Tuesday, April 9, 2024

The 8 Best Alaska Cruises For Every Travel Style 2024

best cruise in alaska

But if you motor a bit further, there’s a good chance you’ll be greeted by electric-blue icebergs, dizzying fjords, and dramatic, millennia-old glaciers. What’s appealing about this Maple Leaf Adventures itinerary is that it’s a good mix of Alaska’s natural landscapes and coastal cityscapes. Visits to bustling port towns like Sitka and Ketchikan are balanced with days spent entirely in the wilderness of Endicott Arm and Misty fjords.

Alaska Cruise With The Most Adventurous Excursions: UnCruise Adventures

If adventure is what you crave on an Alaska cruise, you should seek out the small ships of UnCruise Adventures. All of the line's itineraries boast an active component, but its "Wild, Woolly and Wow" itinerary claims to be "the most active back country itinerary" of UnCruise's 2024 Alaska cruises. If you're looking for other surefire ways to save, inside and ocean-view cabins are often much cheaper than balcony cabins on Alaska cruises.

Best Alaska Cruises to Take This Summer, According to Experts

During your Alaska cruise, explore the Yukon's pristine wilderness, pan for gold with professionals or meet sled dog puppies in training. Icy Strait Point is home to the remote Tlingit village of Hoonah, home to fewer than 800 people and a deep Native history. The nearby Spasski River Valley holds one of the world’s largest populations of brown bears, who are often found hunting for salmon in the rivers. Zipline over the wilderness, watch a tribal dance or kayak in coastal waters to see the wildlife up close during your Alaska cruise vacation.

Cruise To Hubbard Glacier

best cruise in alaska

HAL prides itself on having more permits for Glacier Bay National Park visits than any other cruise line. The cruise line also offers beloved live music programming, which I got to experience firsthand on a summer 2023 Alaska sailing. King's Blues Club, Billboard Onboard (a dueling piano bar), Lincoln Center Stage, and Rolling Stone Rock Room.

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Partner of National Geographic, Lindblad Expeditions is the pioneer in expedition ecotourism cruises. Landscapes, water encounters and wildlife are front and center here – with little to no signal for electronic devices most of the time. You need to weigh up the typical cruise experience of each ship alongside the reviews. It’s no good paying for an ultra-luxury ship when you can’t afford it and you hate dressing up formally, just because it’s placed higher on the list. While this guide ranks the best ships for Alaska cruise holidays by real reviews, you can’t just accept that the number one ship is the one you should book. Kids won’t enjoy Regatta as much as they might one of the mainstream ships, but the Alaska Explorer Youth Program is enriching and fun – so you can still enjoy a grander ship when travelling with your children.

Royal Caribbean vs Princess to Alaska: which cruise line is better? - Royal Caribbean Blog

Royal Caribbean vs Princess to Alaska: which cruise line is better?.

Posted: Thu, 13 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Alaska: AKA Your Next Adventure

On average, a seven-night cruise ranges from $500 to $5,000, depending on the cruise line and state room of your choice. The price typically includes all on-board expenses such as food, room, and on-ship activities. When planning a trip to Alaska, many travelers wonder if it's better to explore the state by land or by sea. Pioneer America’s Last Frontier onboard Ovation of the Seas®, one of the world's most groundbreaking ships and among the boldest ships to ever sail Alaska.

The ship and her 84 guests will be the only cruise ship in Glacier Bay National Park. Whale watching, farm-to-table meals, snowshoe and cross-country skiing, and heli-ski excursions are also on the schedule. And, for a more low-key experience with Alaska-specific programs, book a passage on one of the Princess ships where you might get to meet sled dogs who visit the ship. UnCruise Adventures is a sustainability-focused line traveling the waters of the Inside Passage.

That's because it's not the Alaska voyages from Seattle offered by the North American cruise line best known for budget sailings — Carnival Cruise Line. Celebrity is popular with adults and couples looking for a premium onboard experience, including delicious cuisine, luxurious staterooms and a high-end spa. We can’t imagine a better way to rest and relax after spending a day exploring the Alaskan wilderness. Our travel experts suggest choosing one of Celebrity's many Alaska itineraries that sail through the Inside Passage and up to Dawes Glacier or Hubbard Glacier, two of the state’s gems. Holland America has a well-earned reputation for bringing guests to new destinations for more than 150 years.

Shore excursions range from adventures like zip lining, hiking and rafting to seaplane exploration, photo safaris and high teas. Adults can enjoy themselves on an Alaskan Disney Cruise, too, with adult-exclusive dining; an adult-only pool and hot tub; fitness center; and Senses Spa & Salon. These ships often feature complimentary shore excursions, kayaks and bikes for guest use and onboard scientists and naturalists.

The best cruises in Alaska offer unparalleled experiences that will bring you up close to some of the most unique and awe-inspiring places in the world. From the lush rainforests and tranquil seas of the Inside Passage, to the endless horizon and luminous ice of the Arctic, there’s no shortage of what Alaska offers to cruise enthusiasts. Back on the vessel, after a gourmet meal and drinks, evening entertainment is viewing the deep fjords, glaciers, and abundant whales that make Alaska so magical. There’s also complimentary Pilates and yoga, a gym, jogging track, spa, observation library, and a slew of bars and restaurants.

Norwegian also makes some cabins available for solo occupancy on select cruises if a single studio is unavailable. Whether you visit the Inside Passage or venture inward to Denali National Park, there is a cruise for every price point, desire and type of traveler. The best Alaska cruises are great for multigenerational trips with grandparents, their children and their grandchildren. A cruise to Alaska, “America’s final frontier,” is a glorious way to explore this enormous state. Certain cities, like Juneau, are only easily accessible by air or sea, which makes a cruise a reliable and convenient way to get there.

Top scenic cruising destinations in Alaska include Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Hubbard Glacier, Tracy Arm (Twin Sawyer Glaciers), Dawes Glacier at Endicott Arm and College Fjord. Sitka's Russian heritage also sets it apart from other Alaskan ports on your cruise itinerary. See St. Michael's Orthodox Cathedral with its onion dome and the Russian Bishop's House. For a view of the city and cruise port, take a ride in the sky on the Mount Roberts Tramway. Various wildlife-viewing trips (whale, bears and more) and visits to dogsled camps and salmon bakes leave from Juneau. Alaska's capital city is interesting because no road leads from here to the rest of the state.

For example, NCL offers studio cabins (82 of them to be exact) on their Alaska-bound ship, Norwegian Bliss. Also, book in the shoulder parts of the sailing season for additional discounts and sign up for loyalty programs to enjoy some inexpensive (or free) perks. And, if you would like one of the popular balcony cabins (there is a continuous view of stunning scenery on an Alaskan cruise), book those early.

While pulling into port one day, I remember digging into a hearty lunch of fish and chips featuring fresh-caught Alaskan halibut. (HAL is the first cruise line to serve fresh, certified-sustainable Alaskan seafood.) As of September, acclaimed chef Masaharu Morimoto is the Fresh Fish Ambassador as part of the line’s Global Fresh Fish Program. If you're interested in Alaska's Gold Rush history, Skagway — 90 miles northwest of Juneau — is a port you shouldn't miss. In fact, it's the gateway to the Klondike and Dawson's mining district in Canada's Yukon territory, where prospectors searched for gold in the late 1890s. The historic district still has a Wild West feel, though that's been a bit commercialized for the modern era. This port can get crowded in summer when several ships can call on the same day.

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