Alaska in September 2025

[Megabear2]

I am considering a solo Alaska cruise next year as an additional 70th birthday present to myself.  As my husband and I are sailing QM2 three week transatlantic which arrives back in Southampton on 15 August, I seem to be realistically looking at the itineraries at the very end of the season including the relocation cruise.

 

I have absolutely no idea about anything Alaska save I understand I should sail the Inside Passage?  I'd be very grateful for opinions on the itineraries at the very end of August and into September as to which might be the best for hopefully scenic cruising, relatively okay weather/sailing conditions (will i need my winter woolies/snow gear!) and fingers crossed ease. I note also two cruise lengths I'm looking at 10 night ones but happy to change that if necessary to get best itinerary.

 

As I'm going to be alone again I'm looking at the cheap end of the scale, probably an outside or at a push balcony.

 

Also I note an operational overnight in Seattle is necessary. I assume Cunard still organise this, but wonder if the transfers etc are still included as I've had previously in other parts of the world.  Seem to be no transfers to airport available in advance either, assume I can buy onboard?

 

Thanks for your help.

[2BACRUISER]

 I completely understand that as a solo you might want the security of a package put together by Cunard.Not sure if it's any help but we have booked 11nts in June 25 on QE Alaska, we intend to fly in 2 days prior and spend a day on Seattle we are arranging this ourselves as Cunard wanted £3k for just flights and on checking round we can do for half that. There are lots of options for airport transfers etc worth a wander over to the west coast departure page. Hth 

[Victoria2]

We have sailed Alaska at the end of August and the weather was beautiful. Warm and sunny. You won't get snow and it won't be cold and you won't need a heavy coat but rain and sunshine will be on the cards so weather is very much luck of the draw.

Think layers; think a fleece and a kagoul and add summer clothes to the mix and you'll be fine.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, 2BACRUISER said:

 I completely understand that as a solo you might want the security of a package put together by Cunard.Not sure if it's any help but we have booked 11nts in June 25 on QE Alaska, we intend to fly in 2 days prior and spend a day on Seattle we are arranging this ourselves as Cunard wanted £3k for just flights and on checking round we can do for half that. There are lots of options for airport transfers etc worth a wander over to the west coast departure page. Hth 

Thank you, that's very interesting.  Cunard want £1400 for London to Seattle to London and £1500 for London to Seatle San Francisco to London on the repositioning cruise. I have looked at the repositioning to Miami in September as the price is fairly good but my concern is how much of Alaska you see on the repositioning.  

 

It is very helpful to know the flights can be bought for less as obviously September flights aren't able to be priced yet.

[DukeBeetle24]

Did quite a bit of research on Alaska when booking QE for next year for ourselves. Tips for Travellers (Gary Bembridge) has three really handy videos on itineraries:

 

 

Main takeaway I got from these were:

• Make sure you have a couple of hours in Glacier Bay.
• The three ports to aim for are Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway.
• The thing to check on the itineraries for these is duration. Most itineraries had half a day, look for an itinerary which lets you enjoy a full day at each.
• The White Pass Scenic Railway is a must do, it can be booked cheaper independently but if booked through the ship you board as you disembark.
• Booking a higher risk excursions (seaplane) is better to do with the cruise line.

 

The videos really helped and based on those, although it's outside of the date range you mentioned, I ended up booking us on Alaska for 10 Nights (Q518) because of ports visited, duration etc... I see now it also has additional offers running on it at the moment, but this straddles the end of June / early July. Hope that helps.

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/Q518/Q518

Edited June 23 by DukeBeetle24
Correction.

[Victoria2]

The White Pass is a wonderful trip, as are any flights -helicopter/float or four seater plane- but my advice would be to book these as soon as they become available on your cruise personaliser as most specialized trips have a set number of passengers places available.

Most are quite/reasonably expensive but how many times will you be visiting Alaska and that's what we thought on our first trip thirty odd years ago so we packed in the lot 😀.

 

If I remember correctly, you'll need your passport for the White Pass trip.

[DukeBeetle24]

30 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

The White Pass is a wonderful trip, as are any flights -helicopter/float or four seater plane- but my advice would be to book these as soon as they become available on your cruise personaliser as most specialized trips have a set number of passengers places available.

Most are quite/reasonably expensive but how many times will you be visiting Alaska and that's what we thought on our first trip thirty odd years ago so we packed in the lot 😀.

 

If I remember correctly, you'll need your passport for the White Pass trip.

Same thinking, we're going to be doing as much as we can to make the most of it (including the Seaplane / Rail Trip)

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, DukeBeetle24 said:

Did quite a bit of research on Alaska when booking QE for next year for ourselves. Tips for Travellers (Gary Bembridge) has three really handy videos on itineraries:

 

 

Main takeaway I got from these were:

• Make sure you have a couple of hours in Glacier Bay.
• The three ports to aim for are Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway.
• The thing to check on the itineraries for these is duration. Most itineraries had half a day, look for an itinerary which lets you enjoy a full day at each.
• The White Pass Scenic Railway is a must do, it can be booked cheaper independently but if booked through the ship you board as you disembark.
• Booking a higher risk excursions (seaplane) is better to do with the cruise line.

 

The videos really helped and based on those, although it's outside of the date range you mentioned, I ended up booking us on Alaska for 10 Nights (Q518) because of ports visited, duration etc... I see now it also has additional offers running on it at the moment, but this straddles the end of June / early July. Hope that helps.

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/find-a-cruise/Q518/Q518

Thank you.  Actually that one would work time wise and there appears to be a single outside cabin on offer as well.

 

The one I was quite keen on was (Q526) which calls Ketchican, Juneau, Skagway, etc.  I hadn't thought about port time so will revisit.

Edited June 23 by Megabear2

[Winifred 22]

Ocean view solos on vistas are lovely cabins. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, Megabear2 said:

Thank you.  Actually that one would work time wise and there appears to be a single outside cabin on offer as well.

 

The one I was quite keen on was (Q526) which calls Ketchican, Juneau, Skagway, etc.  I hadn't thought about port time so will revisit.

 

I just looked at this cruise. It's a great first-time itinerary for Alaska. Excursions are expensive in Alaksa--everything is expensive there! I would say the two must-do excursions are the train in Skagway and a whale watch in Juneau. I don't know if the ship's train tickets are more than buying on your own, as it's many years since I've done the train. For the whale watch, do your research--look for a company that uses small boats so that you aren't in a crowd jostling for a spot at the rail. The Alaska port of call board has tons of information.

 

US laws require a stop at a foreign port, which for Alaska cruises is usually Victoria. Some cruise lines do a useless 4-hour stop in the evening just to meet the requirement, but I see that you would get a full day so you can actually do something there.

 

September has a reputation for being rainy but I've done Alaska in September twice and had good luck with the weather. I've had a rainy day here and there, but never a downpour. 

 

I disagree with the video expert about the flight tours being must-dos. I love flying in a small plane (but not a helicopter), but I'm not sure these tours are the best use of your time and money on a first Alaska tour. If you've sailed the fjords of Norway, you don't need to fly to Misty Fjord.

 

[wenglish28]

Hi, the last full Alaska cruise is for September 8. This includes Glacier Bay which should run from 5.30am until 3pm. Juneau is the Whale and Dolphin centrefold excursions.

[DukeBeetle24]

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Thank you.  Actually that one would work time wise and there appears to be a single outside cabin on offer as well.

 

The one I was quite keen on was (Q526) which calls Ketchican, Juneau, Skagway, etc.  I hadn't thought about port time so will revisit.

Ah, that sounds promising. Hope either of those work. I think I looked at Q526 which is very similar to Q518, but only has morning / afternoon arrival and departure in Ketchikan otherwise almost the same (albeit in a different order). 

[Victoria2]

12 minutes ago, DukeBeetle24 said:

Ah, that sounds promising. Hope either of those work. I think I looked at Q526 which is very similar to Q518, but only has morning / afternoon arrival and departure in Ketchikan otherwise almost the same (albeit in a different order). 

Ketchikan is supposedly 'the wettest city in the US' and on our three visits, it has been a bit damp.

We split up the last time we were there. He wasn't feeling great so he went to the lumberjack show on the pier and I went kayaking in the Tongass National Park.

Amazing.

 

 

[DukeBeetle24]

12 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Ketchikan is supposedly 'the wettest city in the US' and on our three visits, it has been a bit damp.

We split up the last time we were there. He wasn't feeling great so he went to the lumberjack show on the pier and I went kayaking in the Tongass National Park.

Amazing.

 

 

Wettest city I can contend with, living in Manchester has it's perks (preparing you for other wet destinations!). We may have to do something similar, my other half isn't great on small boats or something like a kayak. Very much looking forward to it regardless (and of course, being on QE)

[3rdGenCunarder]

I think three out of my four visits to Ketchikan were damp. The first time we were there, it was the last cruise of the year. The salmon were spawning, and they die after they spawn. It hadn't rained in over a week, and locals were thrilled to have rain (although they apologized to us for their joy) because it would help wash the dead fish out to sea. 

 

They are proud of their rain!

 

[D&N]

5 hours ago, DukeBeetle24 said:

The White Pass Scenic Railway is a must do

On a recommendation we chose to miss that and do a cycle ride instead.

A minibus took twelve people up the Klondike Highway over the Canadian border to the Skagway Grade Summit Rest Area. There was a trailer on the back with bikes on it.

They provided helmets, trouser clips, and waterproof trousers for those that wanted them.

We had to show passports at the US customs post on way back down and there were another couple of stops for photos. We could see the train on the other side of the valley.

The van followed with spare bikes and in case anyone didn't feel like doing the full descent. It was mainly a gentle downhill ride with a short gentle climb and some flat sections.

 

That suited us better than sitting looking out a train window for a couple of hours.

 

We did the Misty Fjords seaplane excursion to Big Goat Lake from Ketchikan and Helicopter Glacier trip from Juneau as well and enjoyed both.

 

 

[DukeBeetle24]

43 minutes ago, D&N said:

On a recommendation we chose to miss that and do a cycle ride instead.

A minibus took twelve people up the Klondike Highway over the Canadian border to the Skagway Grade Summit Rest Area. There was a trailer on the back with bikes on it.

They provided helmets, trouser clips, and waterproof trousers for those that wanted them.

We had to show passports at the US customs post on way back down and there were another couple of stops for photos. We could see the train on the other side of the valley.

The van followed with spare bikes and in case anyone didn't feel like doing the full descent. It was mainly a gentle downhill ride with a short gentle climb and some flat sections.

 

That suited us better than sitting looking out a train window for a couple of hours.

 

We did the Misty Fjords seaplane excursion to Big Goat Lake from Ketchikan and Helicopter Glacier trip from Juneau as well and enjoyed both.

 

 

Thanks for the tips and advice, sounds like you had a wonderful time. The train will be one my husband loves, so will definitely be doing that (this time at least).

[Megabear2]

Next silly question from me! Decided to go with the September cruise and about to book while the room is available, however in light of the suggestion I look at purchasing my own flight and adding a night or two in Seattle I am thinking of just reserving the cruise.  Am I correct that if the other option doesn't work out I can add Cunard's flight at a later date? Normally I would just book the flight with Cunard but at £1300 it seems to be double the current asking price for this September never mind next. The cruise itself is coming in at £1700 so the flight just sounds silly money.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Cunard's rules for UK passengers may differ from US rules so I don't know what they will let you do about adding flights. But you may be better off booking flights on your own.

 

Although Cunard will let me add a flight later (US), I haven't done that for the last few cruises because Cunard's airfares were more than I could book independently. I called a few times hoping they might load some less expensive flights, but no luck.

[Victoria2]

27 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Next silly question from me! Decided to go with the September cruise and about to book while the room is available, however in light of the suggestion I look at purchasing my own flight and adding a night or two in Seattle I am thinking of just reserving the cruise.  Am I correct that if the other option doesn't work out I can add Cunard's flight at a later date? Normally I would just book the flight with Cunard but at £1300 it seems to be double the current asking price for this September never mind next. The cruise itself is coming in at £1700 so the flight just sounds silly money.

We wouldn't dream of booking long haul without a Cunard flight included in our booking but I realise that's not popular.

Why not ask your agent before you book or if you book direct, ask before confirming your booking.

[Megabear2]

32 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

We wouldn't dream of booking long haul without a Cunard flight included in our booking but I realise that's not popular.

Why not ask your agent before you book or if you book direct, ask before confirming your booking.

No, not unpopular with me, I'd normally do the same but £1300 is currently the price for a business class flight on BA for this September so an economy flight at that price seems very high.  I'll have a chat with them tomorrow, as flights won't be released for a few months I assume it's easy enough to add them.

[Pushpit]

It's all unknowable for the reason suggested, namely that flights get released in the 329 to 363 day period, varying by airline. BA is 355 days.  (The reason, incidentally, is that the IATA ticketing data protocols didn't include a year, so to avoid data duplication they can't go beyond 365 days). Moreover when tickets are first released, the prices are sky high since the only people buying tickets are those that "must travel", such as for weddings. Or cruises.  Consequently Cunard is bound to put in a worst case estimate for their liabilities if they issue a ticket promise.

 

Personally I would be comfortable booking a sailing for September 2025 and leaving it until some sort of sale or promotion around March 2025. That's when airlines, under the winter cosh, start getting jittery about cashflow. That area has flights on multiple airlines to Vancouver, Seattle and Portland Oregon, so the competition is there, and that's before considering connecting flights. As a general, general rule, flights are cheapest 6 weeks to departure.

[tacticalbanjo]

17 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Next silly question from me! Decided to go with the September cruise and about to book while the room is available, however in light of the suggestion I look at purchasing my own flight and adding a night or two in Seattle I am thinking of just reserving the cruise.  Am I correct that if the other option doesn't work out I can add Cunard's flight at a later date? Normally I would just book the flight with Cunard but at £1300 it seems to be double the current asking price for this September never mind next. The cruise itself is coming in at £1700 so the flight just sounds silly money.

I booked in January for a June 2025 Alaska trip and was told by my agent that it would be possible to add flights at a later date. We didn't book with Cunard at the time because they were quoting the same price for my toddler as the adults. We're hoping the prices might shift when they know which flights will actually be booked. If not, I'm happy booking a flight for a few days ahead.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, tacticalbanjo said:

I booked in January for a June 2025 Alaska trip and was told by my agent that it would be possible to add flights at a later date. We didn't book with Cunard at the time because they were quoting the same price for my toddler as the adults. We're hoping the prices might shift when they know which flights will actually be booked. If not, I'm happy booking a flight for a few days ahead.

 

Whether I book through the cruise line or on my own, I always go at least one day ahead, usually more. 

[tacticalbanjo]

47 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

Whether I book through the cruise line or on my own, I always go at least one day ahead, usually more. 

I have in the past taken Cunard's flight from London to meet QM2 in New York, arrived at JFK and gone straight to Red Hook. The fares were so low including the flight that they were taken as little bonus trip so a night in a hotel would have added substantially to the cost. I knew there was a risk that we wouldn't make the ship but also knew that it would have been Cunard's problem to get me home from whatever adventure we ended up going/not going on. 

 

There is absolutely no way that I would risk such a thing on a more important trip (like a once in a lifetime trip to Alaska!) or when travelling with a child.