What else to do before/after Alaska

[msmama]

Debating an Alaska cruise next summer (late to the game, I know). But if I'm flying from the east coast of the US to Vancouver, I want to stay for more than a week of the cruise.

Have you done more before or after your Alaska cruise? What did you do?

Some thoughts are renting a car and heading down to the Pacific Northwest (Seattle to Portland maybe, maybe San Juan islands but maybe the cruise will be enough water viewing). I lived there for a while before kids so could show off my old stomping grounds.

Another option is going east from Vancouver to Calgary through the Canadian Rockies. But it's either a long time on a train, or the scenic version is super $$$$ and we're not really super outdoorsy people (an Alaskan cruise is the extent of our outdoorsyness) but I've heard it's absolutely beautiful country.

Entertaining any and all suggestions, the more specific the better! Thanks!

 

[gatorlisa]

We did Alaska this year, last week of May. We were extremely late to the game, booking just 69 days out, in March. Because of this, flights to Vancouver for us were ridiculous, over twice the price of flying in and out of Seattle. So we flew into Seattle, took the train to Vancouver early the next morning and spent the day biking around Stanley Park. When we returned from the cruise on the following Monday, we took the afternoon train back to Seattle, picked up a rental car, and then spent the rest of the week exploring Olympic and Mount Rainier National Parks. Olympic was beautiful and so diverse. We lost a couple of days to post-cruise ick, but we could have easily filled in our week with just these two parks, so that would be my suggestion.

 

[Kwami]

We spent about a week in Vancouver, split between pre-cruise and post-cruise days. We enjoyed it so much that we actually extended our vacation by three nights after the cruise.

The city itself is... well, it's a modern city. It's going through some troubles like most other big cities are these days. But the stuff to do in and around the city is fantastic. We enjoyed a couple of days at Stanley Park and another day at the aquarium there. We spent a day whale watching and another day at the Capilano suspension bridge park. There was plenty of stuff to do!

I will say that the public transportation isn't what you'd find in other big cities, though. We used the train to/from the airport, but otherwise, it was all buses. The trains don't go to most places. The buses were mostly clean and mostly quiet, but there were some less than great ones.

 

[lklgoodman]

We cruised out of Seattle this past June(cruise was on NCL). We flew in 2 days before the cruise and stayed in a hotel in the downtown area. We went to the Space Needle, Museum of Pop Culture, the Chihuly Glass Museum, and the Pike's Place. We had a great time and felt very safe walking around everywhere we went. Since you're from this area, you've probably been to these places before. Our 15 yr old dd wants to go back to Seattle for a longer vacation.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Take the ferry to Victoria and see the Buchart Gardens as well as the harbor and downtown.

 

[Kwami]

Take the ferry to Victoria and see the Buchart Gardens as well as the harbor and downtown.

Is there a secret ferry? The ones that pop up for me on Google Maps take almost four hours to get from Vancouver to Victoria. That doesn't leave much time to actually see anything in Victoria.

EDIT: I guess the actual ferry time is just about 1.5 hours, but you first have to get to the ferry terminal in Vancouver and then you have to get to Victoria from the other ferry terminal at Swartz Bay. In total, the trip is just about four hours each way using public transportation and not much faster with a car.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

Yeah we actually took the ferry to Horsehoe Bay and then stayed the night on the island.

 

[Flossbolna]

We took a bus directly from the port to Victoria (it drove onto the ferry). We then spent two nights in Victoria and loved it. It’s beautiful. And we wish we would have had some time to explore more of Vancouver island. It’s huge and there is lots to see. If we are back in that part of the world, we will spend more time there.

 

[JulieODC]

We are from the east coast and spent almost a week on Vancouver after Alaska in 2022 and it was incredible. Long trek to Ucluelet and Tofino - but worth it!

 

[Intr3pid]

If you have 2 - 3 weeks:
1. Fly into Calgary, and do 5-7 days in Canadian Rockies between Banff and Jasper.
2. Then, fly to Vancouver, spend 2-3 days in the city, including a day trip to Whistler.
3. If you still have 2-3 days left, take a ferry to Vancouver Island, and stay somewhere on its west coast.
4. Return to Vancouver, and take the cruise.

If you have 1-2 weeks:
1. Fly into Calgary, and do 3-4 days in/around Banff.
2. Then, fly to Vancouver, spend 2-3 days in the city, including a day trip to Whistler.
3. Take the cruise.

Any less time, fly directly to Vancouver and spend 2-3 days in the city before/after your cruise.

 

[Betsyp]

Debating an Alaska cruise next summer (late to the game, I know). But if I'm flying from the east coast of the US to Vancouver, I want to stay for more than a week of the cruise.

Have you done more before or after your Alaska cruise? What did you do?

Some thoughts are renting a car and heading down to the Pacific Northwest (Seattle to Portland maybe, maybe San Juan islands but maybe the cruise will be enough water viewing). I lived there for a while before kids so could show off my old stomping grounds.

Another option is going east from Vancouver to Calgary through the Canadian Rockies. But it's either a long time on a train, or the scenic version is super $$$$ and we're not really super outdoorsy people (an Alaskan cruise is the extent of our outdoorsyness) but I've heard it's absolutely beautiful country.

Entertaining any and all suggestions, the more specific the better! Thanks!

Oh wow, just thinking of Alaska makes me desperate to go back.,,it’s absolutely staggeringly beautiful...

I also flew out to Vancouver for my (not Disney) Alaskan cruise. After we ended in Seward, I stayed in a gorgeous cabin/lodge ...I can’t for the life of me remember what it‘s called, but it was wonderful, and I’d stay there again next time I return or anytime after.

I’d definitely stick to Alaska ... just keep in mind that it has a mind of its own, lol. After the cruise, myself and another couple were to take a floatplane from Anchorage to the “lodge”, but the weather forced us to spend overnight in Anchorage (the sky “ceiling” was too low - ie: it was too cloudy, and visibility was too low as well) until it cleared the next day. There were others who’d been waiting for days to be able to take off.

 

[pjacobi]

I choose a 1-way cruise to Alaska so I could spend more time touring Alaska after the cruise. Unfortunately, DCL does not offer 1-way cruises to Alaska.


-Paul

 

[CarolynFH]

I choose a 1-way cruise to Alaska so I could spend more time touring Alaska after the cruise. Unfortunately, DCL does not offer 1-way cruises to Alaska.


-Paul

Yes, I'm so glad that our trip to Alaska (not on DCL) included a visit to Denali as well as a cruise!

 

[jdb in AZ]

Denali is gorgeous. We also took the train up to Fairbanks. There's so much of Alaska you can't see on a cruise.

 

[auntlynne]

Assuming you are RT Vancouver.

Pre-cruise I would do a day or two in Vancouver, taking in Stanley Park, Gas Town, and environs. I have not gotten to Capilano yet (North Vancouver), but it’s on my list (@Kwami mentioned this). I have read that there is a free? Bus to that area. Even an easy to use bus to N Vancouver would do.

Post-cruise: we did this after a Southbound cruise - Bus to Victoria (I was surprised the bus drove onto the ferry). The ride through that area was lovely. We were time/ money limited, so we only did one night at the Fairmont Empress (and that was a $150 special all hotels offered for the city’s 150th anniversary).

We squeezed in Butchart Gardens that afternoon. Took a tourist bus. Since it was July 4, the sun was out late and was still light when we left. The roses were just past peak, so they were putting out a lovely scent. And were beautiful.

We took the hydrofoil to Seattle, then visited pike Place Market, and got the combo ticket for the Space Needle and Chihuly Glass Museum. I love that you can see the Needle in every glass ball in the garden.

We stayed at the Arctic Club Hotel (now closed). Love the old architecture. Next time I may look into the Mayflower Park Hotel (96 years old). Then the light rail to SEATAC and home. Fast trip, but everything was significant and memorable. Not a big blur, like some vacation memories are.

There are Orca cruises from Victoria that I would like to fit into a visit, but I will still pick Butchart Gardens on my next stop If I can’t do both.

Amtrak to Seattle would be great if the schedule is right. The view along the ocean and the King Street Station in Seattle are very nice. (We are fans of Psych TV show, so appreciated riding past the town used as downtown Santa Barbara CA - when they weren’t filming in Vancouver).

Such good memories…

 

[Kwami]

Pre-cruise I would do a day or two in Vancouver, taking in Stanley Park, Gas Town, and environs. I have not gotten to Capilano yet (North Vancouver), but it’s on my list (@Kwami mentioned this). I have read that there is a free? Bus to that area. Even an easy to use bus to N Vancouver would do.

Gas Town was really sketchy when we were there a few months ago.

There's a free shuttle to Capilano that's run by the Capilano people. You catch it outside at Canada Place near the information desk.

There are Orca cruises from Victoria that I would like to fit into a visit, but I will still pick Butchart Gardens on my next stop If I can’t do both.

You can join orca and humpback cruises from Vancouver, too. They're very common in that area. We took a fantastic whale cruise from Vancouver in September and saw about 15 humpbacks. Sadly, no orcas on that particular voyage.

 

[Flossbolna]

but I will still pick Butchart Gardens on my next stop If I can’t do both.

I have to second this opinion on Butchart Gardens. I was not that interested, but for my husband who was a big Epcot fan from when it was announced as he was a teenager in Florida, this was a must do as it is featured in the Canada pavilion. So that’s why we went and we absolutely loved it! We spent a lot of time sitting on various benches admiring the views. It’s so stunning!

 

[BarlowFamily]

We enjoyed an extra week exploring Vancouver piggybacking on our Alaska cruise. Our family really liked:

Capilano Bridge Park had plenty to do and see but not so much that it took all-day
The fish hatchery behind Capilano is free and was pretty cool to see
Lynn Canyon suspension bridge is free and we visited years ago when on a tight travel budget. Wanted to compare Capilano this time. Can't go wrong either way, we really liked both.
The little scientist in our family "roped dropped" the Science museum and then stayed until closing. Really fun science museum.
Honey doughnuts in deep cove is my only food suggestion. The best doughnuts ever. Visited twice on each trip.
Burnaby Village Museum is free and a great way to learn a little history
Britannia Mine Museum was a big hit too. A little bit of a drive, but worth it if it interests you.

 

[otten]

Gas Town was really sketchy when we were there a few months ago.

There's a free shuttle to Capilano that's run by the Capilano people. You catch it outside at Canada Place near the information desk.


You can join orca and humpback cruises from Vancouver, too. They're very common in that area. We took a fantastic whale cruise from Vancouver in September and saw about 15 humpbacks. Sadly, no orcas on that particular voyage.

I work near gastown and walk through there every day. Honestly unless you are going to one of the restaurants or to visit the Fluevog shoe store (which if you are into shoes is definitely worth the trip) there really isn't much to do in Gastown. It's mostly a bunch of tourist shops and the steam clock which is weirdly popular with tourists. And yes it can be sketchy though I've never felt unsafe there.

There's a new foot passenger ferry from downtown Vancouver to Nanaimo for people who want to check out some of Vancouver Island.

 

[Kwami]

I work near gastown and walk through there every day. Honestly unless you are going to one of the restaurants or to visit the Fluevog shoe store (which if you are into shoes is definitely worth the trip) there really isn't much to do in Gastown. It's mostly a bunch of tourist shops and the steam clock which is weirdly popular with tourists. And yes it can be sketchy though I've never felt unsafe there.

There's a new foot passenger ferry from downtown Vancouver to Nanaimo for people who want to check out some of Vancouver Island.

My threshold for feeling unsafe is pretty high, so I didn't feel at all unsafe in Gastown. But it's still pretty sketchy. We were actually just looking for a Tim's that was open after 9pm, but on the way there, we saw all kinds of fun stuff. Lots of drug users, homeless camps, people urinating, people passed out, drunks, and a few people just yelling.

Honestly, I'm kind of used to it. We have all of that where I live, too. I just don't want anyone to be unaware of what they're getting into.