Best Time For Alaska

[BenDover]

[color=black]I am planning my first ever Cruise and have decided to take a 7 night Alaska Inside Passage Cruise. My question is when is the best time to go? A couple things to take under consideration.[/color]

[color=black]1) I am taking my parents who are both in their 70's but in good health. I don't want it so cold that they never venture outside.[/color]

[color=black]2) I want to go on the White Pass-Yukon Railroad. What dates give me the best chance for a clear day? When is the best chance to have a clear day at Hubbard?[/color]

[color=black]3) I work with kids and since this is a vacation I want to be as far away from them as possible. I am going on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas and want to spend a lot of time at the indoor Pool. Screaming kids in the pool area would be a definite bummer. Am I better off going in May when kids are still in school?[/color]

[font=Times New Roman]Thanks so much for your help?[/font]

[cariboujerky]

June and July would be your best bet for weather, but don't count on it.I've seen it snow in July and thunder storms in January up here.I live in S.W. Alaska and make my living on the water and this summer was wonderful, calm and warm it got up to 70 twice this summer.You have to take Alaska as it is. EAT WILD ALASKA SALMON

[ute_fan]

Oh, wouldn't a crystal ball be wonderful to help us plan. Unfortunately, mine doesn't work. We went last summer, embarking on June 6. The general rule, after much reading of the boards, is that May & June tend to be dryer, with more rain in July & August, but that even the weathermen in Alaska can't predict it very well.

The couple of weeks before ours were beautiful. I kept watching the bridge cam and drooling. We did have some cool, cloudy weather, but it only sprinkled a little bit 2 days (in Juneau & Skagway), even though the weather forecast for that week had me really depressed -- it was calling for rain every day of our cruise. I know it was warmer than usual most of the summer -- people were complaining about the heat! This far out, I think it's going to be hard to predict the weather accurately.

If you're worried about kids, I would stick to the May/early June time frame -- there were very few kids on our cruise, even though my DD's HS graduation was the Thursday before we left.

[cwc]

Dear Ben,

July/Aug will be the warmest in Alaska in general, you should check this out [url="http://www.weather.com/activities/travel/businesstraveler/weather/climo-monthly-graph.html?locid=USAK0012"](weather channel)[/url].

As for kid, may I ask why did you pick RCCL? You should know that RCCL and Carnival special cater to kids, maybe you should look into Priness or Holland America instead. Princess capacity control the number of kids on board and Holland attrack more older adult where your parents will fit in better.

Just my suggestions.

Best of luck!
Cindy

[Bill S]

BenD: We have cruised twice to Alaska-the first time was in August and the second time was in mid-May. It was warm in August, probably in mid-70s but in May, the temps were in the mid-to-high 50s and low 60s. But, from what I've read, the weather at any given time is a crap-shoot, especially when dealing with rain probabilities.

We have only sailed on Holland America, so in all probability, as compared to other cruise lines there is going to likely be fewer children than there will be on other cruise lines. But, as compared to August vs May, the odds greatly favor a significant reduction in school-aged kids. I really don't recall seeing any school-age children when we went in May.

While the weather in June-Aug might be more to your parents' liking, other advantages of an early to mid-May cruise are: more snow on the mountains, better crusie fares, fewer ships in port and merchants who are happy to see the tourists! The only thing we did not get to see in May was the salmon season-too early.

We have booked a third cruise to Alaska for next year for May 7. I guess that tells you which time of year we prefer. Whichever month and cruiseline you chose, have a great time-Alaska is awesome!

[mr green]

:) Ben. We 70 year old are tough! We came off a'back to back' this past May [the dry month] with one day of rain.While 70 year old are like kids, we can't stand the noise that they make, so, leave them behind.
70 year olds enjoy train rides, so the White Pass is fine.We also like holes in the ground [gold mine at Juno], and we love 'playing in the mud' [gold panning same place], or telling fibs at the Liers Club, Skagway, and speeding in the catamaran, Juno.
Please get us an outside cabin [port side with balcony], this way we may warm up,now and again. Don't forget that with the TV turned up we will be able to hear the Park Ranger,without freezing, or fighting for a good spot on the open deck.
What? Your not taking us! Well we have had two other cruises up there,both in May,so ,have a wonderful first cruise. john taylor.:)

[scubaRN]

Ben, I was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. Worked as a tour guide in high school. Definitely cruise in July or first part of Aug., by the end of August the weathe is getting cold. Don't worry about too many kids, more an itinerary for older. Yes, there will be some kids but not like a Caribbean cruise.

Definitely do the train out of Skagway, even Alaskan chose that excursion.