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Old 11-15-2017, 04:34 PM   #1
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Best time for Alaska Cruise

So thought I would put this out here. Want to plan a trip from north Florida and wind up in I assume Seattle WA. then take Alaskan Cruise, not interested in motorhome travel to Alaska at this time. But to be clear we would travel in the motorhome to and from Seattle.

So who has been and what month or months are best, I would plan many other stops after time is determined for cruise?

Only been west once since retired two and half years ago, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and Grand Canyon so this would be the big west trip of couple months or more. East trip in my head in the future.
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Old 11-15-2017, 04:42 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pop-sicle View Post
So thought I would put this out here. Want to plan a trip from north Florida and wind up in I assume Seattle WA. then take Alaskan Cruise, not interested in motorhome travel to Alaska at this time. But to be clear we would travel in the motorhome to and from Seattle.

So who has been and what month or months are best, I would plan many other stops after time is determined for cruise?

Only been west once since retired two and half years ago, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and Grand Canyon so this would be the big west trip of couple months or more. East trip in my head in the future.
We took Norweigen Cruise Line (Princess) out of Seattle. We went in the middle of June. The weather was cool 50ish and overcast most of the time. If I were to go again, I would try mid-July. We saw some proposes, and whale spouts, but no breaches. 🐳
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Old 11-15-2017, 07:57 PM   #3
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June, July, August. Take a jacket, and rain gear!
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Old 11-15-2017, 08:30 PM   #4
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July or August /Have several Alaska Cruises under my belt.
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Old 11-15-2017, 09:18 PM   #5
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We have been there in May, July, Early August, and later August. Southeast Alaska is a rain forest, so weather is a crap shoot. Our May and early August cruises had the best weather, May uncharacteristically was the warmest and July the coldest, although historically July should be the warmest and maybe the rainiest.

June 20th is the longest day, and by later August the days are very noticeably shorter. Later in the summer you will see more whales, peek color from flowers etc, is near August 1st, but the longer daylight hours in May, June, and July offer more time to enjoy scenery in port and while cruising the inside passage.

Irregardless of weather, Alaska cruises are phenomenal!
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Old 11-15-2017, 09:20 PM   #6
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Took a 14 day round trip cruise in August 2010 out of Seattle on Princess. Was cruise only rather than a cruise/land tour since we took the rig to inland locations a few years earlier. Took the rig to Seattle as part of a larger western trip. Left it at Lake Pleasant RV Park in Bothell for the two weeks. We were able to leave it in their storage area connected to 15 amp electric to keep the fridge running. Worked out great.
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Old 11-15-2017, 09:21 PM   #7
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We took the ferry up the Inside Passage on one of our trip and did it mid-May. We had awesome weather, snow-topped mountains and lots of wildlife both in the water and along the shoreline. There were many waterfalls flowing heavily. Keep in mind that the ferry will get you closer to shorelines and the grizzlies were out feeding.

I don't think you can count on any month being perfect. As you know, weather changes daily. You just take your chances.
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Old 11-15-2017, 09:42 PM   #8
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We did an 12 day land/sea cruise to Alaska. First week was land, second week was at sea. If you do the sea/land cruise do the land part first because it will take you a week to recuperate while at sea.
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Old 11-15-2017, 09:42 PM   #9
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Last 2 weeks of August, first week of September is the best for weather. If you do go, pick a line that does the real inside passage northbound Gulf of Georgia, Seymour Narrows, Grenville Channel (inside waters B.C.) then you will return down the outside of Vcr Island to Victoria,BC for a 4-6hr Customs port of call (Jones Act compliance) then Seattle.
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Old 11-15-2017, 09:50 PM   #10
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Be careful getting into September, this is the rainy season, when we went we did not see the sun for 6 days, we also missed 2 ports of call due to 30+ ft seas and 75+ mph winds.
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Old 11-15-2017, 10:09 PM   #11
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I have two comments. First, the weather will be a hit and miss situation no matter when you go so figure out what works best for you. For us, we liked early September which is near the end of the Alaska cruise season. Prices were better, both on and off ship and there were no kids since school is back in session. As we get older, we prefer to take our cruises with as few kids as possible. Don't get me wrong, when we were younger we cruised with our children and we and they loved it. We also realized that some of the other (usually older) passengers did not enjoy their antics and energy levels. Second, don't rule out going by RV. We took our brand new 2015 Newmar Ventana 40 foot diesel pusher on a three month trip including top of the world highway and our only regret is we didn't take a four or five month trip. We have a few scratches and dings but it was well worth it. Whatever you choose you will love Alaska.....HAVE A BLAST!
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Old 11-16-2017, 04:47 AM   #12
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Commercial fished there for a few years, late July to mid August is usually best but no guarantees. One week it might be 90 degrees and the next 55, raining hard and so foggy you can't see 300 feet. Some people never see anything but the ship.
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Old 11-16-2017, 10:22 AM   #13
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We went this May and we took Royal Caribbean's first cruise of the season. It was a 9 night cruise instead of the normal 7 night one they do the rest of the season. With the 9 night cruise, we got a couple ports that they don't visit often. We took a few of the excursions thru Royal and they were great. We took the Alaska Railroad back to Anchorage to catch the flight back home. We were in Hoonah and took a whale watching tour. During the tour we found a pod of whales and followed them for 2 hours. It was great but not the best part. Once we got back to shore and were having lunch in the little town, we saw a whale about 30 yards off the beach/table bubble feeding. I think we were very lucky to see this. He made his way up and down the beach jumping out of the water to feed about every 15 minutes. It was cool because you could see the bubbles and then there he was. This went on for about an hour and the crowds just followed him up and down the beach taking pictures. When we got back on he ship, folks that didn't go ashore said the whales were all around the ship during the day. We had all kinds of weather conditions, from sunny and 62 to rainy and 35 during the cruise. It was a great trip.

PS. I can't get that picture to vertical for the life of me!
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Old 11-16-2017, 02:57 PM   #14
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We have several cruise under our belt and by far the Alaska cruise was the best one of the bunch. We went in July time frame as this was the best time of the year to see the Whales and all of the sights. We booked ours a year in advance to insure we could get a cabin with a balcony. This was the best for sight seeing and observing the glaciers when traveling by sea.
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