I plan to go on a Alaskan Cruise in july,was it a good trip if you have been?

Question

maybe the last time to see glaciers before they melt into the sea

Answer 1

I have been to Alaska twice, once on business for two weeks and then on a cruise with Princess cruise line.  The Alaska cruise season is from May to Sept.  The weather is generally warmer in June, July and Aug, but it can also be pleasant in May and Sept. When we went a few years ago in May it was shirt sleeve weather (70's) in Anchorage and Fairbanks. The odd thing was, it was cooler further south in Juneau and Skegway than it was up north. It was rainy and cloudy in Ketchkan and Juneau because both of those cities get a lot of rain. It will be cold, like coat, hat and gloves weather, when you get close to the Glaciers. Otherwise they would melt. When you pack, think layering of your clothes. A couple long sleeve shirts/tops, a sweater/sweatshirt, a light jacket, maybe with a hood.

The port stops will be about the same but may be in a different order depending upon the cruise line and itinerary you choose.  Some cruises ship itineraries are run in reverse order, North to South vs starting in Seattle or Vancouver. Check the cruise line web sites for variations by date, itinerary and price.  Regardless you will have a great time.  The ships that do Alaska typically have a solarium which is a covered pool and hot tub area.  So you can enjoy those while on ship.

The best Alaska cruise experience is the CRUISE-TOUR. Princess, Holland America, and Royal Caribbean all run cruise tours which take you by train all the way to (or from)  Fairbanks, Alaska.   Princess and RC have special domed train cars for this. Your best chance to see wild animals will be if you do a cruise-tour where you go further north after cruising the inside passage. The only animals you are likely to see in the inside passage is seals.  On these cruise-tours you can arrange to stop for a night or two in Taketna, or  Denali National Park. This will be your best opportunity to see moose, caribou, eagle, wolf, and bear. But if you stop in Denali you really need two days so that you have time to get one of the Park Service's buses that go deep into the park. Regular tour buses , cars and campers can only go about 3 or 4 miles into the park. The Park Service runs buses about 17 miles into the park, but you must get to the visitor center very early to reserve a spot on one of their buses. The train stops going north and south do not get you to Denali in time or allow enough time for the deep back country buses.  

With Princess, Holland America, and RC you can do the tour part first and then go to Seward or Whittier to get on ship for the inside passage part.  I recommend doing the tour part first.  We went on Princess but any of these three will be great.

Answer 2

I went on a 7-night round trip to Alaska from Seattle on Holland America Line, and it was amazing.  Great views of massive glaciers.  Great service.

There are different options, mainly 7-night round trip. or 7-night one-way (you go farther into Alaska and see more wildlife), or cruise tours, where you do part cruise and part land tour.  Each is great in its own way -- really depends on what you want.

You can read more about Alaska cruises here:

http://www.cruisesavvy.com/savvyguide/ho...

Answer 3

I went on a royal Carribean Alaskan cruise last summer, in June. It was a little warmer in some places than we expected. We flew into Canada and then took a train into our port in Alaska. The train ride was exceptional.

The glaciers we saw were pretty small. Make sure to take pants with an elastic waste because you will eat more food than you have ever imagined. Our cruise had the most amazing midnight chocolate buffet, so look out for those. You also want to participate in as many of the cruise activities as possible because a lot of them were very memorable, especially one of them where they made my brother dress as a women, from the inside out. So he was wearing heels, and then a dress, and on top of the dress he had to wear a bra and panties. Best memories of my life

Answer 4

Yes..great...cold...no shorts days.

Answer 5

I have been to Alaska on 22 cruises/tours. You do not have to worry about the Glaciers melting. No matter what cruise line you go on you will see amazing sites, wildlife and meet people from all over the world. A cruisetour if you can take the time is your best choice as you get to see alot more of everything.

Too many good things to list.

Enjoy.