Whether Alaskan Cruises Or Alaska Cruise Tours:
We Will Arrange Your Best Alaska Cruise Deals!
View our video on how we'll help you choose the best Alaskan Cruise Vacation or Alaska Cruise Tours!
We Can Arrange Your Best Alaska Cruise Packages
We've arranged breathtaking Alaska cruise packages, as well as Alaska cruise tours, for thousands of travelers. Alaska is a spectacular cruise vacation, and we never tire of visiting it ourselves. There are many choices among ships and itineraries, and there's a lot to consider in planning an Alaskan cruise.
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Unforgetable Alaskan Cruises
An Alaskan cruise vacation is the stuff of legend: history steeped in explorers, a pioneer spirit that still prevails, and a rich native culture. Few things beat the experience of gliding up to spectacular Glacier Bay and witnessing a calving, seeing the thrashing of hundreds of salmon heading upstream, sighting eagles and breaching whales, or tying up at small frontier towns, exploring historic streets and learning about the fascinating native culture.
On Alaska cruise tours you'll go further inland to see more of the wildlife and witness the immense snow-capped Mt. McKinley ("Denali"). These are the spectacles of Alaska cruise packages that will fill your senses and immerse you in life-changing adventures.
Why Take An Alaskan Cruise?
- The coastal scenery is stunning. Most of southeastern Alaska is protected when cruising the Inside Passage, making for a calm, relaxing and enjoyable journey.
- Alaskan cruises are an easy way to enjoy a comfortable vacation while experiencing fantastic scenery and historic ports of call. Seeing whales, orcas and eagles is common.
- On an Alaskan cruise you get close to Alaska's immense glaciers, often witnessing a calving where large blocks of ice break off in thunderous sound and crash in the icy waters below.
- Alaska’s towns were built on the waterways and coastlines, and some, like Juneau, are only accessible by boat or air, making an Alaskan cruise a convenient way to visit.
- The dock is often near the center of town, so walking to the heart of things is relatively easy and enjoyable, and walking out of town for a nature hike is easy.
What Are The Best Alaskan Cruises?
Alaskan cruise lines range from mainstream, premium and luxury. Within these categories are everything from small cruise boats and private yachts available for charter, to the largest ships offering an incredible range of onboard amenities, dining options, entertainment, casinos, and other diversions. For Alaskan cruises, each option has its pros and cons, and the best choices are those that satisfy the type of vacation you are looking for! Our travel experts can arrange your best Alaska cruise packages that meet your needs and budget.
What's the Best Alaskan Cruise Itinerary?
Typical cruises to Alaska features a 7-day itinerary, either an Inside Passage cruise, roundtrip from Vancouver or Seattle, or a Gulf of Alaska cruise that operates between Vancouver/Seattle and Whittier/Anchorage, either northbound or southbound. Both itineraries usually include three ports of call, plus cruising in one or two scenic areas like Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, Tracy Arm or Misty Fjords.
< Alaskan Cruises Quick Tip: Fly to Seattle >
Air taxes to fly to/from Seattle are less costly than to/from Vancouver. Don't just pick a cruise based on departure city, but given comparable choices, cruising from Seattle will cost a bit less for airfare than from Vancouver.
An Alaskan Inside Passage cruise is a calm voyage with land on either side of the ship, with some combination of ports that include Ketchikan, Skagway, Sitka, Juneau, Glacier Bay and Victoria. The Gulf of Alaska cruise travels further north, outside of the Inside Passage, and includes open-ocean. A typical itinerary includes some of the same ports as the Inside Passage, plus scenic College Fjord. Whittier is often the embarkation/disembarkation point, with a transfer to/from Anchorage included (for flight connections). The Gulf of Alaska cruise is the right choice if you are planning to explore some of Alaska's interior on an Alaska Cruise Tour, or to visit Anchorage.
< Alaskan Cruises Quick Tip: Itinerary >
Most of us lack a true appreciation for Alaska's size. In selecting between northbound and southbound Gulf of Alaska cruises, consider your preference when to take the longer flight: at the start of your vacation or at the end. From anywhere in the U.S., the flight to/from Anchorage is much farther than to/from Vancouver or Seattle.
When Is The Best Time For An Alaskan Cruise?
The Alaska travel season is May through September. The peak of the season, when weather is considered best (and prices higher), is from late-June thru August. May and September can be cooler and wetter, but that's by no means always the case.
< Alaskan Vacation Quick Tip >
For those looking for the best Alaska cruise deals, May and September departures will provide the best pricing either for Alaskan cruises or Alaska Cruise Tours.
What Are The Best Alaskan Cruise Staterooms?
Alaska's spectacular scenery is in evidence during the longer daylight hours, and in the Inside Passage you can see the landscapes from either side of the ship. A balcony stateroom is highly recommended on Alaskan cruises, allowing you to enjoy the views and fresh, crisp air from the comfort and privacy of your stateroom. It's hard to beat sitting on your veranda in the cruise line's warm terrycloth bathrobe, enjoying breakfast amid Alaska's spectacular scenery, and spotting an orca or eagle.
< Quick Tip for Alaskan Cruises >
The added value of balconies on Alaska luxury cruises is well recognized and it's important to book your balcony stateroom early -- at least four to six months in advance. These do sell out first!
Short of a balcony stateroom, go for an ocean-view stateroom. While you won't savor the pleasures of a balcony, you'll still have a large picture-sized window view of the stunning scenery.
What are Alaska Cruise Tours?
While an Alaskan cruise is a wonderful vacation, most visitors come to see more than what's viewable from a cruise ship. Near the top of most visitors' must-see list are Glacier Bay and
Denali National Park/Mt. McKinley. While you can visit Glacier Bay on many Alaska cruises, to visit Denali you need to go inland on a cruise tour -- that is, a land component. You can
add as few as three days to your cruise to include a Denali tour extension.
Beyond Denali, other Alaska cruise tour highlights can include Kluane National Park, Tombstone Park, The Yukon, The Arctic, the Kenai Peninsula and more. There are many Alaska cruise tour options available! Only a journey into Alaska's interior provides deeper insights into this amazing destination, and provides the wildlife and panoramas many visitors crave. Our vacation planners can assist with your selection and making arrangements.
An Alaskan cruise is also a good match with
Rocky Mountaineer rail vacations, the luxury train that offers a itineraries through British Columbia and Alberta. Or consider a shorter trip on the Whistler Mountaineer, which provides a wonderful quick visit to the resort town of Whistler, ideal as a pre- or post- Alaskan cruise extension.
What's The Best Time For Viewing Wildlife?
We've been to Alaska at different times of the year, and have always spotted wildlife. However, it's important to have realistic expectations. There are no guarantees to see moose or bear, for example. Spring and fall offer cooler weather, and it's more likely moose come out than on warmer peak summer days, when they bed down under trees out of sight.
Are You Ready To Arrange Your Alaska Cruise?
TravelStore's
cruise experts look forward to arranging the best value for your next Alaskan cruise vacation, or help you sort through and select the right Alaska Cruise Tours. Call us at
1-888-779-7447.
For more information, visit our Alaska vacation packages
resources site.
