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Alaska cruise advice, May or August?


BlueSeas4Me

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We also went toward the end of May and had a fantastic time. The weather was unseasonably warm and the scenery was gorgeous. I haven’t been to Alaska in August but I understand that it might be a bit rainy here at that time. It’s very difficult to predict for a single week and any month. If we were to go again we would definitely go later in the summer as we did not get a chance to see as much wildlife as I had hoped. We also had to stop traveling in to see the glaciers as there was too much ice still in the water. I’ve heard that August is a lot busier though. The port still felt pretty busy even in the end of the ““ off-season. Once you walk a little ways away from the ship it’s not too bad. Personally I don’t think there’s a bad time to go to Alaska and I would go based on your schedule and the itinerary and ship that you want as well as your budget .

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I've cruised at the end of August and in September. Didn't feel the ports were crowded when cruising in August. We managed to see humpbacks, salmon and a brown bear this year in August. I will say both cruises were very rainy and fog spoiled the view a couple of days as well. Neither cruise was conducive to really using your balcony. Only really went out for glacier viewing both trips. YMMV

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We went some years ago on the first sailing of the season with Princess. It was great as we were the only ship in port for the stops. Excursions were way less crowded. It was cooler and we brought some heavy coats and other cool weather clothes. But we had a ton of sunshine. 

Being the only ship in port was a huge deal. The towns are very small. I could not imagine having 2 or 3 other ships full of passengers to contend with.

We'll see as we go again in June on the Quantum OTS. 

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We'll be doing our fourth Alaska cruise this next August 21 on Quantum...We've previously gone in July, then twice in June.  IMHO, May could be a bit chilly...Of course, even in warmer months, you will need a little cold weather gear if you're doing activities like a glacier helicopter landing or even just being out on deck for a viewing of Hubbard Glacier.  Being near that much ice gets very chilly.  But for many activities, the warmer weather is nice...especially if you do a land portion in the interior before or after...

If you really want to see whales, nothing beats a stop at Icy Strait Point...We've learned to get a non-ship tour there with one of the local companies that run small boats with 6 passengers or so...They get a lot closer to more whales than the big shorex boats...and no crowding at the rail to get a view.

Now, we're doing the round trip Seattle route on Quantum this time...but it would not be our first choice.  We're only doing it this time because we're taking our daughters and their significant others this time and both live in Portland and the younger one has a fear of flying...so Seattle is a short drive.  The best routes are the one-ways from Seward to Vancouver.  You don't have to backtrack, so you get more ports and/or more time in port with typically better hours...and you can add on days in the interior--Fairbanks, Denali/Talkeetna, etc.--which are awesome.  And Vancouver is a great town for spending an extra couple of days post-cruise.  And we've often found better deals on the one-ways that, even with paying slightly more for airfare, really don't cost anymore than the round trips.

As to ports being more or less crowded, I don't think it's often much of a consideration.  SEVERAL cruise lines do the Alaska routes and all of them keep their ships there for approximately the same season.  Icy Strait Point will typically have fewer ships--because the port won't accommodate multiple ships.  Ketchikan or Juneau, OTOH, can have a whole lot of ships...and often do...I wouldn't worry about it...Some towns get crowded and, if you are just wandering KIetchikan shopping, for example, you'll find a crowd. If you are off on a tour, you'll mostly be with just the others on your tour.  The White Pass Railroad in Skagway, for example, will be full to capacity whenever you go--so we always avoid it and do a small van private tour instead--through the Pass to the Yukon where we've toured Carcross or gone horseback riding.  Helicopter tours out of Juneau will get you far from any crowd--but, OTOH, they can be uite pricey.  (Hint:  Keep away from the shorexes for this and go with Coastal Helicopters).

Good luck. 

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2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

We went in early June and saw a bunch of whales, including Orcas, in Juneau

Just a note...

If your itinerary includes both Juneau and Icy Strait Point, do your whale watching in Icy Strait Point and save Juneau for other things.  First, there are far more whales to be found in ISP (despite what the whale tour purveyors of Juneau like to claim)--Point Adolphus, just up the channel from ISP, is home to the largest population of humpback whales in Alaska--and there is not much else there...It is a very small town (Hoonah) populated by the local Hoonah Tlingit tribe...and, in a day, you have plenty of time to do a whale watch boat ride and to walk around the town afterwards.  In Juneau, OTOH, there is a lot more to see--including a large glacial ice field--which you can do the expensive (and unbelievable) way by doing a helicopter landing...all the way down to the chgeap way--catch the bus up to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center...from where you can hike up to the glacier if you'd like.  Plus several other options in Juneau.

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We were booked for May 27 this past year (Radiance Southbound) with a 3 day land tour. We had to cancel because my daughter and I both got Covid. 
 

Our neighbors went in August (Radiance Northbound) and their dog sledding excursion was cancelled because of too much snow melt. They were really disappointed but enjoyed the cruise and their 7 day land tour. 
 

If dog sledding is on your bucket list, go in May. The only real dog sledding (on ice/snow) requires helicopter to glacier otherwise the dog sledding excursions are on dirt. 

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Early in the Alaska season will have longer daylight hours but also the mountains will have snow on them which makes for better pictures.  By September most snow at elevation has melted, only very high peaks might have some snow on them so the mountains tend to blend into the sky depending on lighting. 

As a photographer the combination of snow capped mountains and longer days yields better pictures.  

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On 11/11/2022 at 2:24 PM, AshleyDillo said:

Shoulder season is cheaper. We went end of May and had fantastic we weather..warmer than I expected. We were too early to see the salmon, though.

This is exactly what I was going to say - less crowds, cooler weather, too early for salmon season, but lots of wildlife/sealife to see. I remember being REALLY glad I brought my fleece! (take that with a grain of salt, I'm from AZ)

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I went on Ovation at the end of August this past year.  This was my first Alaskan cruise so I can't speak to what it would be like during other months.  But a few negatives that I am blaming on the time of the year are a lack of wildlife sighting, too warm and a lot of rain.  For wildlife, especially bears and whales, I think they are more active earlier in the season.  Maybe I was just unlucky, but I spent a lot time with my binoculars and I didn't see much other than some eagles.  Some days it was near 80 degrees which made it feel kind of weird.  And when it wasn't too warm it was raining.  Whenever I go again, I would probably shoot for early June.  And I would definitely add in a multi day land based portion as well.  The cruises only touch the most southern parts of Alaska, and the port towns are nothing but touristy stuff.  Next time I would want to get on a bus or a train and get more into the interior of Alaska (Denali, etc.).      

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When we first visited Alaska we went on a cruise the last week of May. We disembarked on the Friday before Memorial Day. We had fabulous weather with little to no rain. We understood it to be very unusual by all the Alaskan residents. Wildlife was not effected as we saw plenty, to include a bear and many whales. If you are interested in the Salmon run, May is not for you.  A few years later we went back to Alaska and toured on our own by train, bus and car the Middle to end of August, which is Alaska's fall. We had some nice sunny, cool days and some rainy, foggy days but all of them added to our experience. The mountains were lush and green when we went in August and the Salmon run was fascinating to observe. We fly fished, and the opportunity to snag a Salmon or two was outstanding. 

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