Alaska in June

Hi Cruise Critic Family,

We are going to book the 3 for free Alaska in June 2015. Can someone tell me which Alaska cruise you liked best and why. We are open to any ship, really which voyage would show us most wildlife.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Cruise Critic Family,

 

We are going to book the 3 for free Alaska in June 2015. Can someone tell me which Alaska cruise you liked best and why. We are open to any ship, really which voyage would show us most wildlife.

Thanks in advance!

Coral or the Island (sister ships) - never feel crowded and have covered pools. If you're looking at mini-suites, get one on Dolphin or Caribe in the 7XX series of cabins. Those on Dolphin have covered balconies, it's very quiet, and there is a public (but unknown) viewing deck (standing only) across the aft of the ship. Those on Caribe have partially covered balconies and the viewing deck is wider and has loungers.

Both our Alaska cruises (northbound Vancouver to Whittier) have been on the Coral (we did a Panama Canal transit on the Island) and our first was in early July the other in early August. Wildlife is obviously hit and miss but if you want to see salmon (and the bears that eat them :D) later in the summer is probably better. Whales will be seen all summer long. The weather fluctuates all summer. We were lucky and had good weather both times. In June the days will be long - especially if you experience the summer solstice on board!

If you have time to travel before or after a one-way cruise, then I'd go with one of them. If you don't, then a round-trip cruise from Seattle or Vancouver that goes to Glacier Bay would be my first choice.

My favorite cruise to Alaska was when we did the cruise tour--five nights in Alaska before the seven nights on the cruise. That's also the cruise where we saw wildlife--bears, moose, caribou, Dall sheep--that we had not seen on previous cruises.

I just posted another question on this board. How does the inside passage vs Glacier cruises differ?

Thanks in advance...

We cruised in June. 7 day rt out of Seattle. We had a wonderful time. Did a whale excursion out of Juneau. In Skagway on a tour to the Yukon we saw a mama bear with her cub on the side of the road. Other than that… no wildlife on our trip. We were on the Golden which did the 7 day rt from Seattle and included Glacier Bay.

Oh, the Golden had a covered pool but it was too cold. No one was swimming in it. Our cruise left Seattle on June 9.

We haven't cruised Alaska yet - but have been researching for over two years now. We too are sailing in June 2015 and purely from the advice on these boards, have chosen the Coral. We will be on the ship during the solstice.

We are taking a Southbound voyage, again on the advice from these boards, because we are taking a cruise tour prior and wanted the less strenuous part of the trip to be after the tour.

We have also chosen an aft cabin - a balcony port side on the E700's - because we wanted a covered balcony and also wanted to be close to the aft viewing decks, yet again on the advice from those on these boards!:D

We are in a balcony over a mini because we wanted to save some money for the excursions - but if we had unlimited funds I would have definitely chosen a mini suite. The last two cruises we've been in minis and it's hard to go backwards!

The only negatives I can see on this choice is the cost of airfare - flying into Anchorage and out of Vancouver.

Hope this helps - from another Alaska newbie!:)

While you can't prove it by me, June is statistically the driest month and of course you have the benefit of the long hours of sunlight. You will also see more snow on mountain tops.

The so called "Inside Passage" itineraries that are out of Seattle sail on the west side of Vancouver Island and do not enter the Inside Passage until they reach Queen Charlotte Sound north of Vancouver Is. and then do the same on the reverse. So you are out in the Pacific, subject to much more in the way of weather and rough seas and you are not within the sight of land for the better part of a day in either direction.

Cruises out of Vancouver be they 7 day returns or Voyages of the Glaciers, sail entirely in the Inside Passage on the east side of Vancouver Is. Typically the seas are smoother and you are seldom out of sight of land except while crossing Queen Charlotte Sound and Dixon Entrance. Many believe that some of the finest scenery lies between Vancouver and Ketchikan.

The trade off is that Vancouver is generally more expensive to fly to or you have to endure transferring the 120 miles between Seattle and Vancouver, be it by ships transfer, Quick Coach, Bolt Bus, Amtrak or rental car. Plus you have to clear Canadian customs when entering Canada (both directions) and US customs (both direction) and you will require a passport or other WHTI compliant document.

I just posted another question on this board. How does the inside passage vs Glacier cruises differ?

Thanks in advance...

We did Inside Passage with Glacier Bay.

If you do Glacier Bay you WILL get right up close to the glaciers. If you do Tracy Arm you MAY get to the glacier but many times you just see it from afar as there is too much ice to make it up to the glacier.

Drivng to Vancouver can be pretty nice. Two options: Take the ferry in Mulkilteo to Whidbey Island and drive north (maybe 4 hours of scenic driving to Vancouver). Or take the Black Ball Ferry across to Vancouver Island and then the BC ferries to Tsawassen. Can't do this in a day, but really great if you want to stay a day or two in Victoria before a cruise. The BC Ferry weaves around a bunch of small islands and is a taste of your cruise.

For wildlife, you may want a flightseeing trip to Neets Bay in Ketchikan (very expensive, though). Whale watching in Juneau with Orca Enterprises is a small boat run by a family. Eagle Watch float trip out of Skagway is great, although not always offered since it takes a high speed ferry over to Haines.

We prefer Coral/Island due to the nice loungers in the indoor pool area where you can watch the scenery, but Golden has a similar arrangement. Coral/Island only do the one-way trips. Have done this twice with 5 days Alaska train tour that were great. Take good binoculars with you!

We flew to Fairbanks in June a few years ago, worked our way by bus to Denali and then Mt. McKinley lodges, train to Anchorage where we boarded the Coral for southbound Inside Passage. LOVED the whole experience. The amount of wildlife you see will often depend on the excursions you choose along the way, whether land or sea portion. Plan to take another Alaska cruise one of these days. So much more to see and do. Fabulous. Enjoy your trip!!

As to weather---My experience is 6 trips to Alaska. 5 mostly dry visits in early August and one mostly wet one in late July.

As to wildlife---If you want the best in seeing wildlife, take a Princess 8-day connoiseur escorted land tour prior to a southbound 7 day cruise that goes to Glacier Bay. On the July trip we saw very few salmon and bears.

As to which ship---I prefer the Coral for its fewer passengers and Bayou Café specialty restaurant. No matter what ship, get a cabin with a fully covered balcony. A mini-suite would be better than a balcony cabin. You will have a sofa to sit on and see the scenery when you want to be inside and warm. Also you will have tub/shower rather than a phone booth sized shower stall.

Based on 5 CruiseTours, all the ships are fine, the pluses balance out the cons. More significant to me the observation that you don't see much wildlife on the cruise. We have seen a few bears around Juneau, eagles at Juneau and Haines, whales in Juneau and salmon almost everywhere. Scenery is great but for wildlife, take a short 3 or 4 day CruiseTour to Denali but don't bother with the Natural History Tour, it doesn't go out far enough. The Tunda Wilderness Tour goes to the Stoney Dome Overlook-if the Mountain is out. Kantishna is worth doing once. It's a long day but the Doll Sheep and grizzlies were everywhere. The worst mosquitoes I've seen in AK were in Kantishna. Sit on the left side of the bus (much longer vistas) with an unobstructed view out the window. I tend to see more wildlife when I 'm fresh on the outbound trip. As to sailing direction, I think the southbound trip from Whittier to Vancouver is best, the orca pods in Johnstone Strait and the scenery through Seymore Narrows is a highlight of the cruise. Northbound the section is around midnight out of Vancouver. Sorry this got so verbose but I'm on run. For us, the most dependable view of Denali has been a few miles south of Talketna, across the Chulitna River, in the train. Have a great trip!

Should have added we had a Caribe balcony, awesome, and we had glorious weather the entire trip. Also loved the talks given by Kathy Slamp in the theater before each port. So informative and interesting. No idea if she is still doing that. And Glacier Bay? What a memory.

You get the most Alaska by doing a Northbound or Southbound Voyage of the Glaciers. Either direction is great. Personally, I prefer Northbound, but that's just preference.

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Thanks to all that replied with great tips. It seems where we go, it will still be a great time. Might just have to do the land tour to see the wildlife, as that is important to me. :)

OK, I'm a scenery lover.

Best first Alaska cruise is a 7day RT from Vancouver with Glacier Bay, add in the excursion that leaves from the ship to Tracy Arm.

1. Fly to Vancouver the day before.

2. Overnight at PanPacific. Not the cheapest, but I love that the transfer to the port is by elevator.

3. Tracy Arm excursion.

4. Whale watch in Juneau.

5. In Skagway take the train up, sit on the left side. The return is not as scenic IMHO. So look for an excursion that maybe buses down.

6. In Ketchikan, Mysty Fjords.

If you want to see Victoria, add a day or two in Vancouver.

NOTE Entry to Canada may be problematic if anyone has a DUI on their driving record.

OK, I'm a scenery lover.

 

Best first Alaska cruise is a 7day RT from Vancouver with Glacier Bay (breathtaking), add in the excursion that leaves from the ship to Tracy Arm.

 

1. Fly to Vancouver the day before.

2. Overnight at PanPacific. Not the cheapest, but I love that the transfer to the port is by elevator.

3. Tracy Arm excursion.

4. Whale watch in Juneau. Highly recommend Harv and Marv - take the excursion that drops you off at Mendenhall Glacier after the whale watching.

5. In Skagway take the train up, sit on the left side. The return is not as scenic IMHO. So look for an excursion that maybe buses down. Highly recommend Chilkoot Charters. They had the last car of the train reserved and only filled it with half the possible passengers so everyone easily sat on the left side going up. The last car also had the back viewing platform -- that was amazing!

6. In Ketchikan, Mysty Fjords. An expensive but wonderful excursion: floatplane to Misty Fjords; land on the water, transfer to boat for ride back to Ketchikan.

 

If you want to see Victoria, add a day or two in Vancouver.

 

NOTE Entry to Canada may be problematic if anyone has a DUI on their driving record.

See my comments in red.