Alaskan Cruise help

[SlyOldLady]

Of course there are hundreds of opinions on the best time, room, intinerary...here's one more.

My wife and I have have done this destination every way possible in 15 trips...I think, and our go to itinerary is as follows:

End of season back to back out of BC.

Interior stateroom

Include "in transit excursion" in Whittier

Don't worry about weather, it's Alaska, its supposed to be cold and wet, dress approprietly and enjoy.

The back to back is most important to us because seven days isn't enough time, on day six we're looking forward to a nice side trip to the glaciers instead of packing.

 

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Edited September 22, 2016 by SlyOldLady

[azbirdmom]

We've done this trip three times - once on the Golden out of Seattle in mid-June and the last two years on the Star southbound from Whittier (late August / early September last year and early August this year). It rained the entire time on our June trip and also rained for about half of the days in early August this year. Last year in late August it misted while we were glacier viewing and was bone dry and sunny the rest of the time. Weather is unpredictable as others have said.

 

We prefer the southbound itinerary from Whittier to Vancouver as it includes both Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. We encountered some fairly thick fog while cruising to the glaciers and it was no problem. We will definitely go again, it's that spectacular.

 

As for ships, pick one that has lots of outdoor space, and our preferences would be the Star and Coral. We've never been on the Crown. The Island removed part of the promenade deck and the aft "secret" decks so there's less covered space for glacier viewing.

 

We also agree that a balcony is a must. You might be on the public decks when you are near the glaciers but there's more to Alaska than glaciers. The scenery is amazing throughout the cruise, and I've seen eagles, whales, and dolphins while sitting on our balcony.

Edited September 22, 2016 by azbirdmom