Sailings in July or August to Alaska??

[nissach]

I am a teacher so the only months my husband and I are available to sail to Alaska are the months of July and August. Is one month preferable to another?:confused: I know sightings of whales, grizzlies, wildlife, etc are never guaranteed, but we want to choose our cruising date with the best possible chance to see all we can. I am leaning to mid to late August. Also, those of you who have been on any great excursions while sailing in Alaska, could you pass those on?

Thanks:)

[CruiserBruce]

If you read down the board, you will see this discussed regularly, as well as the excursion recommendations you seek.

 

The later in Augues you go, the chances for cooler, wetter weather increase.

[Budget Queen]

What kind of trip are you looking at? Are you sailing one way and will include Denali park? - wildlife jackpot with brown bears. OR is this a round trip cruise and you want to see bears on the inside passage? If the latter, August will be prime for bear viewing via fly ins out of Ketchikan. In July you are more limited to just Anan until about the third week.

 

The other jackpot wildlife area, is Kenai Fjords. This works out excellent with a Seward ship, can easily do this embarkment/disembarkment day.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for being a teacher!

[jeansaussie1]

I am a teacher so the only months my husband and I are available to sail to Alaska are the months of July and August. Is one month preferable to another?:confused:

 

Doing the exact same research as the dates I'm looking at are either 2nd week of July or 3rd week of August. The August pricing is $200+ lower per person so I am trying to convince myself if July weather is worth the difference.

 

Husband would probably like to do salmon fishing but he doesn't seem to care which species is running.

[nissach]

What kind of trip are you looking at? Are you sailing one way and will include Denali park? - wildlife jackpot with brown bears. OR is this a round trip cruise and you want to see bears on the inside passage? If the latter, August will be prime for bear viewing via fly ins out of Ketchikan. In July you are more limited to just Anan until about the third week.

 

The other jackpot wildlife area, is Kenai Fjords. This works out excellent with a Seward ship, can easily do this embarkment/disembarkment day.

 

We are looking at sailing return to Seattle. It is inside passage, ports of Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan with of course sailing of the Tracy Arm Fjord. The prices were cheaper in August so we were wondering the reason for this:confused:

[reney313]

Weather, of course, can change at any time.

 

We sailed in late July this summer (2012) and last year (2011) we sailed the 3rd week of August. I found the temps to be comparable....it was actually a little cooler this last July then last year in August. It was also a lot rainier (rained almost every day) I don't know if we lucked out the year before in August or if this July was an anomaly. Personally, I don't think that it is easy to book based upon weather.

 

I would go with what works best for your schedule and the pricing as the weather can't really be planned.

[Keith1010]

July or August are fine.

 

My preference would actually be July but whatever works best with your schedules is what I would go with.

 

Keith

[Budget Queen]

Doing the exact same research as the dates I'm looking at are either 2nd week of July or 3rd week of August. The August pricing is $200+ lower per person so I am trying to convince myself if July weather is worth the difference.

 

Husband would probably like to do salmon fishing but he doesn't seem to care which species is running.

 

You can NOT count on July weather being any "different", and certainly not superior.

 

I had excellent weather the last three weeks of August this year, with only a few, total days of rain. When Sept hit- I had a few more rain days compared to earlier.

[Budget Queen]

We are looking at sailing return to Seattle. It is inside passage, ports of Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan with of course sailing of the Tracy Arm Fjord. The prices were cheaper in August so we were wondering the reason for this:confused:

 

I posted your bear priority details. Anan is usually the most expensive and least available bear tour.

 

With Tracy Arm- I only, recommend purchasing the add on ship tour. It is grossly superior compared to the cruiseship transit, and sees way more.

 

I suggest you need to look at the whole picture here, with the expenses, include the tours for the overall costs.

[nissach]

 

With Tracy Arm- I only, recommend purchasing the add on ship tour. It is grossly superior compared to the cruiseship transit, and sees way more.

 

I suggest you need to look at the whole picture here, with the expenses, include the tours for the overall costs.

 

In Tracy Arm, I assume the 'add on ship tour' means we get off the large ship and transfer into a smaller vessel that can get us a closer look at the surroundings, etc.

I agree with looking at the overall cost including tours as they can be quite expensive, but I am sure many are well worth the money!

[Budget Queen]

In Tracy Arm, I assume the 'add on ship tour' means we get off the large ship and transfer into a smaller vessel that can get us a closer look at the surroundings, etc.

I agree with looking at the overall cost including tours as they can be quite expensive, but I am sure many are well worth the money!

 

Yes, it is a boat tour of Tracy Arm, operated by Allen Marine.

[JJPacer]

When we booked, August was less expensive than July. August fit into our work schedule better, so we booked Aug. The July sailing price actually went down the closer it got to the final payment.

 

That being said, you cannot count on the prices going down, or the weather being better one month over the other. We went to Alaska on Aug. 10 & did a land tour that included 4 days in Denali. Our cruise began Aug. 18. We had great weather. When we went to Denali, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The salmon were running, and we saw a lot of bears & other wildlife. We heard that July 2012 was rainy & cold.

 

Choose what works best for your schedule and hope for the best.

[CaribbeanIsland]

I would avoid late August. July would be my choice. We have had very bad weather at the end of August.

[Krazy Kruizers]

JMO -- but we prefer July and the first couple of weeks in August.

[Putterdude]

I very much prefer mid-July thru mis-August. The weather is of course is unpredictable but I have found that the opportunity for warmer weather is greater in that period. Into August salmon runs are starting to enter the rivers to spawn and bears become more apparent.

[nissach]

Thanks for all the fabulous feedback!! Much appreciated:)

[JimAOk1945]

We have had two Alaska cruises, both during the second week of August. We had great weather both times.

 

Our first cruise was a round trip Inside Passage Cruise beginning and ending in Seattle.

 

Our second was Southbound from Seward to Vancouver. To us, this itinerary topped the Inside Passage! Hubbard Glacier was more spectacular than Tracy Arm. The abundance of Humpback Whales at Icy Strait Point exceeded our expectations.

 

You will have a great time in Alaska!