Alaska end of season cruise

[J&J 01375]

We are looking at an end of season cruise that has an excellent price. Yes, the price is good because it is end of season. My question is if I should EXPECT it to be too cold the last week of Sept, or if it might be cool/cold yet enjoyable. 
Thank You

[crystalspin]

Here is a short thread from the first page of the Alaska board. There may be others on later pages (just click one level back where it says ALASKA in the header.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2893739-september-alaska-cruise-what-to-expect-with-weather-in-september/

 

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, J&J 01375 said:

We are looking at an end of season cruise that has an excellent price. Yes, the price is good because it is end of season. My question is if I should EXPECT it to be too cold the last week of Sept, or if it might be cool/cold yet enjoyable. 
Thank You

The fact that it is low price and at the end of the season means that it is LIKELY to be not as enjoyable as those in mid-season.  You should be willing to live with the conditions (which might be unseasonably warm and ideal) — just understand you own threshold of “too cold”.

[crystalspin]

4 hours ago, J&J 01375 said:

We are looking at an end of season cruise that... might be cool/cold yet enjoyable. 

Recommend 

https://weatherspark.com/

for historical temperature ranges and other weather facts (rain, humidity, hours of sun, etc) for almost anywhere.

 

Also recommend silk longies. Or lightweight synthetics. (32-Degrees has them up to Womens 20 and Mens 44-46 waist -- $7.50 a piece for the lightweight and $7.99@ for medium and heavyweight!)

https://www.32degrees.com/collections/baselayers?

 

[dolittle]

The temps are always iffy in Alaska you may luck out it will be wet .Prepare for the worst and hop for the best.  One good thing souvenir's will be cut rate like 50% or more of everything.

[Crew News]

1 minute ago, dolittle said:

The temps are always iffy in Alaska you may luck out it will be wet .Prepare for the worst and hop for the best.  One good thing souvenir's will be cut rate like 50% or more of everything.

My late September Alaska cruises experience is rain, short days with sun, smoked salmon onboard 75% off, shops in town lots of end-of-season sales, whales still on hand, and bears enjoying the salmon runs.  Bring a collapsible duffel bag for souvenirs and a poncho for the rain.

[Ashland]

We just sailed on RCI Serenade on it's last of the season itinerary Sept 18-24. We had a bit of rain but not enough that it impacted our cruise. And yes the price was great !!!

[9tee2Sea]

I love end of season Alaska Cruises.  The ports are not as busy as high season.  The stores in ports usually have HUGE end of season sales ( they close up and most of the workers head back to their main homes until the next season begins).  The weather can be pleasantly warm, or rain at times ( it's always like that in Alaska).  Cruise ships are not as crowded ( no kids on summer break).  One added perk on end of season cruises, you might, just might be able see some of the Northern Lights ( if timing and conditions are right).  

[bonsai3s]

30 minutes ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I love end of season Alaska Cruises.  The ports are not as busy as high season.  The stores in ports usually have HUGE end of season sales ( they close up and most of the workers head back to their main homes until the next season begins).  The weather can be pleasantly warm, or rain at times ( it's always like that in Alaska).  Cruise ships are not as crowded ( no kids on summer break).  One added perk on end of season cruises, you might, just might be able see some of the Northern Lights ( if timing and conditions are right).  

Yes! I was just about to write it...the huge end of season sale! Discovered it a few years ago. The stores had scarves, gloves, and hats for a dollar. The stores told us they wanted to sell all the old inventory and have new stuff for the next season.

 

* Weather: once we had unseasonably warm weather. On our most recent "end of season" Alaska cruise, this year...it rained every day...and fog, so no Northern Lights visible.

[Heidi13]

21 hours ago, J&J 01375 said:

We are looking at an end of season cruise that has an excellent price. Yes, the price is good because it is end of season. My question is if I should EXPECT it to be too cold the last week of Sept, or if it might be cool/cold yet enjoyable. 
Thank You

 

Only you can determine why you want to cruise Alaska, with your reasons impacting the positives & negatives of a late season cruise. Personally, having spent way too many months on a ship's Bridge watching the scenery and wildlife for 8 hrs per day, seeing even more of the scenery and wildlife is my primary objective.

 

Therefore, late season cruises don't work for me, as you have reduced daylight, potential fog, low cloud base shrouding the mountains and visibility reduced by precipitation, which can be heavy. These condition are more prevalent late season, which significantly reduce the potential of wildlife sightings.

 

Weather can be variable, as this year the NW experienced a warmer and drier September. However, temperature would normally be cooler, which may be an issue depending on your temperature tolerance. The potential for storms increases significantly by mid-September, as I have experienced 70 kt storms in each of the 2 years I worked Alaska cruising in September.

 

Ports are both a positive and negative, as less ships remain in Alaska, so less ships and therefore other pax in port, but many of the shops and tour operators have already shut down and departed SE Alaska.

 

[XBGuy]

We have done three September Alaska cruises.

 

Here is the one warning that I would give.  If you head to the Alaska Fudge store in Skagway with the intent of buying mint fudge, you may be disappointed.  Obviously, they try to run out their inventory of ingredients the last weeks of the season.  In our case we settled on "Inside Passage" (Peanut Butter inside the fudge).

 

It is definitely cooler, but after a hot summer in SoCal, we are always ready for cool.  I have always been able to dress comfortably.  If you enjoy hot tubbing on the ship, however, I guarantee that when you step out, your body will be covered with goose bumps.

 

We have hit rain on Alaska Cruises in April, May, August and September.  To me saying that it is rainy in September suggests that it is not rainy some other month.  It just hasn't been our experience.  The biggest storm we have ever experienced on a cruise was in August in the Gulf of Alaska.

 

I am inclined to agree with Captain @Heidi13 in that we have seemed it encounter more fog on September cruises.  It has never been a big deal.

 

So, yeah, the big downside may be a shortage at the Skagway fudge store.

[YourWorldWithBill]

On 11/24/2022 at 1:31 PM, J&J 01375 said:

We are looking at an end of season cruise that has an excellent price. Yes, the price is good because it is end of season. My question is if I should EXPECT it to be too cold the last week of Sept, or if it might be cool/cold yet enjoyable. 
Thank You

We got back from a September Alaska cruise a couple of months ago. For us it was cool, yet very enjoyable. The weather couldn't have been better, but it's always the luck of the draw. We were lucky; good time to see the black bears catching salmon in the rain in Ketchikan, nice weather in Juneau for our trip to the glacier, clear in Skagway, and Denali was nice. Although it was a good time for the northern lights in Fairbanks, it's possible that much of the wildlife had begun to go south.

I think it all depends on what you want and how lucky you get!

[dolittle]

We went second to third week of Sept. also great Salmon fishing caught like 25 or more on metal bridge in town only cost 10 dollars for a lic. in 2001. Best day fishing ever (and I go a lot).

[donaldsc]

https://weatherspark.com/

 

DON