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Dining highlights on Seven Seas Explorer include an amazing chop house. Silver Nova operates seven-night one-way routes with homeports in Seward and Vancouver. Ports it visits include Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier and the Inside Passage. Look for longer routes on Silver Moon and Silver Muse, visiting Haines, Valdez and Wrangell. Sleeping on Discovery Princess has you mostly choosing from insides, balconies or suites, with only a handful of oceanview staterooms. Most of the prime aft balcony cabins are suites, but in Alaska, these may be worth moving up for -- particularly the Mini-suites.
Alaska Cruises: Everything You Need to Know for a Perfect Bucket-List Adventure
Planes are plentiful in Alaska, where they're a common form of transportation across the state. Charter a helicopter or fixed-wing flightseeing tour at Juneau and get an unforgettable perspective of the mountains and glaciers of this vast landscape. Temperatures in Alaska can change considerably from one destination to the next. That includes warm days, where even being near a glacier or a passing cloud (or socked-in rain) can make things chilly. While you might not be sunning yourself to a stunning shade of bronze on an Alaska cruise, you and everyone on board will want to take in the scenery.
Whale Watching on Alaska Cruises
Even if you are cruising round-trip from Seattle, WA or Vancouver, BC, flights are not as abundant as popular cruise ports in Florida. The most expensive time to cruise to Alaska is the middle of the season, usually July. This is the peak time of year as there is the warmest weather and coincides with summer vacation. A standard balcony cabin on the same sailing is currently $1,017 a person at double occupancy.
Do You Need a Passport for Alaska Cruise?
When it’s warm and sunny, it is literally t-shirt and shorts weather. It’s well-known, but dressing in layers is a must when you head to Alaska. The state is one of the last unspoiled places in the United States. Maybe you’ve sailed the Caribbean, but we can tell you that the experience of sailing Alaska is completely different in what you see, the experience onboard, and even your other passengers. In fact, there are many people who may not have any interest in cruising, but do consider taking a trip to Alaska.
The 11 Most Popular Cruise Ships in Alaska: A Comparison
Enjoy two glacier-viewing experiences on every itinerary — including Glacier Bay National Park, and Hubbard Glacier or College Fjord. A handful of cruise lines -- mostly small ship and luxury lines like Cunard, Seabourn and Windstar -- offer Alaska cruises ranging from nine to 14 days in length (generally departing from Vancouver). Mainstream lines have also started offering longer cruises to Alaska from southern West Coast ports like San Francisco and Los Angeles. Don’t Miss the Scenery Between PortsSail to the Caribbean and the schedule is typically stop in a port, enjoy the day, and then get back on the ship. Once the ship departs, there’s not much to see as you sail to the next port of call. In Alaska, there’s always something to see… and it shouldn’t be missed.
THE 25 BEST Cruises to Juneau, AK 2024 (with Prices) - Juneau Cruise Port Terminal on Cruise Critic - Cruise Critic
THE 25 BEST Cruises to Juneau, AK 2024 (with Prices) - Juneau Cruise Port Terminal on Cruise Critic.
Posted: Mon, 23 Oct 2023 15:33:28 GMT [source]
Cost of Shore Excursions
If you are looking to stay closer to the port, you can expect to pay more. Sometimes, these hotels can cost upwards of $400 or more per night. Cruises that sail roundtrip from Seattle or Vancouver will typically cost less in airfare than one-way cruises that travel between Alaska and Canada. If you want to save money on your total cruise booking, consider how your itinerary can impact your airfare.
They are generally visible across the state, so any itinerary will likely do, though you'll have the best show in less populated areas like Denali National Park. You'd also do well to look at the moon cycles, as a full moon can drown out the Aurora Borealis. Wet weather aside, late summer months bring the best chances of seeing wildlife on expeditions. These months are also your best bet if you want active fishing trips on a shore excursion. The cost of an Alaskan cruise, of course, rises during high season and will be less expensive before and after those months during shoulder season. But even if you don’t get one (they are more expensive), you will have plenty of opportunity to see the scenery.
Are Alaskan Cruises Worth It? Absolutely, and Here’s Why…
Dining highlights on Celebrity Solstice include stunning views from the rear-facing Tuscan Grille Italian specialty restaurant. Multiple complementary venues are available for all guests, including snacks at Café al Bacio, gourmet dogs and burgers at the Mast Grille and all-you-can-slurp ice cream in Oceanview Café. The ship also has exclusive dining rooms Blu for Aqua-class guests and Luminae for suite guests. The beauty of the land and its immense history; the thrill of seeing bears, moose and bald eagles; and the mysteries of the surrounding marine life will astound you. It's a trip worth taking the time to plan and doing right — because who knows if or when you'll make it back to the Last Frontier.
To help you out, here’s an example of fare changes for a Junior Suite on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas during peak season 2022. Alaska cruise deals are a bit harder to find than their cheaper Caribbean counterparts. In fact, scoring truly cheap Alaska cruises means knowing where and when to look. For starters, cruise lines generally operate fewer ships in the region, the season is short, and everybody knows Alaska is on top of many bucket lists. Cruise lines often run sales in the fall or in the early months of the year (a period known in the cruise industry as "wave season"). You can take advantage of discounted fares, free upgrades or complimentary add-ons, such as Wi-Fi, gratuities, restaurant meals, beverage packages and tours.
Ships have lots of open deck space for you to watch the mountains and water go by, so it’s not a huge loss if you don’t have your own private balcony. As well, with the long daylight hours, an interior cabin (which gets plenty dark) may help you sleep better. With a cruise, you have the ability to easily travel between different ports of call, allowing you to see much more in a short time. Being on the water, you’re also able to get up close to the scenery. That’s also where taking a cruise offers a better experience than a traditional vacation. When it comes to cruising, there is nothing quite like sailing to Alaska.
Watch lumberjacks in action, learn from Glacier Bay National Park rangers and craft with a Native totem pole carver. Or listen to harrowing Tales from the Deadliest Catch fishermen and climbers who have summited Denali during your Alaska cruise. The largest tidewater glacier in North America, Hubbard Glacier has been moving its mass towards the ocean at a rate faster than most of its kind. Towering above the water over 30 stories, the glacier often calves 100-foot chunks of ice into the ocean. What lies beneath the waves is almost as impressive, where ice plunges 1,200 feet beneath the surface.
We bring you not just authentic Alaska itineraries and insider tips but also a treasure trove of our own photos and first-hand experiences from the places we've explored and activities we've relished. Honestly, we couldn’t have trimmed down the expenses on the cruise ship any more than we did. We already skipped all the extra paid activities, so it could have been pricier if we’d indulged in those. By accounting for these additional costs, you’ll have a more accurate picture of the average cost for an Alaskan cruise and can budget accordingly.
All ages are on the cruise, and passengers from all over the country and the world. In other words, if you’ve ever wanted to experience the state, there is no better way to do it than by cruise ship. Skagway was the most expensive excursion of the three ports with a ticket on the White Pass & Yukon Railway for $95.99. The ride was definitely worth the cost in my opinion, as it brings passengers on a ride through Skagway’s majestic mountain scenery. In Ketchikan I split my time between a Royal Caribbean excursion and exploring the town on my own. I booked the Saxman Native Totem Village excursion for $59.99, which took me on a bus ride to the village of Saxman for a few hours of cultural insight into the native Tlingit people.
Cross Alaska’s massive ice shelves, crystal fjords, and fascinating marine wildlife off your bucket list with itineraries that conveniently depart from Seattle and Vancouver. Enjoy perks such as privileged access to Glacier Bay National Park and prime docking locations that give you a head start on sightseeing. All staterooms on Orion include premium touches like spacious bathrooms with heated floors and automatic lights in closets and near the bathroom door.
It is best to plan your cruise vacations in advance to get the best value. There isn't a bad month to take an Alaska cruise, so you need to weigh the pros and cons of the off-peak or peak Alaska cruise season. Below, we answer the question of how much an Alaska cruise costs by breaking down the expenses you are likely to incur on your vacation up north. If spotting wildlife is a priority, consider cruising during the salmon runs, when bears are most active and can be spotted from the decks of the ship.
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