May or September?

We're looking at booking an Alaskan cruise for next year. Based on our work schedules we can either go mid-late May (possibly VERY early June) or early to mid September. Can you help us way the pros/cons for each time period? We are a mid-50s couple, first time to Alaska. Ideally we'd like to see/do most/all of the following: Whales; Eagles; Sled Dogs; Salmon Jumping; Bears; walk on a Glacier; and (I know very slim chance) the Northern Lights. For the wildlife especially what times are we more likely than others to see everything we want to?

How likely are we during each of those months to run into problems with ice making it impossible to get into all the ports? What about shore excursions, shops, restaurants - will everything be open/available during both May & September? Is the difference in daylight hours significant between May & September? Is one time or the other better to avoid a lot of kids on the ship? Is one time more rainy than the other?

I appreciate any feedback you can offer!

May. Way more daylight than Sept and lots more snow on the mountains. No problem getting into the ports and the vendors are actually glad to see people at the start of the season. Mid May some may not be open yet but by the end should have no issues. My preferred time is late May/ Mid June, I've sailed 25+ times in Alaska. May tends to also be drier. This year I sailed mid June and absolutely perfect weather all cruise

Historically - May/June has less rain than September. Come Mid-September, Alaska can get really ugly.

June 21st is the longest sunlight day so the closer to that day will have more sunlight. Another reason for end of May/first of June over September.

I think the snow on the mountains make it look amazing. September will bring fall colors.

Ice is going to be an issue with Tracy Arm and Hubbard Glacier. It happens mostly at beginning of season but can happen for half the season or all season. Or one week and not the next - it changes daily sometimes. My first year to Alaska, Hubbard Glacier was closed all season.

All of your questions can be answered easily, but you might not like it. Here goes. It depends.

Alaska is so big that conditions can be extremely different depending on where in Alaska you're talking about.

But in general, some guidelines:

May is early for any major salmon runs; most runs will still be in the ocean; however in Southeast Alaska, there might be some early runs that can be witnessed, but you'll need to be lucky. In September most will be finished, but there will still be some good fishing for silver salmon in parts of the state, for example the Kenai River drainage.

By mid- to late May most tourist activities and attractions will be available, but it will be very early, perhaps too early for some activities, for example full access throughout the interior of Denali National Park. Some tidewater glaciers, for example the Hubbard Glacier, featured on many cruise itineraries might have restricted access due to ice in the bay - icebergs from the glacier face or floe ice. It depends.

In early September things will still be going strong, but by the middle of the month things will be slowing down, and the interior of Denali Park will start becoming less and less accessible. On the other hand, the mosquitoes will be gone and the tundra will have fall color, which is spectacular. The bears will be more active and visible at the end of the summer than in the spring, but again, generalizing is foolish.

Whales and eagles are around all the time, no issues with that. But remember it's not a zoo you're visiting, so an element of luck is always there.

The weather is changeable, a rule that applies as much in May as it does in September. It can be rainy and socked in one day and clear skies the next. Flip a coin. Remember you have a state that extends from temperate rain forest in Ketchikan to permafrost and arctic tundra. It's as much a question of where as it is one of when.

How long do you have for this trip? Makes a big difference.

We would probably have about 12-14 days total, including travel days.

Salmon jumping happens mid-late July and later. Northern Lights is usually September and later (can happen sooner). Just think if you have a lot of sunlight, you are not going to see Northern Lights.

You want to hit Denali after June 1st.

Bears follow salmon - a lot of bear watching trips are mid-July and later. Though I have always seen them in May/June randomly (not excursion).

Is there going to be disappointment if you have rain?? I just got home from 3 weeks of cruising and the rain and no sun had some unprepared visitors whining. Dog sledding is going to over in September. Aurora needs invested time. On my equinox March trips it’s at least 2 weeks. Wildlife is always possible BUT again investing time, money and the research is essential for greater success.

With your list. I’d look at a northbound sailing to Seward adding at least 1 Kenai Fjords boat tour and car rental out of Skagway. Ideally get to Denali Park June 1 and later with a shuttle bus to Eielson.

Take your time find out the details of Alaska. Focus on activities and what you want to see and do.

Bears follow salmon - a lot of bear watching trips are mid-July and later. Though I have always seen them in May/June randomly (not excursion).

Bears are around and have to be eating something when the salmon aren't running. In spring, grass and other small plants are part of their diet. Tours to the typical July and August salmon run spotting areas may not be good for seeing bears in May and they may be more spread out rather than grouped around a salmon stream. On a cruise from Seward to Vancouver May 17 to 31 this year, I saw a black bear grazing along the shore near Aialik Glacier in Kenai Fjords and a brown bear grazing along the shore in Misty Fjord.

May was too early for salmon spawning. Even toward the end of May when I was in Ketchican, there wasn't any salmon spawning activity yet. If you want to see salmon spawning, it would probably need to be later.

September is statistically more rainy and May statistically less rainy, but there is enough variation that your experience may not reflect that. On the 14 days of my May cruise, there were 2 sunny or partly sunny days. It was overcast the rest of the time with rain almost every day, sometimes for part of the day and sometimes all day. It helps to be prepared for rain and ready to explore rain or not.

There was too much ice and seals pupping on the ice for us to go to Tracy Arm so we went up Endicott Arm instead. That was the only alteration that weather/water conditions made in our cruise.

September fits your wish list better than May. Both months can be very rainy (or gloriously sunny, as they have been this year, but it’s a rare year). You won’t yet have snow-capped mountains in September. Bears are scarce in May and plentiful in September (I salmon fished in Juneau this morning alongside a mama and cub, yikes!). It is full dark by 9pm right now, which is necessary for seeing the northern lights. If you happen to see them, just count it as bonus points as you can’t plan ahead for the right conditions. All that said, July and August are the best months, in my opinion. And if you are going to spend that kind of time and money, you should only go when you can maximize your time and must-see list.

We’ve been twice in late May and perhaps just lucky, but we had amazingly warm and sunny weather for the most part.

We're looking at booking an Alaskan cruise for next year. Based on our work schedules we can either go mid-late May (possibly VERY early June) or early to mid September. Can you help us way the pros/cons for each time period? We are a mid-50s couple, first time to Alaska. Ideally we'd like to see/do most/all of the following: Whales; Eagles; Sled Dogs; Salmon Jumping; Bears; walk on a Glacier; and (I know very slim chance) the Northern Lights. For the wildlife especially what times are we more likely than others to see everything we want to?

 

How likely are we during each of those months to run into problems with ice making it impossible to get into all the ports? What about shore excursions, shops, restaurants - will everything be open/available during both May & September? Is the difference in daylight hours significant between May & September? Is one time or the other better to avoid a lot of kids on the ship? Is one time more rainy than the other?

 

I appreciate any feedback you can offer!

We did a MAY cruise ,warmer weather and more daylight.

We're looking at booking an Alaskan cruise for next year. Based on our work schedules we can either go mid-late May (possibly VERY early June) or early to mid September. Can you help us way the pros/cons for each time period? We are a mid-50s couple, first time to Alaska. Ideally we'd like to see/do most/all of the following: Whales; Eagles; Sled Dogs; Salmon Jumping; Bears; walk on a Glacier; and (I know very slim chance) the Northern Lights. For the wildlife especially what times are we more likely than others to see everything we want to? How likely are we during each of those months to run into problems with ice making it impossible to get into all the ports? What about shore excursions, shops, restaurants - will everything be open/available during both May & September? Is the difference in daylight hours significant between May & September? Is one time or the other better to avoid a lot of kids on the ship? Is one time more rainy than the other? I appreciate any feedback you can offer!

I love May tours also!

I vote for your June option... dry weather is a priority for me to explore the ports. Have a look at this climate chart....https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/skagway/alaska/united-states/usak0225

Statistically you are 4 times wetter in September. Then again, are you a storm chaser?

Another pro for September - lots of the stores (at least in Skagway and on the ship) were selling items at deep discounts.

Well, I don't know what 2019 is going to bring in the way of weather but for 2018 September it has been outstanding, breaking daily high temperatures right and left the state over. Here in Anchorage we haven't even came close to a frost and termination dust is rare still in South Central.

Now, we won't discuss August 2018.

September fits your wish list better than May. Both months can be very rainy (or gloriously sunny, as they have been this year, but it’s a rare year). You won’t yet have snow-capped mountains in September. Bears are scarce in May and plentiful in September (I salmon fished in Juneau this morning alongside a mama and cub, yikes!). It is full dark by 9pm right now, which is necessary for seeing the northern lights. If you happen to see them, just count it as bonus points as you can’t plan ahead for the right conditions. All that said, July and August are the best months, in my opinion. And if you are going to spend that kind of time and money, you should only go when you can maximize your time and must-see list.

I've done late May and first week of September. Saw much more wildlife (salmon, bears, whales, etc. in September) Did have pretty snow-capped mountains in May. If I could only go one more time and had to pick either, I'd choose September.

September will probably be too late to go dog sledding on glaciers.

As to sailing at a time with less kids, I think either month would work - kids should still be in school in May and just starting back in September.

We've now had 2 amazing September Alaska cruises (2007 and 2018) - we don't mid the rain and have all the right gear, but both trips were amazingly sunny. We had actually thought about trying to go early this year (May) to see different sorts of things, but Sept ended up working out better for our schedules and our budget. We saw lots of wildlife (though no bear this trip) and the aurora on this recent trip.

Given the averages discussed in this thread already, it's unlikely you'll see EVERYTHING you've listed in one trip. I've been to Alaska 4 times so far and haven't seen everything. Wait, maybe I have? But not in the same trip for sure ;p I've been in March, September and July, and September remains my favorite for cruising.

[for our preferences, I try to avoid high season ANYWHERE. I dislike crowds and premium pricing due to high season, and we don't have kids so I don't need to travel during school holidays and in fact prefer to avoid that. YOUR priorities & preferences are likely different, but try to enumerate them so you can make an informed decision]

We have gone in July, late August and twice in mid September. We saw the Northern Lights on August 28. We had great weather twice in September with few children and great close out prices at the stores as well as wonderful private whale watching tours. We made it to the end of the Tracy Arm Fjord to see Sawyer Glacier in September but not in July.

However, I am not qualified to comment on May or June.

On 9/4/2018 at 8:19 AM, DougH said:

May. Way more daylight than Sept and lots more snow on the mountains. No problem getting into the ports and the vendors are actually glad to see people at the start of the season. Mid May some may not be open yet but by the end should have no issues. My preferred time is late May/ Mid June, I've sailed 25+ times in Alaska. May tends to also be drier. This year I sailed mid June and absolutely perfect weather all cruise

Another vote for May for statistically less rain, no mosquitoes, lots of baby animals learning about life, still snow on the peaks, lower airfare/cruise prices, and four more hours of daylight in each port allowing more excursion opportunities.