Hello All,
I know the title is somewhat bold to put on the Alaskan sub-forum, but hear me out. I'm a lifelong Floridian that's enjoyed his 2 RCCL Caribbean cruises & has never seen snow, but always wanted to (even though I get uncomfortably cold in the 40s). I saw a great deal for an 8-day Alaskan cruise on RC (May 2024, only $100/day for a solo cabin), but I'm looking at the potential cons, which I'm hoping you can alleviate:
From what I've heard $100/day is great for an Alaskan cruise, but it's pretty average for a Caribbean cruise, which I don't need to spend $500 to fly to. So, the way I'm looking at it, is this cruise worth an extra $500 to experience?
Average temps in May (according to Google) range from 56 degrees (sounds fantastic) to 42 at night (no bueno). There's almost 17 hours on sunlight in May, so can I assume the bulk of my day would at least be in the 50s? I know rain & clouds could make this vary drastically, but I'm sure some of you cruised there in May and can provide some anecdotal experiences.
I'm not an excursion guy. In the Caribbean, I enjoyed walking around a bit and then enjoyed the boat amenities while people were still out. In Alaska, I'm hoping there are scenic trails I can walk near every port (As a Floridian, I'm in awe of both the snow and mountains lol). In Juneau, for example, I'll take the public bus to Mendenhall Glacier and walk around there. I just don't know if every port has something like that, and if not, or if the weather's bad, I don't know if there's as much to do on the boat on Alaskan cruises vs Caribbean? I don't think I'd enjoy the Flowrider in Alaska, for example. Hot tubbing in the arctic sounds fun though! In short, am I missing the point of an Alaskan cruise if I just walk around and take in the scenery?
To conclude, I REALLY want to go, but not being used to that environment, I'm afraid of worst-case scenario that I'm just cold and miserable the whole time. Talk me into it please!