What month for Alaska?

[cigloo]

Hello all.

 

I have been reading the posts here regarding sailing Alaska and I have to admit I am still stumped on which month is better for sailing Alaska and why? We want to go in September right at the end of the season thinking it will be less crowded and the rates are good since we have just realized we can do this this year. We are currently booked on HAL - Oosterdam for the September 20th sailing out of Seattle in a Verandah.

 

But......I am concerned that we will not see any Glaciers or Whales or Bears or anything? Am I wrong to think that? As for weather I do not mind the cold so if it's cold, that is not a big deal for us.

 

Would love to hear feedback on which month or time is the best for Alaska and why?

 

Thank you all - I can not tell you how much I have enjoyed this board!!

 

Jennifer :)

[hammybee]

Late September is the extreme value season for a reason.

 

September is one of the rainiest months of the year. Ketchikan gets about 40 inces of rain between September and October. I don't know about bears, but the whales will not be as plentiful as some will have begun their annaul migration. The glaciers are always there. If it's pouring, it's tougher to be out on deck and fog might be an issue.

 

Having said this, you might just get lucky and not experience too much rain. You never know, in Alaska.

 

July is considered one of the driest months with typical summer like temps. The flip side is July is more costly and full of crowds.

[PathfinderEss]

We've done May, June, July and August. We prefered June, the weather was the best and lots of whales........

[garydm]

Have done Alaska most months. In September we had alot of fog-which makes sightseeing from the ship virtually impossible. Best weather-first ship in April. I would not do September again.

 

YMMV.

 

Gary

[Boytjie]

We were in Alaska the second wweek of September.

 

Juneau was cold and wet (many helicopter excursions were cancelled, we were lucky). Glacier Bay was cold and wet with some fog, but we still saw a lof of the glaciers.

 

Sitka and Ketchikan was warm and sunny with bright blue skies. We were using the aft pool both days at sail-away and came home with a tan. :)

[Brown Eyed Gurl]

I've read that May & September are the cheapest times to visit Alaska, with the least amount of visitors.

May is the least rainiest, with an average temp between 40-50.

[Mary Ellen]

I have done Alaskan cruises late May, early June, end of August and the last one in September. Yes, the crowds were much less in September, but this was also in 1980, so not really a fair comparison. On our August trip the crowds weren't bad and the 'end of season' sales had already started in the ports. We did see excellent glacier calving in Glacier Bay in September, but it was also the worst weather we've ever experienced in Glacier Bay.

 

The weather can definitely have turned to winter by late September - we had 40-ft seas coming out of Sitka. I would NOT take a cruise from Seattle then as the route out in the Pacific is very exposed, whereas one sailing from Vancouver would offer some calmer water. I don't think we'd ever go that late in the season again, but the last week of August was great (and very few children). We'd go again then - or the late May/early June, in a heartbeat.

 

Me, I'd give up the verandah for an earlier cruise (and a Vancouver sailing). Actually, we'll probably never book a verandah cabin for Alaska ever again (we did twice do to family 'issues') or sail from Seattle again (only once sailed from there, but did so due to same family 'issues'). The scenery is all around the ship. Having sailed Alaska before without our own private verandah, we felt very limited by what happened to be on 'our' side of the ship and spent very little time there. For us, the extra $ just to have our own deck space was a waste. HAL's R & S class ships have so much open deck space for viewing we've never had a problem getting great views. However, only you can decide what is best for you.