These Alaska cruise tips and insights will help you make the right choices for your Alaska cruise trip.

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Getting there

Vancouver and Seattle are the top two Alaska Cruise embarkation and debarkation port cities. Air Canada has the most Vancouver flights and Air Alaska the most Seattle flights of the major airlines. Click Air Canada and Air Alaska to view their websites and schedules.

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Best time to take
an Alaska cruise?

The five-month tourism season runs May to September. It can be subdivided into three periods. Each has its pro & cons.

May through
1st week of June
Shoulder season
Rains the least. Mountain peaks still blanketed with much of their winter snow. Wildflowers are abloom. Easier than mid-summer to book cruises and prime shore excursions. Smaller tourist crowds. Comparatively cold. Iceberg calving may keep ships from getting close to glaciers.

2nd week of June
through 3rd week of August
Peak season
Longest daylight hours. Warmest period. Salmon runs peak, thus better bear viewing. Best whale watching period. School vacation time, which increases tourist crowds and decreases cruise and excursion availability. Rains become more prevalent.

Last week of August
through September
Shoulder season
Beautiful fall foliage. Cruise ports less crowded. Easier and less expensive to make bookings. Possible to see Northern Lights in late September. Rainiest period. Fewest daylight hours. Comparatively cold.

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When to book

Alaska cruises, shore excursions, and the airline flights serving the embarking and disembarking ports tend to sell out early, especially for the peak-season mid-June to mid-August period. You may be able to get better prices by waiting till the end, but that entails the risk of not getting the ships, cabins, excursions, and flights that best suit your personal preferences.

Moreover, the price of a flight tends to rise as the flight date nears. The increase could well offset the last-minute bargain cruise fare.

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Cruising with children
and teenagers

If the youth is bored on the ship, his interest may perk up on shore excursions. Try to book a cruise that visits many ports. Just as important, bring your kids into the decision making on which excursions to book.

If the youth is bored on the ship, his interest may perk up on shore excursions. Try to book a cruise that visits many ports. Just as important, bring your kids into the decision making on which excursions to book.

Generally, the big mid-priced ships are best suited for children and teenagers because they have a variety of age-specific onboard and ashore activities for them. And, there will be more children and teenagers onboard to meet and befriend. This is particularly true for the Royal Caribbean and Carnival ships.

Prepping your children before the cruise on what they will see and experience increases the odds that they will enjoy the cruise. For example, encourage them to watch TV nature documentaries on the destinations you will be visiting.

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About the Inside Passage

Alaska's Inside Passage stretches 800 kilometers (500 miles) south to north and contains 1,000 islands. The latter effectively blocks open-Pacific storms, creating smooth sailing waterways for cruise and cargo ships.

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My Big 5 wildlife list

In my African Safari section, I give both the traditional Big 5 safari animal list (those to shoot with a rifle) and the Hillman list (those to shoot with a camera). Here's my Big 5 list for Alaska cruise photographers:

Bald eagle

Bear

Moose

Orca

Whale

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Best cruise ships by category
Best 4 Alaska cruise ports to visit
Best shore excursions - overview
Helicopter tours - Ranks #1
Floatplane tours - Ranks #2
Best 3 Juneau shore excursions
Best 3 Ketchikan shore excursions
Best 3 Sitka shore excursions
Best 3 Skagway shore excursions
Denali National Park
Goldstar Dome railroad ride
More pre- and post-cruise options

World's Top 100 Wonders

World's Top 1000 Wonders

Site map

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Alaska Cruise Association

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©2012 HQP - Hillman Quality Publications / hillmanwonders.com