Mysteryship

Although I can't say one time of the year is better over the other or one cruise line is better over another I will share what I have done.

My first trip to Alaska was a round trip out of Seattle and it was fun but felt way more rushed than I would have liked. After that, I looked into things a bit more and found out that doing back to back cruises out of Vancouver offered more time (twice as many days in each more, twice the chances of great weather and such) and that became my favorite.

If time and budget allows I would say look into doing two cruise back to back, one North bound out of Vancouver then turning around and taking the second cruise from Seward back to Vancouver. Sometimes, this option can be close to the same price as cruising North or South alone plus the added airfare to or from Alaska.

In my four trips to Alaska, I have done the back to back thing three times and it has always been great. Usually I go early in the season (mid-May to early June) which offers better chances to spot wild life, bears coming out of hibernation, longer days bring lots of food to the areas for the whales to feed on, birds migrating back to the areas as well. The last two trips we made, Icy Strait Point was THE spot for whale watching, the tenders had to wait for them to get out of the way before going from ship to shore at times. We saw whales feeding right off the side of the ship!

As for which line to go with, I will say Royal Caribbean tends to draw a good amount of younger travelers and offer activities for those groups. No matter what line you go with though, you will find a pretty broad range of ages aboard the ship. In all honesty, meeting new friends is fun and all but with my interests in photography I tend to do things that will have me off on my own as much as possible, going to places most might not dare for the chance at that once in a lifetime photo. :) Feel free to check out some of the photos linked in my signature to get an idea of some of what you may see on your trip.

Keep in mind wild life is, well, wild. You don't see a lot of bears wearing watches so wild life spotting can be a hit or miss thing. To give you an idea, my first trip to Alaska I saw 18 bears in three days, the next three trips I think I may have seen five between all the trips. lol The weather can be pretty iffy at times during the early part of the season but rain or shine I always have a blast. My last trip we had weather ranging from sunny and 70 to snow and sleet. And that was in just one port! Weather changes and in Alaska it changes fast so be ready for it.

Since this is your first trip I have several tips that I follow and gladly share with others going to Alaska:

Dress in layers, I usually will have a long sleeved t-shirt, short sleeved t-shirt over that, fleece vest and rain jacket over that *gortex lined highly suggested* As the day warms up you can take off what is needed.

Carry a back pack! You are going to need someplace to put those clothes as you peal them off. And trust me the temp change during the day is enough you will wind up shedding a layer or two.

Keep a small, travel sized umberella with you. The day may start out clear and sunny but the weather can change at the drop of a hat. It is better to have a small umberella and not need it than to not have it and get nailed in a quick downpour.

Camera, keep it very handy! This time of the year is perfect for wildlife watching with all of the animals coming out of hybernation and migrating back into the area. Not a lot of things more frustrating than seeing a sow and her cubs while you fumble through your pockets looking for your camera. Keep your camera in hand, keep it turned on, make sure you have extra batteries in your bag, make sure you have plenty of memory for the camera as well.

Ziplock bags. It may sound like a weird thing to have with you but if you get a rain storm roll through you will want some place safe and dry to keep your batteries, memory for your camera as well as cell phones and such. A few cents worth of plastic bags can save hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of electronics.

Water bottle. With all the walking that can be had in the area it is a good idea to have a supply of water close at hand. There aren't always places to buy a bottle of water on some of the tours so it is a good idea to have at least a small (20 oz.) bottle of water in your bag.

Small towel. I can't count the number of times I have needed one and not had it. Everything from getting rain drops off your camera *or you* to getting rid of some sweat. If you are out on a hike or even walking around town and the temp is in the 50s or 60s you can still break out in a sweat. It is best to dry off if possible because when you start to cool down, your sweat can cause you to start chilling and that is no fun at all.

Well broken in shoes. It doesn't matter if you are just walking around town visiting the shops or out on a 6 mile hike, if you are in new shoes you very well may wind up with blisters and sore feet. Leave the new shoes at home and take those old ones you have been wearing for months and save you and your feet the pain.

Wool socks. I always carry an extra pair of wool socks in my backpack. even when wet the wool will keep your feet warm but you can still get wicked blisters. A fresh pair of dry socks can save you a lot of pain later on in the trip. This is where one of those ziplock bags comes in handy.

This all may sound like a bit much but when it comes to Alaska it is better to be a little over prepaired than under prepaired. If packed right this will take up very little space in your back pack and can save you a lot of headaches.

Things to do:

Juneau, Mendenhall and Salmon Bake is a fun one. You get to visit the glacier and if you are up for a fast paced hike you can make it to the waterfall. I took the time for the hike and it was WELL worth it, not many make that treck for a wonderful view. As far as I know it will also go to Gold Creek Camp Salmon Bake, which is a blast and you can return to the ship when you want as they have several buses running back to the ships during the day. Great salmon, a nice little hike to a small waterfall and even firepits for roasting marshmallows.

Icy Strait Point: I did a whale watching tour the last time I was there and all I can say is take a look through the photos from my Alaskan trips in my signature on here. At times we had 15 to 20 whales around our boat. Breaching, feeding and playing. From all that I have read the Icy Strait Point whale tours are some of the very best with lots of whales in the area. The whales migrate up to the area for feeding during the summer and are coming into the area from May to June (when the food is most plentiful) then leaving in September to run back to their southern birthing grounds. Very cool indeed and I am going to do that tour again if I can.

Helo tours: I hear that the ones out of Skagway are pretty darned good. Keep in mind there is an amazing train ride out of Skagway as well. If you work it right you might be able to do both. If you do one of the train rides, be sure to do one that includes a ride up to or back from the Yukon on a bus then the second half of the trip is on the train. LOTS of stops for photos and the train ride is always great for the views too. If you do a helo tour I would love to hear your review on it.

Lunches: Well worth the time to get OUTSIDE the port areas. Get alway from the touristy stuff. There are a lot of really great local places if you search for them.

Seward: If you have the time by all means do the Kenai Fjords Cruise with Lunch & Sealife Center. I got to see orka as close as five feet from me as I stood on deck for the tour. Lunch wasn't the main reason for this one and it kind of showed. It was ok but I was there for 8 hours of wild life watching and was NOT let down. The tour took us all the way out into open water where we saw several humpbacks as well. We were also able to visit some groups of sealions and saw more wildlife than you can imagine.

I tried to include a lot of photos from the tours in my album linked in my signature and feel I pretty well captured the spirit of Alaska in the images. If you have questions about any of the tours I did feel free to ask and I will answer them as best I can.

 

Joe W.

This is exceptionally good advice. I wish I had known a place like Cruise Critic existed when we did our first cruises. Advice like this from one who has done it is so helpful, especially to a place like Alaska. This board would have saved me a lot of time.

Alaska was one of the most memorable cruises we have done. We went with Princess which was OK since we spent so little time on the ship. The real star was Alaska. The ship, and princess was the way we did it.

My best advice is to find a way to do a land tour. At first I thought it an unnecessary expense, but then I really knew so little about Alaska. It turned out to be a fantastic experience. Alaska is mind boggling and it's not just about the coastline although that's spectacular. To have seen Denali, the mountain, beautifully clear is a sight I won't forget. Do a land tour. You won't regret it. I will say that Princess excelled on the land tour. The ship was OK but not one I'd choose again.

Mysteryship