Alaska in September?

[puzzums]

Hello everyone.  I’m looking to hear from folks who have done an Alaskan cruise in September.  Research has indicated Sept can often be VERY rainy with a greater chance of some excursions being cancelled due to rain.  Also, wildlife sightings in general can be fewer, and bears may already be heading to hibernation sites.  So, how did you find your Sept sailings?  I am all about wildlife and being able to see the beautiful scenery on a clear day, not through a veil of rain.  I am aware one can experience rainy days in any month - it’s Alaska, after all - but just need to know if Sept is taking too big of a chance with the weather gods.

 

Thanks everyone!

[Tippyton]

Sept 2018 DIY Land tour from Fairbanks to Anchorage via Denali, SB Whittier to Vancouver.  Some spits of rain in Fairbanks and Day 1 in Denali.  Beautiful weather all the way through Ketchikan, including shorts weather in Juneau..  Rain on last sea day and disembarkation.   

 

Aug/Sept. RT from Seattle 2022.  Embarkation was beautiful, rained on sea days.  Glacier Bay rain off and on.  Hoonah was good weather, Juneau rain (got soaked whale watching), Ketchikan rain, rain on sea days back.  Disembarkation was good weather.  

 

Bottom line - both trips were awesome.  Brink wet weather gear and mentally be prepared to do rain or shine and roll with it.  Animals dont care.  

 

PS Somewhere on this site I have a couple of reviews from my 2018 trip.  Lots of pics.

[gottagoacruzn]

Just got off the crown, last week. Had a great time. Was a breeze checkin in & gettin off. Rained in Sitka & Juneau, cloudy in skagway, Ketchikan, sunny in icy strait. Saw a few whales, a couple foxes outside skagway. Wanna go again.

[Coral]

I have had a cruise where it rained all week, horrible torrential rains. I now go earlier in the season. I don't want to waste my vacation money/time going when historically there is more rain. 

 

If you can go earlier, I would recommend it.

 

Obviously people have been to Alaska in September with great weather. Others have reported that their ship can't leave dock for 3 days due to wind and rain.

[Glaciers]

Most tours aren’t canceled due to rain, it’s the wind associated with storms that can increase after Labor Day can create some pretty rough water. There have been at least a couple ships that couldn’t dock this month due to high winds. Like Coral, we go earlier in the season and enjoy the end of May, first of June as the sweet spot.

[Coral]

3 hours ago, Glaciers said:

Most tours aren’t canceled due to rain, it’s the wind associated with storms that can increase after Labor Day can create some pretty rough water. There have been at least a couple ships that couldn’t dock this month due to high winds. Like Coral, we go earlier in the season and enjoy the end of May, first of June as the sweet spot.

Yes - it is strong winds that keep ships in dock or unable to dock.

[Heidi13]

I completed 2 full Alaska cruise seasons and can attest to the increased potential in September for both rainfall and storms. One week it could be brilliant sunshine and the next week a raging 70 kt storm. However, on average, most days in September were just dull and overcast.

 

Concur with Coral & Glaciers, if possible, try to go earlier. 

[kasowell2]

Go in June 

[oaktreerb]

You can depend on shorter daylight hours in September.  You will have less time for scenic viewing.  The weather is unpredictable.  If you go in June you will have lots of daylight hours for scenic viewing.  The weather is still unpredictable.  Whenever you go, be prepared for rain.

[torybruno]

Check out the carnival board.  There’s a live cruise post on a 30 day Japan cruise that started in Seattle, they were supposed to have two ports in Alaska and Prince Ruepert, and they are completely missing Alaska because of storms!

[cmmaxwell03]

On 9/20/2023 at 4:37 PM, puzzums said:

Hello everyone.  I’m looking to hear from folks who have done an Alaskan cruise in September.  Research has indicated Sept can often be VERY rainy with a greater chance of some excursions being cancelled due to rain.  Also, wildlife sightings in general can be fewer, and bears may already be heading to hibernation sites.  So, how did you find your Sept sailings?  I am all about wildlife and being able to see the beautiful scenery on a clear day, not through a veil of rain.  I am aware one can experience rainy days in any month - it’s Alaska, after all - but just need to know if Sept is taking too big of a chance with the weather gods.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

HI Puzzums 🙂 We just got back from a southbound sailing from Seward to Vancouver, Sept 7th-17th.  To be honest, if early Sept was the only time I could take off work, I would still go again.  Even though we had rain most days and some rough seas at times, it was still a great trip.  I gave a detailed description on the thread below, post #230.  LMK if you have any other questions about the trip.  

 

 

 

[diesel1973]

Talked to my nephew yesterday near Anchorage and he said they are getting a ton of rain and a lot of flooding. I was up there for 6 weeks and left the end of August. The weather was great and right after I left the rain started.

[diesel1973]

And had their first over night frost!

[eileeshb]

4 hours ago, diesel1973 said:

Talked to my nephew yesterday near Anchorage and he said they are getting a ton of rain and a lot of flooding. I was up there for 6 weeks and left the end of August. The weather was great and right after I left the rain started.

Not just happening in Alaska, we had a rubbish summer in Ireland but it stayed okay temps, then we had glorious sunshine the first week of September, but tonight the forecast is for near freezing temperatures! 
it is not unheard of for us to get the warmest day of the year even as late the last week in September and we were hoping we’d get something like that this year to make up for the rubbish weather in July and August. Meanwhile the surfers are finally getting some decent waves just in time for national championships. 
normally it would be November or later before we get to freezing temperatures…. This is causing trouble as I’m trying to preserve my warm gear for Alaska in a couple of weeks. 

[lucywestie]

Just got off the Sapphire Princess after a 14 day cruise to Whittier and back from Vancouver. We hit Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan twice. Ketchikan first and second time were both overcast but warmish. Juneau was raining both times. Skagway was reasonably clear and sunny both times. Whittier on change around day it was pouring down. For our two trips into the Hubbard Glacier the ship got in close both times even though there was lots of mist and cloud cover. Glacier Bay NP was beautiful sunshine all day long. College Fjord was overcast but still got in close to the main glaciers.

 

I have been 3 times in September. First trip in 2007 we had sunny weather in all the ports. 2nd cruise in 2010 it rained and rained.

[Coral]

Ship's this week are missing ports due to weather.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

Ship's this week are missing ports due to weather.

 

Affirmative, the entire NW coast is getting hit with a succession of frontal depressions. A severe low is heading to the panhandle packing storm force winds.

[dbrown84]

I see from the responses that it's a coin flip, but is it safe to say that the earlier, the better?  I'm looking at doing Alaska next year, in a three week window from 8/31 - 9/14.  Should I go with the 8/31 sailing for the best hope of good weather, or does it not really matter?

[durberville]

We had booked airfare to Seattle for a family visit in Mid-October. Unfortunately plans have since changed and we needed to find accommodation for the first week - so I booked an Alaskan cruise. Mid - October! 😳 I still can’t even believe any ship is sailing that late in the season and there is a cruise after us! (Norwegian)…expecting horrible weather but we are treating it as a reasonably priced hotel. I doubt we will be able to see/do much of anything. 🤷‍♀️

[eileeshb]

On 9/26/2023 at 3:35 PM, durberville said:

We had booked airfare to Seattle for a family visit in Mid-October. Unfortunately plans have since changed and we needed to find accommodation for the first week - so I booked an Alaskan cruise. Mid - October! 😳 I still can’t even believe any ship is sailing that late in the season and there is a cruise after us! (Norwegian)…expecting horrible weather but we are treating it as a reasonably priced hotel. I doubt we will be able to see/do much of anything. 🤷‍♀️

If it's any consolation the temperatures for Seattle were higher than Ireland a couple of days ago. I'm sailing October 14th from Seattle and packing as if it's Ireland with just a couple of extra thermal layers. I'm just hoping none of our ports are cancelled and the whale watching excursion I have booked in Juneau goes ahead.

[suefrankw]

Just back from Alaska cruise on September 18. We had no rain and 65-70 every port day... just the pick of the draw. be prepared for all!

[tillymarge]

Just got back from our trip yesterday to Alaska (inner passage) and were the only ship at all ports. We had weather in the 40-50 degree F range. It rained on and off but we had a dry day at Glacier Bay. It appears most of the outdoor excursions occurred as planned. 

[puzzums]

Thank you SO much for all the responses!  All were greatly appreciated.  When I first posted the question it was looking like September would be our only option.  However, my amazing TA has since managed to secure us a balcony cabin on a June 1 Princess cruise, and I am super excited!  I would have been excited with a Sept cruise too but June was my first choice, so it’s all good.  😀

 

 

[skittl1321]

For those doing a search in the future, I will say my Oct 8th cruise was AMAZING.

I did have a few excursions cancelled: a mendenhall glacier visit because the cruise line ran out of permits, then a mendenhall glacier canoe because of 'water levels'; they didn't say if they were too high or too low.  But I just picked up whale watching and we actually got a beautiful view of the glacier from the boat (and a Mom and calf humpback swimming in the water).  Juneau was chilly, and a bit cloudy, but absolutely gorgeous, just needed a hoodie. 

We had a drizzly morning in Skagway, so one train ride was given the option of cancelling due to fog; but my rock climbing excursion (amazing!) went as planned.  The weather cleared up in the afternoon and it was the most amazing day.  Rain gear came in handy, but I only wore a light fleece under it.

Ketchikan was the most gorgeous day I could imagine. Sunny and clear.

Our glacier bay day was just above freezing, with tons of wind, and heavy rain.  So that wasn't great for views, but it was still nice to see the national park. 

Only downside is our sea day was ROUGH.  Tons and tons of very sick people on the ship.  Now, personally, I'd select a cruise to get that, but I know a lot of people want to avoid it. 

[MississippiMom]

We are currently looking at a September 13, 2025 10-day on Caribbean Princess.   After a lengthy discussion today, we really think that 10 days is the maximum length we can take, since it will take so long to fly to Vancouver from the Southern U.S.   Due to other commitments and work responsibilities, our window is around mid-August to mid-September departure, with the latter working better for us.

 

After reading this thread it sounds like the similar gamble of booking a Caribbean cruise during hurricane season.  You are just going to get whatever weather appears, because it’s out of our control.