Alaska advice

Considering doing an Alaska cruise in 2018 or 19.

Considering shoulder season cruises like May or September. What are the positives and negatives to choosing either of those months?

For those that have done Alaska cruises what was your favorite ship and itinerary and why?

We typically vacation in warmer climates so I'm completely lost in planning this trip.

Thanks in advance!

May is beofre the salmon runs and good fishing for visitors. IF doing a one way, do a northbound so to be at Denali as late as possible, ideally June 1 and later. Sept. does have the worse potential for weather a few tours will be over. Biggest negative for me, is the lack of daylight and dark by 7pm mid Sept. But, this doesn't matter to some people.

I have cruuised Alaska about 60 times and certainly , I'm certain every poster who "recommends" a cruise- it will be rave reviews for theirs. I have crusied all the major lines except Disney. Last selection I make is ship.

There are various itineraries, I suggest you do some homework on those.. One way Vancouver= Whittier/Seward, round trip Seattle and round trip Vancouver. If you can invest 2 weeks it is worthwhile to consider a combo cruise mainland visit. Important to know details about mainland, find those out before you book.

I will caution about claims of "must". You need at least 10 trips to scratch the surface of that list. :) Every crusie will be a compromise.

My favorite cruise is the southbound to Vancouver, but all the options are wonderful. We have sailed in May, June, July and early August. Personally, I won't sail any later than the first two weeks of August. Weather can change rapidly...just today (8/12/17) Northern Alaska got their first snowstorm of the year. I have several Alaska posts on my blog...http://www.zest4travel.wordpress.com The article on the pros/cons of glaciers might give you some helpful information as to which one you want to visit. Happy planning!

I would go with May because you will see more snow on the mountains and it likely (now the key word is likely) have less rain then September.

Good luck with your decision.

Keith

If you're going to Tracy Arm, September will likely get you in far enough to view Sawyer Glacier. Probably a better chance to see calving too.

There are too many icebergs to get very far in May.

Thoughts....

• I vote May if you like dry port weather. Go in September if you are a storm chaser. Ketchikan welcomes cruisers to watch them fill their rain gauge.
  
• If you look at this link.... Skagway is 4 times wetter in September. http://usclimatedata.com/climate.php?location=USAK0225
  
• May offers more daylight
  
• as mentioned Tracy Arm is ice congested in May. If you wanna see a glacier.... choose an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay!
  
• Go in 2018 instead of 2019.... the glaciers are not getting bigger.
  

What about seeing the aurora borealis?

What about seeing the aurora borealis?

Slim chance even in September when it's darker sooner. You need the right combination of solar activity, darkness, and clear enough skies. SE Alaska where & when cruises visit doesn't reliably tick these boxes - it's utterly pointless using Aurora sighting as a factor is choosing a cruise, you need to go further north in winter to maximise your sightings, which is why Yukon/interior Alaska and Iceland advertise aurora vacations.

If your choices remain as mentioned May/Sep, I'm also in the May camp. I like the 'almost-RT' NCL cruises - leaving Seattle and arriving Vancouver or vice versa - as these give 2-3 days longer and extra port(s) compared to most any other cruises.

If you're going to Tracy Arm, September will likely get you in far enough to view Sawyer Glacier. Probably a better chance to see calving too.

 

There are too many icebergs to get very far in May.

I have made several successful transits into Tracy Arm in May via cruise ships, And if you read your post, claiming "more" calving" in Sept, which isn't true either- where do you think all the ice came from in May?

I have made several successful transits into Tracy Arm in May via cruise ships, And if you read your post, claiming "more" calving" in Sept, which isn't true either- where do you think all the ice came from in May?

I've only had three cruises with Tracy Arm in the itinerary. The only one that got us close enough to see Sawyer Glacier was in Sept. The crew said that they get closer in as the year goes by.

You could be right about the calving but if you can't get close enough to see the glacier, you won't see any calving.

So while you have had successful cruises that got in far enough to see the glacier in May, I don't think that's the norm. At least in my limited experience it isn't. Congratulations on having great cruises!

My choice is May - love it then!

What about seeing the aurora borealis?

If seeing aurora is really important to you, you need to go in January to March. That is what I did. I also booked at a place way out of Fairbanks and stayed there for a week. In addition, I picked a time when there was almost no moon. You have to plan ahead for an aurora trip. By the way, I had 6 nights of wonderful intense aurora and I also got to experience the Fairbanks ice carving festival. Great trip. I also got some great photographs that are now hanging on my wall.

DON

May is beofre the salmon runs and good fishing for visitors. IF doing a one way, do a northbound so to be at Denali as late as possible, ideally June 1 and later. Sept. does have the worse potential for weather a few tours will be over. Biggest negative for me, is the lack of daylight and dark by 7pm mid Sept. But, this doesn't matter to some people.

 

I have cruuised Alaska about 60 times and certainly , I'm certain every poster who "recommends" a cruise- it will be rave reviews for theirs. I have crusied all the major lines except Disney. Last selection I make is ship.

 

There are various itineraries, I suggest you do some homework on those.. One way Vancouver= Whittier/Seward, round trip Seattle and round trip Vancouver. If you can invest 2 weeks it is worthwhile to consider a combo cruise mainland visit. Important to know details about mainland, find those out before you book.

 

I will caution about claims of "must". You need at least 10 trips to scratch the surface of that list. :) Every crusie will be a compromise.

I'd LOVE to hear your thoughts on so many things. We are planning for Summer 2019 and have no idea where to begin. We can take 2-3 weeks. What is important for an itinerary? What are the 'not to be missed' ports? Do you recommend a certain cruise line? Do you recommend the LAND part on our own or as a group with the cruise= land/sea? We aren't ones to repeat vacations, too much out there to see and do - so this may be our only time to Alaska- so we know we are barely scratching the surface, but want to do our best at planning for the best experience and time of year. Would it be better for me to email you? Or you can email me? I don't want to 'hijack' this post.

We've had good luck with weather in both May and September. It's likely to be anything, but we've had good luck with those months. And we did see the aurora on one of the Alaska cruises. It was about 2:00 am, and I don't remember what month it was but it is possible.

I would go in May - we have been 5 times at different months and going again in September, this year....May is good for calving of the glacier and weather...September will most likely be rainy although we have had great luck with the weather. Whenever you go, it is magnificent to see the natural beauty and wildlife.

eclue