Alaska - Inside Passage or Not

We will shortly, begin planning an Alaskan cruise for September 2019.

Could anyone, who has cruised during the month of September, and who sailed out of Seattle, please give me an indication of the sea conditions during your sailing. (I know that one can't generalise, and I do understand that the conditions won't necessarily be the same when we sail, but I am hoping to get an idea).

I am not sure whether to select an inside passage cruise or whether to arrange this cruise, sailing out of Seattle.

Any advice will be highly appreciated:D

weve sailed twice to alaska over labor day week. very, very calm seas.

the first time, we went all the way to seward. once you are out in the gulf of alaska for us, anyway, it was rough but nothing we couldnt handle. if you are sticking just to the inside passage ports you are fine.

Thank you for your response BostonGal, appreciated!

We've sailed out of Seattle twice. By the first morning, you've turned out of the open Pacific into sheltered water pretty much. Coming back south, your last day is again in the open Pacific water. Both of our trips were in early June and the entire trip was very smooth.. However, that open portion can become rough depending on the weather at the time. No way to predict.

I've sailed the Seattle-Glacier Bay-Seattle itinerary in September twice now. Third time coming up on 9/16/18!

Our first time, conditions were fine except for a 24 hour stretch beginning with the ship's arrival in Skagway. Very high winds held the ship in port an extra 4 hours and when it left, tugs were required to maneuver out of the berth. Once underway, with attempting to make up lost time while sailing into high wind, it was an extremely rough night! Felt like it does when you're in a small craft hitting rollers head on! We were in a low deck interior stateroom, don't know if that was a factor.

The second sailing had completely smooth sailing the entire week.

We sailed south from Seward to Seattle in late Aug 2005 (on RCCL). We experienced 20' seas in the Gulf of Alaska. Enough to slam our balcony door shut on my hand. OUCH!

It was my second cruise and it wasn't that bad (except for the door slamming on my hand!) so I considered myself a seasoned cruiser from then on out. :cool:

We did a land cruisetour before the cruise and it was AWESOME! We had such a great time we did a northbound cruise the next year, cruise only.

I live in Vancouver and suggest that if all things are equal, choose the trip through the “ inside passage”. The inside passage is a route that has Vancouver island and others on one side of the ship and mainland British Columbia on the other. These waters are calm until you reach open waters near Haida Gwaii. A cruises from Vancouver will go through the inside passage. After the inside passage you will be exposed to the same elements as all cruise ships.

Some cruises out of Seattle will cruise to Alaska on the Pacific Ocean side of Vancouver island and thus the waters will not be as calm as those protected by the islands of the inside passage.

If you are prone to seasickness, I would book the inside passage cruise.

Our nightly weather reports always show that the temperatures are a few degrees colder on the west coast of Vancouver island. The island also gets harder hit by bad weather from the Pacific Ocean vs the mainland.

September can be super nice if we have an “Indian summer” or it can be brutal is the rains come early. The last couple of years have had good September’s due to (fake news) global warming climate change. ;>)

Thank you to all who have taken the time to give me their views / experiences. Appreciated!

Last Sept on the Pearl out of Seattle, the first sea day was a bit rough, it was a challenge to take a shower. Once we were inside the islands headed to Juneau it was fine for the rest of the cruise. We did a southbound out of Seward last month, and the trip through the inside passage was something amazing to just sit on the balcony and watch. The sunset's over the mountains in BC were fabulous. Given the choice I would do either the northbound or southbound with the inside passage over the Seattle round trips any day.

Last Sept on the Pearl out of Seattle, the first sea day was a bit rough, it was a challenge to take a shower. Once we were inside the islands headed to Juneau it was fine for the rest of the cruise. We did a southbound out of Seward last month, and the trip through the inside passage was something amazing to just sit on the balcony and watch. The sunset's over the mountains in BC were fabulous. Given the choice I would do either the northbound or southbound with the inside passage over the Seattle round trips any day.

I agree with Inside Passage. Not only for smoother seas but also for spectacular scenery.

We greatly prefer the inside passage from Vancouver. But hate the lost time of flying out of Anchorage.

The sea conditions out of Seattle at any time is as variable as the weather. We have had calm seas. We have had very rough seas.

Thank you again, for all the advice, appreciated!