Alaska Cruise Recommendations/Advice

[BLiP]

Sadly, I am pulling the plug on this ski season. But the good news is I can turn my attention to the next adventure – a summer cruise to Alaska’s inside passage.

Any recommendations, words of advice, or cautionary tales? I’m particularly interested in advice regarding packing, i.e., anything that you wish you had packed but didn’t, or conversely, anything that just wasted space in your luggage?

 

[Kyle]

The inside passage route is typically more interesting and beautiful when departing from Vancouver rather than Seattle. The Seattle route typically has more open ocean. Also, since it is primarily a scenery based cruise, this is probably one where it pays to have an outside balcony cabin.

Make sure you pick a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay. We went with Holland America which went to Glacier Bay and also had a "shore excursion" option that stopped at the entrance to Tracy Arm fjord and allowed us to board a smaller boat to tour the fjord (and then catch up with the cruise ship after it docked in Juneau). That was a great way to see both.

This was some years back and it is still the only cruise I have been on but I would definitely do it again.

 

[Jerez]

Watching

 

[chris_the_wrench]

We rode the Alaska State Ferry from Skagway to Bellingham in early March about 8 years ago, even though that was a utilitarian form of transportation and pretty rudimentary it was a PHENOMENAL experience. Have fun.

 

[dbostedo]

I did one a couple of years ago where I flew to Anchorage, left from Whittier, and ended in Vancouver. We had stops in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan. It was a great trip. A few thoughts/recommendations, given this was the only cruise I've ever done:

• We did Princess Cruises, based on the recommendation of my Aunt and Uncle, who have done several cruises a year for many years, on various cruise lines - Princess is their favorite
• I recommend getting the drink plan to really make it all-inclusive if you want alcohol... I really liked not having to worry about having money on board for anything, even wine with dinner or after dinner drinks
• Get a room with a balcony if you can swing it... I loved sitting out on ours... sometimes I did some whale watching right from the balcony (though they were far away)
• Some of the excursions are expensive, but worth it. We looked into independent excursion companies, but the savings didn't seem all that great from what I remember.
  • My favorite - and the most expensive - was a helicopter to go dogsled on a glacier. I actually can't recall which glacier we did, but it wasn't Mendenhall Glacier; That one is more popular, but we booked a different one due to availability. Pics below
• The other excursions we did were a Fjord tour, Zip lining, and Jet boat whale watching
• I believe this was our cruise: https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=B520

Some helicopter excursion pics...

 

[crosscountry]

I’m particularly interested in advice regarding packing, i.e., anything that you wish you had packed but didn’t

Sounds like you've already booked the cruise? And it's in the "summer"?

Pack: eye shields! It's daylight into the wee hours. The curtains in your window of your cabin may not be up to the task (unless you're on an inside cabin, then it doesn't matter)

Rain gear may come in handy too.

 

[BLiP]

My favorite - and the most expensive - was a helicopter to go dogsled on a glacier.

That looks amazing. I'll certainly check to see if something like that is available.

 

[BLiP]

Sounds like you've already booked the cruise? And it's in the "summer"?

Yes, cruise is booked for early July. I didn't want to lead with that because I wanted an open discussion and as much advice/information as I can get.

This is all very helpful. As suggested above, we booked an all-inclusive cruise and a cabin with a balcony. The cruise departs from Vancouver and the itinerary has us around Glacier Bay for three or four days. We're excited.

Any recommendations for Vancouver would be appreciated as well, i.e., restaurants, bars, things to do.

 

[Lauren]

Make sure you pick a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay.

I’ll second this ^. I haven’t been on an Alaskan cruise, but have been to AK a handful of times. Glacier Bay is an absolutely incredible landscape that should not be missed (I spent 5 days backcountry kayaking while there…trip report here, if you’re interested).

That looks amazing. I'll certainly check to see if something like that is available.

Not to be a downer here, but if it’s of importance to you…make sure to look into the ethics of companies that use dog sledding for recreation/tourist activities…there are many that are quite questionable. I won’t go into details here as I’m sure that’s not what you’re looking for in this thread, but I think anyone thinking about booking a dog sledding tour should be aware of the questionable practices.

 

[BLiP]

Not to be a downer here, but if it’s of importance to you…make sure to look into the ethics of companies that use dog sledding for recreation/tourist activities…there are many that are quite questionable. I won’t go into details here as I’m sure that’s not what you’re looking for in this thread.

Not surprising, unfortunately. Will certainly keep that in mind.

 

[Bad Bob]

We rode the Alaska State Ferry from Skagway to Bellingham in early March about 8 years ago, even though that was a utilitarian form of transportation and pretty rudimentary it was a PHENOMENAL experience. Have fun.

The AK state Ferry System has always been the poor mans' Love Boat. When we lived up there our stock trip with visitors was always: Anchorage to Whittier, ferry to Valdez, to Tok, to Palmer (maybe the cabin in Wasilla) back to Anchorage.

A really good 3 to 4 day trip that shows a lot of ecosystems and wildlife. Easy trip to self guide too.

 

[Seldomski]

Don't forget to walk around the deck while ship is moving around. I saw some pods of orcas from the cruise ship this way. Others in my family were mostly on interior of ship for some of the days at sea.