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Cruisers of all ages will enjoy the scenery, wildlife, and once in a lifetime shore excursions available on many Alaskan cruises. Oceania’s cruise ships offer a five-star experience – not quite as decadent as some of the ultra-luxury ships sailing in the Alaska region, but a clear step above mainstream cruise lines in terms of service, decor, dining options and more. A concession plan announced in 2019 limits the visits of cruise ships to two ships per day. Cruise lines must be granted permission from the park authorities to carry passengers to this region. Currently, these include Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Seabourn, Uncruise Adventures, Viking Ocean, and a few others.
See Denali on an Alaska cruisetour
Options include Denali (the tallest peak in North America), Glacier Bay (3.3 million acres of mountain, rainforests…and, and glaciers!), Kenai Fjords (home to 40 glaciers), and Wrangell-St. Guests can also book landtours before or after their voyage, where they can experience the vast wilderness of Alaska. Princess Cruises even has its own Princess Lodges as part of its combination packages. UnCruise Adventures is a sustainability-focused line traveling the waters of the Inside Passage. Culture, regional cuisine and nature adventures are the top themes, with ports of call in the decidedly less touristy spots. At any given time, you will have an abundance of choices based on your interests.
GLACIERS WILL MOVE YOU
Cunard, a Carnival Corporation owned line, currently only sails out of Vancouver for its Alaska focused cruises. The line offers 7-13 night round-trip itineraries with the longer journeys visiting both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier, two of the most popular visits. For those who want a true Alaskan immersion, Alaskan Dream Cruises could fit the bill. It is a small-ship cruise company that specializes in providing authentic and intimate Alaska experiences. Their five ships, ranging from 12 to 76 passengers, allow them to access remote and off-the-beaten-path destinations that larger cruise ships cannot.
Alaska Inside Passage Cruises: Calmer Waters and Big-Ticket Destinations
These ships carry over 4,000 passengers at double-capacity so it also means some of the tours taken through the ship may be fairly large groups. Don’t be surprised if it rains during your cruise, especially if you go during the peak season, but that’s just part of Alaskan weather. This sometimes means shore excursions will get canceled or postponed, so always have a backup plan. Cruise enthusiasts at the Good Housekeeping Institute are fans of Royal Caribbean for its state-of-the-art ships, exceptional service and high-quality entertainment. "Royal Caribbean had the first rock-climbing wall and ice-skating rink on a cruise ship," said Cicero.
Your best high-end bets are Oceania, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn, Silversea and Windstar. The ship's captain has the flexibility to seek out the best remote islands and bays for beachcombing, tide pooling, hiking and kayaking adventures. Alaska has become a hot spot for multigenerational family travel, with grandparents taking their kids and grandkids of all ages on a memory-making holiday. Princess Cruises is a line that offers something for everyone, and its Alaska-based Discovery Princess is our top choice for family reunion groups. Royal Caribbean's 20-year-old ship Radiance of the Seas mainly sails weeklong, one-way cruises between Vancouver and Seward, Alaska, with prices below $100 per person, per night, for inside and outside cabins on many departures.
The Best Time to Cruise Alaska: Crowds, Weather and Cost Are All Factors
Carnival, Disney Cruise Line, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean all have extensive kids clubs aboard their ships that cater to all ages, from babies to teens. Little kids will adore meet-and-greets with beloved characters onboard Disney cruises or hanging with Dr. Seuss characters when sailing with Carnival. Older kids will love the rock climbing walls, video game stations, sports courts, go-karts and laser tag on Royal Caribbean and NCL ships. The two-year-old Discovery Princess sails round trip to Alaska from Seattle, a convenient U.S. home port for families to fly or drive to. Its "North to Alaska" program will delight kids with sled dog puppies in the ship's Piazza, and lure their parents and grandparents with local seafood on restaurant menus and onboard cultural programming with Alaska residents.
The Best Time to Cruise Alaska 2024: A Month-by-Month Guide - Condé Nast Traveler
The Best Time to Cruise Alaska 2024: A Month-by-Month Guide.
Posted: Thu, 29 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Because you'll be spending a lot of time outdoors, it's important to prepare for all weather scenarios, including windy conditions common to sailing cruise ships. Silversea has “Door-to-Door” pricing on many of its Alaska cruises, meaning the cruise fare includes airfare, hotels, and all transfers—including transfers from home to the departure airport. Onboard the all-suite ships, there’s butler service in every suite, fine dining, and select shore excursions included.
According to T+L A-List travel advisor Ashton Palmer, the Alaska cruise season is short (typically from May to September) and availability is limited, which is why travelers should plan their sailings six to eight months ahead of time. Several cruise lines also offer land extensions (sometimes called “cruisetours”) to make the experience as seamless as possible. They’ll even offer last-minute specials right up until the time of sailing, but selection will be limited and the most popular shore excursions will have long wait lists. Holland America Line (HAL) — which recently snapped up a 2023 World’s Best Award in the large-ship ocean cruise line category — has been cruising Alaska for over 75 years. HAL prides itself on having more permits for Glacier Bay National Park visits than any other cruise line. The cruise line also offers beloved live music programming, which I got to experience firsthand on a summer 2023 Alaska sailing.
Disney Cruise Line's 1,754-passenger Disney Wonder (which can carry 2,713 guests when completely full) is the perfect size ship for a family cruise to Alaska. It's smaller than many of the megaships catering to families in this part of the world, so guests can view glaciers and enjoy shore excursions without feeling too crowded. Our Alaska cruises are your ticket to adventure amidst the Great Land’s glaciers, wildlife and national parks. Voyage through the untamed beauty from the comfort of our world-class ships, exclusive rail service and Princess Wilderness Lodges near national parks. Choose from a variety of Alaska cruise and cruisetour itineraries and connect with loved ones, locals and Alaska's wilderness with Princess®. Longer cruises, like the Holland America Alaska Arctic Solstice Cruise spans 28 days, and will take you from your port to the Arctic Circle.
Meals and activities (including going for high-speed Zodiac rides, kayaking, and paddleboarding) are included. Most major cruise lines also offer the opportunity for pre or post-cruise land packages that will take you by bus or train to destinations in Southcentral and Interior Alaska. If you have the time, these cruise packages give you the best of both worlds for exploring Alaska's coastal communities and some of the top sights in Alaska's heartland, including Denali National Park. We’ve gathered cruises in all size categories (from a couple of hundred passengers to nearly 5,000), as ship size is often one of the biggest factors when selecting a cruise.
In those days, Bob ran the boat while Betty and her children served treats and tea to their guests. Today, Allen Marine operates 30 vessels, including the five ships that make up the Alaska Dream Cruises fleet, all of which accommodate between 12 and 76 cruise passengers. Knowledgeable expedition leaders serve as personal guides on every voyage, sharing their expertise in biology, geography and ecology, as well as sharing about the lifestyles and legends of Southeast Alaska’s local cultures. Life aboard Alaskan Dream Cruises’ five ships is casual and relaxed, meals feature fresh Alaskan fare, and everyone strives to provide opportunities for guests to make personal connections to the region’s places and people. Nicknamed “The Love Boat,” Princess Cruises has been sailing to Alaska for more than 50 years, and is a terrific choice for couples looking to get away from it all. While onboard, Princess immerses its guests into the sites, sounds, tastes and history of the 49th state through its award-winning North to Alaska programming.
You can get a taste of the Gold Rush life by trying your hand at panning for gold, attending a salmon bake or visiting a dogsled camp. A hike on the Chilkoot Trail or ride on the White Pass Railway lets you follow in the footsteps of the miners who came to seek their fortunes. Hop a bus, kayak, boat or plane to look for bears, eagles, whales, sea otters and other wildlife. Note that moose don't regularly show up in the Inside Passage; you'll need to head farther north to find them. For these itineraries, you'll need to fly into or out of Anchorage and take a train or bus to/from the cruise departure ports, which can take an hour or two. Temperatures in Alaska can change considerably from one destination to the next.
Depending on the tour itinerary you choose, you might visit Seward and the Kenai Peninsula, Alyeska, Talkeetna, Anchorage and Fairbanks — as well as spend one to three nights in Denali National Park. Gulf of Alaska sailings — especially those in late August and September — can encounter rough seas in the gulf portion of the voyage. Additionally, you'll have one day spent cruising the Inside Passage and one focused on "scenic cruising," where you can enjoy the landscapes but won't go ashore. This is not nearly as boring as you might think since you'll see incredible sights like Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve or Hubbard Glacier. You'll find magnificent mountains (often snow-capped, even in the summertime), lush forests, waterfalls, fjords and calving glaciers.
Cheaper fares can be usually found on mainstream lines like Royal Caribbean and NCL, while Cunard, Disney and Seabourn will be more expensive. You're in luck if you're hoping to see whales on your Alaska cruise, as the majority of the cruise season coincides with whale season. Humpback whales can be found in the waters of the Gulf of Alaska and are some of the most frequently spotted, though you may also see orcas and gray whales as well. Wet weather aside, late summer months bring the best chances of seeing wildlife on expeditions. These months are also your best bet if you want active fishing trips on a shore excursion. The cost of an Alaskan cruise, of course, rises during high season and will be less expensive before and after those months during shoulder season.
Big ships can only offer deckside viewing of the marvels of Glacier Bay, but UnCruise Adventures sends its ships to the rarely visited outback. In Fern Harbor, Dundas Bay or No Name Cove, passengers can get up close to the natural wonders with birding expeditions, paddleboarding, beach walks, and more hiking and kayaking. If adventure is what you crave on an Alaska cruise, you should seek out the small ships of UnCruise Adventures. All of the line's itineraries boast an active component, but its "Wild, Woolly and Wow" itinerary claims to be "the most active back country itinerary" of UnCruise's 2024 Alaska cruises.
Or, you might enjoy a bit of scenic cruising by LeConte Glacier (where the big ships don't go) then continue the fun with hiking and biking the trails of Ideal Cove. Guided skiff tours will take guests in search of Alaskan wildlife in remote bays and secret coves. The Alaska’s Winter Sports & Northern Lights sailing takes place when most cruise lines can’t sail to Alaska. These trips take place as early as February and March and allow passengers to witness the Northern Lights and even enjoy some winter activities as skiing and ice skating. The 2,700 capacity Disney Wonder is the current ship sailing on Alaskan itineraries.
