leave seattle. For that reason alone I would sail from Vancouver. The crew all said its always rough the first sea day. I am meaning the water coming out of the pool as huge waves, having to hold on in the hallway, holding onto your pop because it'll fly off the table rough. And we did ask a few crew members and they all said the same thing, very rough water from Seattle.

 

[xlxo]

For those that weren't aware.... there's a $50 seatac shuttle to downtown Vancouver.

Their soccer team isn't bad too.

 

[aprincessatlast]

Didn't the sailings from Seattle a few years back have shorter port times in the Alaskan ports due to the longer time it to to get there or am I remembering incorrectly?

MJ

They need more time to get back as they have to make a stop in Victoria (usually) to meet all those law requirements, which did make the day at Ketchikan short as all aboard was 12:30. I think another big difference was that DCL had the afternoon/ mid day schedule of Tracy arm as certain ships are given certain windows of time if I remember correctly. So the whole day was a sea type day and in turn caused a limited ketchikan day. Whereas some of the other lines were able to combine Juneau and Tracy Arm in the same day. We did Princess and had a early morning Tracy Arm day and pretty full Juneau afternoon and evening.

I think it did not go well in that it did not sell well. I remember there were loads of last minute discounts throughout the whole season. Yet the following year when we decided to go to Alaska the deals were nothing like Seattle departures. We kept thinking surely the deals will pop up but never did. I think that Vancouver just sells better due to the better times and location.

 

[xlxo]

the whole day was a sea type day and in turn caused a limited ketchikan day. Whereas some of the other lines were able to combine Juneau and Tracy Arm in the same day. We did Princess and had a early morning Tracy Arm day and pretty full Juneau afternoon and evening.

Wow.... didn't think the extra 300miles round trip between the cities would make such a difference.