Fun Sea Days in Alaska?

[presjade]

We have booked our 1st Alaskan cruise. I love the warmth of the Caribbean but my husband is an avid outdoorsman & has always wanted to visit Alaska. I'm wondering what types of things go on during the day? I enjoy the pool games & laying out in the sun with a yummy fruity drink:cool: Alaskan cruisers what do you spend your time doing on sea days? Deck parties? Theme nights? How does Princess entertain their Alaskan quests..? Thanks:p

[DentoAlaska]

I plan on spending my cruise days in Alaska enjoying the scenery, searching for wildlife and learning from the Naturalists that will be on board.

[CruizinSherry]

Unless you have an unusually warm day, you wont be laying out by the pool. If there is an indoor pool that is usually where you would find people especially with kids. There are trivia games and things like that around the ship, but not much going on outside. We have been on two Alaskan cruises and got rain thru most of it.

 

The scenery and ports of call more than make up for it though. It is a totally different experience and you will enjoy it.

[ggprincess2004]

I see you are on the Coral in May....wonderful. We have had great weather in late May each time we have cruised Alaska. We sailed in a fog bank for two weeks in September in Alaska, on the other hand.

 

You might have sunshine and enough warmth to enjoy relaxing on a lounger with a good book, and I will say my niece spent time when we were in Glacier Bay enjoying a hot tub.....(Allie, we're in Glacier Bay, enjoy the scenery....). There are plenty of things to do, it is different than sea days in the Caribbean, but I love sea days in Alaska. All the usual indoor activities will be going - trivia, veggie carving, martini mixing, fitness classes, dance classes, movies, naturalist talks, ..in other words, no worries. Plenty to do.

[presjade]

Thank you for the responses..Something different is what we are after. Coffee/kahula, a good book & beautiful scenery sound like heaven. On past cruises we have not taken advantage of the speakers, art auctions, wine tasting etc (we usually have our children) I also read a little about the Klondike Festival & midnight sun party & as always we love the Movies under the stars so I'm very excited to experience something new:p

[Paula_MacFan]

We did a round trip from Seattle last May, and had great weather. We were in port (including Glacier Bay National Park) every day with the exception of day 1, so it didn't seem like there were any typical 'sea days'. We were on the go to whole time, and it felt much different than a Caribbean cruise. The scenery is just gorgeous and we spent any 'free time' on our balcony viewing the wildlife, snow-capped mountains, and tree-covered islands. From our balcony we saw many whales, seals, birds, eagles, mountain goats, and even a grizzly bear! For us, Alaska was all about the scenery and wildlife, not lying about the pool or the typical sea day activities.

[Treven]

I certainly kept busy on my Sea Days in Alaska. With the scenery and the chance to see "wildlife", I doubt that you'll be bored. Especially when you visit either Tracy Arm Fjord or Glacier Bay. Be sure to dress extra warm on that day.

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

I certainly kept busy on my Sea Days in Alaska. With the scenery and the chance to see "wildlife", I doubt that you'll be bored. Especially when you visit either Tracy Arm Fjord or Glacier Bay. Be sure to dress extra warm on that day.

 

I agree with Treven. Plus the naturalist talks are good and informative. Hopefully the Captain or naturalist will keep you informed when they see whales or other wildlife. I am never bored on sea days. A nice nap on a sea day is always good.

[Kinkacruiser]

With so much breathtaking scenery to absorb, why would you want to be anywhere but on your balcony ....save the ship life for night time.

 

Enjoy your cruise... whatever you decide on for your seadays :)

[Pam in CA]

Weather can be very inconsistent in May. When we disembarked in Anchorage in mid-late May a couple of years ago, it was to freezing temperatures and a snowstorm. We weren't prepared for that thinking it would probably be at least in the 50's, not 20's with howling winds and slippery walking.

 

"Fun" is very subjective. As others have said, the scenery is considered the "fun" part of cruising in Alaska.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Pam in CA

[towhee]

We've done over 20 cruises to Alaska (my hubby loves it up there). We've never been bored. As others have said there's so much to see, since most of the trip is close to shore. The inside activities include the art auction (a scam in my opinion, but others like it), naturalist talks, trivia, bingo (twice a day on the rare at-sea days), dance classes, contests (the most fun is the putting contest on a rolling deck), and whatever else the CD can come up with. We spend a lot of time watching the water for whales, dolphin, otters, and sea birds from either our balcony or one of the public areas. Temperatures are usually mild in May, but we've been up there when we've had rain the whole time or sun the whole time. On at sea days they will air a MUTS movie in the afternoon.

One suggestion, if you have a balcony, ask you steward to get you a lap blanket or get one yourself (they're usually available in the pool area). The balconies tend to be a bit chilly and the blanket is a welcome partner when watching sea life from you balcony.

[RNGALNG]

Besides all the wonderful games, movies, lectures, and such, the scenery is priceless. I think we spent most of our time wear out the carpets and floors, walking from one end to the other to view it all! Bring cameras and binoculars so you can see things and record your trip.

 

For the day in Glacier Bay or College Fiord, warm clothes are a must, hats, gloves a big plus. I also seemed to use A LOT of lip balm on our trip last September!

 

Enjoy!

[sjmbruce]

We were on the Coral's first Alaskan cruise of the season in May of last year. There was only one true sea day, but with early port departures and two days of scenic cruising, there was a lot of free time on the ship.

 

On the days we were at Glacier Bay and College Fjord, even when it wasn't the scheduled scenic cruising by the glaciers, the scenery was so beautiful I spent hours walking around the ship spotting sea lions, sea otters and even a few whales.

 

We spent time in the covered pool area during the day and took advantage of the shows in the evening.

 

Our last day was so warm we were able to lay on the outdoor loungers in tshirts and use the outdoor hot tubs. I even got a sunburn.

 

One of my absolutely favorite yet totally ridiculous memory is bundling up in all of our winter gear and grabbing tons of blankets to lay out on a lounger and watch a nighttime movie under the stars while it snowed, eating popcorn and cookies with hot chocolate.

 

Have fun!

[Gimer]

Check out the 'Ultimate Ships Tour'. I did it with my wife and we had a ball. This tour covers a lot and we came away realizing there is some much we did not know how things came to be. Very informative and it was worth the cost.

[presjade]

Check out the 'Ultimate Ships Tour'. I did it with my wife and we had a ball. This tour covers a lot and we came away realizing there is some much we did not know how things came to be. Very informative and it was worth the cost.

 

Thanks for the Ship tour suggestion..I've been reading about this & it looks interesting..$300 price tag I'll have to think about:rolleyes: Maybe we will have to cut into some of the casino funds$$

[Paula_MacFan]

We have also done the Ultimate Ship Tour and highly recommend it; however, I don't know if I'd do it on a scenic cruise like Alaska. If you are going on the cruise to enjoy the scenery, know that the UST lasts several hours and it's primarily inside. We did it on a Caribbean cruise sea day, so we didn't miss anything but open ocean.

[jsiegel]

Sea days are great for whale watching. I spend as much time as possible outside on the Promenade deck scanning the horizon. One day it really paid off for the few of us outside. No matter which way you looked there were multiple whales spouting. We must have been passing a huge migrating group. Those few of us estimated over 50 whales. On another Alaskan cruise sea day we were near a mega-pod of dolphins. A couple hundred of them. Awesome.

 

I highly recommend attending the naturalist's lectures.

 

Jackie

[cruisequeen4ever]

Almost everything is identical to the offerings of a Caribbean cruise with the exception of pool games and a DJ/band playing by the pool. You'll have plenty to do!

 

 

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[sailinglisa]

There is nothing like sitting in a hot tub on a ship in Alaska and watching the scenery go by. Done it three times and looking forward to a fourth sometime in the future. Hot tubs and snow topped mountains...........