Alaska Cruise Tips You Need To Know | 27 Expert Tips | 2023
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 มิ.ย. 2024
- Here are 27 things we learned from planning and going on an Alaska Cruise in 2023.
We just got home from a 7 Night Alaska Glacier Cruise onboard Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas. Even if you’ve cruised before, a cruise to Alaska is very different and these are the tips we wish we knew before conquering the Last Frontier.
Most of these will be helpful if planning any cruise to Alaska - but some tips are specific to Royal Caribbean and Ovation of the Seas.
If you have any questions about our experience, please leave us a comment!
ALASKA CRUISE PACKING LIST:
• How to Pack for Alaska...
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HOW MUCH AN ALASKA CRUISE COSTS:
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EMBARKATION DAY:
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• Alaska Cruise 2023
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Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:40 Book early
1:20 Book with a Travel Agent
1:53 Expect to pay more
2:40 Check excursion timing
5:21 Bring a passport
5:49 Select the earliest arrival time
6:44 Arrive a day early (at least!)
7:47 Pack for all weather
8:46 Leave formal attire at home
9:42 Buy a blanket in advance
11:02 Arrive to port 30 mins early
12:33 Do everything at home
13:34 Bring lots of cash
14:28 Bring essentials with you on the ship
15:12 Once on board, do your essentials
16:03 Be prepared for seasickness
17:33 The WiFi will disappoint you
19:47 Be prepared for last- minute changes
21:02 Buy souvenirs early
21:41 Keep a list of excellent crew
22:44 Food & drinks stay on board
23:34 Eat in port
24:33 Ketchikan
26:38 Skagway
30:25 Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier
33:19 Juneau
35:29 Victoria, BC
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My biggest tip I give people about going to Alaska is to make sure Glacier Bay is on your itinerary....by far the most spectacular area in Alaska
I know! We want to go back just to go there!
Cruiiing on Norwegian in FIFTEEN days.. SOO excited. 11 days
@@dayleyhouse have a great trip!
Thank you I really have been pondering this question.
My biggest tip is BRING BUG SPRAY! You will be the hero of your group. The mosquitos and gnats are ridiculous but if you have bug spray on they will find your fellow passengers that don’t!
Also please don’t harass the salmon in the creeks in town if they are spawning while you are there. I saw passengers poking them with sticks. DONT DO THAT!
Greatest Help!!!! 25th Anniversary!
Have a great trip and congrats!
Very good, and congratulations for not talking over each other like one of the other cruise couple videos I saw! That one was so irritating!
Thanks for watching!
Thank You
Thanks for watching!
Great tips!
Thanks for watching!
Your tips where outstanding.
Thank you!!
Great video and very informative
Thanks for watching!!
Thank you for the video! One of the most useful videos for an Alaskan cruise!
Thank you so much!! Appreciate you watching!
Thank you so much for sharing this! I am going to Alaska in eleven months and have no idea what to expect and this really helps.
Thanks for watching and have an amazing trip!
I’m going on Ovation this September and this video is amazing! Thank you so!
Have an amazing time!!
I have watched a lot of videos about Alaska cruises, and this is one of the best by far. Thank you for the succinct set of useful information.
Thank you so much!! Appreciate you watching and for providing feedback- motivates us to keep going!!
So glad I found your channel! I’m sailing to Alaska next May! Very informative video!
So glad the videos have been helpful! Thanks for watching!
thank you soo much. that was fabulous ! im going in October and hope its Great
Thank you for watching! Have a great trip!!
Loved the video. Will probably watch it again before my trip in June
Thanks for watching!
Your tips are spot on and extensive. Thank you for all of the time you both put in to making this video.
Thank you so much for watching!! Glad it was helpful!
Very helpful tips. I will definitely look at the video with the list and the excursions videos. Planning to go out of Vancouver on the North sailing. One way to Seward. Thank you.
Thank you for watching!
very good information, so helpful so those of us who haven't been to Alaska and Canada previously
We are so glad! Thanks for watching!
Thank you for all the videos! Very informative! For online (app ) check in. What time does the check in begin? Is it midnight local time? We are trying to check in as early as possible. Thanks!
So much information you shared here, It would be a great help for our cruise trip to Alaska in June 24. 👍👍👌👌🤗
So glad it was helpful, thanks for watching! Did you already booked your trip? If you need assistance booking, I’d love to help!
Our trip to Alaska is in August for 18 days. Land and Crusie tour we can't wait!!!! Thank you for all these tips
Amazing! Have a great time!!
Thank you for the great tips. We are going a 7 nights cruise at the end of May 2024 from Vancouver to Seward one way cruise. Afterwards, we will take the scenic train ride to Anchorage and spend some times at Denali National Park. It will be a two weeks trip spread out between Vancouver, 7 nights cruise, Anchorage and Denali National Park. So far, I am seeing the excursions are too expensive to do it at every port. Most excursions are like avg $200+ person and that would be $800+ for a family of 4 at each port. That would be too much and it's not worth. We got the balcony room so we will enjoy the view from there and do a walking tour at each port. We might do some cheap excursions and one expensive one if we really like it. We did two 7 nights cruises this year. One in the southern Caribbean and the other in Western Mediterranean. Both trips were fantastic. My only complaint about the Europe trip was plane tickets. It was a total ripoff. We flew from Atlanta to Barcelona and it was $7.2k for 4 in June. The coming up flight from Atlanta to Vancouver and Anchorage back to Atlanta for only $1.6k for 4. My advice for travel to Europe is to fly to a nearby city that you planning to and then take a train to your destination. Europe public transportation is really good and safe (except for pick pocketing). You could save thousands of dollars. Also, we did an excursion at each port in the Caribbean and Europe. Most excursions costed $200-300 for a family of 4. Happy traveling 😊.
Omg your Alaska trip sounds fantastic!!!! And yes, excursions in Alaska are notorious for being so much more expensive than anywhere else. It’s mainly because they can really only do it 5 months out of the year!
Same itinerary here lol
Thank you for your tutorial of your cruise. Planning our trip for July 2025 and found your information very useful.
I’m so glad! Thanks for watching!!
Nice video! We are going on our first Alaska trip with Princess (Cruisetour) this July. I'm doing lots of research and appreciate your info on this one. I'll be checking out more of your videos too!
Have a great trip!! Thanks for watching!
Great video! Thanks for all the tips. We are going on an 11 day cruise on Princess from San Francisco for my 60th, can’t wait:)
I need to find your packing list! I will try & find all of your videos. Thanks again
Have an amazing time- so glad the videos were helpful!
If you do another cruise to Alaska, the Bering sea fisherman tour excursion is awesome! It’s in Ketchikan. We’ve done it on a Princess cruise.
Thanks so much for the recommendation!
Great tips. In 2024 we will finally take our 2020 trip to Canada and Alaskan cruise. I've just finished booking our shore excursions and a lot were already booked out as you said. They are pricey but with only three port calls we want to see as much as we can. Not long to wait now so we are finally allowing ourselves to get excited.
What a long time to wait, it will be so worth it!!!
Great video! We actually sailed Quantum the first week of July & I still love watching all the Alaska videos! Like you, our weather was unbelievable & I’m ready to go back! My only disappointment was I did not get my blanket. I ordered clear back in December & was really bummed not to get it, especially since finding out later that some people did get them on the cruise…. Had i known that, I would’ve been to guest services everyday asking about it! I just wonder how they decided who the lucky recipients were to receive them? Anyway…guess I have to go back just for the blanket!
So glad you had nice weather too! I keep watching Alaska videos, we def want to go back!
Our cruise was mid June so I think we got the blankets before it had issues!
Thank you for a great video and tips! The excursions are pricey. I only purchased one which is the White Pass Train tour in Skagway. But the rest of the ports, I will stay around and shop at the souvenir shops. And explore many things such totems, etc.
The ports themselves are great so think you won’t regret that choice!!
Cruising to Alaska next July. 6th royal cruise. So excited!!
Amazing! Have a great trip!
Thanks for the awesome and super informative video. I am packing based on your ideas, super helpful. Question, when traveling to Seattle and back, did you check a bag (travel size) or everything was in the carry on bag. I am struggling to fit all winter stuff in the carry on. We are going next month, assuming's it will be colder. Thank you!
We each checked a bag, has a carry on bag and a backpack. We were gone from our house for nearly 2.5 weeks!
Great tips. Thank you. We are going on our first cruise as family next year August 2024 via Norwegian Encore. All our excursion were pre-booked via VIATOR app. We did switch from BLISS to ENCORE because of Glacier Bay itinerary plus the port time for Encore has longer hours.
That sounds amazing!! Wishing you a wonderful family trip!
I made this video to share with all the tourists that are going on a trips to Alaska and stopping one day in Skagway. th-cam.com/video/MGFId71pXzM/w-d-xo.html One day is not enough to really understand Skagway’s rich history. You will better appreciate what they are about to see and get more in-depth things to do with your 1 day visit.
Outstanding in-depth history of Skagway and the mountain passes to Yukon Gold Rush of 1887-89 - “as good as any Ken Burns Video
This video is created by someone who spent a day in Skagway and wanted to give everyone a deeper understanding of Skagway’s rich history. Took me about month to create. Enjoy, and thanks for sharing. I make educational videos for fun, non-profit, with over 300 videos. Google: “mike wick minnesota videos”
Great tips, thank you for being so thorough and sharing your learnings with us! We are cruising to Alaska in July this year with NCL. Curious if you guys noticed any rideshare (Uber) in the area? We have to dock at Ward Cove so wondering what other transportation is available other than shuttles.
Thanks for watching and glad it was helpful! We haven’t been there so we aren’t sure but maybe there’s a TH-cam video out there on it?! Good luck!!
I went on the Norwegian Bliss in 2019 it was built for Alaska pacifically all the decor and everything revolves around Alaska. I mean the the artwork, the sculptures, the pictures you have pictures of way way back when the goalie was first starting, and the railroad track being I mean just the history that ship gives you the history of Alaska, so I’m glad I went on that particular ship for my cruise, because just the education that I learned was just remarkable so you get that added touch of all the history and gold mining and everything so an actual pictures of the real people that actually laid the railroad down and it’s just phenomenal but I didn’t think I would ever go. That was my very first cruise didn’t think I’d ever go on another one I fell in love with Alaska fell in love my first time was in June and then after that I had another one planned in 2020 but of course Covid hit And the next one I didn’t get to go until 2022. I’m sorry, but I went in October and I actually went toward the end of October and it was like less than half price because it was at the very end of the season we got things that Half price it was a different experience altogether I mean totally when we went in June it was some days were in the 80s which they said that was not normal but we went with our pastor. It was a 60th birthday so we chose because we had two years to pay for it and everything so we chose to do the Haven and let me tell you that was the Haven on Norwegian on the Bliss. I can only say for the bliss because that is the only ship I’ve ever cruised on, and I have been on five Alaska cruises now I’ve only done one thing twice and that was gone to the Menhall glacier and the waterfall but I the last one I went on was last October 2023 and I went for two weeks because I went with my sister and brother-in-law back in January 2023, for 16 day cruise to the Panama Canal on the Norwegian Bliss and that was a beautiful wonderful cruise. I tell you seven days is not long enough personally for me I mean after I did the Panama Canal cruise then I was like you know what instead of doing the Haven I’m going to do two weeks instead of one week in Haven. And I’m getting ready to go again but this time I’m gonna go in May and I’m doing the whole month of May. I’m doing back to back it’s the same itinerary but there are so many things to do I mean like in Sitka you would have to go on at least 20 cruises to be able to do all the excursions on on the Bliss I don’t know about the other ships but I do know that I have met a lot of people on the bliss the crew and they had they’re like family to me now and I absolutely look forward to seeing them every time because I usually go twice a year but this time I’m only gonna go once I think since I’m doing three weeks it just depends if it’s the Lord will tell you you will not regret doing an Alaska cruise but I did everything myself because I’m a detail person I like to know what the room looks like I like to know where it’s located on the ship I’m very much in the detailso go through and figure out everything that I wanna do I go through all the excursions and look at the money that I have and what things I would like to do first I prioritize things because you don’t know if you’re ever gonna go back again, so that’s kind of how I do it personally and then with Norwegion I get a personal cruise consultant through Norwegian and I have their direct line and that’s who I talk to every single time. I don’t get a different person each time because I can tell you in the past some people know stuff some people don’t some people tell you what they think you wanna hear, and it ends up by being a big mess, and if I’m told one thing and then I get on the ship but I’m told something totally different. It doesn’t make for a happy cruiser. I can tell you, so if you have one person that you talk to all the time that’s the best thing I am getting ready to take my grandchildren in a year. I’m gonna wait until the ship has been out and they’re in their rhythm icon of the seas, that ship is beyond awesome for families and children. I tell you what royal Caribbean knocked it out of the solar system at the park out of the solar system. I mean with what they came up with and it was just great. I think they had people that had imagination and children teenagers involved to see what they like and just the colors. It’s a very very very family oriented ship. I know one person came on and said something about well they having an adult area like they do for the children’s area and someone came back and said every ship out there if you just want adult go on virgin they’re adult only, this ship was built for families not for adult only there’s plenty out there that is for just the adults. This is for families and finally a Cruise line realize that you know there’s a lot of families out there that want to be able to enjoy quality time with their children and have fun with them now the other cruise lines need to step in file behind Royal but I really don’t think, I just don’t think anybody can step it up anymore. I mean I don’t know maybe get your teenagers together but I think it’s awesome. What royal did but as far as Alaska goes yes, it’s very important to know like your excursions and everything because I had scheduled a lot of my dinners and then I realize that I wouldn’t even gonna be on the ship at that time yet, so definitely coordinate and the more you cruise the more you learn and you get into your own rhythm and I definitely have learned if anyway possible I personally would rather do just a simple room. I haven’t done an inside cabin yet. It’s just because I love the fresh air I love having my door open and listening to the water and the first cruise we went on to Alaska we were on the back of the ship on the aft in the penthouse and I could’ve stayed there the whole time now that I know the ship the aft if you could get the aft and it’s about relaxing and just enjoy the scenery is breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking, sorry so long but it’s when you’ve only been on one Alaska cruise yeah you find out certain things but after you’ve gone multiple times, then you have a much much better much better I guess idea of things and everything but these guys are pretty much spot on, and I had no idea that the travel agency agent did not get paid sure that the cruise lines must pay them somehow but anyway Alaska you cannot go wrong with Alaska. I don’t care what ship your own you cannot go wrong.
Well said! I’m glad you know about travel agents being free now! We are a great tool and resource!! Have a great day- hope the grandkids love Alaska!
Good lord, take a breather. I was interested in what you thought of the October cruise, but I couldn’t understand the 294,736 word run-on sentence.
What are you writing, a scholarly article? Make it brief! It's the comments section.
I'll be on this trip next week. The question I have is what do you where for dinner. And captain night
Some nights I wore jeans and a nice-ish top, some nights I wore a casual dress. Majority of people did not dress up for formal night
Thank you so very much, you quite.
Seriously, probably just saved my life!!!!!!! Im deathly ALLERGIC to the scolpomine patch you talked about..... I'll be ordering a medical alert bracelet!!!!
Thank you for watching and wish you a fun and healthy cruise!
Hello, We are sailing on Quantum from the 21-28th and have booked the same excursion in Juneau that you went on (“Mendenhall Glacier, Whale Watching and Wildlife Quest”). Would you say that the whale watching boat and shuttle to the glacier could accommodate a collapsible wheelchair for someone who is still able to climb a few stairs and walk short distances? Thank you. Love your Vlog and appreciate any advice you can offer.
So fun! I would think so but highly recommend you reach out to Royal/the excursion company to ask. There should be an email on the website but would hate for you to be turned away because there wasn’t room on the bus or something!
This is a great video with no drama, just facts & hints.
When I was new to cruising, I thought I had to fill my day with excursions, but when I went to Hawaii, we booked an excursion to a rainforest that lasted a long time. We had to rush to get back on the ship. The rainforest was nice, but how many trees & flowers do you really need to see? We regretted not being able to eat on that island or do a little shopping. We learned our lesson so that when we went to Alaska we spent more time just enjoying the port.
When we cruise we take a quick picture of the staff with their name tag included.
Make sure you take OTC meds in your carry on bag. I take Ibuprofen, Goody’s, alka-seltzer, Emetrol, Imodium, also have deodorant, soap, contact solution, hair brush, (anything you’ll need to get ready for dinner that night) I left my toiletry bag in our car & thought we could just buy everything on the ship. They have some things, but not everything so I avoided pics until we finally found the items at port.
I suggest every cruiser find the video explaining what the cruise staff hate for cruisers to do. With 20+ cruises, I learned a lot. I wish I remembered which site it was on. But it had things I thought was a nice thing to do but it actually caused problems for that staff member.
Thank you for watching and for sharing! So helpful!!
So overall AT&t is probably the best provider in Alaska. With the most coverage.
Good to know!
Contrary to Verizon’s Big Red Map, from my first hand experience, unfortunately ATT the best provider.
Thanks very informative share of your cruise experience. I dont know where to start though, I need to narrow down if we should embark from Seattle or Vancouver; what are the pros and cons of each if we are cruising in late June or early July 2024 ? Also do you recommend one ship vs another ? Your help is greatly appreciated given there are so many options it seems like.
Pete & Lupe
If you sail out of Vancouver, it’s often smaller ships but then you may encounter calmer seas since you aren’t in the open ocean if that’s a concern. But we wanted Quantum or Ovation on Royal Caribbean since those ships were built for cold weather and have indoor pools and they only go out of Seattle! I don’t think late June/early July really makes much of a difference though!
Why did you all go to the shop with stuff from China, not the Made in Alaska places? Look for the sign that says Made in Alaska.
HI! :) Did you leave from Seattle? If so can you recommend a good hotel to stay the night before? Thanks
We did! We stayed at Hotel 1000 which was great and walking distance to a lot of things, like Pike Place!
Can we bring a thermo with water into ports? If not, are bottled water available for purchase at ports? Thanks
We were told each person can bring one unopened water bottle into each Alaskan port. Would recommend you double check with the cruise line as well!
I’m looking for a travel against for a cruise to Alaska but with Carnival Cruiseline. Do you help with that?
I only do Royal Caribbean, Virgin Voyages and Disney Cruise Line currently but I could recommend another travel agent if you want!
We are traveling there on Princess Cruise. You mentioned not permitted to take any food off ship. I am vegan and concerned about very limited dining options in port. I was planning on bringing a packaged snack bar and premade homemade vegan muffin from home with me at each port. Guess this could be a problem 😒
I would reach out to Princess and ask! We believe this was rules from the Alaska ports and not a Royal rule… not sure if they make exceptions for dietary needs!
@@ACoupleTravelers thank you. I will call them
We just got off Royal and they never checked our luggage, so I left behind some food! 😫@@gailgrieco1781
Do you know if Quantum sailing on 5/26/25 has same stops (docked in town)? Also, Quantum has same indoor pools as Ovation? Thanks!
Did you already book your cruise? If not, reach out to me and I’d love to book it for you and be able to answer all your questions like this: j.buraczenski@magicalvacationplanner.com
We have a group of 26 going. I am trying to figure out shuttle service from airport to hotel and then hotel to cruise port. Any suggestions on a group shuttle thx
Check out premier airport shuttle!
Did you have a bottle of bailey's for your hot chocolate or was it a room service option? Great video, very interesting and informative. Thank you!
They had a cart on the early mornings and you could add baileys to it (free for us since we had the drink package)
I am curious how they enforce the no food off the ship rule for those of us with lots of food restrictions? I usually carry a couple of fruit bars and meat stick with me so that I have safe snacks with me.
I had something in my hand which they spotted. But, if you are caught, you could face large fines. Fruit is especially bad as bugs could destroy a countries agriculture.
What about if you have a medical condition that means you need to carry food? I have type 1 diabetes and I carry snacks with me everywhere.
@@lancer434 please reach out to Royal or the cruise line you are going on to ask!
Are you allowed to bring a reusable water bottle, like a hydro flask off the ship and sippy cup for kids? Or does it have to be a sealed container?
I’m not 100% sure, you’d have to ask Royal directly! Kid stuff may be an exception
Yes that’s allowed
Would you not see whales from the cruise ship? Is there a point in booking an excursion specifically for that? (Maybe location makes the difference?)
We didn’t see whales from the cruise ship- saw dolphins twice but think we got lucky!
I take picture of name tag
That’s a great idea!
Do you recommend the ovations of the seas going to Alaska ? How was the food there ?
We loved the ship!! Food was pretty good but def recommend some specialty meals!
@@ACoupleTravelers thank you and do you have to ask for it in advance or pay extra ?
@@daniaalbassam561 we added the 3 night specialty dining package and paid for that in advance. Once on board we make those reservations!
What is North Star?
The pod you see on the ship that takes you up high for some great views! Similar to the London eye pod but not a Ferris wheel!
No blankets last time I tried to buy😥😥😥
Keep checking!!
Hoping NCL has Blankets to purchase ahead of time. No mention on their website.
what time was everything shutting down in skagway
Not sure but it was a ghost town at 6pm ish- only a few things open
We are planning on going in June 2026 for our 25th anniversary how far should we book ahead
As soon as those dates open! Right now only through April 2026 is available… so maybe summertime? I’d love to help you!
@@ACoupleTravelers sure we would love that just wondering how much a travel agent would charge
@@user-ok1dl9qt2r it’s free! We earn commission from the cruise line so that you don’t pay anything!
@@ACoupleTravelers ok great this is our first cruise so would like as much help as possible. If you would like I can send you my Gmail address it would probably be easier for me.
@@ACoupleTravelers ok great this is our first cruise need as much help as possible. Would you like me to send you my Gmail address would be a little easier on me
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Got to be honest sounds like most everything is a huge hassel to take part in. Then costing thousands on top of it. Geesh
We actually think it was worth it though!
I buy my souvenirs on line from the alaska made web sites like alaska flour.
Oh cool!