The stakes are high. For you it may be a once in a lifetime trip
you’ve been dreaming of. Or if you're returning and think you know
the traps, there's still much that can go wrong. An Alaska cruise often costs twice the price
of a Caribbean one, excursions are phenomenally expensive. It's got to be right. I am Gary Bembridge, and here’s 7 things
I have found are essential to a successful Alaska cruise. Some I learnt from making mistakes and others
from those I see people keep making. The first thing people trip up on is choosing
the cruise, as all look very similar. On the surface, there are just two itineraries,
and they share three key features but it’s more complex than it seems if you want to
get the best trip. The two itineraries are either the Inside
Passage, which are round trips usually out of Vancouver or Seattle, or one-way trips
between the north and south between ports near Anchorage (Whittier or Seward) and Vancouver
or Seattle. Both share three key features. First, they are usually seven nights long. Second, they call on the same three ports
(Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan, although some may use Sitka) and thirdly they include
one of more days of scenic glacier cruising to places like Hubbard Glacier or Glacier
Bay. However, look at the itinerary closely to
check how many days will be spent in Alaska versus just getting there and back. For example, Inside Passage cruises out of
Vancouver or Seattle, have two days at sea getting to and from Alaska. The north to south I recently did on Majestic
Princess had only one day not in Alaska. I recommend go on a cruise calling on Skagway,
Ketchikan, and Juneau as this is where the best excursions and activities are. But look carefully at how long the ship will
be in port. Some ships are in one or more ports for limited
times. For example, I saw Discovery Princess spending
just five hours in Juneau and Celebrity Solstice just four hours in Skagway. You want to have as much time as possible
in each port to do the best or even multiple activities in each. Taking all this into account, I preferred
my North-to-South cruise, as it had just one day not in Alaska, got me to the Hubbard Glacier,
I experienced the incredible Glacier Explorer train from Anchorage, where I flew into, to
Whittier to join the ship, and avoided the more complicated and slow Vancouver embarkation
which has both Canadian and US Immigration checks. However, for first timers, an Inside Passage
is a simple way of doing it as less flights and logistics and still see incredible sides
of Alaska. No matter which you choose, a mistake I made
the first time I went on an Alaska cruise was not add in pre- and post-cruise stays. First, because it's a long way to go. It took me nine and a half hours flight from
the UK and then I had to get up to Anchorage and there was an 8-hour time difference. many US travellers spend 6 plus hours getting
to the cruise and face time differences too. It’s worth having days to recover and be
on top form for the cruise, as it is hectic and tiring with many excursions being lengthy
and full days out on deck watching for wildlife, looking at glaciers and scenery. Consider adding a land-based trip to see more
of Alaska and chance to see wildlife close. For example, to Denali where lines like Princess
and Holland America own lodges, operate scenic trains, and busses. One thing many worry about getting wrong is
when to go. I don’t think there is a wrong time. The season is short, roughly five months from
May to September. It's always in demand, and it can be pricey
always. It's likely to rain pretty much any time you
go, and the weather will fluctuate from being chilly right through to warm pretty much all
the time too. I like the beginning of the season, May, or
June before it gets busy during school vacation time. If you want to see wildlife, then the peak
months of late June, thought to August is good, particularly once the salmon run has
started and the bears really come out. But on my May and June cruises, I saw whales,
bears, sea otters, and loads of birds. If you can go early in the season or at the
very end, it's likely to be slightly less busy and less expensive. Some businesses and tours may not be open
very early and towards the very end of the season. Although any time you go is going to be busy. There are around 30 ships sailing there in
the season, and with only those limited ports there will be 5 to 6 ships in each when you
call. The third thing people ask me often is what
is the right line to go to Alaska with? And should they go with a line they like,
or one of the lines like Holland America that has been cruising there for over 75 years
or Princess for over 50 years? There is a lot of choice as pretty much every
single line from ultra-luxury to mass resort style line is either based in Alaska for the
season or does some cruises in Alaska. So, you should be able to go on your usual
favourite. My advice is the itinerary should be the more
important consideration, and I recommend at least consider going on a line that will take
you into Glacier Bay. Going there should trump your usual line preference. It is so amazing and going to Alaska without
seeing it is a miss. Glacier Bay only allows two large cruise ships
in per day and only a few lines have access. Holland America and Princess have the most
access, followed by Norwegian Cruise Line. Very few other lines can offer you Glacier
Bay. Of course, Holland America and Princess are
traditional, classic, premium cruise lines with a reputation for being more staid and
possibly older guests. However, this gets turned on its head in Alaska
based on my experience. On my Alaska cruises on both Holland America
and Princess, I saw much younger and more varied age ranges than usual, dramatically
more multi-generational families than usual, many kids and teens of all ages and little
attention to the usual more formal dress code. Even on formal nights, people dressed informally. Even if you choose your favourite line, do
not expect it to be the normal crowd and on-board vibe. People chose the line more for the itinerary
and budget than in any other region from what I have seen. More than in any other region I get asked
if a balcony cabin is a must for Alaska. If you can, stretch to a balcony cabin as
it’s particularly good when you're doing scenic cruising days. These are long days and it's great to be in
your cabin and out on the balcony watching it go by. Some of the best views and photographs I've
got were from my balcony cabin. If they make an announcement that they’ve
spotted whales or bears, you can quickly just jump out on the balcony and look at those
if on the right side. Can you make a mistake by choosing the wrong
side of the ship? In my view, it does not make a huge difference. However, if you're doing a north to south,
I would tend to, if you're heading south, try and be on the left-hand side (port side)
because the land is on that side. And of course, if you're heading the other
way, you go on the starboard side so you're in the right-hand side. On my last trip I couldn't get a cabin on
the left-hand port side for my north to south and I felt I missed out a little bit, but
it doesn't massively make a huge difference. One mistake that I almost made on my first
trip was budgeting. There is a lot of extra costs to build in. I've already mentioned that you'll often find
on average for the cruise, you can be spending twice going to a busy area like the Caribbean. Then you need to factor in the onboard extras,
like gratuities, drinks, Wi-Fi, speciality dining, shopping, spa, and casino. However, if you want to get the most out of
Alaska, I do feel that you must spend on excursions. The towns themselves are interesting enough,
but they're small. Skagway only has a population of between 800
and 1,000 and there's pretty much not much going on. Ketchikan is basically a bit of a tourist
trap town filled with souvenir shops. Juneau has more going on. But for all, the action is out of town and
often involve floatplanes, helicopters, boats and even trains and they cost. I recommend you try and budget to do a series
of key things in Alaska. First, get up and close to glaciers. Walk on them, fly over them, go dog sledding
on them, hike or have a boat get you close to them. Juneau is a fantastic place for that. I tend to do my glacier stuff here because
you've got the Mendenhall Glacier, and other glaciers around here. I did a helicopter ride up onto the Norris
Glacier to go dog sledding but cost about $600. On my last trip, I did a helicopter ride to
walk on a glacier that was around $360 so these are insane amounts of money. You can though get a local bus for $4 and
then hike to the glacier. Ketchikan is another good place for glacier
watching where you can go on a float plane for example and fly over the Misty Fjords
and see many. The second activity to budget for, particularly
if you're a wildlife fan is to go whale and wildlife viewing. Whale watching excursions can cost you over
$150 to go out. That's a particular popular activity in Skagway
and Ketchikan. The third thing I recommend is do the White
Pass and Yukon Railway in Skagway. This historic railway line was built to transport
goods and ore when the Gold Rush started, but now it is purely for recreation and takes
you high up into the mountains. It costs about $135 per person. The fourth thing you may want to do is do
going eating and drinking. There are often salmon bakes, which can be
a bit tourist trap but fun, or going to local breweries. I must say probably the best fish and chips
I have ever had was when in Juneau at the Alaska Brewhouse. If you're particularly active is there's many
activity-based excursions, like zip lining, kayaking, and hiking. There are very limited cultural immersion
activities. In Ketchikan you can go to explore totem poles
and indigenous history, of course you should go to the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show which
is a lot of fun. As these can all be so costly you should cost
out your options. You can go with a cruise line, and I strongly
recommend booking your excursions far in advance as many will sell out. If they are sold out, or too costly, look
at independent providers like VentureAshore.com and ShoreExcursionsGroup.com who offer similar
excursions or you can wait until in port, as you'll find as you step off the ship there
are many booths quayside offering trips. I tend to prefer though, to stick with either
the cruise line ones or those ones through the independent providers as I feel they are
better screened and of course the cruise line will wait only for their excursions if running
late, so make sure you book with plenty of time to get back to the ship. This brings me to the one topic that I know
everyone going to Alaska makes a mistake with. Evidenced by everyone I spoke to on my last
trip saying they wished they had brought something they had left at home. And that includes me! Let’s talk clothing first. Assume it will rain and bring stuff to deal
with being on an excursion, walking about town or standing out on deck scenic viewing
in the rain. A hooded jacket is best, though a portable
umbrella is also a good idea. I also take my waterproof trousers though
only used once and not essential. Next, assume when you are out in port or scenic
cruising you will be both cold and hot in one day and within hours of each other. The best way to deal with that is layers. I use the principle I was taught expedition
cruising. Base layer, Protection layer and Waterproof
layer. For base layer, I pack my long johns, thick
woolen socks and top. These I only used when was on excursions that
landed on a glacier. But for the rest of the days, jeans, t-shirts,
and long-sleeved tops were my base layer. For protection layer, I packed a fleece, a
zippy top and a thick warm jumper so I had options based on how cold it was. I also took waterproof gloves, scarf, and
a warm beanie hat. I did also pack a puffy jacket which I was
glad of for one of the scenic cruising days and up on the glacier Then for the waterproof layer that I have
covered already. For example, in Juneau I had all layers on
in the morning to fly and walk on the glacier, but on return by lunch time I was walking
around in just a t-shirt with all the layers in my rucksack. Which, by the way is a must bring, to put
your layers in before or in case you need them when out. Make sure that you bring sunglasses too because
it can be very bright particularly if you're going onto glaciers. For the ship during the day I just packed
causal gear, polo shirts, spare jeans, and my gym gear. I did pack a pair of smart non-jean slacks
and a long-sleeved shirt for formal nights. Though I didn’t need to have those in the
end. But of course, in theory on Princess jeans
are not to be worn in the dining room and some lines are even stricter, though in Alaska
many ignore that. If you want to know more about Alaska cruising,
watch this video where I dive in detail about what it's like cruising in Alaska right now
starting with the biggest surprise I had and why, if I go to Alaska again, I will absolutely
repeat it. See you over there.
