Alaska May/June

[relo854]

First time cruiser/first time to Alaska. Comments on weather/sights/etc...any comments both positive and/or negative on cruising this area late May..early June are greatly appreciated...thank you

[petesetta]

We hwo are from Alaska joke and say, when you are taking a cruise you are not seeing the "real" Alaska. Where as Alaskan Cruises are beautiful, you should really consider adding a land package at the end of your cruise. The best cruise would be a North Bound from Vancouver to either Whittier or Seward and then going with an private tour or transfer from there. The cruise transfers and Land tours can be costly and uneventful. My Uncle took a northbound cruise to Seward and found this great small tour company called Alaska Adventure Unlimited that offered a transfer/tour from Seward to Anchorage. Unlike the transfer the cruise ship offered, this had an accual tour. They stopped along the way and it was small enough (only 8 passengers) that they could spend the time they wanted and they were not herded around with 60 other people being rushed from here to there. He then, joined one of their 7 day tours that went to Denali, Talkeetna, Wasilla, and Anchorage and included flightseeing, rafting, glacier trecking, day cruises and more. Her RAVED about this tour as this was the 3rd Alaskan Cruise he had taken and this was by far the highlight of the whole trip.

 

As for the time of year, Early June if you are comming North, or May if you are doing a round trip from Seattle or Vancouver is OK also. The further into June you get, the better the weather is. Remember if you are traveling Norhtbound, you want the Starbord side.

 

I hope this helps! :)

[relo854]

Thank you for the info. Unfortunately all we can do right now is the cruise. We realize that it is touristy, but it will still be good for us. We are flying in from Boston either to Seattle or Vancouver so we will just be doing the southern part.

[Chat Noir]

I've vacationed land and sea in Alaska, and they're just two different animals. I wouldn't say that southeastern Alaska isn't 'real' Alaska. I felt every bit as much 'in' Alaska while sailing among the icebergs of Tracy Arm on the Adventure Bound as I did hiking in the Denali National Park area.

 

I've sailed late May twice, early June once. May cruises had the best weather with lots of sunshine, but more snow cover. The snow cover affected our excursion out of Skagway into the Yukon and hiking on Mt. Roberts. If you wish to visit Denali, be aware that June 1st is the earliest you'll make it very far into the park.

 

Do you plan to take the time for interior touring?

 

Nevermind, I see you just posted that you won't!

 

I don't believe a cruise has to be considered 'touristy'. My husband and I thoroughly enjoy just sitting quietly (while other's are in the shows, etc) and viewing the FABULOUS scenery as we sail by. Your cruise is what you make of it. If you want glitz and glamour, you can have it, if you want shows and fancy dining, you can have that, if you want to see pristine Alaska and get away from the crowds, you can do that. There are many wonderful excursions which get you out in the wilderness as well. Not like hiking alone, of course, but even with a few other people around, I assure you that you can still feel alone in such vast untouched country. Enjoy it for what it is, and make of it what you wish!

[fti]

I agree with the previous poster that you can really feel "alone" even on cruises if you want. My last cruise was the last week of August 2007 and I did a lot of hiking - rarely saw anyone on the trails and if I did, they were almost always locals. The one exception was in Skagway where one of the singers from our ship was hiking there (I didn't realize he was a singer on our ship until I met him the next evening on deck looking at the eclipse!).

 

Going in May means cooler weather, snow in some places and less of a chance for some wildlife excursions like bear watching. Even June eliminates pretty much all bear viewing.

 

John

[gazingm42]

We have cruised northbound every time in June. We have had great cruises.

The weather has been very nice for us. Cool nights and nice days. Just be

prepared to dress in layers.

 

The wildlife is visible and should have a great cruise.

[relo854]

thanks everyone!

[qiangf2]

After doing both landtour+One-way cruise and RT out of seattle, I have to say, yeah one-way is the way to go. But, don't discount the RT. If one week is the time you have, RT Cruise will offer a great sampling of what Alaska has to offer. Weather will be quite nice for May cruise (relatively). It will be too early to see bears in their usual places. But whales should migrate back to Alaska for the reason. No matter what, I am sure you will have a wonderful time there

[TomAndJane]

First time cruiser/first time to Alaska. Comments on weather/sights/etc...any comments both positive and/or negative on cruising this area late May..early June are greatly appreciated...thank you

 

Both times we have sailed to Alaska has been leaving Seattle Late May and returning early June. The first trip was kind of misty with a lot of cloud cover and cool. The second time we went the weather was perfect every day with temps in the high 60's to mid 70's. We saw a lot of wildlife both times except for bears. People on both of our cruises said they saw bears from the ship along the shore (right place right time). Another thing to consider is that leaving late May/early June is that there are not as many families traveling because school is still in session. I am not sure if that matters to you or not. We are sailing to Alaska again next year and yes we are going again in May.

[OSU MOM]

How is the wale watching in May?

[OSU MOM]

OOPS I mean whale watching.

[Toyz711]

the humpbacks, returning from their migrations, will be HUNGRY!!! hopefully you will be able to see some bubble-net feeding. some humpbacks stay up there all year 'round. (old females too old to breed and the young males too young) but the females/babies (big babies) and the other males will be very hungry, since they don't eat while in hawaii.