Alaskan Cruise. Have you gone and if so, what month?

[AnnieA]

Seeing that late May and early June are the driest months but that wildlife are more active a little later ....including mosquitoes.

If you've gone, what month did you go and how was the weather?

Also, we're cruising with Holland America so would appreciate info about that line.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I haven’t but I’ve been told to be mindful of which side of the ship to book on, one side has the view and one side has the ocean going up or coming back.

 

[Manatee]

We took our 50th anniversary cruise in the month of July. Weather was excellent. Very much liked Holland America. We had 18 in our group of family and friends. Seattle had a heat wave while we were gone, but Alaska was just fine. Zaandam was a very good size ship, big ships are like a floating cattle drive.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We took a cruise to Alaska in September. We had a little rain but not bad. It was 10 days because it was round trip from San Francisco.

 

[AnnieA]

Zaandam was a very good size ship, big ships are like a floating cattle drive.

Do you mean it didn't feel overcrowded? That's why I've never been on a cruise.

 

[JustDave]

I wintered the Alaskan panhandle and then sailed an entire summer on my sailboat. June was doable, but chilly. July and the first two weeks of August, were the only months that could pass as summer in the lower 48 states. It gets cold by the end of August. The guidebooks for recreational boaters coming up from the lower 48 for the summer is to start back and clear Canadian Customs in Mid August for the trip back to the states in order to capitalize on the decent weather as you progress south, and avoid the coming winter storms in the north. That's the way it was for me, and by the time I got to southern Canada in early September, it was the warmest weather I had seen in a year.

Timing a cruise on a big ship would allow more flexibility, because you could take a break from the wind and cold whenever you wanted. At no time was I bothered by mosquitoes. They are mainly a problem in the Alaskan Bush, where they are blood thirsty and come by the millions.

 

[hollydolly]

Do you mean it didn't feel overcrowded? That's why I've never been on a cruise.

Same with me.. I just can't stand the idea of all those people in my personal space... so I've deliberately never gone on a cruise...

daughter keps telling me to go, because she loves them... she says that as all the entertainemnt is right there, it's ideal for a person on their own.. but I understand what she's saying, but having to share a pool packed like a sardine tin full of people.. hearing music blasting everywhere you go.. and an itinerary at every port that allows you to see the hem of a country in a few hours.. . I don't think so... not for me..

 

[AnnieA]

Same with me.. I just can't stand the idea of all those people in my personal space... so I've deliberately never gone on a cruise...

daughter keps telling me to go, because she loves them... she says that as all the entertainemnt is right there, it's ideal for a person on their own.. but I understand what she's saying, but having to share a pool packed like a sardine tin full of people.. hearing music blasting everywhere you go.. and an itinerary at every port that allows you to see the hem of a country in a few hours.. . I don't think so... not for me..

The reason we're choosing to cruise Alaska is that we'll have a beautiful view from our balcony suite and won't have to worry about the long drives. Also, Holland America isn't a party line. They have a few clubs and a small casino but it's low key. They've been in Alaska 75 years so have the best docking, have permission to sail in Glacier Bay, and allow the most time onshore.

I would never go on one of the huge party ships! The only other cruise I'd like to do is the Baltic Sea on Viking Ocean which is geared to culture and history. I've read the average age for Viking is 70ish.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I love cruising because there’s tons of entertainment and the food is good in the formal dining room. Even in big ships it doesn’t feel crowded at all. We always went when the kids were in school so very few kids.

If you don’t pick a party ship like carnival it’s a nice relaxing experience. At the ports there’s a bunch of activities or tours to take or you can just explore the port on your own. The ships I have been on had 2 pools for the adults and one for the kids.

 

[dilettante]

One of my Aunts who is still kicking around flew to Fairbanks September 7th and has been on a boat since running around there. I think she's still in the L.A. area now as the ship lazily came down the coast after tooling into and around Alaska for a while.

Not my thing, but she seems happy enough about it.

 

[AnnieA]

I wintered the Alaskan panhandle and then sailed an entire summer on my sailboat. June was doable, but chilly. July and the first two weeks of August, were the only months that could pass as summer in the lower 48 states. It gets cold by the end of August. The guidebooks for recreational boaters coming up from the lower 48 for the summer is to start back and clear Canadian Customs in Mid August for the trip back to the states in order to capitalize on the decent weather as you progress south, and avoid the coming winter storms in the north. That's the way it was for me, and by the time I got to southern Canada in early September, it was the warmest weather I had seen in a year.

Timing a cruise on a big ship would allow more flexibility, because you could take a break from the wind and cold whenever you wanted. At no time was I bothered by mosquitoes. They are mainly a problem in the Alaskan Bush, where they are blood thirsty and come by the millions.

Was the weather clear? I've read late May and early June are the sunniest and that into the summer there's more drizzle and fog since the coast is a temperate rain forest. I don't care if it's cold but want to see the scenery clearly.

 

[bowmore]

I have attached the stories of an Alaskan cruise and a land tour of the interior We enjoyed both.

 

[AnnieA]

I have attached the stories of an Alaskan cruise and a land tour of the interior We enjoyed both.

Great pics! Looks like the weather was beautiful. I'm hoping for early June 2026.

 

[JustDave]

Was the weather clear? I've read late May and early June are the sunniest and that into the summer there's more drizzle and fog since the coast is a temperate rain forest. I don't care if it's cold but want to see the scenery clearly.

I can't remember any fog that summer until late August, and that was in British Columbia. I do remember some serious rain for short periods of time. But one summer's experience does not a weather pattern make. Now the year before in late June and early August, as I was sailing from Sitka to Petersburg, I did see a lot of thick fog.

One fog in B.C. that I spoke of before was a strange experience. I was going down the Inland Passage, and up ahead there was a wall of fog thick enough to limit visibility to a few yards. I turned on my radar, which I hadn't used since the year before. I plunged into the fog bank, and a minute later, maybe even less than that, I sailed out the other side into the bright sunlight and clear sailing for the rest of the day.