Jason82

Plan for varying weather and pack layers. I have done two Alaska cruises and each time had days where I was in jeans and a hoodie and other days in shorts and a t-shirt. In June we had one day that was cloudy and cool. The others were mostly clear and warm.

As others have noted Alaska is all about the scenery. Depending on your cruise line, you’ll have all ages…not just older folks. We cruised Alaska on NCL and it skewed younger. Seeing the coastal mountains, glaciers, and wild life is incredible. You can also find any number of excursions for whatever activity level you prefer. Whale watching and other wild life excursions. Kayaking, hiking, zip lines. You can find it. Weather can be mixed. Could be cloudy and cool, possible rain showers. Or you could have sun. In summer days are long and the sunsets are gorgeous. On our Alaska cruise in June, we had one cloudy cool day. The others were sunny and comfortable, for people who like to cruise, definitely recommend doing Alaska at least once.

Our Alaska cruise was amazing and worth the wait. We had 2 cancelled the last two years. juneau was overcast, but the rest of the week the weather was gorgeous. Glacier Bay was incredible. Skagway and seeing the White Pass was special. Mountains. Whales. All the drinks and food. Easily one of our best trips yet.

We did not run into any issues with lack of alcohol on the Encore last month. Every drink was available on demand.

I enjoy the whale watching and wildlife quests, but that’s lame me. 😉 One of the first things you’ll see in ports are companies selling private tours. I’m sure you’ll find ones that interest you. For Juneau, check out the Mt Roberts Skytram and hike a trail. Look up trails that might interest you. For Ketchikan checkout private kayaking companies and maybe get a reservation in advance. If you’re in Skagway, the national park offices will be able to recommend day hikes of varying intensity. As others have noted be back on board at the “all onboard” time. Or people will be watching you take a vigorous sprint to the ship. All aboard is absolutely no more than 30 minutes prior to departure time. hope you enjoy your cruise. It’ll be lovely either way.

We docked in Ward Cove last week in the NCL Encore. Buses were aplenty both at 7 AM when we got off and around 11 AM when we returned. No waits either time. While I was disappointed it cuts into port time, it went better than expected. We had a sweet driver who told us about the town and area. Most of the ride has pretty views.

Just sailed NCL to Alaska June 19th. They were not sitting us together with other cruisers in the MDRs. However there was plenty to do on the ship.

Watching for pier runners is one of my faves. We were treated to 4 in Skagway last week.

Typically “all aboard” is 30 minutes before the ship leaves. So 2:30 is the latest you should be back. Keep in mind in Juneau NCL docks at the AJ Dock right outside of town and has shuttles to and from the main-strip. It is a good 10-15 minute walk. Don’t get caught running.

Used Walgreens for a rapid antigen for our June 19th Alaska cruise out of Seattle. No problems. It was also free.

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