Table of Contents
“#Alaska Cruise Vacation Options”
Alaska is among the world’s most alluring bucket list destinations – vast and remote, it’s one of the last explorable wildernesses. When planning a trip this year, why not check out an Alaska cruise.
A Guide to Cruising Alaska
The Alaskan cruise season is relatively short; it lasts for just five months (from early May to mid-September) of each year. Peak season, with average daily temperatures of around 75F, tends to be June, July and August, while cheaper deals can be found in May and September, when lower temperatures (around 50F) mean lower prices; these months also offer the best chances to spot the Northern Lights.
Around one million passengers take advantage of this brief Spring/ Summer window to visit, choosing from a range of about 15 different cruise lines, with ships varying greatly in size. Despite this, there are still basically just two itineraries from which to choose from – either a Gulf Of Alaska Cruise or an Inner Passage Cruise.
Gulf of Alaska Cruise
This is absolutely ‘trip of a lifetime’ stuff, which showcases some of Alaska’s most breathtaking scenery – that said, the waters voyaged in order to access these spectacular scenes can be rocky, so if it’s a small, intimate cruise you have your heart set on, then it’s unlikely you’ll find one on this route, because bigger vessels are more capable of navigating such conditions.
Traveling either south from Anchorage, Whittier or Seward, or north from Seattle or Vancouver, these cruises cover more territory than other options and, as such, leave plenty of scope for off-board excursions. The fact that they start or finish near Anchorage, from which most places in Alaska can be accessed, offers lots of opportunity for pre- or post-cruise exploration – but even if you’re limited to what the cruise itself has to offer, that’s no hardship: your holiday snaps will be the envy of absolutely everyone, gleaming with the ice formations of the Gulf of Alaska and the Hubbard Glacier.
Since many of these cruises are one-way only, you need to consider the cost of two separate one-way airfares, which may prove to be more expensive than a return – but then weigh that up against how much more you’ll have the chance to see, including destinations such as Denali National Park, Fairbanks, Homer and Seward.
Princess Cruises offer an eight-day, seven-night cruise on the ruby Princess, sailing from Vancouver to Whittier, taking in Ketchikan, the ancestral home of a number of Indian tribes. Here you’ll find the Saxman Native Village, which features the largest collection of totem poles in the world. Along the way, passengers can look out for whales, seals, porpoises and sea otters, with the expert guidance of an on-board naturalist to provide insights and information, enriching your experience. Midway through the cruise, discover the cosmopolitan capital of Alaska, Juneau, with its vibrant shopping district.
Sailing on from Juneau, the 1970-passenger capacity vessel calls in at Skagway, gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush, where there’s an opportunity to ride the historically significant White Pass and Yukon Railroad. Natural splendour follows, as the cruise ship glides through the 3.2 million acre Glacier Bay National Park, with passengers having the benefit of the narration of a Glacier Bay Ranger and access to 11 tidewater glaciers. Another 16 glaciers await at College Fjord, deep within the breathtaking Prince William Sound, situated at the top of the Gulf of Alaska.
On board attractions include
● Movie nights under the stars
● An adults-only sun deck
● Local cuisine from Juneau and Skagway restaurants
● Family activities
● Top deck parties, with dancing under the midnight sun to live music
● The Terrace Pool, with incredible wake views
● Sled Dog puppies on board
● Lavish Broadway productions
