Alaska in October?

[Cruise5life]

Who’s sailed Alaska in October?    
Thoughts.   Weather?  
Northern Lights?    
 

are things closing down at that time.
excursions?     
 

looking at Oct 20-30th 

[kitkat343]

You might get more responses on the Alaska board or tripadvisor.  

 

I think you will have trouble with excursions but you should double check with someone who has travelled in October.

 

I travelled in late May/early June which is the shoulder season, and was a little disappointed to miss the bears catching the salmon in the streams.  October 20th is too late for that.  One of my favorite excursions, the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman tour ends on October 6th this year.  In Juneau and Skagway, according to their website the TEMSCO helicopter tours stop in August or September (12 years ago when I traveled to Alaska TEMSCO was the tour provider that the cruises used for their tours; back then you could save 10% by booking directly with them, not sure if this is still the case but would be worth price checking if you book your cruise for another time).  The TEMSCO helicopters in Denali don't have dates listed there, so you can contact them directly if you are interested in seeing if they can run in October.  

[www3traveler]

I have sailed in late September.  Would not do it again.  Many of the shops were already closed for the season.

The weather may make it so that you would be unable to dock at some ports especially Skagway.  Glacier cruising might be difficult too.

 

Northern Lights (if you can see them at 3 A.M. or so) are usually in late September into mid October.

[ziggyuk]

4 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

You might get more responses on the Alaska board or tripadvisor.  

 

I think you will have trouble with excursions but you should double check with someone who has travelled in October.

 

I travelled in late May/early June which is the shoulder season, and was a little disappointed to miss the bears catching the salmon in the streams.  October 20th is too late for that.  One of my favorite excursions, the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman tour ends on October 6th this year.  In Juneau and Skagway, according to their website the TEMSCO helicopter tours stop in August or September (12 years ago when I traveled to Alaska TEMSCO was the tour provider that the cruises used for their tours; back then you could save 10% by booking directly with them, not sure if this is still the case but would be worth price checking if you book your cruise for another time).  The TEMSCO helicopters in Denali don't have dates listed there, so you can contact them directly if you are interested in seeing if they can run in October.  

 

 

I did Alaska 16th October 2021 from Seattle and to be honest a lot was closed, we did not go whale watching as we did that from Vancouver pre cruise and there were sill as lot about but September/October is when they head back to Hawaii so there were not as many as earlier in the season.
Most of the ports were shut down, the seasonal workers from the US had gone home, most places were shut up like a ghost town and even a lot of the excursion providers had closed for the season.

2021 was the first trips to Alaska post Covid so the cruise lines kept going well into October and maybe Alaska has adapted to this new later season but certainly in 2021 they were not prepared for tourists in October.

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2023 by ziggyuk

[latebloomer56]

We went the end of Sept. most shops were closed or had limited inventory. Would I do Oct. yes but we have been three time in different seasons. Our fall trip was in hopes of viewing the northern lights but being Alaska the cloud cover was extremely heavy and no viewing possible. Would still just enjoy the scenery through the inside passage, go to a local restaurant at each port, maybe see something new, you never know.

[MMackey348]

We have traveled to Alaska twice in late September pre pandemic, and last year we were on the Bliss to Alaska Oct 15-22.  We are always hoping to see the Northern lights but have not had any luck.  One night a few years ago, all the people in port were saying it was a perfect night for the lights.  The captain turned the lights off on the back of the ship, and a bunch of us sat in the dark looking at the sky.  The lights did not show that night, but the stars were amazing.  So many more than what we see from home.

 

The stores are all starting to shut down.  This does not bother us because we are there for the scenery. 

 

We have always been lucky with the weather.  This past October in Juneau the morning clouds burned off nicely and it turned out to be a beautiful day.  The people who when whale watching said they saw quite a few whales and the orcas were particularly playful.  The tour guides said it was the first real sunny day they had in awhile.  We spent the day at Mendenhall glacier hiking.  It was beautiful.

 

Our ship went to Icy Strait Point instead of Skagway because of rockslide.  We did the ziplining through NCL here.  It was freezing, windy, raining, sleet, and you couldn't see anything with all the clouds.  The people running the zipline couldn't believe NCL was sending people to do this with the weather.  My husband did the math in his head, and told the tour guide that NCL had $40,000.00 reasons why they were sending us down the zipline in that kind of weather.   Lol.   

 

We had more rain, wind, and fog/clouds in Glacier Gay.  The ranger did not come on board because of the weather.  I was a bit disappointed because NCL felt it was okay to go ahead and let us zipline down a mountain in this weather, but it was too dangerous to bring a ranger on the ship, but I'm sure they had their reasons and want everyone to be safe.  

 

 

We were the only ship in every port, and I absolutely loved that part of it.  

 

Sorry for the long post.  There are definitely pros and cons to traveling late season in Alaska.  There are ten of us going on the Bliss in October this year for my mothers 84th birthday.  I will have my fingers crossed the weather is better in Glacier Bay, as that is always my favorite part.....

 

[Cruise5life]

Thanks for all the advice.    I’m not a big shopper so store being closed aren’t a big thing for me.  
As long as there’s a few places to eat local foods I’m good.   
Ive also been to most of the ports.  And done a lot of the excursions 

new ports will be Sitka and icy strait. 
 

im a cold weather kind traveler so don’t mind gloomy days.   
I’m more traveling for the beauty of alaska.  

thanks again.   

[smillerholmes]

On 2/21/2023 at 1:14 PM, Cruise5life said:

Thanks for all the advice.    I’m not a big shopper so store being closed aren’t a big thing for me.  
As long as there’s a few places to eat local foods I’m good.   
Ive also been to most of the ports.  And done a lot of the excursions 

new ports will be Sitka and icy strait. 
 

im a cold weather kind traveler so don’t mind gloomy days.   
I’m more traveling for the beauty of alaska.  

thanks again.   

I have done Alaska twice mid and late September.  I'm kind of excited that they go a little later into October now.  Like you, I have exhausted the shopping and most of the ports, but Sitka is my favorite and I love strolling through that little town even when most the touristy stuff is closed.  

 

2024 I am going to do Alaska in May just so I can experience the difference.  I will leave the peak travel times to the families.  I prefer when the ships are low passenger count so June, July and August will have to do without me.

 

As for the Northern Lights we saw them once, but only because we put ourselves on a list for an automated call if the lights were spotted.

 

[k2c2w]

Did Alaska last year , first week of October. 

 

You will roll the dice with weather .  Last year extremely warm / nice . 

 The following week was rainy /cold.

 

Did not see Northern lights, I suppose there may be a better chance later in month.

 

Yes , various shops closed.  

Excusions,   I would do research to find out which ones would be closed. 

We did the Mendenhall hike , (nice weather)  thought it was over rated. 

Probably look for something else to do next time.

 

They say the winter season starts Oct 1 so I would be prepared. 

Be prepared for the worst , then if things go good it is a bonus.

 

You do catch a break of ships rates going that late in Oct. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nilbog]

Our last trip to Alaska was in September.  Following the cruise we visited our daughter in Fairbanks.  We were hoping to see the Northern Lights, but the cloud cover the entire time (at sea and on land) prevented that.  We did get lucky and were finally able to see the lights from the airplane after we took off.  You couldn't see them from the main cabin of the airplane, but as we were in first class, the flight crew turned off the lights in the attendant area behind the cockpit and allowed the first class passengers to go up and see the lights through the door window.  Couldn't get pictures, but we were able to see the lights...finally.  We're going again in late September this year and hoping to get a better view of the lights.

[phillygwm]

Is it my imagination or was the cruise season extended?  I went in mid-September 2016 and it was the next-to-last sailing of the season.  It was fine, but I was surprised to see options well into October now.  You'd think if the ships are still coming in that the stores/tours would stay open.

[ChiefMateJRK]

18 minutes ago, phillygwm said:

You'd think if the ships are still coming in that the stores/tours would stay open.

Fewer ships and less likely to be at 100% occupancy.

[www3traveler]

Most of the people who work in the shops are college kids, by mid September they need to be back in school.

[BostonGal35]

we've sailed in May and September.  this year we are trying out early october (columbus day week to be specific).

 

hoping to see some scenery, but weve never had good luck with animals.  they always evade us.   

 

i could care less about shopping so if stuff is closed no biggy for us.

[njkate]

I’m hoping for Labor Day departure the ship won’t be as full, my daughter would never go in Oct as she thinks it will be too cold. 

[VUCruiser]

We were on the same Bliss sailing as MMackey above (10/15-22/22)...we did get better weather than we were expecting.  Went whale watching at Icy Straight Point and we saw a few whales-they told us that migration had been happening so we were at the ends of that- but still a great experience though raining.  Juneau was beautiful and we took the tram to the top as had not done that on previous visits. The beautiful weather gave fantastic views....but folks in town told us it was the first nice day there in quite a while. Many stores were open as was Tracy's Crab Shack. Dark early...saw stars more in the early morning (body clock was on ET)...no northern lights...warm enough with the deck heaters above to eat outside at La Cucina and Blue Ocean (layered clothes) which was beautiful. Weather for balcony was not great when raining with wind, but good when weather was cooperating and on Glacier Bay day....Waterfront couches were a good sub when we couldn't use balcony.  I'd do it again.  . .  

[JillK]

On 2/23/2023 at 12:17 PM, phillygwm said:

Is it my imagination or was the cruise season extended?  I went in mid-September 2016 and it was the next-to-last sailing of the season.  It was fine, but I was surprised to see options well into October now.  You'd think if the ships are still coming in that the stores/tours would stay open.

 

I have to agree with you and am curious to know when the season started being extended (pre or post pandemic).

 

I was surprised when I started to look into a Caribbean cruise in October about a month ago to see that many ships were still deployed in Alaska through this month. 

 

We sailed to Alaska in 2008 during the second week of September and we were the second to last sailing of the season.

 

 

[rsato]

My wife and I sailed on the NCL Encore Oct 3 2021. In our 7 sailings to Alaska, I found glacier viewing to be very "hit or miss". The worse viewing was in July on Encore, second worse was Disney in August. Our Encore sailing had absolutely gorgeous views with brilliant sunshine and no wind BUT it is was in the low 30s. I actually enjoyed the glacier from the deck hot tub. In the ports, a lot of businesses were closed but it was just after cruising restarted post pandemic. We usually hike up Mount Roberts in Juneau, but had to turn back early due to icing of the trail despite the sunshine. I didn't stay up to watch, but somebody posted amazing photos of the Northern Lights taken at 2 am from the ship - but I understand the captain wouldn't want to wake up everyone with an announcement. 

 

The less crowded ships and much lower prices are all big benefits in traveling late in the season. This past September we sailed on the Discovery Princess' last voyage of the season - the weather going up to Alaska was rainy and overcast (so forget about hanging out at the pool) but we didn't have a drop of drain at any of the ports, and the overcast viewing of the glaciers was quite nice. 

[graphicguy]

I sailed the Encore in October to Alaska the week after @rsato (above).  It was probably one of my top 3 cruises.  I think we were lucky, as the weather was sunny.  Temps were in the 50ºs during the day.  They did dip down to freezing at night, but still not bad.

 

Shops were still open, but all were talking about shutting down.  I know one tour guide said our tour  was the last of the season.  Did see the Northern Lights, but it was cold sitting on the balcony in the middle of the night.  Worthwhile, though!

 

Fares are good at that time, too.

 

Encore, with the huge Observation Lounge and the large windows was perfect for sailing Alaska.

 

Wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.  I don’t mind cooler/colder weather, though.

Edited February 25, 2023 by graphicguy

[InfrequentPNWCruiser]

I tend to take these big vacations in the off-season anyway as all of my cruises have been April or mid-September/October. I went on the Encore in mid October 2021 and personally I liked being the only ship at the ports. Sure it was rainy and cloudy but being from the PNW that's pretty normal. It snowed on us in Glacier Bay which made it all the more magical. A lot of the shops were closed but still found plenty open to buy things I wanted without having the crowds. Scored some large discounts on tanzanite jewelry as some stores had 50-70% off closing sales (the prices were less than I could buy in town and so it wiped out any "tourist price upcharging") so there was some benefit! I'm going again this year in October as well but in the Haven to mix things up a bit.

Edited February 25, 2023 by InfrequentPNWCruiser
Correction

[ChiefMateJRK]

48 minutes ago, InfrequentPNWCruiser said:

I went on the Encore in mid October 2021 and personally I liked being the only ship at the ports. Sure it was rainy and cloudy but being from the PNW that's pretty normal. It snowed on us in Glacier Bay which made it all the more magical.

I was on that same cruise.  The snow was a real treat, and something new for many of the crew.😎

[chillyw]

I did the Bliss in mid-October to glacier Bay and it was so rainy and foggy we couldn't see anything.

 

We're redoing it this year over July 4th week on Encore. Significantly more expensive, and for sure will be a packed ship, but it's worth it for Alaska to go earlier.

[kitkat343]

On 2/21/2023 at 1:14 PM, Cruise5life said:

Thanks for all the advice.    I’m not a big shopper so store being closed aren’t a big thing for me.  
As long as there’s a few places to eat local foods I’m good.   
Ive also been to most of the ports.  And done a lot of the excursions 

new ports will be Sitka and icy strait. 
 

im a cold weather kind traveler so don’t mind gloomy days.   
I’m more traveling for the beauty of alaska.  

thanks again.   

Since you've been to most of the ports, this sounds like an excellent plan.  I booked my Alaskan cruise late (6 weeks out) and called Temsco to confirm they had space before booking the cruise because that was my top priority excursion.  If anyone who hasn't been to Alaska is considering traveling off season, they can contact their top choice excursion providers to see what is running prior to booking the cruise.    

[ChiefMateJRK]

On 2/21/2023 at 11:14 AM, Cruise5life said:

im a cold weather kind traveler so don’t mind gloomy days.   
I’m more traveling for the beauty of alaska.  

thanks again

Amen.  I see you're also in the desert Southwest.  Many who aren't simply can't understand that some of us don't want constant sunshine and warm weather.  It's possible to get sick and tired of that.  Give me that Glacier Bay snow again!! 😎

[Cruise5life]

49 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Amen.  I see you're also in the desert Southwest.  Many who aren't simply can't understand that some of us don't want constant sunshine and warm weather.  It's possible to get sick and tired of that.  Give me that Glacier Bay snow again!! 😎

Exactly.   After 100 days of 100° it’s nice to have 30-40° weather.     Lol.