So, I recently took the Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas cruise to Alaska. I felt that the cruise was very family oriented with a lot of kids on board, but there was enough space for seniors and adults-only venues on the ship as well. The cruise was technologically advanced and pretty much a newer ship built in 2016, and a very beautiful ship. I was not so happy with the ports it stopped at and wished I knew a little bit more about the ports before a booked it. So, I thought this information I learned may help others before they book their Alaska cruise. If you are confused about whether to book an Alaska cruise or a cruise to the Norway fjords, check out my post here. So, here goes the tips for booking an Alaskan cruise vacation:

Glacier:

You must choose a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay!!! Ovation of the Seas cruise had a stop at Endicott and Dawes glacier, and I expected the cruise to get much closer to the glacier, but the view seemed pretty much similar to that of The Mendenhall glacier we saw in Juneau which was from a long distance. Also, we did not get to see any type of calving at the glacier due to the distance we were at. Endicott Arm and Tracy Arm are much smaller glaciers than Glacier Bay, and you won’t be able to get much closer to them due to the narrow width of the fjord. I later came to know that only certain older cruise lines get to go to Glacier Bay. Princes Cruises and Norwegian Cruises and Holland America have a stop at Glacier Bay, so the best Alaskan cruise where you could get better scenery would be either of those cruises.

Shore excursions:

Shore excursions are definitely necessary like wildlife watching and helicopter tours or white pass tours in Skagway as there really isn’t much to do around town at the ports. A lot of whales or seals’ tails could be seen in Stephen’s Passage off the coast of Alaska. It was hard to make out exactly what the moving animal was as it was mostly underwater, but most people on the cruise had their binoculars out.

Book your shore excursions early for an Alaska cruise. Helicopter tours are usually sold out and you may not get the time slot you prefer and the rides for the place you need. We wanted to book helicopter and whale watching in Juneau, but we couldn’t get the time slots for morning and afternoon as it stepped in Juneau only for the afternoon. Make sure you pick cruises where it stops at a port for the whole day and not just an afternoon. Pick helicopter rides in places where the weather is much better. For example, Juneau has a 50% chance of bad weather and rains around 200 times in 365 days of the year, so there is a high chance of helicopter rides being canceled. So, given a choice between Skagway and Juneau, I would prefer to book a chopper ride in Skagway. Ketchikan also has a high chance of rain – around 300 days a year.

Those who are more interested in wildlife and glaciers/icebergs might find Alaska interesting. But seeing wildlife is not guaranteed and there is a steep price to pay for those tours like the bear-watching tour where they catch salmon for a tour price of around $600. The price is between $350-$600 based on whether you want to go on a husky musher ride while on the glacier during the summer months as there is no snow on the ground. Whale watching priced around $150-$250 should be a good pick for a port like Juneau where whales are more guaranteed to be seen.

Cruise Activities:

Another priority to look at when booking a cruise is if the cruise caters to your group or family demographic. There are some cruise lines or specific ships that may be more family-friendly and have more activities than other cruise ships, so you need to prioritize and make a decision based on that.

Departure port:

When I was trying to book my cruise, I remember looking at departure port of Vancouver, but found the flight charges to Vancouver more pricey than the flight charges to Seattle, and the ship sailing from Seattle seemed to be much bigger and had more activities than the one from Vancouver. That made a big change in my plans, and I ended up picking Ovation of the Seas outbound from Seattle.

My afterthoughts after the cruise were, that I probably should have booked my flight trip to Seattle, spend a few days there, and then drove on 3 hours to Vancouver to catch the cruise from there. I could even check out the port of Vancouver and nearby Whistler before driving back to Seattle to catch my flight back home.

So, overall I think visiting both cities of Seattle and Vancouver if possible would be a good idea, whether picking either ports as the departure ports or depending on your preference of the cruise line/ship.

Port of Victoria:

The port of Victoria is a stop that is seen on most cruise lines and the reason is due to the Passenger Vessel Services Act, an 1886 law. There isn’t much to see in the port except enjoy the pier and fisherman’s wharf. Butchart Gardens seemed like the only thing worth visiting while there. The gardens were beautiful and comparable to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, thought I found Butchart Gardens to be more pleasant to walk around due to the sheltering trees.

If there was any cruise that would stop at any other Canadian port like Vancouver, that might be even better as Vancouver has much more to see. My post here covers places like Vancouver and Seattle.