Alaska
Visiting Alaska is a dream trip for many of us, myself included! When my sister reached out to say she wanted to plan a family cruise, I was all in.
Many of the major cruise lines offer cruises to Alaska–the typical season for Alaska tourism is mid May to mid September. Most folks will tell you that the best wildlife viewing and weather happens in August, and the cruises simply do not run past the end of September because it’s too cold! For more details, check out this solid article.
Now, I’m not a huge fan of cruises, but I can tell you that a cruise is probably one of the most efficient and beautiful ways to see Alaska. It’s an enormous place–larger than Texas, Montana and California combined–that’s pretty reliant on boat and sea plane travel to get around–some of the towns we visited can only be reached by water or air. Most major cruise lines offer cruises to Alaska, and the choices can be overwhelming.
Some cruise planning tips:
I strongly recommend working with a travel agent to help you find the right cruise for you.
You will probably prefer to book your own flights–many cruise lines offer great deals on flights, but if you’re a frequent traveler, you’ll find this limiting for a lot of reasons.
Dig deep to find the fine print on the trip insurance offered through the cruise line. You’ll want to have some, but it can be complicated.
Each cruise line offers benefits for larger groups traveling together–it depends on the total number of cabins, usually. Our group benefits were easily worth a few hundred dollars!
If you are traveling with a big group, see if someone can swing a larger suite. I booked one because I thought the butler service would be a hoot and it became a great gathering spot for our group throughout the trip, away from the busy common areas of the rest of the ship.
You’re likely to be separated from your luggage at the start and end of the cruise, so be sure to pack a carry on bag that’s both sizeable enough for your stuff and easy to carry.
Research your ports ahead of time to find some places to visit outside of your shore excursions.
Plan to bring plenty of cash for tips–even if you prepay your gratuities on board, we found there was always someone who needed tipping along the way–tour guides, bus drivers, etc.
Fairbanks, Alaska
Our trip began in Fairbanks, the farthest North we would be on the trip. We added on a pre-cruise tour with the primary objective of seeing Denali National Park. Most cruise lines offer this option as either a pre-or post-cruise. There are definitely benefits to organizing this through the cruise, but you should also consider booking your own.
There were three things I loved about Fairbanks:
The coffee! North Pole Roasting Company is based in Fairbanks and from the airport to many tourist spots, they are the coffee of choice. It is delicious.
This tourist attraction, not something I probably would have chosen to do, but I have to tell you–it was really well done and a beautiful way to see the area.
This locally owned cafe called Little Owl, where they had a glorious case full of gluten free pastries! Hands down some of the best food I ate on this vacation.
Denali National Park
Denali National Park is enormous. It’s about a two hour drive from Fairbanks, but we took a more scenic route, a glass domed train that was easily one of the most fun and beautiful train rides I have ever experienced. You can book through the Alaska Railroad, but we rode on specialty cars run by a company called Wilderness Express. Oh, on the train I found a new tea blend that I loved, Felicity Loft’s rooibos blend.
In the park itself, we had a tour that honestly was not my favorite part of the trip. But on our way out of the park down to Anchorage, we got lucky and got to see the Denali peak. Our tour guide made sure we had a stop at Mary Carey’s Cafe, where we got to take some amazing photos and…you guessed it…they had gluten free treats, too!
Icy Strait Point
Our first port on the cruise was Icy Strait Point, which I learned is a resort destination built specifically for cruise travelers by the local Native Alaskan tribe, the Tlingit. They created this place to ease the burden of tourism on the nearby small town of Hoonah, and it is impressive. We had a terrific kayaking tour and then we went on the best whale watching tour I have been on to date. We must have seen 15 humpback whales.
Juneau
The following day, we visited Alaska’s capital, Juneau. Here, we took a bus ride over to the Mendenhall Glacier. Our timing here was really fortunate because the following week the park had to close due to flooding. In Juneau, I found a few cool spots:
1) Frost + Fur, a locally owned gift shop right near the cruise ship port. Their gifts stood apart from the standard tourist gear. I also really liked Treetop Tees.
2) Super delicious Italian dinner at In Bocca Al Lupo. I went on my own, so it was no big deal to show up when they opened without a reservation, but it’s really popular so you may want to plan ahead.
Skagway
I keep telling people, I’m not really sure why Skagway is a common port on Alaska cruises. This small town does have a history with the gold rush–except that no one ever found gold there. I had the general feeling like I was walking around on the set of Little House on the Prairie. We did go on a remarkably interesting and honest walking tour offered by this woman-owned spot.
Ketchikan
So, they tell you when you get off the boat that it rains everyday in Ketchikan–don’t be fooled by the sunny photos you might see online. Although it was a dreary day, we still made our way into town where I found a super tasty and healthy spot for lunch called the Just Dandy Apothecary. They do not have a website, but they are on social media. And, I loved finding this locally owned independent book store just off the famous Creek Street.
We finished in Vancouver, Canada and I didn’t have much time there, unfortunately. But from the little time I did have, I can tell you I’ll be going back. What a cool city!
