Table Of Content
Even though you’ll be surrounded by glaciers, it can get relatively warm in southeast Alaska, especially in the summer months. If you’re looking for more inspiration on what to do on an Alaskan cruise, read our live blogs from Alaska on Explorer of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas for more ideas. In addition, don’t forget to check out our full ship tour of Ovation of the Seas if you will be sailing her to Alaska next summer. A recommendation, especially if you do not have a balcony room, is to scope out the ship’s best areas for viewing the scenery when you get onboard. You may find a few “secret” areas, like the Solarium bridge wings or the outdoor seating area at the Windjammer, that offer fantastic views with fewer crowds.
Leave plenty of time to make it to the airport on disembarkation day
Take your adventure underwater and discover a whole world that’s teeming with life. Most people tend to focus on the Caribbean for summer cruises, but an Alaska summer vacation can be a great option, too. Embark on a thrilling journey with young explorers through breathtaking landscapes. Barnette ran aground in the shallows of the Chena, so he set up a trading post. A year later, the nearby discovery of gold transformed the remote settlement into a boomtown, and Barnette the first mayor. Fairbanks today remains a destination for adventure seekers, as the gateway to Alaska’s northern wilds and some its most isolated terrain.
Popular Now
There are also art galleries, where rotating modern art exhibits showcase a range of media. Kids will likely love the interactive Discovery Center where they can explore science, art and history. From a seat on the back patio of the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, you could see a black bear wandering down a walking trail behind the hotel.
Ketchikan’s Misty Fjords Flightseeing by Floatplane
It’s always a better idea to book excursions as far in advance as possible to ensure you can pay the lowest price and secure a spot on the chance the excursion sells out. Because shore excursions are so popular on an Alaska cruise, it’s not uncommon to see popular tours like whale watching, glacier visits, and helicopter tours sell out. Helicopter and flightseeing tours are both popular shore excursions in Alaska, offering the unique opportunity to view the state’s nature from above. Helicopter tours often include a landing atop one of Alaska’s glaciers, where visitors have the chance to walk–or dogsled–on the glacier itself. Whale watching tours are offered through Royal Caribbean shore excursions or can be booked directly through local providers.
First, if you're flying to your cruise port, make sure to fly the day before your cruise begins. Airline delays are common, and you don't want to miss your cruise because of a canceled or delayed flight! Spending the night at a hotel in Seattle or Vancouver before your cruise can help ensure your vacation is off to a great start. In fact, when Royal Caribbean announces new Alaska itineraries is the best time to book.
The lodges typically feature a carefully created rustic look with exposed-log exteriors and blond-wood interiors. Lobbies are homey with cozy seating, fireplaces and taxidermy mounts of various animal heads, like moose and caribou. If you're OK with skipping out on the Denali trip altogether, several lines propose an alternative option via a Canadian Rockies trip that takes in scenic spots like Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise. In May, one of the best months to cruise to Alaska, Denali emerges from its snowfall with wildflowers and animals searching for food.
Royal Caribbean releases new 2025 Alaska cruises to book - Royal Caribbean Blog
Royal Caribbean releases new 2025 Alaska cruises to book.
Posted: Wed, 01 Nov 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Accordingly, passengers can opt in for a version of the excursion that includes a post-tour motor coach transfer to Anchorage hotels and its airport. You're not likely to see any scenery prettier than this, and you'll stand a good chance of spotting wildlife like eagles, bears, mountain goats, deer and wolves. Your assigned musher will introduce you to the dog team, fill you in on the sport of sled-dog racing and snap some photos of you along the way. Popular kayak spots in Juneau include the Mendenhall wetlands and Smuggler’s Cove. Guests hoping to get a closer look at Mendenhall Glacier will be in luck on a kayak, with some tours offering loops of Mendenhall Glacier Lake. Some floatplane excursions take off in Juneau, fly around the area, and land back in Juneau.
When packing for an Alaska cruise, we recommend bringing a pair of sneakers that are water resistant. Unless you plan on doing some serious trekking in each port, there’s no need to bring hefty hiking boots or rain boots. A pair of sneakers made from a water-resistant material will keep your feet dry and warm under most weather conditions.
If you could, would you do a one-way sailing over a roundtrip cruise? It seems to give much more time exploring Alaska.
View Dall sheep, wolves, caribou, moose and the mighty grizzly bear among many. And come summer, they are joined by more than 160 species of migratory birds. Bringing a waterproof or water-resistant daypack on an Alaska cruise is essential to ensure your electronics, identification, and any other valuables remain protected throughout the excursion. While not the most budget-friendly excursions, seeing Alaska from above is well worth the splurge for many cruisers.
Certain ports, such as Juneau and Icy Strait Point, tend to offer better whale watching opportunities than other Alaska cruise ports. Be sure to read our whale watching guide before booking your whale watching excursion to ensure you book it at the right port and time of year. The Alaska cruise season generally runs from April to October, and each month offers its own advantages and disadvantages. While there is no best time to cruise to Alaska, knowing what to expect in terms of weather, wildlife, and activities is helpful before booking your cruise or shore excursion. It is the largest town visited in Alaska on a cruise and offers the most excursion options of any Alaska port. Activity highlights in Juneau include whale watching, exploring Mendenhall Glacier, and riding the Goldbelt Tramway up Mount Roberts.
Located on the Lynn Canal, panoramic vistas surround Skagway and the town is a gateway into Canada’s Yukon Territory. Many passengers choose to ride the White Pass & Yukon Railroad, taking visitors through a mountain pass once climbed by those hoping to strike it rich in the gold-rush era. On a Royal Caribbean cruise to Alaska, navigating the largest state in the U.S. and exploring multiple sought-after places is easy to do. With four ships headed to the 49th state of the U.S. this summer, you can have your pick of ways to do all that in one vacation.
Passengers should ensure they have enough time to complete the hike before their cruise ship departs, as it usually takes around 5-8 hours depending on your fitness level. If you’re hoping to keep costs down but still have a wonderful experience while visiting Alaska, it’s helpful to know what options are available in each port. Indeed, in some cases, the cruise lines own the tour operators in Alaska ports, or at least a piece of them. For instance, the parent company of Princess Cruises and Holland America is a part-owner of Skagway's big attraction, the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway.
Smaller ships tend to sail from Vancouver whereas larger ships sail out of Seattle. This is due to the fact that Quantum Class ships are unable to fit under Vancouver’s Lion Gate Bridge outside of a very low-tide. Therefore, ships like Radiance of the Seas, Serenade of the Seas, and Brilliance of the Seas sail out of Vancouver instead.
One of the most popular active activities is a kayak tour along Alaska’s scenic fjords, lakes, and glaciers. Kayak tours are offered in most cruise ports, offering passengers the chance to feel connected with nature by the gentle rock of a kayak. Juneau is a popular port for expensive excursions like whale watching tours and helicopter rides to glaciers. However, there are still more than enough cheap or free ways to spend a day in the city, and here are five of our favorites.
Walking through Creek Street can give insights into the town’s historic red light district, and visiting the Saxman Totem Park provides a lesson on the Native Tlingit peoples’ culture and traditions. Kayaking, hiking, the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, and walking through downtown are all great options for a day in Ketchikan as well. No one enjoys navigating crowds, but it’s almost inevitable when cruising to Alaska. If you want to avoid the highest crowds, we recommend disembarking your ship early on each port day. In Alaska, on the other hand, you will want to lower your expectations when it comes to weather.
No comments:
Post a Comment