Alaska

[jcal627]

Is the first week of May not a good time to cruise To Alaska?
 

[ColeThornton]

Why do you think it's not a good time?

[Aquahound]

There's a reason why July tends to be the most expensive.  It tends to have the best weather.  The further you go in either direction, the colder and wetter it'll likely be.  I don't think May is terrible.  Just make sure you take warm/dry clothes.  

[Ferry_Watcher]

It's possible that there will be more ice in the water by the glaciers which might impact how far in the ship can go, and it is possible that some stores, restaurants and other tourist amenities may not yet be opened very early in the season.  But, given all that, I would cruise in May (in fact I have a very early May '23 Alaska cruise booked).

[xlxo]

The main issue with early May is not all excursions may be operating.  I did a 3rd week May 2019 cruise

• Bennett train was their first week of operation.  Looking at the website, I see service starts on May 31 for 2022.
• Ketchikan's lumberjack show only has one daily show early May, but more frequency later in the month.
• There was no Tracy Arm Explorer excursion option on my 3rd May week sailing.

June may cost a little more, but less than July.  You get more daylight.

[Dancing Shoes]

I would not want to cruise in May.  I want to see glaciers.  As already mentioned, early season has more ice.  Going again, mid-August.  Decide what you want to see and plan accordingly.  Want to see bears?  Go when the salmon are running.

[marshhawk]

I'll be back in Alaska in May 2023 too.  Very excited about it, as we were there several years ago in September.  We saw beautiful weather in Ketchikan, mist and clouds in Juneau, freezing our butts off but very sunny in Glacier Bay and snow in the Yukon out of Skagway.  This upcoming trip goes further north, and  to me is all about the glaciers, to DH it's all about going back to see the majesty of Alaska, for the BFF who is also our traveling buddy, it's about history. I'm looking forward to cruising in May.  I hope you have a great cruise.  DRESS WITH LAYERS.

[CruiserBruce]

19 hours ago, Aquahound said:

There's a reason why July tends to be the most expensive.  It tends to have the best weather.  The further you go in either direction, the colder and wetter it'll likely be.  I don't think May is terrible.  Just make sure you take warm/dry clothes.  

Conversely, there is good reason early May is generally cheaper...cooler (but drier), short days, services may still be a bit limited or not fully open, some locations, like glacier areas may not be accessible.

[Glaciers]

Mid to late May are our preferred times to cruise Alaska. It’s certainly a bit cooler although also with less precipitation.  We did cruise the end of April and into the first week of May one year.  It was just gorgeous with all the snow on the mountains  and luckily, sunny the entire trip. Although early in the season we had a very good humpback whale showing on several days.

 

As for ice prohibiting access to glaciers, it can certainly be more of an issue early in the season but can also last most of the season.  If glacier viewing is a priority pick a cruise that goes some place other than Tracy Arm Fjord like Glacier Bay and/or College Fjord that are very rarely clogged with ice.

[bajathree]

Don't bet on May being drier.....when I sailed Alaska 3rd week May years ago it rained every single day...didn't see the sun for a week.

[Glaciers]

You definitely need to prepare for rain during any cruising month in Alaska although if looking to potentially avoid rain, May is historically one of the driest months of the year.