Alaska timing: August or September

[ustasmom]

I am not a new cruiser but we've not ever done an Alaskan cruise. I've decided to take my three teens on a Princess Alaska cruise.

 

My choices: 

August or September

 

In normal life I can see September having less crowds. I'm not so sure that will be the case this year as there are crowds absolutely everywhere. I have no idea how to apply old rules to new norm.

 

August might be a more "teen" friendly cruise. My kids are used to DCL. And we've been on cruises where my kids were the only kids. So somewhere between 1500 and 3. lol

 

Temperature and weather:

How much difference will there be? Admittedly I have no idea how to prepare for a cold weather cruise so I have a lot of shopping to do beforehand. Anyone want to venture a guess how those October cruises are going to go?

 

Crowds: 

It appears that Princess is coming back to full occupancy rather quickly. They will be at least 80% or higher in the next week or two. We just did the inaugural Celebrity Summit where there were only 406 guests. That was pretty nice. 

 

On the bad side:

 

Trying to get a cabin for 4 in August is really tough. I barely see availability. And then we would have to fly in August. The last time I flew I said that it would be the last time I flew until after Labor Day. 

 

 

[1025cruise]

You might want to try asking on the Alaska board.

With that said, September is the tail end of the season. Under normal circumstances, shops start closing, excursions are ending, etc. Personally, I wouldn't cruise Alaska in September.

[geoherb]

September is the wettest month in Juneau. Of course the weather cannot be accurately predicted weeks in advance. Another thing to consider is that the days will be getting shorter quickly. I'm going August 22 on the Majestic Princess. The sun sets at 8:17 the day we're in Juneau. A month later, it sets an hour and a half earlier.

[rkacruiser]

September is likely to be colder than August.  Also, shouldn't your teenagers be in school by late August or in September?

[TMLAalum]

There will be the fewest crowds in Alaska ports ever this season since the number of ships in port is much fewer than typical. For our 9/10 Millennium cruise there is just one other ship besides ours in each port.

 

Last I looked this sailing still had Family Veranda cabins available.

 

Please do go this year if possible. Your business will be welcomed and needed by the local businesses.

[mskaufman]

September should be wetter and colder (and less daylight)

[ksp819]

Just passing along some thoughts I had after my last Princess Cruise to Alaska.  While my husband and I throughly enjoyed it we said if we ever decide to bring our teens (at the time) we would do Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas.  There were very few children on our cruise and the ones that were there looked like they were desperate for something to do.  I believe you will find more teens on Royal and the Ovation has a lot for them to do.  If they are used to DCL they may be in shock going to a small Princess ship in Alaska.  

[1025cruise]

2 hours ago, ksp819 said:

Just passing along some thoughts I had after my last Princess Cruise to Alaska.  While my husband and I throughly enjoyed it we said if we ever decide to bring our teens (at the time) we would do Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas.  There were very few children on our cruise and the ones that were there looked like they were desperate for something to do.  I believe you will find more teens on Royal and the Ovation has a lot for them to do.  If they are used to DCL they may be in shock going to a small Princess ship in Alaska.  

I disagree. 

Two reasons.

1. Ovation is a huge ship. IMHO, it doesn't belong in Alaska.

2. Royal Caribbean doesn't have any permits for Glacier Bay. For a first timer, I think Glacier Bay is a must. 

[ustasmom]

Ugh!!! My dilemma: good experience for teens vs Glacier Bay. I've priced out Ovation as well. It costs more for balcony. It does have the virtual interior but now with masks and all, that might not be a good option.

 

I don't know if RCCL is cruising with a lower capacity cap that Princess. We were on Celebrity last month (406 guests) thought SXM might have artificially reduced capacity.

 

So aside from losing Glacier Bay, Sitka instead of Ketchican. We aren't big excursion people anyway, but this is actually intriguing. Last year my 17 year old son decided to start learning Russian. So I may have to take a better look at this.

 

And we homeschool. Travel had been a big part of it. 

[1025cruise]

If you aren't excursion people, what are you planning to do in Alaska? 

[TMLAalum]

1 hour ago, 1025cruise said:

If you aren't excursion people, what are you planning to do in Alaska? 

Plenty to do on their own. We are only doing the small boat Dawes Glacier excursion on our cruise but in port will hike, take tram, public bus, etc. And have a meal and drink in a local pub.

 

[ksp819]

4 hours ago, ustasmom said:

Ugh!!! My dilemma: good experience for teens vs Glacier Bay. I've priced out Ovation as well. It costs more for balcony. It does have the virtual interior but now with masks and all, that might not be a good option.

 

I don't know if RCCL is cruising with a lower capacity cap that Princess. We were on Celebrity last month (406 guests) thought SXM might have artificially reduced capacity.

 

So aside from losing Glacier Bay, Sitka instead of Ketchican. We aren't big excursion people anyway, but this is actually intriguing. Last year my 17 year old son decided to start learning Russian. So I may have to take a better look at this.

 

And we homeschool. Travel had been a big part of it. 

We did our last cruise based on our travel agent saying we had to see glacier bay.  Honestly it was nice but was equally impressed with other glaciers we saw.  The day in glacier bay is a long one and that is the day I watched the kids on the ship looking for something to do.  Are you trying to book for this current season or next?  I leave on the Ovation next Friday so I’m interested to see the differences from my Princess cruise.  If you’re looking for next year I can let you know the difference but I’ll be too late for this year.  Alaska will be educational for them no matter what you do!  

[geoherb]

I disagree about Glacier Bay being a must. We took two cruises that went to Tracy Arm and loved both of them. I've been to Glacier Bay three times since then. The ship does get closer to the glaciers there, but the experience of sailing through Tracy Arm was great. 

[TMLAalum]

Agree with @geoherb and @ksp819.  

Also feel that way about the White Pass R.R., another "You Must Not Miss", which we did not take in Skagway but instead rented a car and drove to the Yukon via Emerald Lake. No WPRR for us this time either, although we may take the Celebrity Chilkoot Hike & Float excursion in the morning and head to the Klondike Gold Rush National Park in the afternoon, taking a ranger-led Jeff.Smiths Parlor Museum tour too if possible.

[rkacruiser]

On 8/5/2021 at 4:26 PM, ustasmom said:

Last year my 17 year old son decided to start learning Russian. So I may have to take a better look at this.

 

And we homeschool. Travel had been a big part of it. 

 

I suspected when I read your post that you were homeschooling your children.  With your Son's interest in learning Russian, as a retired educator, I suggest that the cruise that has Sitka on the itinerary is the wisest choice at this time.  Whatever is missed during this cruise will still be there if, and when, your family returns to our 49th State.