Alaskan Cruises thaw the frozen gear out of us!

[CampbellzSoup]

I'm trying to convience my better half to go on the cruise to Alaskan away from the normal carribean beaches sand hot weather lol. Can you guys help me make a good case???

What is there to do??

Is the weather frozen (pun yes) cold or is it Doable?

What were your impressions???

What did you do??

What made you do an Alaskan cruise rather than a tropical one???

 

[bumbershoot]

Remember that you are there in summer. No, it's not summer in so cal or orlando or panama. But it's summer in the pacific very-northwest.

Layers will be your friend. In '03 (our first/so-far-last Alaska cruise) we had days where we were lightly sweating, and days (the day we went to the glacier on the ship which is an all day thing) standing on the bow where even our layers didn't help and we were cold cold cold.

The place is gorgeous. If you're on a Radiance class ship, from what I've read (and experienced) they were made for Alaska sailings, so there are tons of places to look outside while staying inside and warm.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Thank you so much!

What kind of activities did you do there!?

 

[PinkBudgie]

We are taking a Celebrity Cruise (owned by Royal Caribbean) to Alaska in June. We've never been and I'm just starting to research it. It will be our first cruise. It goes from Seattle. Excursions seem to be things like hiking, fishing (which I won't be doing with a fish allergy! ), dog sledding, and taking helicopter and sea plane tours. Oh, and a train ride. The excursions ranged from mild to extreme activities so it seems like there is plenty for everyone to do. It seems like their June is about like our winter right now- normally highs in the 60s, lows in the 40s. But I'm so excited!

 

[SevenWonkas]

We did an Alaska cruise in 2009 with Royal, on Serenade of the Seas. The ship is very nice, and suited very well for a cold weather cruise. Glass windows everywhere, and the Solarium is covered. (The solarium is the adults-only pool, but they opened it to kids during certain times because of the cool weather)

We actually had awesome weather on our cruise, which is probably unusual! With the exception of our sea days, the weather was sunny and had highs in the upper 70s/low 80s. It did get cool at night, and we needed jackets at night. I actually have a photo of people sunbathing and swimming when we were sailing the glacier!

You can look at example excursions on the website, I think, and this will give you a good idea of what is available. I remember in Skagway (I think) we did a train and bus tour. We enjoyed it. My family (also with us) just walked to the train station and did the round-trip on the train. (We had a bus tour first and then took the train back). In Juneau we just did our own thing - we walked around downtown. We walked to the government building and got a tour. We took a taxi to the Alaska Brewing Company for a free "tour" and free samples of beer. In Icy Point Strait, which is teeny, we just walked around and got fresh crab.

The Alaska cruise was awesome. We'd do it again, but not every year like we do with Caribbean cruises. I'd love to do a cruise tour next time too.

 

[jenf22]

Alaska was awesome!. There are glaciers, eagles, whales, mountains, and bears. We had cool days but only needed a light coat most of the time. We used our big coats in Juneau and during the time the ship was near the glacier. I also loved the fact that we didn't need sunscreen. Not once. On the hot weather cruises, we apply every 2 hours and still end up burnt. We're doing the fjords or Norway in June and I'm again looking forward to no sunscreen!

 

[disneylove69]

Alaska is a must do, bucket list kind of place. There is plenty to do from cultural experiences to fishing, hiking, animals, etc. The people in Alaska are extremely nice and willing to talk and share their state. Some excursions can be pricey but there are plenty you can do for little cost. The views no matter which port you hit are beautiful Nothing than seeing a bunch of whales tails, eagles and other wildlife as you float to the next port. As far as weather it can be out in Juneau (shorts) to needing a jacket the farther north you go. Dress in layers.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Any tips for a first timer to cruising and Alaska?

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Alaska is a must do, bucket list kind of place. There is plenty to do from cultural experiences to fishing, hiking, animals, etc. The people in Alaska are extremely nice and willing to talk and share their state. Some excursions can be pricey but there are plenty you can do for little cost. The views no matter which port you hit are beautiful Nothing than seeing a bunch of whales tails, eagles and other wildlife as you float to the next port. As far as weather it can be out in Juneau (shorts) to needing a jacket the farther north you go. Dress in layers.

Can you tell me what can be done for less there...it seems like a beautiful place, we usually lounge on the beach or have some fun excurisons i.e. dune buggies, horses, sting rays but this sounds like something out of the ordinary. I would love to do it now just making sure that it's something my other half wouldn't get bored of.

 

[IamTinkerbell]

My favorite cruise ever. I did Rhapsody of the Seas 2013. Then Alaska again Disney Wonder 2014. Alaska is not a tropical destination. However it was like April/May in Chicago. Seeing the pristine beautiful land of our 49th state is so amazing. You probably won't swim outdoors. Definitely bring a jacket, umbrella and a good sense of adventure.

Which was better? Good question. Disney I spent time alone with Princesses. Rhapsody for longer shore time more flexible dining. Food loved it all.

 

[jdb in AZ]

We love Alaska -- it's nice to cool off from our Arizona summers. And we've been to the Caribbean more than enough. Our last RCCL cruise was to Alaska and included Icy Strait Point, which has lots of whales. We also saw bears in the wild -- we were on an excursion and the guides were armed. We weren't in any danger, but it was nice to know we were protected, just in case.