may vs september Alaskan cruise

[munch122]

Hi everyone

Planning an Alaskan cruise 2016 on celebrity with 91 year old mom and my husband. Mom will not be up for a lot of shore excursions with the exception of the train trip I think she would like this one. She has limited mobility and short attention span so the views from her balcony would be very important. The 10 day cruise on millie looks like the ship stays close to shore but it is early may so would it be too cold for her to enjoy the balcony? She keeps her apartment at 80 degrees. We have only been on the connie and the century so far so would anyone recommend the solstice? I do not think that it stays as close to shore but maybe someone could tell me some benefits over the m-class. She loves animals watches all the nat geo tv shows. If there is a week that would provide optimal wildlife viewing whales, seals. bears, moose please let me know. Also any opinions on the celebrity suite m class vs solstice and would this be a good choice to provide optimal viewing or would and aft or forward facing be better in alaska. Also if you leave Vancouver at 4 pm do you get to see much of inside passage or is it dark and then there is dinner and bed so would you sleep through most of the inside passage northbound? I am trying to decide if port side would be better as you do inside passage again on the return? Any info on a good itinerary,best time of year for animals and which cabin for 3 would be best choice including which side of the ship. we usually choose a sky suite mom likes her butler but the celebrity suite looks like a nice upgrade.

thanks in advance sheri

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I've done Alaska in both May and September and both times we lucked out with great weather. You may not be so lucky. It does tend to rain less in May.

 

Have you considered renting her a scooter? She could then motor up to the lounge at the front of the ship and see everything in warm comfort.

 

I don't know about Celebrity Suites on the S class (Solstice), but the ones on the Millie (M class) have a shower that's in the bathtub with a very high side to negotiate. I don't think I could do it. I doubt your mother could.

 

You are not likely to see bears from the ship. The ships don't go that close to shore. Whales if you're lucky, but that requires being in the right place at the right time.

 

[TeaBag]

The weather in Alaska is unpredictable as I'm sure you know. We have sailed twice on Millennium both times in Sept and got lovely weather. The Solstice is a beautiful ship but it sails west of Vancouver Island and you will not see much for the first two days, I believe. You will see the beautiful scenery of the Inside Passage the day after you leave Vancouver on Millennium so don't worry about what you can see the evening you leave. The lounge up top of the ship is a great place to view the scenery from both sides.

[az_tchr]

Hi everyone

Planning an Alaskan cruise 2016 on celebrity with 91 year old mom and my husband. Mom will not be up for a lot of shore excursions with the exception of the train trip I think she would like this one. She has limited mobility and short attention span so the views from her balcony would be very important. The 10 day cruise on millie looks like the ship stays close to shore but it is early may so would it be too cold for her to enjoy the balcony? She keeps her apartment at 80 degrees. We have only been on the connie and the century so far so would anyone recommend the solstice? I do not think that it stays as close to shore but maybe someone could tell me some benefits over the m-class. She loves animals watches all the nat geo tv shows. If there is a week that would provide optimal wildlife viewing whales, seals. bears, moose please let me know. Also any opinions on the celebrity suite m class vs solstice and would this be a good choice to provide optimal viewing or would and aft or forward facing be better in alaska. Also if you leave Vancouver at 4 pm do you get to see much of inside passage or is it dark and then there is dinner and bed so would you sleep through most of the inside passage northbound? I am trying to decide if port side would be better as you do inside passage again on the return? Any info on a good itinerary,best time of year for animals and which cabin for 3 would be best choice including which side of the ship. we usually choose a sky suite mom likes her butler but the celebrity suite looks like a nice upgrade.

 

PS - The weather in May is almost exactly trhe same temperature wise as June and July. The ocean means there is little change. Almost always cool. Take a look at Juneau weather to check this out.

thanks in advance sheri

 

The other poster is totally correct. You need to look at both a handicapped room and a scooter. As to when - May obviously has better liklihood of good weather but it can do anything in either month.

 

The Vancouver to Seward cruise takes you to Hubbard Glacier which is a do not miss. Going north from vancouver you see a bit of the Inside Passage but remember you are always several hundred feet to 1/2 mile or more from shore. Lived in Sitka and rarely saw moose from a boat and about 1 bear a week and we cruised just off shore. If you do the Vancouver/Sitka cruise you want to be on the Starboard going NB and Port going SB. We did the Summit last year in early June and it was great. If you are going for viewing animals you are likely to be disappointed. If you cruise to Seward absolutely take the Kenai full day Glacier Cruise. You will see whales and lots of other sea life and birds and a possibility of a bear or two.

Edited February 5, 2015 by az_tchr
Weather

[maggie.1008]

I have been on Alaska cruise in May and August and all 3 times it rained. I would not book a aft balcony on the Solstice in Alaska. No cover and you will be exposed to weather. Seattle is easier than Van./Alaska as far as air travel goes. Hope you have sunny weather.

[miched]

We sailed in May 2008 on Carnival. Did a b2b and the weather was fantastic. It only rained one day out of 2 weeks. Everyone commented about how unusual it was.

 

We sailed thru the inside passage. It may look as ifs you are close to shore but it is a probably about 1 mile away. It is very smooth and once you seen the first mile you basically seen what you will see the rest of the passage. As another wrote you will not see any wild life as they are on the other side of the mountains or hills. You will also have about 22 hours of day light. The balcony may be a little too chilly to camp out on when sailing. You need to dress in layers as the temp really varies. You should take a few pair of gloves.

 

Both cruises had more wheelchairs, scooters or walkers than any that I have ever been on. It seemed as if they out number passengers that didn't require them and that was on a Carnival ship. Seats close to window or any area near one was at a premium as passengers would camp out there so as not to miss something that never seemed to appear. There were no chair hogs by the pool as that area was always deserted. The bars were always empty and the servers were bored to death. Tables in the buffet by the windows were occupied 24/7. People would sit there and never leave.

 

It may seem as if I am writing to discourage you but I am not, it is just the way it was on our cruise and to assure you that your mother wouldn't be the only one that needs a wheel chair or scooter. Alaska is a fantastic place to cruise an is very enjoyable. it is not a party destination like the caribbean. Plan on doing it again but the next time it will be on Celebrity.

 

It may be different on Celebrity but that is how our cruise was.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[sandyss]

Have you considered Princess for this specific cruise? We love Celebrity, but for our Alaska cruise in May 2015, we have chosen the Coral Princess (about the same size as the Millie). We love that we will be spending 9 hours cruising Glacier Bay and will have very long days (more than 12 hours each) in Juneau and Skagway. Our stop in Ketchikan is only 7.5 hours, compared to the Millie, which has 8 hours in Ketchikan. We also cruise the Inside Passage and College Fjord on the Coral Princess.

[flames9]

We did an Alaskan cruise in May 2009...Believe it was the first Alaskan cruise of the season for the RCCL Rhapsody of the Seas! We lucked out, great weather..Think it rained in 1 of the ports for like 30 minutes!! You wil find more info on the Alaskan Port of Call forum!

[fleckle]

Hi everyone

Planning an Alaskan cruise 2016 on celebrity with 91 year old mom and my husband. Mom will not be up for a lot of shore excursions with the exception of the train trip I think she would like this one. She has limited mobility and short attention span so the views from her balcony would be very important. The 10 day cruise on millie looks like the ship stays close to shore but it is early may so would it be too cold for her to enjoy the balcony? She keeps her apartment at 80 degrees.

A Celebrity Suite on the Millie would be perfect for her in that respect because she could sit inside the warm living room and enjoy the great balcony views through the panoramic windows without actually needing to go out on the balcony.

 

But as mentioned, the greatest obstacle would be the high bathtub in the CS.

 

If you book a CS, it would be better if you could also book her a nearby inside cabin to use just for sleeping and bathing, so she would have her privacy, her own bathroom with a shower, and still get to use the CS living room as much as she likes.

She would also get to sleep in a regular bed that way, instead of the sofa.

 

Another alternative would be to book her one of the accessible C1 cabins on the stern of the ship with a huge balcony. Then she could have an accessible bathroom and all of you could share the balcony.

 

There you could do the reverse and book the inside cabin across the hall for yourself and your husband to use for sleeping and bathing.

 

If she is going to be out on the balcony, ask your stateroom attendant to bring her some deck blankets so she can wrap herself up in them to stay warm.

 

Also, since your mother will probably want to keep the heat turned all the way up in her cabin, you and your husband would be more comfortable sleeping in a cabin of your own where you can set the temperature however you want it.

 

I second Happy Cruiser's suggestion to rent a motorized scooter for her.

It would make the entire trip so much easier and more enjoyable for her.

 

As for May vs. September, it will stay light out very late in May.

June would be ideal for the longest daylight hours.

In September, it gets dark early so you miss a lot of great views because you cruise right past them in the darkness.

Also, you are more likely to have rain in September than in May.

 

On the Millie's inside passage itinerary, you have scenery on both sides of the ship.

 

Since your mother likes wildlife, I would recommend booking a whale watching excursion for her at Juneau, and possibly also at Icy Strait Point. Some of the whale watching boats are wheelchair accessible.

You may even see whales up close to the cruise ship at Icy Strait Point.

 

I usually recommend using private vendors for whale watching rather than booking the ship's excursions, but in this case a ship's excursion may be better for your mother because they use larger sightseeing boats that provide a more stable ride.

 

One advantage to booking a suite is that you will have a butler.

Even if you are the type who normally have no need for a butler, having one would be a big plus if you and your husband are planning to go off on any excursions and leave your mother on the ship. It would give you peace of mind knowing that she can always call the butler to bring her anything she may want when you are not there.

 

Edited February 5, 2015 by fleckle

[bouhunter]

Of course anything can happen with weather, but Alaska is known for lots of rain in September.

[flames9]

Nice thing about it being early in the cruise season.....not cram packed with cruise ship passengers!!!

[bananawindnj]

We went second week of Sept, two years ago, and had a rainy cool mist a few days on the cruise. Lots of fog during the week, reducing the view from the ship sometimes.

Still a great trip and would go again.

[Northern Aurora]

While weather for a specific cruise is impossible to predict, May in southeast Alaska is generally drier than September.

 

The Alaska Cruise Critic forum, listed under Ports of Call, is full of helpful information. Reading the Alaska forum will provide a realistic sense of what the OP's parents will see and experience on an Alaska itinerary. For instance, moose are very rarely seen in southeast Alaska, but are abundant in the interior (where we live) and on the Kenai Peninsula.

[Shake]

Due to weather stay away from May or September.

 

With my "always bring a sweater" wife, I have only booked Alaska between June 15 thru July 31 AND lived to tell about it. :D

[NOSaints1]

We booked Sept on the Soltice in2016, cause it was in our budget.

 

 

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[kitegirl]

I have done two cruises to Alaska.. first was in Sept .. the last cruise of the season... the second cruise was the first one in May. I would recommend the September sailing. The reason was because you get much closer to the glacier in September. The May sailing had so much ice the ship could not go as close.

 

On the flip side, the beauty of the snow on the mountains was outstanding. The weather was warmer in May but on both cruises I spent the majority of my time sitting on the balcony watching the scenery.

 

I would recommend a Handicap cabin. I too have terrible mobility and the first cruise rented a scooter and the second one i wish i had rented one.

 

No matter what cruise or month you choose enjoy making the memories. I will be on the Sept 4th 2016 cruise on Infinity and cannot wait to return to Celebrity and Alaska.

[NOSaints1]

Were going to Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Victoria can you recommend shore excursions that won't break the bank.

 

 

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[NOSaints1]

So your 2 days after we leave from Seattle.

 

 

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[Aunt Tina]

I have sailed twice in Alaska the last week in August and first week of September. The second time we took the train tour to Denali - the park road was closed for a day before Labor day because of a snow storm! It was below 32 the morning we left to tour Denali. However, the scenery was beautiful because the fall colors were out and the snow covered Denali at the top.

There are private tour guides available that may have more comfortable vehicle access than the bus tours in many of the ports.

 

We really ejoyed visiting the sled dog camp outside Denali. they handed you a puppy to hold when you got off the bus.