Is a cruise really the best way to see Alaska?

It’s all WalleyLJ’s fault.

When I sat down to start planning our next cruise, Alaska was on our horizon. As we already love cruising, it seemed like a natural choice given that we would be seeing Alaska from the bow of a ship. But then I saw WalleyLJ’s review. It STARTS with a flight out of Homer to fly 100 miles even more remote, and then literally have lunch with Grizzly bears in the wild. When I saw his amazing pictures, I kept hearing that voice in my head, the one that won’t go away: “You HAVE to do this”.

And the more I have researched about Alaska, which is already a lifelong dream, it seems that going land-based may be the better way to do. We love cruising for all the advantages it offers, especially being able to see so much in such a short period of time.

But Alaska seems to be a place that lends to a much more immersive experience. As I continued my research, I came to realize that you obviously can’t do it all in one trip, and I would have to be selective. Even with that, I realized that, to do all the things we want to do, a week isn’t going to cut it. After further research I managed to whittle it down to 10 days:

Day1 - Flights from Nashville – 1300(round trip)

Day1 - Anchorage B&B - 150

Day2 - rental car from Anchorage, 3 days - 210

Day 2 - Hike Portage glacier(Portage pass) - 0

Day2-4 - Bear Lake Lodging, Seward 3 nights - 645

Day3 - Ultimate Aialik Kayak, Liquid Adventures - 798

Day4 - Hike Harding Ice Field - 0

Day5 – Seward to Homer, need activity (Major Marine cruise?)

Day5-6 - Homer lodging - 200

Day6 - Kbay Air bear viewing - 1300

Day7 – Transit Homer to Anchorage, flight from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska Air - 400

Day7-10 - Alaska's Capital Inn, Juneau - 800

Day8 - Harv and Marv whale tour - 300

Day8 - Mendenhall shuttle bus - 40

Day9 - Above & Beyond ice cave hike - 200

Day10 - Salmon fishing(TBD) - 600

Day11 – return home

Now, I know this is an ambitious (and expensive) itinerary, and not relaxing in the least. I also know that weather and logistics can and most likely will prevent at least one of the above from happening. But this would meet all of our priorities for Alaska, which include scenery, wildlife including brown bears and whales, “active” excursions including hiking, kayaking and fishing. This also provides plenty of opportunities for glacier viewing. And it does all of these things in a way that I haven’t been able to match up to any researched cruise itinerary.

Obviously this is a very rough itinerary that needs a lot of work, but certainly is a good start to what I am looking to do. I am interested in opinions and feedback as to the feasibility of this admittedly ambitious plan.

Good for it! Power trips are what I recommend to all my friends that come up here. It seems like cruises are mainly for people that wanna dress up, not get wet or cold, don't wanna be bitten by bugs and are more concerned with Baked Alaska then freshed grilled salmon. I think if you're an old person that doesn't get around too good a cruise might be a good option. But it you're still alive and kickin' and wanna go for the gusto then a trip like yours is the way to go. You might need a few tweaks to your schedule but it's a good start.

I agree. In my opinion, a cruise is the worse way to see Alaska since you do not get enough time anywhere to see anything. We did 3 months in AK 2 years ago - drove nearly every driveable road in the state.

I would make a suggestion with regard to lodging. AK has some great B&Bs (use TripAdvisor) and generally the B&Bs are a better place to stay and often cheaper than the hotels. The best B&Bs do book up very early.

Also, if you want to get to one of the many places that you can not drive to, check out the Alaska Marine Highway ferries. They get almost everywhere.

DON

I'm sure w/o a cruise is the better way to see alaska and sometimes I wish I hadn't booked a cruise - it'll be our first one ... But I wanted a portion of the trip to be somewhat relaxing and having one place to sleep for 7 nights will be nice. We are doing a few days before the trip (not enough) but it'll give us a taste ... Hopefully enough to want to come back. Plus ending in Vancouver and spending a few days there will be nice, too.

Check out the forum on tripadvisor for more help with your itinerary... And have fun!

Look at booking Adventure Bound when in Juneau (all day boat ride to Tracy Arm). Awesome experience!

Good for it! Power trips are what I recommend to all my friends that come up here. It seems like cruises are mainly for people that wanna dress up, not get wet or cold, don't wanna be bitten by bugs and are more concerned with Baked Alaska then freshed grilled salmon. I think if you're an old person that doesn't get around too good a cruise might be a good option. But it you're still alive and kickin' and wanna go for the gusto then a trip like yours is the way to go. You might need a few tweaks to your schedule but it's a good start.

I respectfully disagree.

We love cruising as well as DIY holidays doing land trips.

We are in our 40's - not seniors, we are fit, in a healthy weight range, active & eat Atlantic Salmon every week!

We scuba dive (yes this means getting really wet), have hiked 16klms up a mountain in the Grand Tetons NP to the snowline, camped out, stayed in some real dodgy hotels, B&B's & also stayed in 5 star hotels/resorts.

When at home we run a farm, where you get really dirty, dealing with animal injections, after births, blood, faeces, dead animals, rain, hail or shine - well you get the picture.;)

We don't mind bugs - hey we live in rural Australia where the flies alone can be a real shocker in Summer.:eek:

But yes, we do like to get dressed up on occasion as well & would enjoy an occasional baked Alaska, although that hasn't been on the menu on cruises I have been on recently. What's wrong with that I ask- nothing.

You can't categorise people by the holiday they happen to choose at any given time.

I'm sure you don't like to be categorised as a generic Alaskan 'type' whatever that may be?

I know that much of what is offered in ports is touristy & not a true reflection of the culture, but if you bother to dig a little deeper, talk to local people, then you can get a sense of what makes a place tick & why people choose to live there. Seek & you shall find if you choose to, no matter if you stepped off a ship or out of a rental car.

We are doing a 7 day cruise with a 5 day pre cruise tour in Alaska later this year, we will actually do more things & see more places in Alaska than the OP is doing, but we don't want to DIY as we don't like to drive overseas, as it means one of us is not getting to enjoy the view because they have to remember to stay on the other side of the road, that's not a holiday to us!

We have done all types of holidays all around the world & they all offer something unqiue.

Cruising along the coast of Alaska is a scenic highlight to us not a negative, it offers a different perspective of the landscape.

DIY has it's advantages but also its negatives, just as arranged tours etc, but when in port you can do basically the same stuff as someone who has driven there themselves, (you don't have to do the cruise day trips) & unless they DIY for several weeks they won't have time to spend much longer in each town anyway.

I look forward to visiting Alaska & I when I get off that tour bus or cruise ship in your town I sincerely hope you won't make assumptions about who I am without even knowing me.:)

WallyLJ's report certainly makes a land-only option intriguing. Other possibilities include a cruise on one of the smaller (less than 100 passengers) ship lines - but they can be expensive. I also wonder about the option of using the ferries to include at least some time on the Inner Passage.

We are doing a cruise with Un-Cruise Adventures this summer, with a couple nights in Denali. After reading WallyLJ's report, I too have questioned our decision. Since we like cruising, we'll make the most of it, knowing we may just have to come back for a second look.

I respectfully disagree.

 

We love cruising as well as DIY holidays doing land trips.

 

We are in our 40's - not seniors, we are fit, in a healthy weight range, active & eat Atlantic Salmon every week!

 

We scuba dive (yes this means getting really wet), have hiked 16klms up a mountain in the Grand Tetons NP to the snowline, camped out, stayed in some real dodgy hotels, B&B's & also stayed in 5 star hotels/resorts.

 

When at home we run a farm, where you get really dirty, dealing with animal injections, after births, blood, faeces, dead animals, rain, hail or shine - well you get the picture.;)

 

We don't mind bugs - hey we live in rural Australia where the flies alone can be a real shocker in Summer.:eek:

 

But yes, we do like to get dressed up on occasion as well & would enjoy an occasional baked Alaska, although that hasn't been on the menu on cruises I have been on recently. What's wrong with that I ask- nothing.

You can't categorise people by the holiday they happen to choose at any given time.

 

I'm sure you don't like to be categorised as a generic Alaskan 'type' whatever that may be?

 

I know that much of what is offered in ports is touristy & not a true reflection of the culture, but if you bother to dig a little deeper, talk to local people, then you can get a sense of what makes a place tick & why people choose to live there. Seek & you shall find if you choose to, no matter if you stepped off a ship or out of a rental car.

 

We are doing a 7 day cruise with a 5 day pre cruise tour in Alaska later this year, we will actually do more things & see more places in Alaska than the OP is doing, but we don't want to DIY as we don't like to drive overseas, as it means one of us is not getting to enjoy the view because they have to remember to stay on the other side of the road, that's not a holiday to us!

 

We have done all types of holidays all around the world & they all offer something unqiue.

Cruising along the coast of Alaska is a scenic highlight to us not a negative, it offers a different perspective of the landscape.

 

DIY has it's advantages but also its negatives, just as arranged tours etc, but when in port you can do basically the same stuff as someone who has driven there themselves, (you don't have to do the cruise day trips) & unless they DIY for several weeks they won't have time to spend much longer in each town anyway.

 

I look forward to visiting Alaska & I when I get off that tour bus or cruise ship in your town I sincerely hope you won't make assumptions about who I am without even knowing me.:)

Great I could not have said it better

Good for it! Power trips are what I recommend to all my friends that come up here. It seems like cruises are mainly for people that wanna dress up, not get wet or cold, don't wanna be bitten by bugs and are more concerned with Baked Alaska then freshed grilled salmon. I think if you're an old person that doesn't get around too good a cruise might be a good option. But it you're still alive and kickin' and wanna go for the gusto then a trip like yours is the way to go. You might need a few tweaks to your schedule but it's a good start.

I think these are some really broad generalizations and truly unfair to many people who choose to go to Alaska on vacation.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Is a cruise really the best way to see Alaska?

No, of course it isn't the best way to see Alaska for the most part with a cruise you really only see SE coastal Alaska. Your road trip is much more inclusive then a cruise but the trade off is the comfort you enjoy on a cruise ship. On the roady you will be staying in some pretty seedy motels, eating in a lot of greasy cafés, getting bumped along and eating a lot of dust on some rough roads. However you will certainly have seen a lot more of Alaska then the average cruise customer....so if you find that appealing go for it.....I only wish I was 25 years younger.:)

I've been in and out of Alaska for decades. Many decades. I've done all sorts of things on land and also cruise.

Why? Well, for me a cruise north (I always cruise north and fly south) is a way to settle into the idea of being away from work and being in Alaska. I need to feel the distance and the separation.

I enjoy being on the water.

I don't do anything typical in the Alaska ports and often head out walking on my own. I don't pay to see bears!

When I'm in interior Alaska I'm perfectly willing to do car camping, RV travel or just sit on the side of a mountain and enjoy.

Each to her own.

While your post is interesting and expresses a well-research viewpoint, it is just that. You will enjoy it immensely and you will be exhausted when you get home.

For most first-time Alaskan tourists a cruise is the ideal way to taste the far north. In a practical way it is not easy to drive to the ports that you visit on a cruise. The Alaska Ferry is the only method to have a car in many instances. You cannot drive (directly) to Juneau.

Further, while cruise pax are not in port for very long, they can get an idea of what they like or dislike for future visits.

Example: For me, walking on a glacier or ice field is ok...once...after that I can get the same idea walking on an ice covered field or sidewalk in a frigid wind at home. OTOH, I can chase/watch whales every day of the week. :)

Our 13 day cruisetour and self driven experience enabled us to cull thru the various things available so that next time we can focus on things that we really find interesting. This would have been far more difficult had we not cruised once.

People sure take the 'bait', don't they?

Sounds like a fun trip! And I assume this is for next year so you have time to fine tune. Regarding the bear viewing, you might want to look at an overnight trip if it's a priority. More $$$ but it provides a lot more viewing time. Go to Top Questions on the Alaska forum of Tripadvisor and read the thread on bear viewing. There are good descriptions of the overnight trips to Silver Salmon Creek and Homestead Lodge.

Also ... from what I've researched, the water taxi for the Aialik kayak trip doubles as a Kenai cruise since it travels the same route. So you may not NEED the Major Marine cruiise. Again, look at the Seward forum on TA under Top Questions.

Be mindful of the timing of your trip if bears and fishing are priorities.

There is a big difference between going on a vacation to relax and one where you actually see & experience Alaska. The typical cruise only allows people to see one small portion of Alaska, the southeast part. The vast majority of Alaska is entirely different. Like I said for a first timer that doesn't really wanna do much or an old person that doesn't get around too well a cruise would be fine.

I tend to paint with a very broad brush stroke. Never been a fan of the mega cruise ships. It just reminds me of bus tours of old people wearing name tags. If you can't remember your name how are you gonna remember what you saw?

Good for it! Power trips are what I recommend to all my friends that come up here. It seems like cruises are mainly for people that wanna dress up, not get wet or cold, don't wanna be bitten by bugs and are more concerned with Baked Alaska then freshed grilled salmon. I think if you're an old person that doesn't get around too good a cruise might be a good option. But it you're still alive and kickin' and wanna go for the gusto then a trip like yours is the way to go. You might need a few tweaks to your schedule but it's a good start.

I don't think a cruise is the "best" way to see any place in depth, Alaska is no different. But it is a comfortable way to travel from one place to another and get a taste for a region.

We do land vacation much more frequently than cruising. Our next trip is a road trip to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. We'll be hiking, horseback riding and white water rafting. While it will be a ton of fun and adventure, I'm looking forward to our Alaskan cruise just as much. Two very different experiences but whether were on a ship or in a car we're still the same people. We don't suddenly morph into people that are afraid of bugs, heat, cold or whatever.

A cruise is part of a good trip to Alaska. It is a good way to see SE Alaska. Then do a DIY land tour to visit the rest.

While spending 3 months touring would be best--that is not possible for most people.

Certainly not the best way to see Alaska but you can get a wonderful taste of it and there are things in SE Alaska that would be difficult to see and do by just doing a land portion. The poster has a wonderful trip planned but even their itinerary has them going to an area frequented by cruise ships so they can do the same excursions. Their land trip doesn’t include Denali that is a highlight for most on a land trip. You can’t say that either is a full reflection of Alaska as you’re always missing something.

We are doing a cruise with Un-Cruise Adventures this summer, with a couple nights in Denali. After reading WallyLJ's report, I too have questioned our decision. Since we like cruising, we'll make the most of it, knowing we may just have to come back for a second look.

You shouldn't second guess your decision to go with Un-Cruise. We did several years ago and it's the best Alaska cruise we've been on. You'll travel to areas that most don't get to go to. If you're trip goes to Glacier Bay you'll pass by South Marble Island which is a treat. You'll over night in secluded bays and not often in a larger port town. It was a trip of a life time for us.

Really, really a case of apples and moose nuggets. You can see a tiny slice of one or at most two regions of Alaska from a cruise, and not much more from a car. There are roughly 15,000 miles of public roads (city streets, state highways, the whole shebang) in all of Alaska; there are 20,772 miles of public roads in Los Angeles County. Alaska is bigger than France, it has more coastline than the other 49 states combined. You can't cruise in the winter and you can't get to the arctic. You can't drive to the Yukon Delta.

So you end up choosing, or else you invest years and thousands of dollars to explore the state until you've "seen" more than a small percentage of what's out there.

If your principal aim is to see moose and bears, then a cruise will not - in general - be the best way for you to achieve your goal. If you want to get a sense of the water-mountain-forest wilderness of southeast Alaska, then a car is useless. If you want to see the midnight sun and spend time with Eskimos, then neither the car nor the cruise ship will get you there. If you want to experience the Aleut and Russian heritage of the Aleutian Islands, then save up for the plane fare, or bump down the Chain in the Tustumena.

The obvious point being, a cruise is useful to see a little bit of a little bit of the state, just like a car is, just like the ferry is, just like a light plane is. They're all worthwhile methods, but each one is woefully incomplete on its own.

kwagmyre,

if your intent was to get feedback on your intinerary, writing "is a cruise the best way to see Alaska" in the subject line probably wasn't the best approach.:) Now you have a quagmyre! People are responding to the subject line, not the request for feedback.

I think tripadvisor might be a better forum for feedback on land travel.

It’s all WalleyLJ’s fault.

 

When I sat down to start planning our next cruise, Alaska was on our horizon. As we already love cruising, it seemed like a natural choice given that we would be seeing Alaska from the bow of a ship. But then I saw WalleyLJ’s review. It STARTS with a flight out of Homer to fly 100 miles even more remote, and then literally have lunch with Grizzly bears in the wild. When I saw his amazing pictures, I kept hearing that voice in my head, the one that won’t go away: “You HAVE to do this”.

 

And the more I have researched about Alaska, which is already a lifelong dream, it seems that going land-based may be the better way to do. We love cruising for all the advantages it offers, especially being able to see so much in such a short period of time.

 

But Alaska seems to be a place that lends to a much more immersive experience. As I continued my research, I came to realize that you obviously can’t do it all in one trip, and I would have to be selective. Even with that, I realized that, to do all the things we want to do, a week isn’t going to cut it. After further research I managed to whittle it down to 10 days:

 

 

Day1 - Flights from Nashville – 1300(round trip)

Day1 - Anchorage B&B - 150

Day2 - rental car from Anchorage, 3 days - 210

Day 2 - Hike Portage glacier(Portage pass) - 0

Day2-4 - Bear Lake Lodging, Seward 3 nights - 645

Day3 - Ultimate Aialik Kayak, Liquid Adventures - 798

Day4 - Hike Harding Ice Field - 0

Day5 – Seward to Homer, need activity (Major Marine cruise?)

Day5-6 - Homer lodging - 200

Day6 - Kbay Air bear viewing - 1300

Day7 – Transit Homer to Anchorage, flight from Anchorage to Juneau, Alaska Air - 400

Day7-10 - Alaska's Capital Inn, Juneau - 800

Day8 - Harv and Marv whale tour - 300

Day8 - Mendenhall shuttle bus - 40

Day9 - Above & Beyond ice cave hike - 200

Day10 - Salmon fishing(TBD) - 600

Day11 – return home

 

Now, I know this is an ambitious (and expensive) itinerary, and not relaxing in the least. I also know that weather and logistics can and most likely will prevent at least one of the above from happening. But this would meet all of our priorities for Alaska, which include scenery, wildlife including brown bears and whales, “active” excursions including hiking, kayaking and fishing. This also provides plenty of opportunities for glacier viewing. And it does all of these things in a way that I haven’t been able to match up to any researched cruise itinerary.

 

Obviously this is a very rough itinerary that needs a lot of work, but certainly is a good start to what I am looking to do. I am interested in opinions and feedback as to the feasibility of this admittedly ambitious plan.

One point- you really need to plan your Homer bear trip day 5- if I am reading this correctly- 2 days are an absolute min, to allow. Cancelations happen. I met someone last year who couldn't get a flight out for 3 days and they missed their cruise. Of no concern for you, but you have some hefty cancelation fees or no refunds for some reservations.

I am one to think people are too quick to find out what "others" have done, and tend to duplicate, even when they aren't real taken by a tour/location etc.

Good for you, thinking for yourself, and taking this planning where YOU want to go. Continued fine tuning will only make it better.

I think the point to be made here OP is why do you have to choose one or the other - cruise or land only?

If LJ's review was inspiration you will notice he did both a land & cruise combo.

We intend doing the same, just not DIY, still spending 2 days in Denali, visting Talkeetna, Aleyska (Girdwood), Anchoratge & Seward before we get on the cruise.

Maybe consider doing both?:)

I think the point to be made here OP is why do you have to choose one or the other - cruise or land only?

 

If LJ's review was inspiration you will notice he did both a land & cruise combo.

 

We intend doing the same, just not DIY, still spending 2 days in Denali, visting Talkeetna, Aleyska (Girdwood), Anchoratge & Seward before we get on the cruise.

 

Maybe consider doing both?:)

TIME is why. You aren't going to see much of anything in Seward- unless you dump the cruisetour in Girdwood, nor are you going to Homer. Having mutiple days in areas of interest allow specific tours of interest. This poster has the details on how they are spending their time, and researched the places.

Cruisetours involve way more compromise. There are itineraries with fluff days, that people don't have any activities of interest. How much do you know about Girdwood and Talkeetna, and were they speciifically chosen- or was the cruisetour chosen because there were 2 Denali days. These are GENERAL questions, for anyone to ask themselves.

There is plenty of touring for everyone. Following the pack, can be excellent. But Alaska is so vast, with numerous adventures- it may be well worthwhile to get off the beaten path. :)

Is a cruise really the best way to see Alaska?

On the roady you will be staying in some pretty seedy motels, eating in a lot of greasy cafés, getting bumped along and eating a lot of dust on some rough roads.)

Totally disagree. Have you driven AK recently. If you pick better rated B&Bs on TripAdvisor, you will find that almost all of them are wonderful and also cheaper than staying in the Princess cookie cutter hotels that are usually located in bad locations.

Also, having driven almost every road in AK on our recent 3 month road trip, almost all of the roads in AK are paved. Even most of the Dalton Highway is paved which was a bit disappointing to us when we drove it.

Have you driven AK roads and stayed AK off cruise and off cruisetours recently? Have you eaten in some of the wonderful restaurants in AK?

DON

Is a cruise really the best way to see Alaska?

No, of course it isn't the best way to see Alaska for the most part with a cruise you really only see SE coastal Alaska. Your road trip is much more inclusive then a cruise but the trade off is the comfort you enjoy on a cruise ship. On the roady you will be staying in some pretty seedy motels, eating in a lot of greasy cafés, getting bumped along and eating a lot of dust on some rough roads. However you will certainly have seen a lot more of Alaska then the average cruise customer....so if you find that appealing go for it.....I only wish I was 25 years younger.:)

I took this as a joke??

But I certainly disagree, if not, absolutely agreeing with Don.

Clearly this is NOT from any experience in the last 10 years- hopefully this will not lead any trip planners to even consider these statements.

I have years of experience traveling all over Alaska and this is completely inaccurate.