Name: Don't Be an ALASKAN CRUISER Who Gets These Things Wrong!
Uploaded: 2024-10-20T04:34:59.000Z
Duration: 16 min 2 s
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Even if you've been on a cruise before, an Alaskan cruise is quite different.

Modal verbs - B1

When we went on a cruise, I took a bunch of notes of things that I wish I would have known before we went on our first Alaskan cruise, so I could have avoided a few mistakes.

In this video, I'm going to give you 10 tips that I learned from our cruise that I want to pass on to you so you can avoid those mistakes on your Alaskan adventure.

You want to make sure you consider your itinerary carefully because not all itineraries to Alaska are equal.

One is a round trip that takes you out of Vancouver or Seattle.

The other is a one way, either going from Vancouver or Seattle up the coast to Anchorage or Whittier, or you could do a southbound flying into Anchorage or Whittier and then traveling down the coast and flying out of Vancouver or Seattle.

Sailing round trip is appealing to first time cruisers and first time to Alaska because you're going to Seattle, you're going to Vancouver, you can fly in and out of the same airport.

The benefit of sailing out of Vancouver is that you go through the inside passage, which is protected water.

It's not in the open ocean like when you go out of Seattle, which can make for a smoother ride.

If you're worried about seasickness, that might be the way to go.

One downside of going out of Vancouver is it's infamously long and chaotic port.

When you check in, it took us about an hour and a half.

So be sure to book the earliest embarkation time you can and be sure to pack snacks, which might include some cookies.

We did a round trip last year because that was our first cruise and our first cruise to Alaska.

So this year we're doing something different.

We are going to go from Vancouver and go up to Whittier.

Then the nice part is not only do you get to see this additional part of Alaska, but you also have the opportunity to do what they call a cruise tour, which means adding a land portion to your cruise.

So we went through Princess Cruise Line and we're doing a three day addition where they take care of all your lodging and your transportation.

One thing to know is that it is really expensive, that land portion.

So just those three days for the transportation and lodging cost as much or almost as much as the cruise itself.

And it doesn't include food and it doesn't include entertainment.

Common mistake to avoid is not paying attention to how long your cruise ship is in your ports.

And if you're only in port for a couple hours, that will make booking your excursions tough.

So make sure that whether you book a round trip or a one way, your port stops are long enough to do the excursions that you want to do.

And be sure to leave enough time to do some extra exploring on your own.

Another common mistake is not considering what glacier you're going to.

There's Hubbard Glacier, there's Dawes Glacier and there is Glacier Bay National Park.

When you're choosing which cruise line to go with, I think it's best to go with a cruise line that goes to Glacier Bay National Park.

Only a few cruise lines like Holland America, Princess and Norwegian cruise lines go to Glacier Bay National Park.

This was an amazing experience with park rangers coming aboard and sharing information about the glaciers and wildlife.

Whether you choose to do one way or round trip, there are three main ports that your cruise ship is going to stop at.

That is Juneau, which is the capital of Alaska, Skagway and Ketchikan.

Let's say you've considered your options and you've decided on a round trip out of Vancouver that sails through the Inside Passage and it goes to Glacier Bay National Park.

You'll be able to have your own private viewing of the glacier on glacier days.

And every day in Alaska, there's something to see.

You'll never regret getting a balcony cabin.

If you're not quite able to afford a balcony cabin, an ocean view is nice too.

So you'll be able to see if there's any wildlife like otters.

They like to hang out by the ships or even a whale might come by.

You'll be able to see him out your window.

The least expensive option is an interior cabin.

We just get up and go out on the ship earlier in the day.

And we didn't spend a lot of time in our cabin.

And, you know, I don't know if I would anyway.

The other part of it that's nice is that since it is more budget friendly, you have more money in your pocket for excursion.

Alaska's cruising season is short because it's cold there in the winter.

The season goes from May to the end of September.

And some cruise lines do even do the beginning of October.

The shoulder season for Alaska is May, September.

And if they're still sailing the beginning of October, that means the cottage, you're going to spend less money.

However, it will be colder during those months, depending upon which month you choose to go, the scenery will be different.

If you go in May, there's going to be a lot more snow up on the mountains because it just hasn't started to melt yet.

Additionally, you may see different animal, different wildlife.

So that's something else to consider when you're making your choices of what month to sail.

The next mistake is not considering the excursions that you're going to go on in Alaska.

One thing to know is the excursions in Alaska are expensive.

They're not like your $40 bus ride if you're in the Caribbean.

So you want to make sure you budget for your excursions and you also want to book your excursions early because those once in a lifetime bucket list items, you don't want them to sell out before you get your seat.

Plan on spending more than $500 per person on the different excursions in the different ports.

Whale watching in Juneau is very popular.

Be sure to budget at least $200 US per person for your Juneau whale watching.

Other Juneau excursions include the Mendenhall Glacier, glacier dog sledding and helicopter tours, kayaking and Juneau's gold belt tram.

The White Pass Summit Railway in Skagway is going to run you about $150 US per person.

This is about the same price whether you book direct or through the cruise line or a third party vendor.

Check your cruise line and if it's comparable, I would just buy it through the cruise line.

Other things to do in Skagway include a glacier helicopter tour, Yukon suspension bridge, musher's camp, zip lining and gold panning.

The Great American Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan is going to run you $43 US per person.

You can buy online ahead of time, direct or you can just buy when you get there.

Other things to do in Ketchikan include flight seeing, the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman Tour, Ketchikan Saxman Totem Park and exploring this quaint town on your own.

Booking through the cruise line is the most convenient way to go.

Especially if you're going on longer, more elaborate excursions.

You probably want to book through the cruise line because they're going to make sure that you get back to the cruise on time and the cruise ship will even wait for you if you're on one of their excursions.

However, it's not always the best way to go.

You want to explore other options, third party options.

And I really looked into that when we're booking our excursions for this upcoming cruise.

Companies like Shore Excursions Group.com and Viator are also very reputable.

An example of one of the third party tours that we book is in Ketchikan.

So in Ketchikan, we're going to go on the Bering Sea Fisherman Tour.

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Don't Be an ALASKAN CRUISER Who Gets These Things Wrong!

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