Best Alaska Cruise Routes
My Picks for the Top Five Best Alaska Cruises
Choosing the best Alaska cruise is no easy task.
There are many great cruise lines serving Alaska, both large and small, operating both huge cruise liners and small, intimate boats.
On this page, I am concentrating on the best of the large cruise ship offerings, as it is not fair nor even logical to compare the large ships with the smaller ones. Both types of ships have their pluses and minuses.
The biggest draw to the large ships is their greater variety of on-board offerings and facilities. They are also, on average, far less expensive than most of the small ship cruises, making them a more realistic option for many people.
So, sticking with the large ship offerings, here are my top five cruise routes:
- Holland America’s Glacier Bay Inside Passage Cruise – round trip from Vancouver. Visits Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay & Sawyer Glaciers/Tracy Arm. (7 Days)
- Princess’s Vancouver to Anchorage Cruise Visits Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier N.P., and College Fjord. (7 days)
- Royal Caribbean’s Seattle to Tracy Arm Fjord Cruise – round trip from Seattle. Visits Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm Fjord, and Prince Rupert. (7 Days)
- Norwegian Cruise Line’s Glacier Bay Cruise – round trip from Seattle. Visits Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay, and Victoria, B.C. (7 Days)
- Holland America’s Alaskan Explorer Cruise – round trip from Seattle (Friday departures). Visits Glacier Bay National Park, Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria, B.C. (7 Days)
Each of these cruises is offered on multiple dates throughout the summer, through September.
The peak months tend to be July and August, so if you want to go in either of those months, you really would be wise to book your trip well in advance to get not only the route that you prefer but also the best possible room for your budget.
OF course, if you can’t get your first choice of route, don’t worry. All the routes really are quite spectacular, offering the breathtaking scenery that makes Alaska cruises such an unforgettable experience.
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