When many people think of an Alaskan cruise, they consider cold weather, glaciers, bears, whale watching and more. While these are certainly components of an Alaskan cruise, there’s so much more to consider. As a travel advisor, I love helping my clients plan for and anticipate their Alaskan Cruise adventure. This blog post covers everything you’ll need to know to plan the perfect Alaskan Cruise. Are you ready? Let’s chat about it!
The Importance of Selecting the Right Cruise Line for Your Alaskan Cruise
This likely comes as no surprise that it’s important to select the right cruise line. While this is important for any cruise, it’s crucial when cruising to Alaska. Different cruise lines offer different opportunities, ports of call, and vantage points. Additionally, each cruise line caters to a different type of client, so making sure you’re paired with the correct cruise line matters while you’re on the ship as well. As an advisor, this is something I assist my clients with as I know the importance of choosing the correct line and am familiar with the particulars of various cruise lines.
Considering Age Ranges for Multi-Generational Family Cruising
Due to the once in a lifetime nature of an Alaskan Cruise, many families choose to make Alaska a multi-generational vacation. This is certainly something to consider when selecting a cruise line as certain cruise elements are age dependent. While Disney does an excellent job of catering to families with children, companies like Royal Caribbean may offer additional activities for teens to enjoy themselves. Other cruise lines like Holland America and Princess cater to a slightly older audience, so consider the age range of the cruisers you’ll be going with.
Selecting Your Dates and Alaskan Cruise Itinerary Once you’ve selected the right cruise line, you’ll need to select dates, and an itinerary that supports your interests. While June through August is traditionally considered high season for Alaskan cruising, opting for the shoulder season can have its own unique perks. Price ranges for an Alaskan cruise tend to fluctuate pretty significantly between high and low season dates, so if you’re budget conscious, a shoulder season date could be beneficial for your wallet.
Considering the Weather as a Factor in Selecting Cruise Dates.
Alaskan weather does tend to be temperamental, especially with the constant changes brought about by the melting ice. If glacier sightings and getting close to the glaciers are important to you, selecting dates later in the season such as those in July or August will be extremely beneficial. Some of the ice has melted more significantly which makes it easier for cruise ships to approach the glaciers. While many expect to be blanketed in snow during an Alaskan cruise, you’re far more likely to experience rain. Packing to dress in layers and bringing weatherproof attire is an essential on an Alaskan Cruise. Additionally, it can be quite windy, which contributes to feeling cold as the wind swirls about on the open water. While wind and rain will likely be present at some point during your Alaskan Cruise, it’s an important thing to consider during the initial planning and selection process for your Alaskan Cruise.
The Daylight Difference on an Alaskan Cruise
A final consideration when selecting Alaskan Cruise dates is the dramatic difference in sunrise and sunset times. Often, the sun doesn’t set until well after ten PM and rises around three AM the following morning. If catching a glimpse of the northern lights was something you were hoping to do during your cruise, then consider cruising towards the tail end of the Alaskan Cruise season in September. Selecting Alaskan Cruise Excursions While I often encourage clients to stay onboard and enjoy the ship during a Caribbean Cruise, Alaskan Cruise excursions are a bit different. Here, there are boundless opportunities to explore the Alaskan frontier and take in everything this magnificent state has to offer. Due to their popularity, I’ll be discussing a few excursion options below. As an advisor, I highly recommend talking through excursions with a travel professional like myself as we can share unique insights and recommendations about which options may be best for your travel party.
Dog Sledding One of the most iconic and popular excursion options on an Alaskan cruise is the opportunity to experience dog sledding. While it isn’t always the case, this excursion is often accompanied by a helicopter flight and the chance to view a glacier from the sky. Keep in mind that helicopter inclusive options may face challenges or cancellations in the event of strong winds or torrential rain. Cruisers can only experience dog sledding in several ports including Juneau and Skagway. Additionally, due to its popularity, securing this excursion can be quite difficult. I always suggest planning at least a year, to a year and a half in advance if this is at the top of your list. Additionally, selecting a stateroom with concierge services, or having loyalty status with the cruise line can be beneficial as these guests are often allowed to secure excursions farther in advance and may be given “first dibs” should there be cancellations. If you’re a frequent cruiser, this may also play a role in selecting the cruise line where your status benefits you most.
Glacier Viewing
If your cruise includes a Glacier viewing day, this tends to be a very popular excursion. Like dog sledding, it can also be quite expensive and challenging to secure. This excursion offers up-close views of a glacier from a much smaller sailing vessel that can get close to the glacier itself. If you’re able to secure dog sledding with some sort of glacial experience, we recommend viewing the glacier from your cruise ship. Because of its unique nature, Alaskan Cruises may feature fun activities during a glacier viewing day that only occur during the glacier day experience. This is one of the reasons I personally suggest staying onboard if you’ll have other opportunities to view a glacier up close. For example, Disney Cruise Line offers a frozen themed extravaganza as well as coffee, hot chocolate and cookie carts on the upper viewing deck during glacier day. Be sure to keep your eyes on your cruise app to see if any fun surprises are happening.
Whale Watching Whale Watching is truly one of the most popular excursion options to select during an Alaskan cruise. Typically, all port cities will offer various types of Whale Watching tours with some including add-ons to look for bears, or in some cases other aquatic life. Whale Watching is truly fascinating, and on-board naturalists know a great deal about the whales. In some cases, they’ve watched specific pods for years and can share unique and exciting insights. The time frame whales spend in Alaska is their feeding season, which means you may get the opportunity to observe behaviors like bubble netting. If you’re lucky, a baby whale may “breech” as a form of play. Be sure to ask the crew lots of questions and bring binoculars for the best views. If you can, select a tour that includes some extras as it will give you a chance to see even more of the incredible Alaskan Wildlife.
Planning the Alaskan Cruise of Your Dreams
As you can see, planning an Alaskan cruise includes many moving parts and can become overwhelming. This is one of the many reasons I love taking this stress and turning it into gold as I craft magnificent Alaskan adventures for my clients. From selecting the right cruise line, to staterooms and excursions, I’ll help you make the right choices at every turn. Which excursion sounds most exciting to you? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
