Panama Canal and Alaska in 2017

[colbe]

I am planning our 2017 cruise. This time we want to do Alaska and the Panama Canal as back-to-back. Could I please have some advice from someone who has done these two cruises together.

Are we better to do May-June (leaving from Florida) or Sept-Oct leaving from Vancouver? I know that these are beginning/end of season for Alaska and I wondered whether one has more settled weather?

I have more questions, but I will wait until I get this part sorted out. Thank you.

[xlxo]

• Statiscally, May is dryer in Alaska compared to September.
  
• May will give you more daylight.... weather will be colder.
  
• Do you want a trip into Tracy Arm? May will have ice congestion... September is more open.
  

[DaveOKC]

• Statiscally, May is dryer in Alaska compared to September.
  
• May will give you more daylight.... weather will be colder.
  
• Do you want a trip into Tracy Arm? May will have ice congestion... September is more open.
  

 

Also - due to ice in the bay, we were not able to get up close to the main glacier in Glacier Bay in early May. Lots of people were disappointed.

[colbe]

• Statiscally, May is dryer in Alaska compared to September.
  
• May will give you more daylight.... weather will be colder.
  
• Do you want a trip into Tracy Arm? May will have ice congestion... September is more open.
  

 

Thank you. Your reply is helpful.

[towhee]

Also - due to ice in the bay, we were not able to get up close to the main glacier in Glacier Bay in early May. Lots of people were disappointed.

 

We've done Glacier Bay in mid- to late- May over a dozen times and have never had a problem getting to the the Marjorie and Grand Pacific Glaciers. The inlet to the Johns Hopkins Glacier is closed in May because the seals are pupping.

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL leaves the Caribbean for Alaska in April.

We did one repositioning cruise from Ft Lauderdale to Seattle and then stayed on for Alaska.

We left in April and Alaska was the second week of May. We had some rough seas from San Diego up to Seattle. Alaska was cold and rainy.

[cb at sea]

Omg! I can't even imagine trying to pack for such opposite weather trips when you 'll be carrying everything for both legs of the B2B!

[colbe]

Omg! I can't even imagine trying to pack for such opposite weather trips when you 'll be carrying everything for both legs of the B2B!

 

 

No problem at all!! We have just returned from 5 weeks in Europe. Med cruise, walking in Switzerland, travel in France, England, Amsterdam. My backpack weighed 6.7kg. You can only wear one set of clothes at a time so why take a whole wardrobe with you?