Cruising Alaska Early September Is it too cold?

[happy cruisin]

Hi Can anyone help?

We have never been to Alaska and have thought about early September , has anyone else had any experience of cruising Alaska at this time of year?

We are thinking of the Inside passage cruise.

Thanks

[mii]

Hi there: we were on one of our Alaskan cruises in Sept. and frankly it was a little bit of everything. A little rain, usually cold; I just say go prepared for anything. The fall colors were just beautiful. Bring raincoat, umbrellas, and just layer, layer and more layer. That is the best advice that I can give you. For comparison on what weather is in Alaska I just got back from doing a B2B2B on the Coral to alaska and the first week was rain, rain and very cool. The 2nd week was absolutely beautiful, almost 75 degrees in Juneau and Ketchikan. So you just never know.

 

Marilyn

[Toto2Kansas]

We sailed Alaska in late August, and yes, it was quite cold in some places, with a lot of rain in other places. Some years it is pleasent, some years it is cold and rainy. There is just no actual precidition to tell what you might find there at that time of year.

 

If that is the time you want to go, I would suggest just dressing accordingly and packing rain gear, just in case. In fact, anytime you go to Alaska it is best to pack some rain gear.

 

We never missed a thing even though we had very cool weather and rain. We just dressed in layers, took our rain coats and umbrellas, and off we went. Those that seemed to forget to pack rain gear were wearing trash bags from the ship. LOL

[partybarbie]

I was on a mid-September Alaska cruise (the last one before the ship repositions to mexico for the winter). We had rain one evening, but the rest of the time it was sunny to partly cloudy, with temps in the low 50's to low 60's. It was never warm enough to swim or wear shorts, but one could use the hot tubs.

 

The captain told us we were very lucky because the week prior to our cruise, it had poured rain every day.:eek:

 

I wore my london fog raincoat (with a removable liner and hood), jeans, tennis shoes, a sweater, and gloves. It was brisk, but not that cold.

 

The nice part about going in September, is that it is not as crowded as the summer months and there are less children on the ship. We also got a free upgrade from an inside room to a balcony. Oh and the staff captain, Stefano Rivera, sat at our table for dinner (he is now a captain), but that's another story.;)

[SeattleCruiselover]

I generally go in mid to late September (as again this year), and have never felt the weather to be overly cold with the exception of 9/12/01 in Juneau, but I just figured the weather was as "bummed out" as the rest of us, and let it go at that.

 

However, I would add that you might want to take my feelings with somewhat of a grain of salt, because I live in Seattle where the weather is very similar to Southeast Alaska, so I'm used to it....

[Abbyroo]

We were on the Coral Princess several years ago leaving (I believe) Sept. 2nd or 3rd and the weather was pretty good. Had a little rain in Juneau but that didn't stop my husband's helicopter ride or my river rafting excursion (no waaay was I going up in a helicopter!).:(

 

It was cool in the mornings...about 45 degrees and then warmed up again to low 60's. Last at sea day coming into Vancouver, it was so hot, we sat out on deck in our shorts and flip flops.

 

Best price turned out to be in September and so we booked it. Loved the way Princess had all our information clearly spelled out from arrival in Fairbanks (we did a 4 day land tour first...highly recommend this) to our departure from Vancouver. Not a hitch or glitch the whole time.

 

Ruth

[Druke I]

As noted above, weather is changeable - but often price is right for"shoulder season", and many of the crowds have left.

[Sea Hag]

We were there twice in early September, and mostly the weather was nice.

[Putterdude]

By early September you are on the cusp of the season/weather change. You should plan on some damp cool weather but certainly not cold or freezing.

[spongerob]

I wouldn't say it's too cold. Most of the places you visit don't experience the extremes of temperature that you get in the interior of the state.

[happy cruisin]

Thanks everyone, due to work commitments we have opted for the 12 th Sept (my fault!!!) expensive course booked and I dont think my boss would be tooooo pleased if I cancelled ,so I will just have to pack a few layers .From all the posts it sounds fantastic whatever the weather!

Thank you all again.

I will start my research soon ,I am so excited .:D

[kckitties]

Hi there: we were on one of our Alaskan cruises in Sept. and frankly it was a little bit of everything. A little rain, usually cold; I just say go prepared for anything. The fall colors were just beautiful. Bring raincoat, umbrellas, and just layer, layer and more layer. That is the best advice that I can give you. For comparison on what weather is in Alaska I just got back from doing a B2B2B on the Coral to alaska and the first week was rain, rain and very cool. The 2nd week was absolutely beautiful, almost 75 degrees in Juneau and Ketchikan. So you just never know.

 

Marilyn

 

Hi, Marilyn! Your B2B2B on the Coral sounds fabulous! We are booked on Sapphire Princess for late August 2009, preceded by a 5 night landtour!

 

Rosanne

[mii]

Hi, Marilyn! Your B2B2B on the Coral sounds fabulous! We are booked on Sapphire Princess for late August 2009, preceded by a 5 night landtour!

 

Rosanne

 

Hi Rosanne: Hope you have a dandy cruise on the Sapphire. She is a great ship. Yes our B2B2B were wonderful.

 

marilyn

[Rebel]

Hi Can anyone help?

We have never been to Alaska and have thought about early September , has anyone else had any experience of cruising Alaska at this time of year?

We are thinking of the Inside passage cruise.

Thanks

 

We went to Alaska for the 1st time last September. It was the last cruise of the season, not at all crowed, had quite a bit rain; light rain actually, more like a drizzle. It was especially so in Ketchikan. We loved it!

 

The only time I got really cold and miserable was during the scenic cruising; looking at the glaciers. It was freezing out on deck. I had plenty of layers for my upper body but, I had forgotten about my lower body. My legs were so cold they hurt. I wish I had brought long-johns. When we go the next time (notice I say when, not if!) I'll be more prepared. I'll bring a pair of my husband's thick wool hunting socks.

 

Lynn

[Colo Cruiser]

Our cruise on the Island Princess this coming September will be the first at that time of the year. I think I would rather go in September then May. :)

[Cruise Raider]

We have been on 4 Alaska cruises, 3 in Sept and 1 in May. I packed for every possible situation (cold, rain, sleet, warm) as we heard it could be quite chilly and rain a lot from people that had gone in mid-summer.

Well, every single sailing, we must have been kissed by the heavens above. Out of the many days we were in Alaska (all sailings were out of San Francisco), we encountered 2 days of very cold weather and believe it or not, only 2 days of rain, which I would call drizzle .. not really rain. There were days when we wore shorts the entire day and once even had to tender back to the ship to change into something 'not to warm'. It is chilly in the mornings so learned to just dress in layers and take a small packback in order to carry the extra clothing when getting off the ship early. There were many days we sat out on the balcony in shorts and we slept with the door open at night without turning on the heat. Now, living in the bay area, we might be used to a little cooler weather than some...and didn't find Alaska to be much cooler than a summer day in San Francisco.

We also lucked out going in May last year. I think San Francisco reached a record high the day we embarked. We weren't prepared for that at all....93 degrees in the City. Yowsa, it was baking. We set sail about 4-5 days earlier than some friends of ours that were sailing on the Dawn Princess. Our weather was picture perfect, while they hit a lot of inclement weather. Funny how that happens. I think the shoulder seasons are the best time to hit Alaska and the deals just cannot be beat. I will keep my fingers crossed for you for beautiful weather for the Sept 12th sailing.

[azspring]

Hi Can anyone help?

We have never been to Alaska and have thought about early September , has anyone else had any experience of cruising Alaska at this time of year?

We are thinking of the Inside passage cruise.

Thanks

 

Alaska can be surprising, weatherwise. Plan and pack for cold (layers works best) and you'll be pleasantly surprised if it isn't!:D

[Lony]

Hi there,

 

I think September is the best shoulder season for Alaska. The snow has melted in the areas where it is not melted in May and you might find it easier to get farther in to see the glaciers. The bugs are gone! It might be cold (but it can be cold anytime) but, as others have said, you can dress for that. We camped in a tent in Alaska in September and found the fall colours beautiful and the weather just fine. That is, as long as you go expecting it to be cold (at least some of the time) and dress accordingly.

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree I think the fall season will be better in many ways. :)

[chasetf]

"Too cold" is in the eye of the beholder. It will certainly not be pool weather. We sailed in July and still needed layering when out and about. We sailed HAL for that cruise and in the morning they brough us hot chocolate in the morning and hot cider in the afternoon.

 

It will be definitely jacket / sweatshirt / sweater weather. ;)

[LEtue]

Now I'm excited about our August sailing next year on the Star!

 

Have cruised two times before during the last week in May - into early June and want to see the beauty of Alaska in a different season :D