Best Time For Alaska

[BenDover]

I am planning my first ever Cruise and have decided on the RCI 7 night Alaska Inside Passage Cruise. My question is when is the best time to go? A couple things to take under consideration.

 

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.

 

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?

 

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?

 

Thanks so much for your help?

[Kors]

Hi~

We are booked on the Radiance on July 9th...We have been to Alaska before, and have never had a big problem with kids. The weather in July is nice...rain always in Ketchikan, but good views of Hubbard Glacier. May is cooler with lots of fog. Prices are cheaper, less kids, but I have not had a problem with kids in Alaska. The solarium only lets kids swim twice during the day in two hour increments, and most are off on excursions during those times.

 

Hope this helps some...

 

Have fun

[baseballmom]

Hi,

 

We will be on Serenade, same itinerary, on June 5th. I'm hoping the weather will be a bit warmer and less foggy than in May, but as this is the only week we can travel, I will just hope for the best. We, too, will be going on the White Pass Railway. My 14-year-old son will be out of school as of June 3rd, although I know many schools don't let out until mid-June. I'm not expecting to see a lot of kids on our cruise.

 

Happy cruising to you and your parents!

 

Laurie

[mohavemommy]

I am planning my first ever Cruise and have decided on the RCI 7 night Alaska Inside Passage Cruise. My question is when is the best time to go? A couple things to take under consideration.

 

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.

 

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?

 

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?

 

Thanks so much for your help?

I have booked the 18th of June because of Summer Solstace... remember... you will be in Alaska and the daylight will last aprox 20 hrs a day then...

 

As stated above... the solarium is closed to children most of the day, and I have decided to leave my kids with family in the lower 48 so DH and I can go alone.

[luvronijean]

We went on the Radiance to Alaska August 28, 2004. We felt the time of year was perfect. The weather averaged 70's and though there were more kids than I anticipated, it was never out of hand. We also had the advantage of lower rates since it was at the end of the season.

[nerak]

We were just there May 30th-June5th. We felt it was a little early...not much whale activity, no calving at Hubbard...BUT the weather was great. We wore sweaters most of the time...chillier at Hubbard, some people swam while in port at Juneau, and only drizzle at Ketchikan. Alaska was beautiful though. Enjoy!

[Folgy]

I was on the Serenade August 8th /04 this summer it was clear and hot all week.

 

Too many rotten kids ..(thats the only bad thing I have to say)

 

The cruise was fabulous and the weather was great.

[B J]

We were on the Vision Northbound 9/3/04 and no children to notice and the weather was fantastic. No rain and plenty of sunshine and it was not hot. I would definitly go again in September. Instead of the train you might want to consider renting a car and driving as far as Emerald Lake. The drive is beautiful and a whole lot cheaper for four people. Up at the top of this page click on boards, go to Ports of Call and click on Alaska. There is a wealth of information on that site. Be sure and pay attention to the answers given by Budget Queen and Yukon. Enjoy!!!

[sgttami]

Alaska was a trip that we have tossed around for some time...

 

My TA has been on 200 cruises plus and told us that the best time for Alaska is September...contrary to most beliefs that you have to go in July/Aug.

 

His suggestion: there are very few kids sailing after Labor Day because of school, the temperature is only an average of 4 degrees difference..72 in August, 68 in Sept, price difference is about $700.00 per couple, airfare is less in Septemeber and so are hotels for pre-cruise...

 

so..we booked Serenade for 9/18, D1 balcony.... in my favorite...9078..looking forward to it as a "different cruise"...not a sun drenched Caribbean one..

 

Also ...would welcome suggestions on what to do in the ports....

[enyaw]

Alaska has to be the most bizarre place when it comes to weather. I was on the Radiance the last week of June--into July and the weather was absolutely beautiful! The temperatures were in thr upper 60's to the lower 70's. Yes, kids are allowed in the solarium at certain times---but if you luck out and have warm weather they'll be swimming outside (heated pools).

 

I'm talking about wacky weather because the 2 cruises before us, they had temperatures in the upper 80's close to 90. Yikes! I didn't want a hot cruise to Alaska. Also, the Hubbard Glacier day will be cold...no matter when you go (it was about 35 degrees that day).

 

Have a blast in Alaska. It's an incredible place---and is my favorite cruise to date.

[Erie Dave]

We went on Radiance Aug 20, 2002 to Alaska and had miserable weather. We had rain, fog and temps 50-60's all week, except at the glacier which was cold as you would expect. I posted a topic just like this a while ago, and the opinion was equally spread throughout the season. It is luck of the draw from the responses last time. We are going to try June 05 to see if we get better luck next time.

[debandbill]

We also had a wonderful experience with an Alaskan cruise in September (6th-13th.) Went to Vancouver three days early to tour the city prior to boarding Radiance....the weather could not have been nicer...dry, cool (70's), sunny....just right especially for us Texans looking for a break from the heat and humidity!.

 

We had a day of light drizzle cruising the inside passage and rain in Juneau (not real cold though) but the rest of the cruise was glorious...glacier was wonderful...cruise back thru the inside passage was on a pristine day.

 

Here are pictures of Vancouver:

 

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/debandbill25/album?.dir=5602&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/debandbill25/my_photos

 

Here are pictures of our Radiance cruise:

 

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/debandbill25/album?.dir=c1a0&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/debandbill25/my_photos

[BenDover]

Thanks to all of you for your great advice. Based on your comments I think I'm leaning toward early September. Since the weather issue is, as you say, a "crap shoot," we might as well go when it's a little cheaper and fewer children.

[natesfirewife]

Hi all, sorry to be late to the party! We did Alaska in July of last year and it was warm enough that all the kids were at the outside pool. There wasn't that many kids to begin with so I really wouldn't worry about that. We are going on CC's Group Cruise to Alaska aboard the Serenade 08/07/05. It's just a couple of weeks before school starts but like I said it shouldn't be too bad. I too work at a school and need to make it back before the first day. You're going to love it there, and you'll have a great time.

 

Misty

[bingo3]

It was the third week of June the year we went and awesome weather, we mostly wore short sleeves except up by the glacier, it is cold there. There was no rain at all the whole week. I don't remember many children. Saw few whales then though. We loved the Yukon railway, indescribable! We would do it again in a heartbeat!

[bethaniesmom]

ok...so i am thinking that our choice of september is a good one so far.....my question, are we going to see whales that time of year? Has anyone done the cruise tours? looking at a cruise tour that does talkeetna, denali and fairbanks, can't see going all the way to alaska without seeing the interior some too but wondering if it is worth the money or are we just going to be running from one hotel to another? also curious, has anyone tried the oceanview family rooms...we are curious about how much space they have, but since there are only three of us we probably won't give up our favorite balcony rooms for the additional room in the family suite.....

thanks for whatever help you can give with my questions...

 

Beverly

[sammthe66]

We did Alaska cruise two years ago, left from Vancouver on Sept. 1. Weather was beautiful, always between 70-80. If you are going into Vancouver you should go a couple of days early, Vancouver is beautiful. We only had one day there and wished we had more. Visited Stanley Park and also Granville Market,but there is so much more to do there. As far as Alaska, wish we had thought it thru more as I would suggest that anyone that is going to Alaska should do the cruise and land. Alaska is so beautiful and you really don't get to see that much when you do just the cruise. Can't wait to go back to Alaska.