When to cruise to Alaska?

[mirrs20]

Hi All,

My husband and I are trying to decide what is the better time of year to do an Alaskan cruise..... May or late August/early Sept, based on weather, wildlife sightings etc.

What are your thoughts? Thank you.

[Pitzel]

We went late August/early September and loved it. A lot of the ice around the glacier has melted by that point in the season, making it possible to get much closer for glacier viewing than earlier in the season.

[packercruising]

Depends on what you want to see. We did an Alaskan cruise (Actually a land/cruise) in May and one in August. The one in May was hands down better. We saw otters, whales and sea lions. We saw so many whales we cancelled our whale excursion. There is still a bit of snow in the mountains. If you want to see Denali and ride on the Alaskan Railroad, you might consider pairing with a land cruise. Spectacular!No matter what you decide, you are bound to have a great time!

[Langoustine]

I would suggest you take a look at the Alaska board, as this question comes up often.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

A lot of the ice around the glacier has melted by that point in the season, making it possible to get much closer for glacier viewing than earlier in the season.

 

Not necessarily. We got extremely close to Hubbard in the last week of May/first week of June.

[Truluv]

We've cruised over Memorial Day, and over Labor Day. The experiences were both incredible, but for different reasons. Our experiences:

 

May. The days were longer, and we got to experience the extended twilight. On a floatplane tour that landed next to a small island in a river in Glacier Park, we saw a bear meandering nearby. We also saw moose on the trip from the airport to the ship, and eagles that were as common as crows. When we saw the bear, the pilot told us that we had picked a good time to visit since since wildlife becomes harder to spot as the summer progresses. Stores were all open, and weather got better every day. We took the railroad excursion and visited a salmon fishery and Mendenhall glacier, which were all very interesting. This trip was particularly memorable because it was our first visit -- and the scenery is incredibly amazing. (Unfortunately, Celebrity booked our airfare with very short connections and our luggage didn't catch up with us for a few days.) Best of all, we renewed our vows in an Orthodox church in one of the ports, which had been arranged before the cruise. Family members joined our cruise to be there for the ceremony as a surprise.

 

Labor Day: This was a cheaper NCL roundtrip cruise out of Seattle. Days were much shorter, and we even had sleet two days. Stores were already closing, but they were having good sales. We missed the salmon runs both cruises but got a sense of them in the September trip because we saw some creeks with lots of fish corpses from bear feeding. Most memorable: we went whale watching in the cold rain (worrying it would be miserable). Instead, we had National Geographic moments watching bubble net feeding - and the whales came up right next to our boat. The boats aren't supposed to get close to the whales, but no one told the whales. I'll never forget it. We also rented a car in Ketchikan and drove up to the Yukon territory this time (got our picture at the Yukon sign, and saw a tiny rural community). A very different experience, but also wonderful. Just luck, but this trip we also got to see a glacier calve next to the ship in Glacier Bay.

 

I'd be happy to go back either time. My only recommendation is to pick a cruise with the longest time in ports so you can maximize the experience.

Edited May 27, 2016 by Truluv

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Truluv gave you a good comparison. We did the late August/September cruise--but, you have to decide what you want to do.

 

Alaska is not like any other cruise. It takes work and lots of research to get the best experience. Excursions are expensive and you want to choose wisely.

 

I second the comment on reading the Alaska port of call message boards. There are so many things to consider. There are very knowledgeable cruisers that answer questions on that board.

 

The first is how long do you have to vacation. That will determine if you take a Round trip or a one way. [i.e. if you do a one-way to Seward in May and visit Denali the road is not open all the way.]

 

Next is what do you want to see or do? Want to see animals? More interested in glaciers? Want to flight-see?

 

FYI--I did a live thread on our cruise 3 yrs ago. This will give you an idea about weather and temps on that trip.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1697232

[mirrs20]

Thanks everyone for all your feedback. All your experiences sound really exceptional at both times of the year, but your info will definitely help us.

[riclop]

Hi All,

My husband and I are trying to decide what is the better time of year to do an Alaskan cruise..... May or late August/early Sept, based on weather, wildlife sightings etc.

What are your thoughts? Thank you.

 

Late July/Aug.

[L454S]

Did the first week of September 3 times. Had good weather and less expensive.

[betmust]

Our first Alaska trip was land/cruise. We went early August and had wet snow in Denali. Ketchikan was rainy as was Juneau. Saw lots of wildlife in Denali, Saw a pod of orcas going to Glacier Bay. Wonderful time overall.

 

Second time was early June with just the cruise. We thought, hands down, it was the best time. Long days and gorgeous weather. Saw bears and stood on the beach at Icy Strait watching a whale very close to us. It spent quite a bit of time entertaining us on the beach while the paid whale tour tried to see it.

 

We are talking about one more trip to Alaska and would go in early June.

 

Lots of reading and planning go into booking a trip. Do lots of reading/research and ask lots of questions..

 

Enjoy whatever time you plan to go

[packercruising]

Did the first week of September 3 times. Had good weather and less expensive.

 

Did you see any whales?

[jamesr3939]

We did the last cruise of the season in September as it was a ten day that ended in San Francisco for same price as the seven day RT Vancouver.

 

We saw plenty of wildlife and sea life. The crew said they had never seen the glaciers calf as much as they did while we cruised glacier bay.

 

We had great weather, mostly sweatshirts or light windbreaker most days. However, we had friends on another ship who were a week behind us and they had rain every day.

 

Alaska will be awesome no matter when you go.

[LMKakaThing2]

I did the first sailing on Radiance last year May 15th-22nd. We had phenomenal weather in the mid to upper 70's. We got pretty close to Hubbard Glacier and we were surrounded by whales during our whale watching excursion. We hadn't packed any summer clothes because we were expecting it to be chillier.

[champagne123]

We did the last cruise of the season in September as it was a ten day that ended in San Francisco for same price as the seven day RT Vancouver.

 

We saw plenty of wildlife and sea life. The crew said they had never seen the glaciers calf as much as they did while we cruised glacier bay.

 

We had great weather, mostly sweatshirts or light windbreaker most days. However, we had friends on another ship who were a week behind us and they had rain every day.

 

Alaska will be awesome no matter when you go.

 

May I ask what ship you were on?

[SC_Floaters]

Hi All,

My husband and I are trying to decide what is the better time of year to do an Alaskan cruise..... May or late August/early Sept, based on weather, wildlife sightings etc.

What are your thoughts? Thank you.

 

Sue & I have made 4 Alaska Cruises, A round trip from/to Seattle, 1 Southbound Anchorage/Seward to Vancouver and 2 Northbound Vancouver to Seward/Ahchorage.

 

Vision OTS 7 Nights July 2006

Radiance OTS 7 Nights July 2009

Radiance OTS 7 Nights August 2011

Radiance OTS 7 Nights June 2013

 

We have booked the First Radiance Alaska cruise for May of 2017, It's 9 nights and has additional ports of call in Sitka & Haines...

 

We loved them all.... Check the prices and you will see which are the favorites.

 

Dennis & Sue

[jamesr3939]

May I ask what ship you were on?

 

Probably, immaterial as Royal Cruise Lines went out of business. I believe the ship now sails for Oceania or might have even been sold again.

 

It was the Star Odyssey. We also sailed the RCL Crown Odyssey from San Juan to San Francisco. We loved those small ships.

Edited May 27, 2016 by jamesr3939

[steveru621]

I can only relate why we traveled early in the season.

 

Our main reason was the longer daylight hours. Second we expected to see some remaining snow. Third, less expensive then late June, July and August. Lastly, as much as I love my grandkids, we avoid times when school is out.

 

One caution, Denali national park does not fully open until around June 8th.

 

I think you will enjoy your trip any month you travel.

[L454S]

Did you see any whales?

 

Yes, lots of whales from the ship, and the whale watching tour out of Juneau was great. Also, the salmon run is right about that time(late August/early Sept.) in a couple of the ports.

[packercruising]

Yes, lots of whales from the ship, and the whale watching tour out of Juneau was great. Also, the salmon run is right about that time(late August/early Sept.) in a couple of the ports.

 

We cancelled our whale watching excursion in Juneau and did the Botanical Gardens instead. :) They have upside down trees!