Alaskan Cruise Guide
We decided to go on an Alaskan Cruise in August 2023- it was something that had always been on my bucket list and I thought it would be a great thing to do with our one year old. Here is what we learned.
Things to consider
-The best time to go is late June-late July. From talking to others that have gone and talking to the crew on the ship we learned that this is the best time of year for the best weather. We still had a good time in mid August but we didn't have great weather
-This is not a Caribbean cruise- I mean I say this kind of silly but I saw people in shorts and flip flops. While it was mid summer
-Expect rain and expect the temperature to be in the 50s-60s. I've heard of Alaska having some fluke days and getting into the 80s but for the most part the highest it gets is 50s-60s. Also most of us think "Snow" when we think of Alaska but alaskan summers mostly consist of rain. If you go the whole cruise without getting rained on then go buy a lottery ticket or something because you just got super lucky
- It barely gets dark- something to take into account if you are wanting a balcony or a room with a window and are sensitive to light.
- If you are driving to Vancouver and parking your car like we did book your parking early- we did not and unfortunately could not park at the cruise terminal like originally planned. Apparently the city of Vancouver has a ban on people outside Canada parking for more than 3 days in their parking garages unless it's the cruise terminal parking lot- believe me we tried. In the end we ended up parking our car at the Vancouver airport and we were able to take the subway to the airport parking. Just something to be aware of- don't make the same mistake as us. I would actually recommend considering the airport parking because we were able to bypass the downtown Vancouver traffic but if you aren't very good with subways you'll want to book your parking early.
What to pack
Rain gear- can't stress this enough. We found that a rain jacket/windbreaker with a hood paired well with a baseball hat when it came to battling the rain. Also water proof shoes for walking around. I brought a pair of ankle rain boots that worked well. We also used umbrellas intermittently while in port cities.
Warm clothes- I guess this is just based on your cold tolerance- but even though I'm originally from Wisconsin I'm wimp when it comes to cold. Keep in mind that the rain makes everything colder. We did a lot of light layers so we could take off and put on as needed. I saw a lot of people wearing vests as well.
Winter basics- I would make sure everyone brings at least a winter hat, scarf and mittens. Especially when we were at the glaciers it was pretty cold- there were literally chunks of ice in the water. When you're just standing around looking at the pretty surroundings and not actually moving it gets a little cold.
Anti-Nausea stuff- the nurse in me needs to remind you about seasickness meds if you need them. I was very surprised to find that this was our most turbulent cruise. We've done cruises in the Caribbean and northern Europe and I was shocked to discover how turbulent this one was.
Binoculars- there is so much to see at a distance. We saw SO MANY whales just off the deck of the boat. If you have binoculars or you can borrow them from some one I would recommend it. They do sell them on the boat but they are going to be very over priced.
What should I do in the port cities?
To be completely honest I could've cared less about the port cities- my main objective for this cruise was to see all the glaciers and the surroundings on the boat. We didn't plan too much because we had a one year old with us and we didn't want to over do it. But here is a brief overview of our port cities and things to do.
Things to do in Vancouver
-See this blogpost- we spent a few days in Vancouver before we left on the the boat so I go into more detail in a separate post.
Things to do in Sitka, AK
There is a free shuttle from the cruise dock to the downtown area-this is nice to know info because we almost did the 20 minute walk downtown.
We went to the Sitka National Historical Park- this has very pretty low intensity hiking/walking. You get very pretty views of the harbor and the beautiful trees. Plus there is an NP stamp if you are a nerd like me.
On the way to the historical park from downtown is a salmon ladder- this was a fun find for us- we saw so many salmon it was crazy. They literally just leaped out of the water.
The Sitka History Museum is located in downtown Sitka right where the shuttle drops you off. We did not do this but it looked very interesting and would a great indoor activity on a cold rainy day.
Things to do in Juneau, AK
Depending on where your cruise ship parks there is also a free shuttle from the port to downtown.
If you want to go shopping on this cruise- especially for jewelry- Juneau is your spot to do it. There are a ton of stores in the downtown area to explore and buy to your hearts content.
We walked to the Juneau Overstreet park for nice views of the harbor and the mountains. There is a cool whale statue in the park as well.
We considered going to the Mendenhall Glacier which is roughly 30 min north of downtown Juneau- but decided we didn't want to spend the money getting there ($50 per person). Perhaps next time- it was also so rainy that day that we wondered how much we could really see.
There are a lot of good resturants on the harbor if you want to try fresh chowder or crab.
Things to do in Ketikan, AK
There is a free shuttle for this port as well but we decided not to take it and found it very easily walkable.
We actually got very lucky with Ketikan and it was not rainy that day. It was still only about 58 degrees.
The lumberjack so is by far the most famous thing to do in Ketikan- we decided not to do it because it was a little too cheesy for me.
There is a lot of shopping here so if you are looking for an Alaska T shirt or other souvenir this is a good spot to look.
A little north of downtown they have a cool salmon ladder as well that we found interesting- it just blows me away I've never seen so many fish in one spot.
Overall
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