Northbound or Southbound for one-way Alaska cruise between Vancouver and Anchorage? Tips + things to know!

Hi there!

The 7-day one-way cruises between Vancouver and Anchorage are among the best Alaska cruises you can do! It’s something you should highly consider.

When referring to one-way cruises, “Anchorage” is actually Whittier cruise port or Seward cruise port, both of which are not that close to Anchorage.

Most round-trip Alaska cruises spend their time in Southeast Alaska. A cruise to or from Whittier or Seward will allow you to go further north.

This can also give you a chance to spend some time on land in Alaska.

You can do this on your own, or there are also cruise and land packages offered by cruise lines, called a “cruisetour” that includes the chance to go to one or more national parks.

On a per day basis, these 7-day one-way cruises tend to be cheaper than the 7-day round trip cruises by the same cruise line.

I’ve done a northbound cruise from Vancouver to Whittier (in May), along with a southbound cruise from Whittier to Vancouver (in September). I did both cruises on Princess cruise ships.

Holland America also does one-way cruises between Vancouver and Whittier. Princess and Holland America also offer the northbound and southbound cruises to be booked together as one cruise, as a 14-day round-trip cruise from Vancouver, which is essentially 2x 7-day one-way back-to-back cruises.

If you see the 14-day cruise is sold out, look to see if the 7-day cruises are available to be booked individually. (You will probably have to pack up and switch rooms if you book it that way.)

In 2025, Norwegian (NCL) will also be going to Whittier.

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and NCL have several cruises that go to Seward in 2024.

So I’ll be mostly referring to Whittier, as the Vancouver – Whittier itineraries are the ones I’ve looked at the most, but much of the same can be applied if you’re looking at cruising one-way between Vancouver and Seward.

These are some of the top things to know when you’re considering a northbound or southbound cruise!

 

Hubbard Glacier vs College Fjord

One of the biggest differences in the cruise itinerary of a northbound and southbound between Vancouver and Whittier is the additional glacier day (“scenic cruising day”).

Northbound and southbound cruises usually both include Glacier Bay National Park, which is the glacier sea day that is the best! So that’s good.

A typical northbound cruise from Vancouver to Whittier includes a glacier sea day (evening) at College Fjord, while a typical sounthbound cruise will go to Hubbard Glacier.

College Fjord is full of glaciers, and during the scenic cruising evening, you’ll sail by several glaciers before arriving at the “final destination” of the Harvard Glacier.

On a Hubbard Glacier scenic cruising day, you’ll sail though Yakutat Bay and Disenchantment Bay before arriving at the final destination of Hubbard Glacier.

Hubbard Glacier is a part of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

You won’t actually be physically in the national park (unlike Glacier Bay where the water is a part of the park), but you will get to SEE another national park in Alaska!

Hubbard Glacier is also the “longest tidewater glacier in North America,” according to the National Park Service. A tidewater glacier is a glacier that touches the water.

 

 

College Fjord you can even see separately when you are in Whittier by doing the 26 glacier boat excursion. So if you do a southbound cruise, you can see both Hubbard Glacier and College Fjord!

Note that I think the 26 glacier tour is worth it even if you’re going northbound and seeing College Fjord from the cruise ship. There is a big difference in seeing a glacier from a cruise ship and from a small boat!

This also means that if you’re doing a southbound cruise with Hubbard Glacier, you want to highly consider doing the Hubbard Glacier wilderness excursion!

Yes, there is an excursion on a sea day! You’ll get on a small boat directly from the cruise ship to get a better view of the glacier.

No, you don’t NEED to do the wilderness excursion in order to see the glacier.

You will be wowed by Hubbard Glacier even if you don’t do it.

But the small boat glacier tours allow you to get an even better glacier experience, and it might end up being the highlight of your cruise!

This is typically offered from the end of May to early September.

This tends to book up, so make this one of the first things you book after you book your cruise!

When I booked my southbound cruise, the Hubbard Glacier excursion was the first thing I booked.

But unfortunately, the Hubbard Glacier day ended up getting canceled because of delays in departing Whittier.

So I wasn’t able to experience Hubbard Glacier up close myself, but having been able to get closer to glaciers on other tours, I fully expect that it is amazing. You can read the reviews too.

 

Alaska cruise ports

Whether going northbound or southbound, the cruise port stops are usually the same.

Going in either direction, the stops are usually Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway. These are the most common port stops during an Alaska cruise.

One way cruises typically don’t include Icy Strait Point and Sitka.

 

Whittier glaciers (and Seward glaciers)

Whittier and Seward are both great cruise ports to have on your Alaska cruise itinerary because of their access to glaciers.

For Whittier, the previously mentioned glacier tour is an amazing way to see glaciers in Whittier.

Seward is the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park, and there are different types of tours you can do for an epic glacier experience in Seward too.

This also means that you will want to plan for some extra time in Whittier or Seward, instead of getting straight on or off the cruise ship.

There are tours that you can do right before you get on the cruise ship or right after you get off. You can look at Phillips in Whittier or Major Marine in Seward.

I’ve done a glacier tour before my sounthbound cruise and after my northbound cruise. Both times I also took the train to get between Anchorage and Whittier.

 

Alaska train

Doing a cruise that starts or ends in Anchorage (Whitter or Seward), also means that you’ll have the chance to take a train in Alaska!

The Glacier Discovery train goes between Anchorage and Whittier. You can take the train to start your cruise, and you can take it after you end your cruise. And in both cases, it is perfect to pair it with the Whittier glacier boat tour!

The Coastal Classic train goes between Anchorage and Seward. Similarly, you can take the train before or after your cruise. You can pair it with a Kenai Fjords National Park boat tour.

See more about the best Alaska train trips.

You can find more information and book your ticket through Alaska Railroad:

• Train schedule
• Cost of train tickets
• Availability calendar

 

Airports

For Whittier or Seward, you’ll look at flights for Anchorage airport ANC. You’ll need to arrange transportation between Anchorage and the cruise port. Whittier and Seward are not near the airport or downtown Anchorage.

For Vancouver, you’ll look at flights for Vancouver airport YVR. The cruise port is located in downtown Vancouver, so that can make staying in a hotel in downtown Vancouver convenient. It’s easy to get public transportation from the airport to downtown.

I like to look at the cost of flights at kayak.com and then book directly with the airline.

 

Pre-cruise stay

While it’s a good idea to arrive a day or 2 before your cruise in case of flight delays, you don’t necessarily need to stay an extra day after your cruise.

As long as your flight is late enough, it’s reasonable to fly out on the same day your cruise ends. There are guidelines in place for the earliest recommended flight after your cruise, which you should follow.

So you might want to price out the hotels in Vancouver and Alaska as a factor in deciding whether you’d rather have those 2 or 3 extra days of time to explore Vancouver or Alaska.

Hotels in downtown Vancouver (aka hotels near Vancouver cruise port) are known to be expensive. That said, hotels in Anchorage and Seward aren’t exactly cheap either.

The vast majority of people who cruise from Whittier stay in Anchorage the night before their cruise, and then go to Whittier the morning of the cruise. This is mostly because of limited accommodation in Whittier.

There are a few more accommodation options in Seward. So if that’s where your cruise starts, you can stay in Seward or Anchorage the night before your cruise.

As a solo traveler, I stayed in hostels in both Vancouver and Anchorage.

For my Vancouver to Whittier cruise, I was in Vancouver a few days before.

At the end of the cruise, I stayed a night in Anchorage. I did one final glacier tour in Whittier after I got off the cruise ship! I then took a train that arrived in Anchorage late evening.

I probably would have flown out the next day even if I would have arrived in Anchorage during the day. I feel like it’s less stressful having that extra night.

For my Whittier to Vancouver cruise, I spent 2 nights in Anchorage before the cruise.

I was flying from Europe so I wanted some time to be able to rest up and not be tired at the start of the cruise.

If you’re flying from East Coast USA, there will be a 4 hour time difference. After that 7-day cruise, I actually continued to stay on the ship for a repositioning cruise, so I didn’t disembark in Vancouver.

 

Land or cruise first for a cruise tour?

Many people say that doing land first is better because the land portion can be intense with so much moving around quickly. So by doing the land portion first, you can get on the cruise ready to relax and see Alaska by sea!

 

Cruise lines

The major cruise lines that offer one-way cruises between Vancouver and Alaska include Princess, Holland America, Norwegian (NCL), Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity.

The easy way I know of to quickly see what cruise lines (and cruise ships) offer one-way cruises to Whittier or Seward is by looking at the Alaska cruise port schedule for each of these ports. And then you can go to the individual cruise line’s website for details about the cruise. Here is the 2025 schedule. Look for Whittier and Seward.

If you’re looking at doing a cruise and land package tour (“cruisetour”), I would look at Princess and Holland America! They are considered the best cruise lines for Alaska.

The only major cruise lines that go to Glacier Bay National Park are Princess, Holland America, and NCL.

 

HAPPY CRUISING BETWEEN VANCOUVER AND ANCHORAGE!