Alaska, Best month to cruise?

[2chiefs]

Alaska cruises are scheduled between May and September with the July cruises being the highest price. I'd like to hear pros and cons about sailing an Alaska itinerary in various months.

Thanks

[greensnow]

Subscribed for future reference. :D

[digger99]

We cruised the Inside passage the last week of May in 2008 and the weather was really good*, bright sunshine, beautiful views, lots of wildlife. Only really cold when we got up close to the Hubbard Glacier. We were very fortunate.

[masspector]

I have been once, first week of September. There are many threads on this in the destinations section. It basically boils down to a few things.

 

Are you taking school kids? This eliminates May and September. June, July August are warmest months and highest prices. If price is not an option, book summer.

 

If price is a concern then you are looking at September or May. Basic reasoning goes like this. September is cooler but less snow since you are right after summer, some sites are shutting down for the season. May is cooler but there is more snow since right after winter and some sites are just opening after the winter.

 

Personally I am going to book May next time I go. Hope this helps.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

There are MANY things to consider when booking an Alaska cruise. this is the link to the Alaska port of call message board. There are lots of knowledgeable people that answer questions here.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

I suggest you spend time researching all sorts of topics before you book a cruise. I did that before my cruise and I still wish I had done more. [Alaska is a very complicated and expensive place to visit.]

 

i.e. Excursions make your cruise. Do you want to see Salmon run? bears? looking for the longest days of the year? Then there are certain times to visit. Want to visit the interior of Denali? Buses do not go but a certain distance until after June 1. etc. etc. etc.

 

We loved our cruise. There are lots of picture reviews so you can see what the ships and ports look like. Have fun!!:D

[neniukas]

Planing to do alaska cruise just suscribing

[tidygirl]

We went the first part of June in 2007 the weather was fairly cool but not too bad considering it was Alaska. We were disappointed that we didn't get to do our dogsled tour on a glacier because of a snowstorm, but still got to a different glacier by helicopter.

Prices were much more reasonable for a family of 5. We also did almost a week before hand on land renting a motorhome and prices were much better that time of the year.

[subtchr]

We went over the summer solstice a couple years ago (third week in June) with the hopes of good weather, and boy, did we get that.

 

When we arrived in Anchorage, the temp was low 80s. We had beautiful sunny and warm weather almost our entire trip. Shirtsleeves in the Yukon!

 

DSC_0340 by suegee57, on Flickr

 

We also loved that the amount of daylight each day was so long. On our northern part of the trip, it never got completely dark all night.

 

The only drawback was that the salmon was not yet running. We still saw bears several places, and lots of other wildlife, including a great whale-watching trip from Juneau.

 

IMG_0685 by suegee57, on Flickr

 

IMG_0708 by suegee57, on Flickr

 

Yes, it was more expensive than May or September, but I booked when it was first available and was happy with the price, which did go up somewhat over the year or so after we booked.

 

Alaska is gorgeous -- I wrote a blog about our trip, if you are interested: SUMMER SOLSTICE IN THE LAST FRONTIER

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

We cruised to Alaska last summer from May 30-June 6. Weather was great (mostly long pants and sweatshirt type weather, with one day of rain). The main reason we booked that week was because of price. The only downside I could find to going this early is the fact that the salmon aren't running and there aren't options for bear excursions. Everything was amazing!

[steveru621]

23-May-2014 - Radiance Of the Seas - 7 Night Southbound Alaska & Hubbard Glacier

 

We chose late May mainly because of the price, fewer children, proximity to the Summer solstice; and the amount of daylight were one of the top factors. The lower prices allowed us to make a pre-cruise self directed trip to Denali.

 

Our reasoning, to spend an enormous amount of airfare money and travel time 7 days was not enough. The additional days in Denali gave us a better and more satisfying Alaska experience. The only downside, Denali was not completely accessible. The weather was beautiful, maybe just a little chilly, and we did experience snow for 10 minutes on our trip to Denali.

 

When we visit again, it will probably be the first or second week in June.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

Edited February 21, 2015 by steveru621

[derrick22]

I teach so May, June and September were out of the question. I heard about the mosquito's in August so July it was.

 

Weather was perfect. My DH was in shorts for two weeks except for the glacier landing.

 

I would go back in a heart beat but planned the trip as if I only had one time to do it.

 

Check out the Alaska port call forum as it is filled with a wealth of information.

[bigkauhuna]

We have sailed to Alaska twice and both times were late June were you get great weather and long days of sun and fun sight seeing those native animals. We heard from someone that late July and August were the best months for seeing more wild life and sea life. September you get the sales from the jewelry shops as they are closing down for the winter months.

We sailed it for all the fresh halibut lunches on shore.

[yogimax]

I would recommend NOT cruising in May. We did once, but were limited in how far we could go because there were still large ice flows in the water.

[L454S]

We have done the first week of September 3 times. Prices are better and the weather is still not cold at all. The salmon run is late August to September, on 2 out of 3 trips we got to see them in Scagway and Ketchikan.

 

All were great trips, would go back again.

[rsato]

Weather up north is really hit or miss (including sea conditions) - I have been on the Holland cruise in July, Disney in August, and NCL in September. We had the best weather for the mid September cruise including 80 degree weather departing Seattle! The only rough sea conditions we faced was the sea day on Holland headed toward Alaska.

[pspercy]

We did a cruisetour late August, ended Labor Day weekend, it was great but of course by then the evenings were drawing in so next time, and there will be a next time, I'm thinking June - for the daylight !

[kitkat343]

We sailed northbound from Vancouver in late May. In addition to the prices being cheaper, this is one of the driest times of year. If you look at the Denali bus schedule and plan a northbound trip carefully you can leave in very late May and arrive in Denali in time for some of the bus routes to be running. You will miss the salmon, so that might be an important consideration for you to determine what time of year is best for you and your family.

[t923347]

We did a b2b from Vancouver late May - early June. Warm sunny weather all the first week going up and rain every day coming back to Vancouver. 😕

[LeeW]

Gone twice in mid-September and only got heavy rain twice, once in Juneau and once in Ketchikan. Bus tour in Denali had almost no clouds around the mountain and lots of bears and wolves both trips. Also hit 72 degrees in Fairbanks.

 

Advantage of cruising late in season is fewer ships in port and lots of shopping bargains as they close down for winter. Also this late in season the Northern Lights can be spectacular. Prices are also much better than July.