I enjoyed my balcony best on an Alaskan cruise when...

[subtchr]

Thank you so much for the guidebook link and the beautiful pictures. We just booked our first Alaska cruise and I have been starting to plan. I was curious what sights we'd see as we traveled thru the Inside Passage, and your pictures were very helpful. I'm going to check out the book too. Thanks a bunch!

 

You will love it! I created a blog if you are interested: SUMMER SOLSTICE IN THE LAST FRONTIER

[jamminlion]

Enjoyed the balcony tremendously. Spent a lot of time out there. Especially glacier bay. We saw so much wild life from our balcony, too.

 

It came in particularly handy from Ketchikan to Victoria. We had 12-15 ft. seas, and we had the balcony door open enough that the fresh air helped us all not get sea sick.

 

I don't think there's a bad side of the ship on an Alaskan cruise. If you do round trip, you see both sides. One way - I say flip a coin. Or, plan a second week and switch cabins. OR, just plan a whole second vacation to do what you missed the first time.

[vbmom87]

I enjoyed my balcony best on an Alaskan cruise when... we were cruising Glacier Bay. Breakfast on the balcony, whales swimming alongside, lunch on the balcony, a six-pack of beer, otters, seals lounging on the drifting ice, beautiful landscape and then......THE GALCIERS. The only bad part was forcing ourselves to leave the balcony for a sit down dinner:D

 

Someone who actually answered the question as asked. ;)

[LoriPhil]

For us Alaska is one big viewing opportunity so we see the balcony as one long excursion.

 

We sleep with the curtains open because we can often see a ghost of an outline of the mountains through the night and early mornings (it's particularly great that first night northbound out of Vancouver as you pass through the narrows). In the mornings or while waiting for DH or traveling-pals, I'm at the rail with a book or binocs. Our first cruise I looked down and there were a mob of dolphins zooming through the water right below our cabin somewhere along the inside passage - they were there for less than a minute and it's still one of my favorite memories. We usually wander the decks during the glacier viewing, but spend many more hours throughout the cruise on our balcony or in the cabin looking out at the gorgeous vistas and watching for critters.

 

Choose what suites your needs and budget, and have a great time!

[taragl]

I was out on our balcony every waking moment on the Miracle this past August. There was always something interesting to see. But my absolute favorite time was in the late evening, when it was pitch black outside and clear in the sky. The stargazing was the best I've ever seen, anywhere. I sat out there for hours, just absorbing the magnitude of the Universe.

 

The only downside were the late-night smokers who puffed away on every side of me. The ship goes slowly in the Inside Passage, so smoke hovers more than when you're underway to an island destination in the open ocean. Nothing like admiring the pristine beauty of Alaska while breathing in clouds of smoke! :eek:

[vbmom87]

I was out on our balcony every waking moment on the Miracle this past August. There was always something interesting to see. But my absolute favorite time was in the late evening, when it was pitch black outside and clear in the sky. The stargazing was the best I've ever seen, anywhere. I sat out there for hours, just absorbing the magnitude of the Universe.

 

The only downside were the late-night smokers who puffed away on every side of me. The ship goes slowly in the Inside Passage, so smoke hovers more than when you're underway to an island destination in the open ocean. Nothing like admiring the pristine beauty of Alaska while breathing in clouds of smoke! :eek:

 

There are some cruiselines that ban smoking on the balconies. Should you go back to AK, you may want to look into those options.