Best time to cruise Alaska

[cruiser man 60]

we are considering a cruise to Alaska next year, what's the best time to see most wildlife?

 

Also when do the cruises get busy with kids from USA/ Canada school holidays?

[www3traveler]

I do not cruise Alaska between Memorial Day and Labor Day- summer school holidays.

 

I love to cruise the first cruise of the season out of Seattle. The glacier is has not melted or broken off yet. Some times it is very chilly but it is wonderful. Sometimes, the first cruise of the season adds a day or two.

 

You can see wildlife almost anytime.

 

Enjoy

[Laszlo]

My wife and I cruised on the Jewel last Labor Day out of Seattle. The weather was pretty good. In Alaska our days were in the mid 60's

[garycarla]

My top hint:

 

Start or end at the last weekend of May. The Northwest Folk Festival takes place at the Space Needle park for 3-4 days. Makes for a great day or two wandering around. As you get into the summer, more kids.

 

There is more chance of some snow left over as you go earlier.

[cruiser man 60]

Hi, as we're from U.K. Could you explain what dates are Labour Day and Memorial Day. Thanks

[KarlChilders]

Hi, as we're from U.K. Could you explain what dates are Labour Day and Memorial Day. Thanks

 

Memorial Day is the last Monday in May. Usually a 3 day weekend holiday for nearly all schools and businesses. Labor Day is the first Monday in Sept, same deal.

[BostonGal35]

we went the first week of september (labor day week) last year and there were barely any kids on board. however, it poured rain every day except the day we were in glacier bay. so, we are trying it again this year, same week. that said, teh week before and after us was gorgeous weather. SE alaska weather can be rainy at any time.

[Minoushka]

I went end of june and first week July ...perfect weather ..sunny ...warm

Locals said not in late August or after seas get crazy with very rough weathet

[BirdTravels]

The Alaskan season overlaps summer break and you'll always have families and a younger demographic

 

August is good. You should go when the salmon are running and the bears are active.

 

We went in late June in 2015 and it was too early for the salmon. But we got up close to the glacier.

 

We went in late August in 2016 and the salmon were running and the bear were active. But, our cruise had to stay further away from the glaciers due to a lot ice in the water.

[garycarla]

Hi, as we're from U.K. Could you explain what dates are Labour Day and Memorial Day. Thanks

 

Here are all the "strange" holidays across the pond.

 

https://www.redcort.com/us-federal-bank-holidays/

 

found this on google, there are probably a few other lists out there for less common holidays.

[Son of a son of a ...]

We went over Memorial Day this year on NCL Pearl. We were told that the salmon begin to run a week or two later so we missed seeing bears. If you want to see bears, then plan accordingly.

[lenquixote66]

we are considering a cruise to Alaska next year, what's the best time to see most wildlife?

 

Also when do the cruises get busy with kids from USA/ Canada school holidays?

 

We did a 14 day trip.7 land and 7 sea ,in May .It was fantastic.

[KarimaJ]

We went July 29-Aug5, I just posted my review. The water was like glass, no rough seas. Weather was in the 70s just perfect (although everyone said it was unusual). A normal amount of kids on board, didn't bother me.

[fredflint]

You are better off going towards the end of the season rather than early. To avoid children pick a higher end cruise line with minimal childrens programs. I cruised on Crystal and we had virtually no kids on board was the end of June and we had the 4th of July in Sitka which was great fun and really long day 10PM and it was still light out.

[sweetp0618]

This spring we spent a week on land (independent - not a cruise tour) split between Anchorage, Denali and Seward starting on May 26. We departed from Seward on a SB Celebrity cruise to Vancouver, which departed on June 2 (first SB cruise of the season). We had marvelous weather the entire trip. The temperature varied between the high 50s to mid 70s the entire trip. The only day we had to bundle up was Hubbard glacier cruising. There were fewer than 30 kids on the ship. Over our two weeks, we saw all of the wildlife (including a lot of bears in Icy Strait) you would expect but missed the salmon run, which was not a priority for us. The crowds in ports were relatively small.

 

The ship was not full and we were able to upgrade from a balcony to a suite two weeks before departure for no additional $; we also got (in addition to the beverage packages and internet we already had), we got an extra $300 OBC and gratuities.