Any concerns picking last sailing of the year in Alaska?

[Jimbo]

Thinking about it, but  concerns going in September and last sailing of the year? Will things in the towns be closed, crew on the ship be in bad mood. Weather crappy. etc. People who have cruise this late in the season, how was it?

[Thrak]

Our first ever cruise was a 10 day round trip from SF to Alaska. We sailed on September 7. The weather was great. It was cold in Glacier Bay but that was expected. We had a fantastic cruise that got us totally hooked. Nobody can tell you what the weather will be like for a late season cruise but, in our case, it was great. Nothing was closed in the ports. We took the White Pass Rail excursion in Skagway and a whale watching excursion in Juneau. Great trip and, like I said above, it totally got us hooked on cruising. I initially only went to make my wife happy as I was pretty positive I wouldn't like anything about cruising. When I got off the ship 10 days later I wanted to get right back on.

[Astro Flyer]

Our mid-September experience had more cloudy & showery conditions than during our June/July cruises & some retailers had end of season discounts.  

[Coral]

Historically - of the cruise season, May has the least amount of rain and September has the most. Each month usually has more rain than the previous month.

 

There have been some September sailings where the ship had to stay in Whittier due to strong winds. Unless it was really cheap, I would not do it personally. Would rather spend my money earlier in the season.

 

You can check average rain fall records for September and compare them to the rest of the season.

Edited February 22, 2020 by Coral

[memoak]

I would have no problem. We have done September sailings to Alaska in September before and it was great   Sit will be great 

[RJAM3]

have done the last to Alaska three times...all of them great.  Prices in the shops are a bonus..last year last cruise brought $35 sweatshirts for $8.  The weather is always uncertain no matter what time of year.  The greatest draw back for me would be the lack of salmon in the rivers and streams so seeing bears or many eagles is probably not going to happen.

[jennybenny]

We've done it. It was a fine cruise. Weather was really warm. The merchandise was all discounted, and not much left. lol It didn't bother us much. 

We enjoyed it, did a Southbound cruise and did a week pre cruise in Alaska. It was awesome. We did see bears and eagles. Our river rafting trip was a bust with low water. We got stuck on a rock and our guide had to jump out and push us off it.

I said next time I want to do an early season cruise so it's colder and feels more "Alaska", but if there was a deal, I'd go!  I never say no to vacation!

 

[Dievlieger]

We did the last trip out of SF last year on the Grand (13 September departure). Beautiful weather and calm seas! The only cold days were Juneau and Tracy Arm. Interesting itinerary as well with Sitka and Haynes.

[imescaping]

We did last cruise a few years ago. (Either started or ended Sept 23, I don’t recall which)  The weather was cold and rainy, seas were quite rough, the ranger could not disembark on glacier day ( I don’t remember which glacier) and had to travel with us back to Seattle. We were unable to go to Ketchikan. Merchandise selection was a little low but deeply discounted. We didn’t let the weather slow us down a bit, in fact made it feel really Alaska like. We were supposed to be in Victoria around 7pm-midnight, instead due to missing Ketchikan we arrived at noon, it was the a beautiful sunny day, perfect temperature had a fabulous time there. The only decent weather the entire week. 
 

We went the first of September 2018 and had fabulous weather in fact the crew kept talking about how the weather had been pretty poor most of the season and our weather was forecast to be bad but we just kept missing bad weather by a day one way or the other. 
 

I guess my point is Alaska weather is unpredictable. One of the biggest differences we notice is that it gets dark earlier, we were in Juneau quite late (like 10 pm) in mid July that is when the sun sets, in the end of September sunset is around 7 pm. 

[lstone19]

6 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Thinking about it, but  concerns going in September and last sailing of the year? Will things in the towns be closed, crew on the ship be in bad mood. Weather crappy. etc. People who have cruise this late in the season, how was it?

 

I’m always surprised by people who think the crew will be in a “bad mood” as if they’re all going home as soon as the season (Alaska in this case) is over. The ship will be going elsewhere and most of the crew will still be with it. Crew members join and leave the ship at practically every port and while there will be some who will be going home after that cruise, there will be others who just joined the ship. Constant turnover of the crew keeps experience level high so you’re never on a cruise where the entire crew is new to the ship (maiden voyages obviously excepted).

[Jimbo]

We have been to Alaska once before back in 2017 , that was in May,  1st sailing of the year cruise. We said then if we ever go back wanted to do mid summer so we could see salmon and more bears. We did see some bears, no salmon though. on the May cruise.

 

The draw now though is possible see the northern lights which I heard are mid September. This  is also a special end of the year itinerary is 10 days that is a Rt from Vancouver. So that is a draw too for cheaper flights.

 

Price for the cruise too is less money in September then a mid summer cruise would be as expected.

[Pstcrik]

I have actually gone out of my way to find the last ship of the year.  The last ship of the year is not necessarily Princess but I have I have had one experience on Princess and two on Celebrity.  The weather was fine, most of the activities are still on and the Port of Skagway makes it all worthwhile.  I wont give it away but Skagway was the best send off you will experience.  Make sure it is the last cruise ship of the year.  Enjoy.

[pcur]

Weather is so iffy in Alaska, it's hard to predict.  We took the last cruise in Alaska in September several years ago, and the temps were in the 70's the whole week.  The crew was estactic, because they hadn't seen any sunshine the whole season.

 

What was great about this trip is we added on the next cruise that went to Hawaii. 

[voljeep]

1 hour ago, pcur said:

Weather is so iffy in Alaska, it's hard to predict.  We took the last cruise in Alaska in September several years ago, and the temps were in the 70's the whole week.  The crew was estactic, because they hadn't seen any sunshine the whole season.

 

What was great about this trip is we added on the next cruise that went to Hawaii. 

we did the last cruise of the season on the DIAMOND in 2007, and as you stated the crew was happy that the next itinerary was also Hawaii … but they stated that they had mixed feelings because of the number of sea days each cruise

[eclue]

We have done 7 Alaska cruise from May to September - obviously, we love going there....Have found the weather is so unpredictable, it does not matter when you go.  Two years ago, we went in Sept and the weather was great and the seas calm....and the stores gave us many discounts....I have seen rainy weather in July and August.....just go anytime..we will probably go again.

 

[K.T.B.]

14 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Thinking about it, but  concerns going in September and last sailing of the year? Will things in the towns be closed, crew on the ship be in bad mood. Weather crappy. etc. People who have cruise this late in the season, how was it?

 

There shouldn't be any issues.  The weather is always a crapshoot in Alaska anyway.  It's just as likely to rain as it is be sunny, sometimes all within the same hour.  Even if you went in July, you should pack a rain parka.

 

Go, enjoy, you won't regret it! 

[Cruiserkenn]

A great time to go.  Ports are less crowded.  Enjoy!

[tip]

You will certainly have less daylight than you would in June.

[holomuku]

In my opinion- another advantage of a September cruise to Alaska is fewer children.  We went in September (on Celebrity however I think it would be the same on any other line) and were told that we had less than 50 children onboard-- and the cruise  previous to ours (late August) had over 300 children on board.  I'm not anti-child but over 300?  Crew said it made them have to work harder and longer to clean rooms, etc.  Just an FYI, as they say.  We had great weather as well.  As many have said, weather is iffy.   Most US schools start around Labor Day -- so many families make their family vacation in late August.

 

Edited February 22, 2020 by holomuku

[voljeep]

5 minutes ago, holomuku said:

  Most US schools start around Labor Day -- so many families make their family vacation in late August.

our schools here start 8/10 - unbelievable, huh ?  Labor Day is 9/7

[holomuku]

When we lived in Fresno, CA, schools started somewhat early August as well.  Awful because the weather was SO hot. Here in the Pacific Northwest, they usually start around Labor Day.  So much better!  However, they let out later as well.  And now many areas have "year round" school and many folks are choosing to home school.  Can't count on anything these days-- or so it seems!

[Coral]

12 minutes ago, holomuku said:

When we lived in Fresno, CA, schools started somewhat early August as well.  Awful because the weather was SO hot. Here in the Pacific Northwest, they usually start around Labor Day.  So much better!  However, they let out later as well.  And now many areas have "year round" school and many folks are choosing to home school.  Can't count on anything these days-- or so it seems!

Our schools start around August 12th also (Midwest). They are out by Memorial Day though. It is very hot here also though our schools now all have air conditioning.

 

Vacations are done by first of August. All types of activities occur the week or two before school starts.

Edited February 22, 2020 by Coral

[XBGuy]

We have taken six AK cruises.  In 2017 we took the last R/T out of San Francisco departing Sep. 15.  Last year we took the last R/T out of Los Angeles departing Sep. 17.

 

I think on the 2017 cruise hit a couple small rains while at sea.  The 2019 cruise saw absolutely no rain at all while at sea.  However, while we were having lunch in Ketchikan, a squall came through (Rain in Ketchikan?  Who da thunk that?)  It was over before we went back outside, and the rest of the day was dry.  The days that we were in open sea were pretty chilly.  That being said, I was not prevented from getting my laps on the promenade deck--my $39 Costco hooded jacket was all I needed,

 

I do not recall any businesses being closed.  However, when we went to the fudge shop in Skagway in 2017 I was disappointed that they had no mint fudge available.  They were only expecting a couple more ships in the next few days, and, then, they would be closing for the season.  I saw all kinds of signs outside of stores proclaiming "End of Season" sales.  I can't say if they were really attractive, or not.  Most of the ports had multiple ships docked.  We were the only ship in Skagway last September, though.  In fact, on the 2017 cruise, there were so many cruise ships visiting Juneau that we tendered in.  As an aside, I am pretty sure that was the shortest tender trip I've ever taken.

 

By contrast we have also twice taken one of the first cruises of the season to Alaska--April 2018 R/T and April 2019 R/T out of Los Angeles.  In both those cruises we were the only ship in each of the ports.  So, obviously, the towns were less crowded.  I noticed on the 2018 cruise that there were a few businesses in Skagway that were not, yet, open--a couple restaurants and a candy shop.  On both those cruises we hit a bit of rain, mostly, again, little squalls at sea.  However, our floatplane excursion in Ketchikan on the 2018 cruise was cancelled because of rain and fog.  We did get it in during the 2019 cruise.

 

Be aware, that Ketchikan is in a rain forest.  Rain in Ketchikan is not unusual, at all.

 

The one BIG storm we have hit was on our very first AK cruise which was the Southbound from Anchorage (Whittier).  It was in August, and we were bounced all around the Gulf of Alaska.  

 

Like somebody has previously suggested, the weather in Alaska and Alaska waters is what it is.  There are no guarantees.

[Sillyjilly]

Be prepared for lots of great deals. Take an extra suitcase.

[Coral]

12 minutes ago, Sillyjilly said:

Be prepared for lots of great deals. Take an extra suitcase.

A friend told me what a great deal she got on a jacket in September. I got the same price for that same jacket in May. So I wonder about those great deals.

Edited February 22, 2020 by Coral