Alaska Cruises and Alaska Cruise Tours
What to See & Do on Your Luxury Alaska Cruise Vacation.
Adventuring to Alaska: America's Last Frontier.
Each year TravelStore's experts arrange Alaskan luxury cruises, tours and vacations for thousands of travelers who come away with breathtaking experiences. We know what you're coming to see: majestic mountains, free-roaming wildlife and thundering Ice Age glaciers. These are the spectacles of nature that will fill your senses and immerse you in life-changing adventures.
You can search for and compare the most popular Alaska cruises currently available, or search Alaska offers by the cruise lines below, but we invite you to contact our Alaska experts and read further for more information:
Alaska cruise offers on contemporary lines: Carnival, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean
Alaska cruise offers on premium lines:
Celebrity, Holland America
An Alaskan luxury tour 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 a luxury Alaskan cruise or Cruise Tour, like gliding up next to spectacular glaciers and witnessing a calving, seeing bears in their natural habitat, or the thrashing of hundreds of salmon heading upstream.
Alaska is a striking showpiece of nature at its finest: stunning forests, picturesque mountains, rivers and waterfalls, and an abundance of wildlife.
Why are Alaska Cruises so "Hot"?
- The coastal scenery is stunning, and most of southeastern Alaska is protected when cruising the Inside Passage, making for a calm, relaxing and enjoyable journey. Seeing whales and eagles is not uncommon.
- An Alaskan Cruise Tour is an easy way to enjoy a relaxing and comfortable vacation while experiencing fantastic scenery and historic ports of call.
- The coastal scenery is stunning, and most of southeastern Alaska is protected when cruising the Inside Passage, making for a calm, relaxing and enjoyable journey. Seeing whales and eagles is not uncommon.
- Glacier cruises enable you to cruise close up to Alaska's immense glaciers, often witnessing a calving where large blocks of ice break off in thunderous sound and fall to the water.
- Alaska’s towns were built on the waterways and coastlines, and some, such as the capital of Juneau, are only accessible by boat or air.
- The dock is often located 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's the Best Alaskan Cruise Line?
There are quite a few Cruise Tour and vacation lines operating in Alaska that fall into the categories of contemporary, premium and deluxe vacation tours. Within these categories are smaller vessels (as small as cabin cruisers available for charter) to larger vessels that offer an incredible range of onboard amenities, dining options, entertainment, casinos, and other diversions. Each has its pros and cons, and the best choices are those that satisfy the type of vacation you are looking for, and what level of comfort and luxury you would most enjoy! Our Alaskan travel experts can help plan the right Alaskan Cruise Tour vacation for you.
What is the Best Alaskan Cruise Itinerary?
Typical Alaska cruises feature a 7-day itinerary, either:
The Inside Passage itinerary roundtrip from Vancouver or Seattle,
or
The Gulf of Alaska cruise, cruising one-way between Vancouver and Whittier/Anchorage, either northbound or southbound.
Both itineraries will generally include three ports of call, plus scenic cruising in one or two notable areas.
< Alaskan Quick Tip: Fly to Seattle >
For savers, air taxes to fly to Seattle are less expensive than to Vancouver, and while most ships depart from Vancouver, there are a growing number of options from Seattle.
Cruising the Inside Passage is a calm voyage with land readily visible on either side of the ship. Typical ports of call include some combination of Ketchikan, Skagway, Sitka, Juneau, Victoria and cruising scenic Glacier Bay National Park or Tracy Arm. Some cruise lines may offer a 10-day Inside Passage itinerary roundtrip from San Francisco.
The Gulf of Alaska itinerary cruises further north than the Inside Passage itinerary, and includes cruising in the open-ocean, which is generally calm during the cruising season. A typical itinerary includes some of the same ports of call, as well as scenic College Fjord and Whittier, which is the embarkation or disembarkation point for the cruise, with a transfer to Anchorage (for flight connections) included. The Gulf of Alaska itinerary is also the right choice if you are planning to further explore some of the interior of Alaska.
< Alaskan Quick Tip >
Most of us lack a true appreciation for Alaska's size. In selecting Gulf of Alaska luxury cruises, and between the northbound and southbound itineraries, one consideration might be one's preference when to take the longer flight: enroute to one's vacation or at the end of it. From anywhere in North America the flight to Anchorage is farther than to Vancouver (or Seattle).
When is the Best Time to Take an Alaskan Vacation? When Can I Get the Best Pricing?
The season to visit Alaska is from May through September. The peak of the season, when weather is considered best (and prices slightly higher), is from late-June thru August. May and September can be cooler and wetter, but that's not necessarily the case.
< Alaskan Vacation Quick Tip >
For those looking for the best pricing for Alaska cruises or Alaska Cruise Tours, May and September departures will provide the best deals.
What's the Best Stateroom Type to Book for an Alaskan Luxury Cruise?
Because spectacular scenery is in evidence during daylight hours, a balcony stateroom is highly recommended on Alaska cruises, allowing you the best opportunities to enjoy the views and fresh, crisp air from the comfort and privacy of your stateroom.
Balcony staterooms come at a premium, but the old adage: "you get what you pay for," rings true. Being able to step out onto your veranda, perhaps in the cruise line's warm terrycloth bathrobe, to enjoy breakfast and the scenery, or perhaps eagles or whales, is hard to beat.
< Alaskan Quick Tip for Cruises >
The added value of balconies is well recognized and it's important to book your balcony stateroom early -- at least four to six months in advance.
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 all around you.
What about Alaska CruiseTours?
While a cruise to Alaska is a wonderful journey in its own right, most visitors to Alaska come here to see far more than what's viewable from a cruise ship. Only a journey into Alaska's interior provides deeper insights into this wonderful destination, and provides for the wildlife and panoramas so many visitors crave.
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 most Alaska cruises, to visit Denali you need to go inland on a tour component. Beyond Deanli, other highlights include Kluane National Park, Tombstone Park, The Yukon, The Arctic, the Kenai Peninsula and more.
How long of a tour is required?
Minimally one should add two or three nights to a 7-day cruise to visit Denali National Park. But there are a variety of tour options available -- some cruise lines offer 30 Alaska cruisetour options! (All the more reason to work with a vacation planner who can assist with selection and making arrangements.
Is there a better time for seeing 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. Because spring and fall offer cooler weather, it's more likely moose come out than on warmer peak summer days, when they bed down under trees out of sight.
TravelStore's Alaska cruise experts look forward to arranging the best value for your next Alaska cruise vacation or help you sort through the right Alaska CruiseTours, or call us at 1-800-850-3220.
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