Alaska Cruise

Ok, I’m considering giving up my out of state turkey trip next year in exchange for an Alaskan Cruise out of Seattle.

Has anyone taken one?

What cruise line did you use?

How long would you recommend?

Where did you stay in Seattle?

We are looking at next May possibly June.

Might still be snow on the ground In may. LOL
If you want to see Alaska a cruise would be my last option.

I would suggest you wait for a June cruise. Chances are, better weather. I've never been on a cruise, but lived in Sitka 5 years. I was on the ocean almost every day, either fishing, hunting, or trapping. That Inside Passage is beautiful. Go for at least 10 days, if you can afford it,Sit back and enjoy! In either May or June, not much darkness, so chances of norrthern lights shows will be about equal chances either month. Usually, see more mountains and glaciers if the weather's better.

Jack

June would be better weather. We took a Princess Cruise Line ship. Everything was great up until the STORM. We took the cruise from Alaska down to Vancouver but our trip was the last of the season in September.
First 2 days were great but then a big storm blew in and we had sustained 40 knot winds for 48 hours. High wind was 73 knots and the crew were manning the life boats at 10 p.m.! Hard to eat and enjoy yourself during that time frame. Numerous ports of call were canceled as a result. Summer weather should be better. Scenery was great initially.

Chris

I'd go turkey hunting !


But...if you are determined to do a cruise I would forget the commercial cruise lines and DIY on the Alaska Ferry system. Book a trip from Bellingham to Haines or even to Whittier.

I agree with Gulo that it would be better to wait until June due to weather. I have done it in January and it wasn't too bad but you want to avoid that area of the Gulf of Alaska until the weather is more stable

Wife and I did about a 21-day trip. Sailed up the inside to Skagway. Then boarded the Whitehorse train into Canada. Went to Dawson. Took a large catamaran down the Yukon to Eagle and Chicken, then a bus trip on the Taylor Highway to Fairbanks. From there we took a train to Denali, then finally to Anchorage. Lots of fun. Enjoyed seeing the gold mining sites, and of course, fresh salmon and halibut every day.

Plan your flights to your beginning point and departing point to allow extra days on each end of your cruise. We did three days in Vancouver and three in Anchorage on our own. Those were some of the best days of the trip.

Ok, this isn’t “my” idea. Not my first or even last choice. My parents are wanting to go and wanting as many kids that can, to go with them. My brother in Washington is going and we are looking at going as well. My wife is a cruiseaholic anyways so she’s all in too. My parents are on the older side and this is one of things on their bucket list. Dad will be 87 next year and Mom will be 79. A cruise would hopefully be the easiest for them to say they’ve seen Alaska. That’s the only reason I was asking.

took one bout 10 years ago.
cant remember exactly when but thinking it was in July. not sure.

think we went on princess. went to Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria, Canada

we have been on 9 or 10 cruises and this is by far my favorite. would love to do another one.

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Charles. Dawson City is one of my favorite towns ( there aren't many) But I am unaware of any rail link to Dawson.

Did you switch to a bus or something in Whitehorse ??

did the inland passage on Norwegian cruise line, twice, last week of June both time just before the "Peak Season" starts, the snow melt created tons of unbelievable waterfalls... the first was 7 days and the second was 10 days (3 on shore) Totally Awesome

This.
Go to some of the smaller towns and get off the ferry for a few days; If you want a town that isn't full of tourist trap businesses try Wrangell for a real small town experience.

The wife went a few years ago. She said it wasn't bad but she wouldn't go again. The biggest problem was the ports. The towns are small and when the cruise ships unload their passengers it gets extremely busy.

Yes have taken 3 of them out of Seattle. Went on Royal Carribean. If your looking for a laid back vacation highly recommended. We went for 7 day. Flew into Seattle the day the cruise left. The cruise line bus was waiting for us at the airport then delivered us to the port. By the time we landed and got on the ship it was about 2-3 hours.

Went from BC up the inside passage about 15 years ago, rented a pickup camper in anchorage and traveled around for a week then flew home. We were traveling around Memorial Day week and weather was great, Alaska was ahead of Northern WI as far as leaf out and temp that year.

Try to go somewhere during or after the cruise where you can do a fishing charter.

White17. Yes, we used bus routes several times. Used a boat on the Yukon, and two different rail routes.