Alaskan Cruise; When is the best time?

[baseballmom2]

So after dreaming about it for so long, and drooling over reviews (thanks tiggerman!), my sister and I have decided to book one! Yay! :) I wanted to know from people who have done these cruises when do you think is the best time to take one? Early in the season (May?) or late (September?). Are there any pros/cons to these times? These months will probably work the best for us. Thanks in advance!!!!! :)

[spencercoop]

I went during July and the weather was beautiful. It was so warm, you could wear flip flops and all you needed was a light jacket.

 

It only rained on the last day of the cruise.

[sippican]

Here's another vote for July. Although not on Carnival, we had the greatest cruise and weather during our cruise with RCCL in July. Weather was so mild, we had to buy lighter shirts.

We LOVED our Alaskan cruise - one of the best ever!

[cccer]

We went for our honeycruise in May and the weather was great. I brought a big jacket for the cold and never used it. We went through the bay and there was not a cloud in the sky, of course they said in May only 4 or 5 days are like that so go for July. The only reason we went in May was because we were married in April and wanted to go as soon as possible.

[baseballmom2]

Thanks for the replies so far :) I feel like I'm in the minority here but I want to go when its COLD!! :) I live in Southern CA where it is way too hot for my liking, so for me a vacation where it is cold sounds good to me! Today I think it reached 88, but its been the 1st really hot day so far and I thought I was gonna melt :) I think its between May or September, I'm just worried May will possibly bad weather?

 

Maybe should probably repost this on the Alaska boards :)

[baseballmom2]

We went for our honeycruise in May and the weather was great. I brought a big jacket for the cold and never used it. We went through the bay and there was not a cloud in the sky, of course they said in May only 4 or 5 days are like that so go for July. The only reason we went in May was because we were married in April and wanted to go as soon as possible.

 

Honeycruise?! That's cute, I like that! :)

[travelntreats]

Thanks for the replies so far :) I feel like I'm in the minority here but I want to go when its COLD!! :) I live in Southern CA where it is way too hot for my liking, so for me a vacation where it is cold sounds good to me! Today I think it reached 88, but its been the 1st really hot day so far and I thought I was gonna melt :) I think its between May or September, I'm just worried May will possibly bad weather?

 

Maybe should probably repost this on the Alaska boards :)

Lean towards the end of the season and temps. will be MUCH cooler.....

[Quilting_Cruiser]

We've gone twice: embarked on August 15 in 2001 and 2007. Both times the weather was beautiful and not too hot. We had rain (if you can even call it rain--I'm an Oregon girl :)) only two out of the 14 days. On August 13, 2007, we were in Anchorage pre-cruise and they broke a 50-year high record with a whopping 79 degrees.

 

Have a great time! Alaska is our favorite cruise destination. :)

[DanishDonut]

We've gone twice: embarked on August 15 in 2001 and 2007. Both times the weather was beautiful and not too hot. We had rain (if you can even call it rain--I'm an Oregon girl :)) only two out of the 14 days. On August 13, 2007, we were in Anchorage pre-cruise and they broke a 50-year high record with a whopping 79 degrees.

 

Have a great time! Alaska is our favorite cruise destination. :)

 

Which cruise ship did you sail on?

 

Out of Seattle?

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Which cruise ship did you sail on?

 

Out of Seattle?

 

 

Spirit both times. Southbound embarked in Whittier and northbound embarked in Vancouver.

[RVman]

We went last month, the first cruise of the year, which was the reason for selecting that particular cruise and we were glad we did.

My wife dentist which had gone twice once early in the season and another late told her that it was prettier in the early part of the season

We had super weather and after talking to a few people who lived there in Skagway we were told that in a month or so a lot of the snow capped mountains would just be mountains. The snow would be melted away.

It will be pretty no matter what and you will still see snow but not as much later in the season. You could actually see the snow melting all around you

Never were we cold and we are from Florida.

[DanishDonut]

Spirit both times. Southbound embarked in Whittier and northbound embarked in Vancouver.

 

Of the two which did you prefer and why?

 

It's also nice to see another Oregonian here on CC :)

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Of the two which did you prefer and why?

 

It's also nice to see another Oregonian here on CC :)

 

 

Both were absolutely fabulous--our favorite cruises. We did northbound first and chose southbound the second time. The main reason was to get the long flight between PDX and Anchorage out of the way before the cruise. For me, it's easier to take the flight when you're excited about the cruise coming up than when you're already sad because you're off the ship!:)

[wasiii]

Both were absolutely fabulous--our favorite cruises. We did northbound first and chose southbound the second time. The main reason was to get the long flight between PDX and Anchorage out of the way before the cruise. For me, it's easier to take the flight when you're excited about the cruise coming up than when you're already sad because you're off the ship!:)

 

.....about getting the "bad" flight out of the way before the cruise.

 

My first cruise ever was Princess doing the northbound route sailing on July 31. It was a great flight to Vancouver but the 10.5 hour flight home to NYC was horrible. It did include of course a 1.25 hr stopover in Minneapolis.

 

The weather was great that time of year too, light jacket, not much rain, saw plenty of mountains with snow.

 

My 14 yo son turns Platinum next year and I'm taking him to Alaska on the Spirit to celebrate the milestone. I also wanted to see how the Seattle round trip was different from the northbound one way route.

 

wasiii

[uppitycats]

The Seattle departure to Alaska will be different because you'll be seeing a lot less of Alaska. It's a pretty long way from Seattle to Alaska, using up about half of your vacation time.

 

As for when is the best time, and "I want to be cold" -- Alaska isn't all THAT warm. I'd be surprised if it got to 88 there for more than a few days a year, and it was always chilly on board.(We live in Wisconsin; we know cold.. :p ) We've gone in May, June and September. I'd always choose June if I had the flexibility. Lovely long days (22 hours of daylight in Fairbanks!), everything is in bloom (huge vegetables, enormous flowers), some chill (I still have the sweater I bought on board), but really spectacular scenery, including the ice on the water around the glaciers.