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Alaska in September glaciers


penlanspice
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We've always wanted to take a cruise through Alaska but the dates are usually hard for us to fit in, next year we can holiday in September so thought this was our chance to go.

 

We obviously want to see glaciers, snow etc, we have no plans as of yet so would choose a cruise line based on the itinerary.

 

How much snow and glaciers would there be in September? do some places have more than others?

 

Not sure if we should forget it and leave it until we can go in a May time.

 

Anyone have any experience?

 

Thanks

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My first Alaska cruise with my husband was Labor day week (Labor Day in US is 1st Monday in Sept, FYI for any non-US based readers ;-) and we had fantastic weather -sunny and warm most of the trip, except Skagway where it sleeted ;-) Weather will be all over the place and is hard to predict. We saw lots of wildlife -bear in the water, bear at Mendenhall glacier in Juneau. Most salmon had already spawned but there were some still alive (and a LOT dead/half-eaten by aforementioned bears ;-) I think somewhat fewer whales, but....We're going on another Alaska cruise this year - we depart Vancouver Aug 31 and arrive Seward Sept 11 - the one thing I wanted to do last time that we didn't is a small boat whale watching tour. We booked one this year (in Icy Strait Point) after asking if they're still seeing humpbacks at that time - they say yes, so.....

 

We did see (& hear, & feel ;-) glacier calving....

 

We started out previous trip (2007) up in Fairbanks - saw the northern lights. Spent the actual Labor Day long weekend with family outside Fairbanks then drove down to Anchorage to drop off rental car and catch the coach to Whittier for embarkation on Pacific Princess. We opted to skip Denali both that time and our upcoming trip. We saw SO MUCH wildlife on our drive, though - lynx, moose, etc. We were so glad there was almost no one else on the road - made it much easier for us to pull over all the time! (we drove AK4 to AK1 because we started in Delta Junction and we wanted to skip the Denali traffic since we weren't going there)

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Is their any itineraries that are better than others? cruise line im open to as we've sailed a few.

Many people will tell you (and I agree) that a one-way (starting or ending in Vancouver) is "the best" in terms of what you're able to see (assuming 7 day itinerary - if you do longer, you might see as much starting from Seattle) I'm also a big fan of being able to see Glacier Bay, and in 2018 only Princess, Holland America & NCL got concessions (permission from Nat Park Svc) to sail there. I haven't been able to find 2019 information (it's not the same every year, though historically Princess and HAL are the longest sailing there and I don't know of a year where they haven't been awarded the concession). Oh, also a one-way itinerary allows you time to do a land trip before or after your cruise!

 

We personally only sail on small ships, so this year we're going on Seabourn (normally out of our preferred price range but we found a great deal. Alas, no Glacier Bay this time :-(

 

I will also say that ANYTHING you see in Alaska is going to be wonderful, so if you have a different ship or itinerary or priority or anything - it will still be awesome.

 

Yes, I'm an optimist. Why do you ask? ;p

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I'm also a big fan of being able to see Glacier Bay, and in 2018 only Princess, Holland America & NCL got concessions (permission from Nat Park Svc) to sail there. I haven't been able to find 2019 information (it's not the same every year, though historically Princess and HAL are the longest sailing there and I don't know of a year where they haven't been awarded the concession). Oh, also a one-way itinerary allows you time to do a land trip before or after your cruise

 

Our Carnival Legend cruise in September sails through Glacier Bay.

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Princess and HAL hold the most permits to enter Glacier Bay - I highly recommend any cruise you take include it on the itinerary

 

We did see plenty of wildlife while entering GB - moose, bear, seals and eagles. Went on a whale watching tour in Juneau, saw plenty of salmon, eagles and deer in other ports and than there was this guy that popped out 50 feet behind me in Ketchikan......

 

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Our Carnival Legend cruise in September sails through Glacier Bay.

Interesting. I did not see that when I looked at the cruise schedules earlier this summer.

 

Looks like Carnival got 2 days in May and 2 days in September - shoulder seasons ;-)

 

http://crew-center.com/glacier-bay-alaska-cruise-ship-schedule-2018

 

http://claalaska.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Glacier-Bay-%E2%80%93-GB-2018.pdf

 

My caveat is still there that if you REALLY want Glacier Bay, book Princess or HAL or, I guess, look at the itineraries by date VERY CAREFULLY :p

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