Recently, I had to step in to stop some friends from making big mistakes while planning their Alaska cruise. It reminded me of all the pitfalls there are when cruising Alaska, and because of that, why I meet too many cruisers saying their trip of a lifetime to this stunning region fell short. If you are planning a trip, welcome aboard; I am going to tell you how I helped my friends have a great Alaska cruise, and help you get your Alaskan cruise right.
Mistake #1: Choosing the Wrong Itinerary
The first key reason things don’t go to plan is that I see cruisers, including my friends, choosing the wrong itinerary. When my friends decided to cruise Alaska, they did not appreciate that not all Alaska cruises are the same. It is easy to fall into the trap of missing out on visiting the right ports and seeing the best sights. There are three key itineraries you must consider to see which is best for you.
The most common and popular is the Inside Passage. These are usually seven-day round trips, mostly sailing to and from Vancouver, Canada, or Seattle, USA. The best Inside Passage cruises call on three key ports. First is Juneau, the capital, which has the Mendenhall and other Glaciers, Mount Roberts, and some of the best whale-watching tours. Next is Skagway, which is best known for the White Pass and Yukon Railway and a quaint historic town.
The iconic White Pass and Yukon Route railway in Skagway.Thirdly is Ketchikan, affectionately known as the Salmon Capital of the World, and best known for the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, historic Creek Street, Totem Parks, and access to the Misty Fjords region. Inside Passage cruises are ideal first-timer cruises to get a feel for Alaska, and being round trips, booking flights is easy too.
The downside is they tend to have at least two sea days, one at each end getting to and from Alaska. So, you have limited time exploring Alaska compared to the other itineraries. Also, if you do the sailing out of Seattle, under US law it must call into a foreign port, usually Victoria, Canada, so you can have even less time in Alaska.
The second itinerary, and my favorite, are those sailing North to South. They sail between the ports closest to Anchorage (Seward or Whittier) and Vancouver. While usually also including those iconic ports of Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, as they go further north, they include the stunning Hubbard Glacier, Valdez, and Sitka. They are usually 10 days long, and with usually just one sea day, you get to spend more time and see more of Alaska.
The downside is having to get a one-way flight to or from Anchorage, which can be expensive. The hotels in Anchorage are outrageously overpriced, and it is fiddlier getting down to Seward 120 miles away or Whittier 60 miles away, although there are some stunning scenic train options as well as cruise line bus transfers.
The third itinerary, which many people including my friends had no idea about, are the Expedition cruise options. These are not on classic cruise lines or ships and include small cruise lines like UnCruise or the Norwegian-based line Hurtigruten. They don’t call on the main ports that I mentioned earlier; they cruise in more out-of-the-way places and are wildlife- and scenery-focused.
Mistake #2: Ignoring the Fine Print of Port Times
With limited vacation time and mostly wanting to see the iconic Alaska highlights, my friends had chosen the Inside Passage option. But I could see their chosen cruise fell short in a major way. They had planned to book a Norwegian Bliss 7-night Inside Passage cruise out of Seattle. This fell short for several reasons.
First of all, it didn’t call on all three iconic ports. Instead of Skagway, it went to Icy Strait. Secondly, they didn’t look very carefully at how long the ship spent in ports. The cruise was only calling in Juneau in the morning, from 6:30 am to 1:30 pm. This is too early for many excursion options and limits the time to explore. They would have been in Icy Strait Point from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, and Ketchikan also in the morning only from 6:00 am to 1:15 pm.
There was simply not enough time to spend exploring these ports and really getting the most out of them when sights, stores, and a variety of excursions would be available. It also called at Victoria, Canada, on the way back, but it was there from 8 pm until midnight, making sightseeing near impossible. Looking at the trip, there was going to be a lot of time at sea, not on land exploring and sightseeing Alaska.
So, make sure you look at the detail to ensure that you’re getting to spend all, or as much of the day, in the critical ports as possible. We did that, and I suggested my friends switch to a Cunard Queen Elizabeth cruise also out of Seattle, which had more time in port but also offered something every ideal Alaska cruise should have.
Mistake #3: Picking the Wrong Cruise Line
The second critical area where I see people get things wrong is they don’t go on the right cruise line. I felt my friends were doing that, not just because of the ports, but by not thinking through what they really wanted from the line. There are three critical considerations when looking at what cruise line to choose for any Alaska cruise.
Choosing is a challenge as there is a lot of choice. According to CLIA, the Cruise Line Association, 50 ships sail Alaska every season, with over 700 individual sailings to choose from. Almost every single major cruise line sails in Alaska, with more going every year.
First, choose a cruise line that can take you into Glacier Bay. Of those 700 cruises a year, only just over a third are allowed to go into Glacier Bay. So, 70% of people cruising to Alaska miss seeing one of the most impressive places in Alaska. The National Park Service, which controls Glacier Bay, only allows two large cruise ships in per day. They also further limit that through a licensing system to only six lines which currently are Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line, Seabourn, Cunard, and Viking. I strongly recommend you look at those lines that take you to Glacier Bay as it is a magnificent part of Alaska to visit.
Only select cruise lines have permits to enter the stunning Glacier Bay National Park.By the way, if you are looking at those six, Holland America has been cruising Alaska the longest—for over 70 years—and Princess for over 50 years. So, as well as getting into Glacier Bay, they also have very strong links within Alaska and usually get the best docking spots and times in every port too.
The second mistake is cruisers do not spend time thinking about what onboard experience is best going to match their needs. Because you will have a fair bit of time at sea, you want to make sure you’re on a cruise line that is going to really match your needs or those of your family. If you’re travelling with families or want lots of entertainment, you’ve got Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian Cruise Line. If you want to go adult-only, you’ve got Viking or Virgin Voyages. If you want a small-ship luxury or ultra-luxury experience, there is Oceania, Crystal, Regent, Silversea, and Seabourn. If you want a more enrichment-based trip, there is Viking or Cunard. My friends love enrichment talks and dressing up, and so by getting them to go on Cunard, it made much more sense than their original Norwegian choice.
Thirdly, consider that the cruise lines may not have their usual onboard passenger mix nor the full experience you’re going to find when they are sailing in the rest of the world. Alaska is such a bucket list cruise for people, and with a short season running from May through to September, many travellers are constrained about when they can go. Many travel as multi-generational groups or with their family and so just look for a cruise and line that’s going when they want at a price in their budget.
So, even on lines like Cunard, Holland America, and Princess, which traditionally sail with older couples and few to no kids, in Alaska, they’re usually full of families on most sailings. On my Holland America and Princess cruises to Alaska, they were both jam-packed with kids who would take over the indoor pool and events. That’s why on my last Alaska cruise I booked on Viking as it is an adult-only line, and on the next one, I’ve booked on a more luxury line (Silversea) after the school vacation period to have a more classic experience.
Mistake #4: Misunderstanding Timing and Wildlife
Talking of timing, there’s an even more important timing issue I see causing many Alaska cruises to not go to plan. My friends wanted to maximize their chance of seeing wildlife like bears and whales, but their initial cruise was going too early in the season for that.
As I mentioned, the season is short, running from May through to September, though some do push into October. If cost is a factor, look at going at the start and end of the season, so May and September. It will be cheaper, tend to have fewer families, and ports will be less packed. May is also the month with the lowest rainfall, though it rains almost all through the season by the way.
But if like my friends, you want to be sure to see more wildlife, the prime bear season kicks off mostly in July and into August when the salmon run starts. It’s also a great time for whale watching and birds. Although in my own May and early-June cruises, I did see a few bears, whales, sea otters, and birds, July and August are peak time, busy, and the costliest time. That still made more sense for my friends who wanted to ensure they saw wildlife.
To see bears fishing for salmon, you need to time your cruise for July or August.Mistake #5: Underestimating the Massive Costs
Talking of cost, this is another thing I see causing many Alaska cruises to not go to plan. Alaska cruise fares can be much higher than many are used to paying for Caribbean or Mediterranean cruises. But it doesn’t end there, as most of the other associated costs are much higher than many expect or plan for.
There are two critical costs that many, including my friends, underestimated and under-budgeted for. First is getting to and from the cruise. Flights to and from the ports, be it Seattle, Vancouver, or Anchorage, tend to be costly as demand is high in those few short months. It is best to book flights as far ahead as possible, as fares will get increasingly expensive the closer to the cruise you book.
Also, book any pre- or post-stay hotels very early. Hotels in all those ports—Vancouver, Seattle, and certainly in Anchorage—can get crazy expensive. Anchorage has limited hotel options and rooms. For example, I have an Alaska cruise out of Seward and even staying at the Hilton, which is rather shabby and poor, is showing rates from $500 to $600 for one night. Some hotels are totally sold out for the dates too. I looked at hotel availability and pricing in Seattle where my friends will be sailing from, and as they left it late, prices are almost double what they had expected.
The second thing that people don’t factor in is excursion costs. Unlike the Caribbean, excursions are way more expensive in Alaska. There’s high demand and limitations on availability for some of the iconic tours like whale watching in Juneau or Sitka, going on wildlife watching boat tours followed by a salmon bake lunch, flying up onto glaciers to walk on them or go dog sledding, seaplane flights over glaciers, or going on the historic White Pass and Yukon Railway in Skagway.
Bucket-list excursions like helicopter dog sledding can add significant costs to your trip.To do these more exotic tours can add hundreds to the trip, with some costing up to $600 per person each. Many cruisers have not budgeted for, or cannot afford to experience, any or many of these magical trips. As my friends found they could not afford many of the cruise line excursions having not budgeted enough for the flights and hotels, I suggested independent tour companies. These are often cheaper than cruise line ones and have smaller groups. You simply put in the line, ship, and departure date and it brings up all the available tours by port.
The Final Secret: The 18-Month Rule
Everything should be booked as far ahead as possible to ensure your trip goes to plan. I cannot stress this enough. My friends only planned their Alaska trip 6 months before they wanted to go, and they found their fare was much higher than people who had booked a year or more out. Also, they had limited choice of cabins and did not get the location they wanted as early bookers had snapped them up.
Excursions can be in short supply and the best will usually sell out well before the trip. I will give an example of how by moving early I snagged an experience of a lifetime. On my Majestic Princess Alaska cruise, there was a morning scenic cruising to the gorgeous Hubbard Glacier. I had booked my cruise 18 months before and checked the excursions as they opened. I saw an excursion listed on a small 120-passenger boat that would meet the ship and sail as close as allowed to the Hubbard Glacier itself.
Booking early allowed me to take a small boat right up to the face of Hubbard Glacier.It wasn’t expensive, and on the day, I got close to the Hubbard Glacier to see it calving, while the other over 2,000 guests were some distance away fuming, only seeing it from much further away. By planning ahead and looking at the details, you can ensure that your Alaska cruise is truly the trip of a lifetime.