Help - Alaska Prime Months

[Son of a son of a ...]

Help, please ... talking with DW now about future cruise to Alaska ... what are the best months for cruising. ASAP por favor!

[Denisomo]

Try to go the first cruise of the season which is around May 18 or so on the Carnival Legend. It's an 8 day , you get Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm Fiords plus the three other stops. This was the most wonderful , fantastic cruise we've ever been on and we've been on 15 so far with Carnival. The weather was perfect, 70-80 and glorious.

[Essiesmom]

I believe the first two, and last cruise of the season next year on Legend will visit Glacier Bay. None of the others will. (Unless you sail Princess, HAL or NCL). EM

[Whenisdinner]

Salmon run 2nd and 3rd week of August. Also you have a much better chance of good weather in August vs. May. But you can get much better deals in May... Tracy arm fjord is definitely worth the day trip.

 

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Edited September 12, 2015 by Whenisdinner

[Budget Queen]

Glacier Bay isn't the only criteria, which I completely disagree with giving such a huge priority. you really need to do some homework and find out about each glacier viewing area, and each Alaska cruise port- there are only 6 on the inside passage. Each VERY different from the other with their own activities. I strongly suggest you determine what activities you want to do, early in your research- before you book.

 

Every week of the Alaska cruise season- offers the visitor some highlights. There are more, what I consider negative possibilities in Sept which are cooler, damper weather, worse potential of the season, and lack of daylight with it dark by 7pm by the second week. With a large part of Alaska cruising- the scenic sailing- this impacts significantly compared to earlier.

 

I have traveled in all the timeframes, no guarantees for weather. More important- find out the details of Alaska cruising, there are basically 3 different routes sailed, each with unique advantages.

[Budget Queen]

Salmon run 2nd and 3rd week of August. Also you have a much better chance of good weather in August vs. May. But you can get much better deals in May... Tracy arm fjord is definitely worth the day trip.

 

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Where are you getting this information from? Sorry, it's the opposite of what you are claiming. Overall you have better weather mid- to end of May compared to August where you have more rain.

 

In my opinion, Tracy Arm is spectacular, But- it is "necessary" to book the add on ship excursion- grossly superior compared to the cruise ship transit. :)

 

same with your "salmon run" claim- hardly accurate. I've seen runs in July, and Sept. I've also seen NO run the "3rd" week in August". I've seen massive runs, in one port, then nothing the next day some where else.

Edited September 12, 2015 by Budget Queen

[BamaLady#13]

We cruised to Alaska on the Norwegian Pearl the first week in June this year. It was a disaster. We chose the wrong week and the wrong ship. It was rainy and foggy all week. The day we sailed Glacier Bay, it was so foggy that we saw no glaciers, which was our primary reason for going. Because the weather was bad, all of the passengers were forced to remain inside which made for a very crowded ship. Also, Norwegian ran a promotion that allowed the third and fourth passenger in a stateroom to sail free. That also meant more people crowded into the ship. The Pearl is badly in need of a remodel because our balcony room carpet was terribly stained and thread bare, finish worn off of furniture and just generally worn out. Going early in the season won't prevent bad weather.

[xlxo]

My thoughts....

• May to July will offer dryer weather for excursions... August starts getting wet and September is best for storm chasers.
  2nd week of August had Skagway closed for wild weather this year. I've heard Ketchikan closed for a co-worker for a mid-September cruise in 2013.
  
• Vancouver/Seattle has dry weather July and August. Go July for best chances of warm & dry weather from Alaska to Seattle.
  
• Go May and September for price savings. Some may choose to take advantage of Cascadia reposition deals to extend or compliment their trip.
  
• Vancouver has some great fireworks competitions in late July you might want to take advantage of when you are in the area.
  

Edited September 12, 2015 by xlxo

[Surfwench]

Try to go the first cruise of the season which is around May 18 or so on the Carnival Legend. It's an 8 day , you get Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm Fiords plus the three other stops. This was the most wonderful , fantastic cruise we've ever been on and we've been on 15 so far with Carnival. The weather was perfect, 70-80 and glorious.

 

We were on that cruise too. :) It was special, wasn't it? Even the crew thought so, on deck whenever they could manage it.

 

Choosing the time to cruise Alaska is a trade-off .... earlier in the season will be dryer, but fewer critters. Later will be wetter, but more wildlife out. Our focus was to enjoy the glaciers and mountains so an early cruise worked perfectly. We still saw humpback whales, eagles, a million otters, mountain goats, and briefly, 1 mamma bear with 2 cubs.

[crusinpsychRN]

I went in mid May and had fabulous weather.

[silvercrikhix]

The weather is really an unknown at any time during cruising season in Alaska.

Luck of the draw.

We went in July and it was misty & foggy for most of the cruise.

We still enjoyed it immensely despite the weather.

It all had a mystical, ethereal feel to it.

It was still amazing and beautiful.

We wondered how fabulous it must be in the sunshine.

As Budget Queen suggests, do your homework on each port and choose what interests you most.

The weather could be fantastic or a washout, either way it will be amazing and memorable.

[silvercrikhix]

I forgot to add, read every Alaska cruise review you can and thoroughly read the Alaska Port of Call threads. That should give you a lot of information you need to make many decisions. Tripadvisor has tons of info too, to aid you!