What does Inside Passage mean on Alaska cruise?

The Inside Passage is usually what people refer to when they talk about an Alaska cruise. Alaska’s Inside Passage is a water route between the Gulf of Alaska and Puget Sound. It is a common route for cruise ships that depart from Seattle or Vancouver, and offers stops along Alaska’s panhandle.

Which route is best for Alaska cruise?

The Inside Passage is the most popular route. Itineraries generally embark in either Seattle or Vancouver, British Columbia — though there are some itineraries originating in Juneau.

Is the Inside Passage the same as Glacier Bay?

Inside Passage Sub Regions With its abundant wildlife and tidewater glaciers, Glacier Bay National Park is one of the top destinations on cruise ship itineraries that explore Alaska’s Inside Passage. Independent travelers can access Glacier Bay from the nearby town of Gustavus.

What is considered the Inside Passage?

Alaska’s Inside Passage is a water route between the Gulf of Alaska and Puget Sound. Along the Inside Passage, cruise passengers can see countless wildlife in the water (whales, orcas, sea lions and seals), on the ground (bears), and in the air (eagles, raptors and many water birds).

Is Stephens Passage part of the Inside Passage?

One of the straightest stretches of the Inside Passage is the Stephens Passage just south of Juneau, a 105-mile channel between 5,000-foot peaks that cuts through the Alexander Archipelago between Admiralty Island on the west and the mainland and Douglas Island on the east.

Do you see glaciers in the Inside Passage?

The most popular way to take in Alaska’s splendors is on an Inside Passage cruise. The largest national forest in the country, Tongass National Forest, blankets the entire southeast Alaska portion of the Inside Passage, and many glaciers can still be seen.

Where is the Inside Passage in Alaska?

The Inside Passage itself is a network of waterways that runs from Washington State’s Puget Sound in the south, up the Pacific coast of British Columbia and through the Alaska panhandle.

Are the seas rough on an Alaskan cruise?

Alaska. Rough Waters: The majority of sailing on an Alaska cruise is done in the protected waters of the Inside Passage, but ships sailing to Seward, Whittier or Anchorage must cross the Gulf of Alaska, which is much rougher. Cruise staffers say the gulf gets especially bad after Labor Day, in the shoulder season.

Which is better Tracy Arm fjord or Glacier Bay?

Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier Tracy Arm stands out because the fjord is narrower than Glacier Bay with high, craggy rock walls on either side. Your scenic cruise in and out of Tracy Arm will be marked by stunning waterfalls; you’ll also be in better position to spot wildlife on land than in the wider Glacier Bay.

Why is Hubbard Glacier famous?

For us, it’s enormous glaciers, humpback whales and vast rugged wilderness. The Hubbard Glacier is famous for being North America’s largest tidewater glacier. It’s over 120 kilometres long (75 miles), 11 km wide (7 miles) and flows directly into Disenchantment Bay, which feeds into the North Pacific Ocean.

How long does the Inside Passage take?

Cruising Alaska’s Inside Passage Aboard an Alaska Ferry The voyage along Alaska’s Inside Passage takes four days and three-nights from Sitka to Bellingham, Washington.

How long is the Inside Passage in Alaska?

500 miles
Alaska’s portion of the Inside Passage extends 500 miles (800 km) from north to south and 100 miles (160 km) from east to west.

What is the difference between Inside Passage and Gulf of Alaska cruises?

The big difference is that, whereas the more popular Inside Passage cruise itineraries run round-trip from Vancouver, the Gulf routing is one way–from Vancouver to Anchorage/Seward or the reverse–so a typical Gulf itinerary also visits such Inside Passage ports as Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, and/or Skagway.

What is a cross Gulf of Alaska cruise?

Cross Gulf of Alaska. These cruises usually sail northbound or southbound between either Vancouver or Seattle and Anchorage (via the port towns of Whittier or Seward). Itineraries include many of the same stops that a round-trip Inside Passage cruise does, plus extras such as Valdez, Hubbard Glacier, College Fjord or another town in the gulf.

The Inside Passage runs through the area of Alaska known as Southeast (which the locals also call “the Panhandle”), that narrow strip of the state–islands, mainland coastal communities, and mountains–that runs from the Canadian border in the south to the start of the Gulf in the north, just above the Juneau/Haines/Skagway area.

Where do inside passage cruises start and end?

Some of Southeast Alaska’s bays and coves are too shallow for large ships, giving small ships a chance to take passengers where they could not otherwise go. Inside Passage cruises typically start and end in the same place, usually Seattle or Vancouver.