Best Alaska Cruises of 2024

Table Of Content

• Night Glacier Discovery NorthboundDetails
• Dining Highlights on Radiance of the Seas
• Second Icon-Class Ship Will Have a Furry Family Member
• Best Alaska Cruise Overall: Holland America Line, Nieuw Amsterdam
• Must-Sees for Your Once in a Lifetime Alaska Cruise Vacation
• Two main cruise itineraries for Alaska
• Voyage of the Glaciers

Cruise tour land packages are also available to spots like Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula and Canada's Yukon Territory. An Alaska cruise from Seattle will visit the Inside Passage but tends to favor the open (and frequently bumpier) Pacific Ocean. Sailings from Vancouver tend to traverse more of the Inside Passage and spend a full day sailing this scenic region. You’ll want to carefully consider Alaska cruise packages and itineraries as the scenery, price and length of time all vary considerably.

Night Glacier Discovery NorthboundDetails

That being said, traveling anytime during cruise season will offer epic views of landscape and wildlife, no matter where you travel. These ships often feature complimentary shore excursions, kayaks and bikes for guest use and onboard scientists and naturalists. Most big-ship and luxury cruise lines send at least one cruise ship to Alaska every summer. Some of the best Alaska cruise lines are Holland America and Princess because they have especially long histories in the region and offer cruises, as well as cruise and land tour combinations, on multiple ships each season. This is especially crucial if you're traveling in Alaska's shoulder season — May and September. Likewise, September marks the end of the summer season and welcomes cooler temperatures and more rainfall.

Dining Highlights on Radiance of the Seas

Ships carry between 700 and 1,300 passengers in spacious, well-appointed suites and have port-intensive itineraries. The major large cruise lines you’ll find operating in the region are Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Celebrity Cruises, and Princess Cruises. For the 2023 season, Princess Cruises has seven ships sailing the region, more than any other cruise line. We evaluated over a dozen Alaskan cruises before selecting the best in each category.

Second Icon-Class Ship Will Have a Furry Family Member

As the major cruise lines operate many vessels in Alaska on a seasonal basis, there are also options for repositioning sailings, often including the Panama Canal or a transpacific crossing. Because of the shorter season, your ship will likely be close to capacity and several ships may overlap in ports. To secure your spot, book excursions well in advance or as soon as they're available. In fact, most of the tourists that visit Glacier Bay National Park each year are cruise passengers.

What is the best time to cruise to Alaska?

6 best Alaska cruises for families - The Points Guy

6 best Alaska cruises for families.

Posted: Thu, 19 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

However, this also means you will have to take care of some of the flight logistics as you will have to fly from a different airport than you flew into. These sailings take place on the intimate 86-passenger Wilderness Legacy, with cozy but comfortable cabins and unlimited activities and beverages. However, this UnCruise Adventures sailing is aimed at those who want an more heart-pumping immersion into some little-visited areas of the 49th state, like South Baranof Island Wilderness Area and Chichagof Island. Remove the hassle from air travel and give yourself the gift of flexibility, time and a thicker wallet with Princess EZair flights. We negotiate lower rates with the airlines, allow you to modify your flight up to 45 days prior with no penalty and protect you if your flight is late or canceled.

Choose from three ships in Alaska that all perfectly complement the wild wonders you’ll explore. What’s particularly convenient about this sailing is that it ends in Seward, making it easy to continue your Alaska vacation (a visit to Denali National Park and Preserve, anyone?) by road or rail. Let Princess pick you up from the airport and take you directly to your ship or hotel when you arrive, even if you didn't book your airfare through us. A uniformed Princess representative meets you at the airport after you've retrieved your luggage and transports you directly to your ship or hotel without you having to worry about the logistics of navigating a new city.

Must-Sees for Your Once in a Lifetime Alaska Cruise Vacation

Combine a cruise + train + lodge + Denali for an in-depth Alaska experience. Check out our helpful checklist so that you know exactly what to pack for an Alaska cruise with Princess. From exploring Denali National Park to fishing for salmon in Anchorage, discover the top Alaska destinations on a Princess cruise. No one does seafood quite like Alaska—which is why we brought the best of the Great Land on board, so you can experience it all with Princess. Alaskans are inviting people who love to share what makes their state unique.

Two main cruise itineraries for Alaska

Those craving a luxury Alaska cruise need not look further than Silversea, says Goldring. The line’s Door-to-Door All-Inclusive fares cover private airport transfers, economy flights, business-class upgrades or air credits, and shore excursions. Experts onboard these sailings include naturalists, biologists and other scientists who are members of the expedition team. They lead the outdoor activities and provide passengers with a deeper insight into Alaska.

Voyage of the Glaciers

Added onto the beginning or end of your sailing, CruiseTours let you dive deeper into the Last Frontier with a few days spent on land under the midnight sun. It’s also home to the towering Denali, part of the Alaska Range and the tallest peak in America. The Alaska’s Winter Sports & Northern Lights sailing takes place when most cruise lines can’t sail to Alaska. These trips take place as early as February and March and allow passengers to witness the Northern Lights and even enjoy some winter activities as skiing and ice skating.

Explore the Last Frontier by cruise ship, and you can travel to Gold Rush towns, glaciers, Alaska Native heritage sites and natural areas brimming with wildlife in comfort, even luxury. Let these reader picks for the best Alaska cruise lines inform your itinerary, Alaska shore excursions, and beyond. Stopping along many ports of call through the Inside Passage, their itineraries offer a detailed view of this area of the state, including up-close Zodiac/kayak trips to glaciers. Princess Cruises (operating in the state for over 50 years) has an incredible train tour into the interior. They also offer visits to four national parks as a combo with your cruise. Our final smallest ship recommendation is to experience a truly unique sailing.

Passengers can walk on, bring their vehicles and choose some unique accommodations. Book a “no frills” cabin or actually pitch a tent on deck for a travel adventure. If you are traveling with your own vehicle, four-legged family members are welcome.

So, I’ve tried to cover the typical dining, entertainment and accommodation options for each ship to help you make up your mind. Choose this ship if you’re a younger traveller or couple who wants plenty of bars and evening entertainment while on your cruise to Alaska. Regent Seven Seas’ ships are another option for the most luxurious in the world, and an excellent choice if you want to explore Alaska in style.

Meanwhile, Glacier Bay National Park has over 2,000 square miles of glacial coverage. Elias and Kenai Fjords, a world of natural wonders awaits on an Alaska cruise or cruisetour. At first glance many mistake Victoria for an English coastal city or northern European town. Full of greenery, pubs and Victorian architecture, it's difficult to believe that this was a tent city full of rough and tumble miners just 150 years ago.

Among the most popular cruise ships in Alaska, you’ll find a wide range of choices, from mainstream lines to luxury. Price is obviously something you’ll take into consideration when choosing a ship for your Alaska cruise, but what else should you look at? At Cruise Critic, we believe you need facts about dining, staterooms and onboard activities along with where the ship will stop to make the best decision. We’ve gathered cruises in all size categories (from a couple of hundred passengers to nearly 5,000), as ship size is often one of the biggest factors when selecting a cruise. We’ve also called attention to cruise options that do an impressive job of showcasing nature, offering local experiences, providing endless onboard entertainment, or catering to foodies or luxury travelers. The former travel editor at Parents magazine, Karen Cicero specializes in travel, children's book, lifestyle and food coverage.

Perhaps as interesting as the itinerary is the fact that the vessel, the 528-passenger MS Roald Amundsen, is battery hybrid-powered. In addition to being a model for cruising sustainably, the MS Roald Amundsen features an observation deck, science center, three Nordic-style restaurants, an infinity pool, and hot tubs. In other words, it’s definitely a place you wouldn’t mind spending 19 days.