Already good advise above.

i would lean towards Princess since we did not have a bad experience on our Alaska cruise several years ago. Last summer we took them on a Mediterranean cruise with just positive experiences. I would not feel too obligated to use their "shore excursions". For our last one, we basically used Viator and booked private excursions to see many of the same places with a similar costs, but no crowds. If you like to gamble, the on-boat casinos were decent.

My uncle who is close to your age did his first cruise on Princess (also to Alaska) last year and since then has done a couple of others (all Princess).

Someone asked about Disney...We were on on one when the kids were younger to the Caribbean during the 2008 downturn. Was an a great experience at that age for their (and my) first cruise. They had a rebound offer to go back for a few hundred dollars and all of us ended up taking adult friends. Most of the boat did too and it was a totally different experience since it became almost adult only (felt kind of sorry for the few families on board)..

TXTransplant said:

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Just an FYI…the road into Denali NP is closed at mile 43, and will be until (at least) after summer of 2026.

Just keep that in mind if you are planning a land trip. Most people would say that most of the best experiences in the park are past mile 43.

There is an option to do a flightseeing tour, but it is substantially more expensive, and may not be great if you are prone to motion sickness. We stayed at Denali Backcountry Lodge in 2021. Some of the people staying there with us opted to fly back out rather than take the bus, and they said they got sick.

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Yeah, the Tundra Wilderness Tour buses currently take you to just short of mile 43 and turn around. We saw all the wildlife (below) on our list except for bears. We were looking really hard when passing through the grizzly bear preserve in both directions, but no joy.

Moose (several)
Caribou (lots)
Dall's Sheep (5, together up high in a hillside field)
Porcupines (3 or 4)
Golden Eagle (1)
Bald Eagle (1)
Ptarmigan (2)

Lots of interesting and helpful info in this thread. Since we are considering a cruise at some point, one question I have concerns the timing of a cruise. What would be the best and worst dates to plan an inside passage cruise? Being retired and from the south, we typically like to plan trips either before or after the summer vacation season to avoid the crowds and perhaps take advantage of more discounts. Can an Alaska cruise be successfully and safely taken outside of the peak season? If so, would it be best planned at the beginning or end of the season? Any input would be most helpful, thanks!

RM76 said:

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Lots of interesting and helpful info in this thread. Since we are considering a cruise at some point, one question I have concerns the timing of a cruise. What would be the best and worst dates to plan an inside passage cruise? Being retired and from the south, we typically like to plan trips either before or after the summer vacation season to avoid the crowds and perhaps take advantage of more discounts. Can an Alaska cruise be successfully and safely taken outside of the peak season? If so, would it be best planned at the beginning or end of the season? Any input would be most helpful, thanks!

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Alaskan cruises are best planned out 9-12+ months in advance. They do book up fairly quickly.

June and July are peak months, but also the most expensive to cruise and also more kiddos.

I do have a fair number of folks who do mid/late May, and mid/late August to get a little bit better pricing and fewer kids. The days are a little shorter and not as great of weather, but I've never had complaints. My inlaws wanted to go in Sept. Sept isn't ideal, colder, shorter days, not as many things open.

JMac booked my family on a Holland America cruise out of Vancouver that started on 8/8 last year. Older crowd, few kids. It was damn fun.

Thanks much. Was just what I was looking for in an answer. Will do some more planning and likely get back in touch with you on this issue. Thanks again!

RM76 said:

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Thanks much. Was just what I was looking for in an answer. Will do some more planning and likely get back in touch with you on this issue. Thanks again!

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Perfect. Thanks!

never cruised before but if i do it will probably be a alaska cruise....

any pros/cons on the departure port city? seattle vs vancouver? is one preferred over the other? it appears you can see most of the sights departing from either city...

While most of my clients sail out of Seattle, going out of Vancouver may be slightly better. While some Seattle cruises go through the Inside Passage, not all do. The Inside Passage has more scenery and is more calm.

I generally find Vancouver is slightly cheaper on the cruise, but flights tend to be more, so it usually balances out.

When I go, I will be going out of Vancouver (better for seasickness).

As a travel advisor I will be sailing on the Norwegian Encore this July to answer the question about time of year. I have many clients go in late May and late August for better pricing. If you do not have a travel advisor and looking for one my contact info is in my bio.

On a different note..... Do I really have to dress up to go to dinner on these dang boats?
I'm more of a blue jean / pullover shirt type of guy.....

And do they allow camo on them (bout the only kind of jackets I got)?

Texaspainter said:

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On a different note..... Do I really have to dress up to go to dinner on these dang boats?
I'm more of a blue jean / pullover shirt type of guy.....

And do they allow camo on them (bout the only kind of jackets I got)?

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On the Princess cruise I took, there was a "dress up" dinner on the night at sea.

There were people in tux/dinner dress, people in suits/sports coats and some just slacks and nice shirts. I don't think anyone was dressed in jeans. They didn't actively say you had to dress up but it was encouraged. If you don't want to do that you can always eat the buffet. We were in suits/nice dress but definitely not tux/gown level.

IIRC they had something where you could give them a size and they would have a tux on board. Sort of Mens Warehouse at sea.

I don't think it's nearly as "you must wear a tux" as it used to be.

Aside from that one night dinners were casual. If you want to go shorts and flip flops you can always eat in the buffet.

Bachelor99 said:

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never cruised before but if i do it will probably be a alaska cruise....

any pros/cons on the departure port city? seattle vs vancouver? is one preferred over the other? it appears you can see most of the sights departing from either city...

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We have sailed out of both cities, Vancouver being just two weeks ago. We decided that we like Vancouver more for several reasons. One is that it is a cleaner and more friendly city than Seattle. The other is that the cruise port (called Canada Place) is right in the downtown area, with many hotels within walking distance. In fact, the Fairmont Waterfront is right across the street, and the hotel staff will even take your large luggage items to the port and to your ship's staff for you. If you stay in the center of downtown Seattle, you will need to find transportation to the Seattle terminal.

C

Texaspainter said:

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On a different note..... Do I really have to dress up to go to dinner on these dang boats?
I'm more of a blue jean / pullover shirt type of guy.....

And do they allow camo on them (bout the only kind of jackets I got)?

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Agree w/mathguy64's comments. If casual dress remains a concern, look into something called "adventure" or "expedition" cruising. Casual outdoor dress is expected, and in fact you would really look out of place if you showed up for dinner in suit, and especially a tux.

C

RM76 said:

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What would be the best and worst dates to plan an inside passage cruise? Can an Alaska cruise be successfully and safely taken outside of the peak season? If so, would it be best planned at the beginning or end of the season? Any input would be most helpful, thanks!

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We have done AK cruises that started in late May when most public schools are still in session, and at the beginning of September. We did not feel that this timing of just outside of peak season was detrimental in any way. I will say however that in our last cruise that ended a few days ago, we did not see any humpback whales like we did in our first two AK cruises which were late season. We did however get to see grey whales, two of which surfaced so close to our boat that we could have jumped on their backs*.

As for which end of peak season is better - we didn't see much difference, other than the length of sunlight. The length of days/sunlight on the cruise we just completed was impressively long, but we found that you don't really benefit much from this as you are back on the boat long before the day ends, and it lessens the amount of time that you might see the aurora borealis. The length of days in late August/early September are still plenty long. You are more likely at any time to not see the northern lights than are when cruising the inside passage, but the last time we cruised in late September we witnessed an unbelievable show. YMMV, obviously.

C

*Not recommended you do this.

Texaspainter said:

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So here is another question…. Do you think it's worth it to engage a travel agency to help book all this for us? Being our first time to cruise, I think I really like the idea of handing this over to a professional to plan. Thoughts?

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OK - last one for tonight.

I would never recommend to anyone to not use a travel agency. However, I will say that if you are a detail-oriented type of person and have a good level of travel sense/experience, that you will most likely not have any problems with booking a cruise yourself. We have done three AK cruises and one Antarctic cruise, and I arranged everything. We have never encountered any issues, anywhere. But I will also say that I did a lot of reading before the actual booking (especially for the Antarctic voyage), but then again I am retired and have that kind of time. I would however certainly understand if someone would prefer to let an agency organize everything.

C

I just booked a late August inside passage Alaska cruise through JMac03 a few days ago based on this thread. I am a pretty independent traveler and usually arrange my own travel, both business and personal. But working through JMac03 was great as she is very knowledgeable, friendly and super helpful. I highly recommend at least talking with her as there is no downside.

OilManAg91 said:

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I just booked a late August inside passage Alaska cruise through JMac03 a few days ago based on this thread. I am a pretty independent traveler and usually arrange my own travel, both business and personal. But working through JMac03 was great as she is very knowledgeable, friendly and super helpful. I highly recommend at least talking with her as there is no downside.

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Thank you!!!

OilManAg91 said:

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I just booked a late August inside passage Alaska cruise through JMac03 a few days ago based on this thread. I am a pretty independent traveler and usually arrange my own travel, both business and personal. But working through JMac03 was great as she is very knowledgeable, friendly and super helpful. I highly recommend at least talking with her as there is no downside.

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JMac is putting together some packages for us to look at now.

You will have them today!

As a travel advisor I will leave the group with this comment from a fellow Texag just today on my google business page. Different location but this is the type of attention to detail my agency brings.

48 mins ago New

Amazing company. Brooke and her team planned my family's Hawaiian vacation and did an unbelievable job with every aspect of the trip. The communication was prompt and they paid attention to every request and had awesome suggestions and recommendations. We received a fully planned and documented itinerary through an app that was filled with additional information and suggestions. I have always planned our own trips before but will never go on another vacation without using Brooke and her team. 5 stars 10/10 Highly Recommended!

Brooke Your insight is just as welcomed as Jmac although I do not know either one yall both seemed to know alot about everything

My wife is hard headed sometimes but when we finally get a chance to go to Alaska I hope she will read this thread and make a decision on one of yall to help us

I think I can speak For Jmac and myself. Which she and I are great friends and fellow travel agency owners. We both have had lots of clients that love to do their planning as some trips are simple. But the relationships anr firsthand knowledge we bring to the table I think our clients as you see on here will speak volumes.

We also love working as a team with clients that want to be involved in all the aspects of planning

We're heading out next month on a 7-night Alaska Inside Passage cruise with Princess, and I'm so excited! It's round-trip from Seattle and includes Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay (not a port stop, but scenic cruising), and a quick stop in Victoria, BConly about 3 hours there.

We chose Princess since it's been a top pick for my clients, especially for Alaska. One big reason is that they have the permits to sail Glacier BayPrincess, Norwegian, and Holland America are allowed in along with some Carnival and Viking ships.

Can't wait to experience it for myself and share firsthand tips with my clients!
I've also had clients sail Alaska with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, and they've all had great things to say.

Feel free to reach out with any other planning questions, I'd love to help!

Jmac set us up on Norwegian Encore out of Seattle on July 20th. We have younger kids and looking forward to the amenities onboard and Glacier Bay. I don't think I would be booking a family cruise without a TA's help as I have no clue what I'm looking at across different cruise lines, ships, itineraries and state rooms.

trestamu said:

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Jmac set us up on Norwegian Encore out of Seattle on July 20th. We have younger kids and looking forward to the amenities onboard and Glacier Bay. I don't think I would be booking a family cruise without a TA's help as I have no clue what I'm looking at across different cruise lines, ships, itineraries and state rooms.

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Thanks for the shoutout!

Booked 2 other Texagers todays and yesterday on Alaska! (Cunard and Holland).

I'll get crapped on, but just got back from Alaskan Cruise with Carnival and it was great. Port stays were short, was my only complaint. Skagway was the only full day.

Overall I thought they did a great job and the kids loved every bit of it, even considering that there were not many kids.

We want to try Holland or something else to get more time, but honestly not disappointed at all with what we got to experience. It was truly spectacular seeing everything we did.

I've done the Alaska cruise twice, both on Princess out of Vancouver. They do a one way cruise that finishes up in Whittier, where we rented a car for 7 more days and explored the mainland. Driving as far north as Denali and then back down the Kenai peninsula. We fished, hiked and took in the breathtaking scenery. Alaska is a beautiful state, I highly recommend the one way cruise.

OilManAg91 said:

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I just booked a late August inside passage Alaska cruise through JMac03 a few days ago based on this thread. I am a pretty independent traveler and usually arrange my own travel, both business and personal. But working through JMac03 was great as she is very knowledgeable, friendly and super helpful. I highly recommend at least talking with her as there is no downside.

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I am considering this same time frame and route, please report back and let us know how it went. Thanks and enjoy your trip!

So I am the OP on this thread. To update, we ended up booking 7 day inside passage out of Vancouver on Holland America for next June. I ended up using JMac and highly recommend her. She was very patient with us as we asked a ton of questions and she was very helpful.

Texaspainter said:

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So I am the OP on this thread. To update, we ended up booking 7 day inside passage out of Vancouver on Holland America for next June. I ended up using JMac and highly recommend her. She was very patient with us as we asked a ton of questions and she was very helpful.

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You were great to work with. Thanks for the shoutout!

We fly out Thursday to Seattle for 10-day round trip cruise on Norwegian Joy that starts Friday. Juneau, Skagway, Hubbard Glacier (not sure why they didn't do Glacier Bay considering the cruise the Joy is on right now did Glacier Bay instead of Hubbard), Icy Strait Point, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria, and back to Seattle.

I had thoughts I could do this with just one large suitcase, but now I'm thinking I am either going to overpack or underpack.

Advice on the packing? I know most people overpack for a cruise, but this is Alaska, and it seems I need a variety of layers.

Also any other advice?

I would overpack for Alaska. Many of the cruise lines have suggested packing lists, or you can just google "Alaska packing list"

I'll tell you I WAY overpack for my cruises. I haven't done Alaska, but I didn't wear 1/2 of what I brought on my cruise last month. Funny I went to Europe for 10-11 days in a carry on and backpack, but when I go on a cruise or to Mexico I pack pack pack.

EDITED to add - but don't overpack to where your suitcase is overweight. I noticed one of my clients had $100 charge for an overweight suitcase.

I'm really luck United didn't charge me for my cruise cause I was about 56 pounds going out there and about 52 coming back (shifted things around).

Tramp96 said:

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We fly out Thursday to Seattle for 10-day round trip cruise on Norwegian Joy that starts Friday. Juneau, Skagway, Hubbard Glacier (not sure why they didn't do Glacier Bay considering the cruise the Joy is on right now did Glacier Bay instead of Hubbard), Icy Strait Point, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria, and back to Seattle.

I had thoughts I could do this with just one large suitcase, but now I'm thinking I am either going to overpack or underpack.

Advice on the packing? I know most people overpack for a cruise, but this is Alaska, and it seems I need a variety of layers.

Also any other advice?

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I usually take 2 pairs of jeans (launder one about halfway through), 4-5 t-shirts, a couple of 1/4 zip pullovers, and a fleece jacket, and 2 pair of shoes and it ends up being plenty. Don't forget to pack some shorts. Your sea days at the beginning and the end may be warmer than you expect.

I would pack a light waterproof jacket. Decent chance of rain in Ketchikan.