How to Make your Alaska Cruise Travel Easier: Tips

Table Of Content

• Best Time Of Year For Glacier Calving
• What to Do in Alaska: Top Things to Do in April
• Advantages of Visiting Alaska in August
• The Best Time for Whale Watching
• Research low-cost things to do in port if you’re on a budget
• Order essentials ahead of time, like binoculars and motion-sickness remedies
• Shoulder Seasons Offer Lower Prices
• Ketchikan

Founded as a gold mining town and now the state’s capital, Juneau has one foot in history and one in the future. Embark on a whale watching tour, or sail past Mendenhall Glacier on an Alaska cruise. Icy Strait Point is home to the remote Tlingit village of Hoonah, home to fewer than 800 people and a deep Native history. The nearby Spasski River Valley holds one of the world’s largest populations of brown bears, who are often found hunting for salmon in the rivers. Zipline over the wilderness, watch a tribal dance or kayak in coastal waters to see the wildlife up close during your Alaska cruise vacation. This 30-mile waterway is surrounded by cliffs, valleys and dozens of waterfalls.

Best Time Of Year For Glacier Calving

If all goes to plan, you could start disembarking by 7AM, but unexpected delays could cause a later disembarkation time. Whether you’re confused about what to pack or overwhelmed with the dozens of shore excursion offerings, the planning process can quickly seem more stressful than enjoyable. It does get dark enough at night to see them by the second week of September, but it's still not as brilliant as what you’ll see on a winter, land-based Alaska aurora viewing vacation.

What to Do in Alaska: Top Things to Do in April

We’ve reached the pinnacle of summer temperatures, and the rainier season has just begun. If bear viewing is high on your bucket list and you are traveling on a bigger cruise ship, look for a float plane excursion that will take you to where the bears feed. Small-ship Alaska cruise lines like American Queen Voyages and Uncruise can go further into narrow passages and get closer to shoreline wildlife like Dall sheep and bears. July and August are considered peak seasons to cruise to Alaska for good reason.

Advantages of Visiting Alaska in August

You’d be surprised by how many activities you can fit into a pre-cruise stay in Seattle or Vancouver. Even if you arrive at 3PM the day before your cruise, you will have around twenty hours in either city before embarkation begins. One of my favorite aspects of cruising to Alaska is the pre-cruise stay in Seattle or Vancouver.

The Best Time for Whale Watching

According to Goldring, both Seabourn Quest and Seabourn Odyssey offer similar Alaska itineraries in 2024; however, it will be the latter’s final sailing since it was sold. We have a 50-year legacy of sharing the best places and experiences with our guests. On an Alaska cruise, unpack once and explore glaciers, wildlife and national parks.

It's known for great fishing (salmon, halibut and trout) and an eagle preserve — because eagles know where the best fish can be found. Alaska cruises provide plentiful opportunities to learn about native Alaskan culture. You can get a taste of the Gold Rush life by trying your hand at panning for gold, attending a salmon bake or visiting a dogsled camp. A hike on the Chilkoot Trail or ride on the White Pass Railway lets you follow in the footsteps of the miners who came to seek their fortunes. If you want to cruise Alaska but also see some of the interior and enjoy a stay in a lodge or hotel, go for a cruisetour package from either Holland America or Princess Cruises.

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Popular destinations include Denali National Park (for wildlife viewing) or Talkeetna (best place for Denali views and cool eats). Cruise tour land packages are also available to spots like Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula and Canada's Yukon Territory. On either end of your sailing, you can tour on your own or book a cruise tour that combines a cruise and a land tour, which usually runs three to seven nights.

During these months you will have the warmest weather and the greatest chance to see wildlife. The warmer the weather, the better your chance to view a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence called “calving.” This is when a large chunk of the glacier separates in a giant icy landslide. For cruise itineraries in Alaska, August high temperatures will be somewhere in the upper 50s and low 60s.

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There are also amazing birds, including bald eagles and land animals like mountain goats, Dall sheep, and brown and black bears. If you purchase a balcony cabin, you can take advantage of the long days in the Land of the Midnight Sun. As your ship reaches the Inside Passage, the early morning views outside of your room are breathtaking. However, the views and ability to go sightseeing from your room on ocean days make the higher price worth it.

As the school season begins and fall approaches, cruise prices start to dip, affording the opportunity to snag a last-minute bargain for Alaska. We still recommend planning ahead though, as an increasing number of tourists have been booking cruises each year in September. If you’re looking to get away from the summer crowds and enjoy an intimate cruise in remote Alaska, then we recommend booking an ocean view cabin on a smaller ship. Smaller boats have access to quieter coastlines, like the Wrangell Narrows, that larger cruise ships don’t have access to. The warming weather even allows cruise ships to penetrate Arctic waters, giving you the opportunity to see polar bears on Wrangel Island.

Your views will likely include snowy mountains, but they are gorgeous nonetheless. Alaska is still gaining sunlight as the Summer Solstice approaches, so you’ll experience longer days during your May cruise. Because of its latitude, Alaska experiences extremes in daylight in the summer and darkness in the winter. However, it’s important to remember that this area is part of the world’s largest temperate rainforest. Holland America Princess, and Royal Caribbean have Alaskan Inside Passage cruises departing from Vancouver at the end of April. Carnival has 14-day Alaskan cruises departing from Seattle and Long Beach in late April.

Fortunately, after nearly a dozen Alaska cruises, our staff are well versed in the ins and outs of cruising to Alaska. From booking your pre-cruise hotel to utilizing Seattle’s stress-free luggage service, here are our top 24 tips for an Alaska cruise this year. The 2024 Alaska cruise season is quickly approaching, and we’re sharing 24 of our most helpful Alaska cruise tips that you need to follow. This is also the trip for a camera with good telephoto lenses and binoculars. For more on what to bring on an Alaska cruise, check out our Alaska cruise packing list. Alaska's capital city is interesting because no road leads from here to the rest of the state.

Call your travel agent directly or your nearest AAA store to get pro tips, travel guides, and more. Fortunately, you don’t need to sweat too hard about that last one as there’s no bad month to do an Alaska cruise. Many of Alaska’s most popular activities can be done anytime from May through September, depending on the port of call. Walk to Skagway’s historic downtown from the cruise dock and tour the town’s infamous saloons, including the Red Onion. Then, tip back a genuine Southeast Alaska specialty, a spruce tip ale at the Skagway Brewing Company; this unusual ale uses spruce tips instead of hops in its brew. It’s the place where the American flag was first raised in Alaska as the Russian flag was lowered in 1867.