Alaska

[ssdot]

Does anyone know when the Alaskan itinerary and cruise dates will be available

[IpswichChris]

I believe it will be later this month - maybe as late as the last week

[ssdot]

Wonderful by the way I grew up in Manchester by the sea

[prim8keeper]

They can be booked now having showed up on the site this afternoon. We already booked one of the new 10 night sailings for 2026.

[oakridger]

1 hour ago, prim8keeper said:

They can be booked now having showed up on the site this afternoon. We already booked one of the new 10 night sailings for 2026.

 

Thank you!  I just looked at the website and found some for Star Seeker by filtering by date 2026.  It's not listing the Star Seeker in the filter by yacht choice or Alaska destinations yet. Reading about them now!

 

~Nancy

[prim8keeper]

If you filter by departure port for Anchorage (Seward) and Vancouver you should be able to pull them all in the system. Just make sure you try to pick a room on the side of the ship that faces the land depending on what direction you are going. We did Alaska years ago on Celebrity and it was beautiful. We can’t wait to do it on such a small ship.

Edited August 21 by prim8keeper

[curlyp]

Just booked Star Seeker, July 18-28, 2026. Vancouver to Seward. So excited for the new ships. 

 

Paul

[ORCAORCA]

Star Seeker Alaska 2026

Just a heads up:  Looks like no glacier viewing on these cruises.

[piper28]

1 hour ago, ORCAORCA said:

Star Seeker Alaska 2026

Just a heads up:  Looks like no glacier viewing on these cruises.

I have a hard time believing there really wouldn't be any, so I just kinda wonder if the listed itineraries are missing things like that.  There's a couple of spots in the itineraries that it could fit as I recall.  That said, especially without details like that, I found the itineraries to be a little on the disappointing side, with not quite enough off the beaten path.  I'm not quite sure exactly what I was hoping for, but a bit more "different" than mostly the same stops everyone else makes.  Even the voyage at the end of the season that goes Alaska to Japan, completely uninspired - basically, do the alaska route, then 13 sea days to Tokyo?  Ok, yeah, there's not a *lot* out there, but I've definitely seen other lines do a more interesting trip on that route.

 

That said, I'm a little jaded on Alaska at the moment I guess anyways, it's just gotten to be too busy to be as enjoyable of an experience as it used to be.  I'd kinda hoped that I might see something with the windstar trips for that summer that might inspire me, but as it is, nope, think I'm going to pass on that.

[new_cruiser]

The map for the ones to/from Seward shows the path going to Kenai Fjords which would be a glacier day, but the itinerary just says 2 sea days. It should only need 1 sea day to get from Seward to the first inside passage port but if they are going to Kenai Fjords why isn't it on the itinerary?

[Charleen2]

A little more detail would be nice, like what are we doing with a wetlanding in the two NPs. There is no town. Rudyard is actually Rudyerd. 

This is what I have for the Star Seeker 10 day cruise the end of July 2026:

Edited September 4 by Charleen2

[new_cruiser]

7 hours ago, Charleen2 said:

A little more detail would be nice, like what are we doing with a wetlanding in the two NPs. There is no town. Rudyard is actually Rudyerd. 

This is what I have for the Star Seeker 10 day cruise the end of July 2026:

If the do a wetlanding in Kenai and Misty Fjords, it must be for a hike or nature walk. There is nothing there other than nature. When they did Alaska before, they had kayak and zodiac trips those places but didn't land. Kenai Fjords has a glacier.

 

In both locations in May, there were bears on the meadows by the Fjords. That would make landing tricky. That's probably seasonal as we were told bears tend to graze when they get out of hibernation. It helps get their digestion moving. In Misty Fjords, there was a whale in the fjord with us. 

[ORCAORCA]

Found yet another itinerary for our cruise which now lists Kenai Fjords NP & Tracy Arm.  Guess things will be updated/changed until it's time to go!  Yay - glaciers!!

[Charleen2]

On 9/6/2024 at 12:59 PM, ORCAORCA said:

Found yet another itinerary for our cruise which now lists Kenai Fjords NP & Tracy Arm.  Guess things will be updated/changed until it's time to go!  Yay - glaciers!!

Which of their cruises is picking up Tracy Arm? They have 7, 8, 10 and 11 day cruises. I posted the itinerary for SB 10 day upthread. 

 

I agree, I think there will be more changes as they refine their offerings. I asked for information on Hotels in Steward they would do reservations with and was told they had none listed at the moment. Steward is 2.5 hours from the Anchorage airport, so most will need to do an overnight stay in either Anchorage and take an early morning shuttle to Steward or shuttle from the airport to Steward and overnight there.  

 

[r&rd]

When we did it in 2022 we stayed at the Anchorage Hilton ( across the street from the train ) took the train from Anchorage to Seward, stayed at the harbor 360 hotel ( across the street from the train station) took the free shuttle to the Marine Wildlife center that afternoon and walked to the ship the next morning. 

[ORCAORCA]

Charleen2  :  Tracy Arm is on the 10-day Northbound itinerary, Kenai on the 10-day Southbound.  (We're on a B2B leaving Vancouver 5/23/26).

Also stayed @ the Harbor 360 in Seward - simple, clean, great staff, breakfast included (2018).   

 

[new_cruiser]

6 hours ago, Charleen2 said:

Steward is 2.5 hours from the Anchorage airport, so most will need to do an overnight stay in either Anchorage and take an early morning shuttle to Steward or shuttle from the airport to Steward and overnight there.

 

Or take the train from Anchorage to Seward. It leaves Anchorage at 6:45 AM and gets to Seward at 11:20 AM - similar to the shuttle bus schedule. The train is more expensive than the shuttle but very comfortable and quite scenic. 

[Charleen2]

True, bus or train would work as long as you are in Anchorage before 6:45am. Most flights from outside of Alaska arrive at the airport from around noon onward. 

 

Which is why I was thinking to make the timing work getting to Seward from Anchorage someone would need to overnight in Anchorage the day before embark or catch an afternoon bus shuttle from Anchorage and overnight in Seward.  Right now, Wind Star reps are saying hotel accommodations in either city are not available. 

 

2026 is still a long ways away so I am sure things will get sorted before we need them. 

[Charleen2]

6 hours ago, r&rd said:

When we did it in 2022 we stayed at the Anchorage Hilton ( across the street from the train ) took the train from Anchorage to Seward, stayed at the harbor 360 hotel ( across the street from the train station) took the free shuttle to the Marine Wildlife center that afternoon and walked to the ship the next morning. 

Thank you! Good info! I was poking at the Harbor 360 web site recently and it looked neat and comfortable. Love hearing what has worked in the past. 

[new_cruiser]

19 hours ago, Charleen2 said:

Which is why I was thinking to make the timing work getting to Seward from Anchorage someone would need to overnight in Anchorage the day before embark or catch an afternoon bus shuttle from Anchorage and overnight in Seward.

Yes, one pretty much needs a hotel night in Anchorage or Seward when flying in to depart from Seward. It wouldn't occur to me to try to fly in the day of departing from Seward. The cruise starts with the fjord day and a sea day so you would miss a lot if any flight delays delayed arrival past sailing time. Depending on your interests, a visit to the Anchorage museum or the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage or to the Sealife Center in Seward can enhance the trip. 

 

19 hours ago, Charleen2 said:

2026 is still a long ways away so I am sure things will get sorted before we need them

Hotel prices in Anchorage and Seward tend to increase as you get close to the date.

 

There is a free shuttle that does a loop through Seward including a stop at the cruise terminal and stopping at the train station. It is also a reasonable walk from the train station to the cruise terminal. If you are coming in the day of the cruise, they will tag your bags for the ship when boarding the train and transfer them to the ship. Most Anchorage to Seward shuttle buses drop off at the cruise terminal, some have additional drop offs. So there isn't a lot of reason to wait for Windstar to choose a hotel if you are staying in Seward overnight.

 

The Hilton Anchorage is near the train station and is a decent hotel. There was a hotel next to the Captain Cook that I've stayed at but it isn't showing up in searches now. Captain Cook is nice but can be overpriced (even by Alaska's already high hotel prices).