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Alaska Waters in June?


SweetPease
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Taking our first Alaska Cruise in June. Other than told to expect 50% of our days to be wet (rain), can someone advise on the condition of the seas? We are cruising inside passage 8 days and outside 2. Thanks for any comments/input!

 

At that time of year, barring the unforeseen storm, the seas should be so calm that you may not even realize that the ship is underway or at sea.

alaska.jpg

If you ever care to see the ocean absolutely flat.....go to Alaska in Summer.

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Thanks! Our cruise to the South Pacific had 3-4 rough days due to cyclone season. Lots of plates crashing and liquor bottles breaking one night. Hoping to avoid that experience again. That said, I know no one can predict the weather (not even the weather folks), and it wouldn't deter me from sailing. Just nice to know calm seas are more common than not in June :)

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The outside passage can get bouncy, at least it did on our June 26 Alaska cruise on Regatta last summer, but no crashing dishes. Take along some dramamine and you should be fine.

 

We had surprisingly nice weather, at least compared to previous Alaska trips. A bit of misty rain a couple of times, once at Hubbard Glacier where it didn't keep us from spending the time out on deck to watch spectacular glacier calving. We were lucky to get really close to the glacier. One of the bigger ships got about halfway and gave up because it was foggy. By the time we got to the glacier face, the fog lifted and it was beautiful. Our captain was making fun of the other guy that night.

 

Have a great time.

 

Mary

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We are actually leaving from Vancouver, BC and traveling back to Seattle, so will definitely be in open water on the trip back. I am fine with the rolling, though not my favorite thing. After the few days (here and there) on the South Pacific cruise with crashing dinnerware, a little bouncing will seem calm :)

 

Thanks for the response.

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traveling back to Seattle, so will definitely be in open water on the trip back.

 

If "the motion of the Ocean" is a concern, thank your lucky stars that you return to Seattle, instead of San Francisco.

Gripsholm_2_16_Regency.jpgGripsholm_2_15_Regency.jpg

We did Alaska from SF just once -it had to be the very early Eighties- on the Regent Sea -of Regency Cruise lines, as Regent Seven Seas wasn't even a synapse in Mr. Del Rio's consciousness, as of yet.

RegentSea02-kb.jpg

Regent Sea was a particularly gorgeous old girl, Italian postmondern interiors and built to handle whatever the Ocean could throw at her, but that first day and night out of Frisco was literally "scrape the pasta off the ceiling" time.

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Thanks for this useful info, although I'm a little alarmed by the poster's comments about sailing from SF as I am not a very good sailor! My question is this: we are sailing from SF to Vancouver in May on our first Alaskan cruise. Websites suggest that the weather should be spring-like, possibly cold, temperatures anywhere from 8 to 15C. Does that sound realistic, or are we more likely to get rougher weather? It won't put us off, we'll just plan accordingly. Thanks in advance!

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Thanks for this useful info, although I'm a little alarmed by the poster's comments about sailing from SF as I am not a very good sailor! My question is this: we are sailing from SF to Vancouver in May on our first Alaskan cruise. Websites suggest that the weather should be spring-like, possibly cold, temperatures anywhere from 8 to 15C. Does that sound realistic, or are we more likely to get rougher weather? It won't put us off, we'll just plan accordingly. Thanks in advance!

 

We have done the SF to Vancouver sailing in May twice. On the first cruise it was 80+F (26.6C) at one of the ports. It almost rains in Ketchikan so that is to be expected. We found most ports to be cold in the morning and warming up nicely in the afternoon so wearing layers is a good idea. IMO, May is the best month to visit Alaska.

 

In terms of the seas - yes, it can get quite choppy before you reach the Inside Passage where it becomes very calm. We just pack Sturgeon (we get it from the U.K.) and take 1/4 to 1/2 a pill when rough weather is expected. This has worked for us 100% of the time and does not make us sleepy due to the low dose (of course you can always a higher dose if necessary).

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