Planning your first Alaskan cruise? This practical guide covers itineraries, dining, excursions and must-know planning advice, plus a peek at our cruise experience.
Hi friends! We’ve just returned home from an Alaskan cruise, and since so many of you have asked about cruising, I wanted to put together a guide just for you.
This post shares what we learned while booking, preparing for and sailing our first cruise. My hope is that it helps you feel more prepared and confident as you make decisions for your own future travels.
If you’re new here, a little backstory: my husband and I live on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. For many years we’ve watched cruise ships sail past our town on their way to and from Alaska. Last year, while on an evening walk watching those ships go by, we looked at each other and said, “Maybe it’s time we see what it looks like from their perspective.”
That started our journey of dreaming, researching, planning and saving for an Alaskan cruise. We decided to finally go this year to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary, a very special way to mark the occasion!
In this guide, I’ll share the lessons we learned, the questions I’m asked most (by friends, family and followers on social media), and tips to help you along the way. If you have questions I don’t cover, feel free to drop them in the comments. And if you’d like to see more of our trip, I’ll link my video playlist further down, where I documented our entire Alaskan adventure.
So, let’s get started, shall we? (If you’re looking for something specific, click on the heading in the table of contents below.)
Should You Use a Travel Agent?
Using a travel agent is completely up to you, but here’s what we found:
We started our cruise planning the way most people probably do, by Googling “Alaskan cruises.” The flood of information was overwhelming. There were so many options, cruise lines and decisions to make that we quickly realized we didn’t want to spend all our time sorting it out ourselves.
Instead, we asked a friend who had been on many cruises whether she recommended a travel agent. She gave a wholehearted “yes!” and connected us with a relative of hers who works as a travel agent.
Meeting her was such a gift. She graciously shared her years of experience, answered our questions and gave us practical advice that helped us make decisions.
I would 100% recommend a travel agent, especially for your first cruise. They are free (!) and can:
- Help you compare cruise lines and itineraries.
- Walk you through cabins, dining and excursion choices.
- Save you time and stress by handling the booking details.
Even if you’re comfortable booking trips yourself, the cruise world has so many add-ons and options that it’s helpful to have an expert on your side.
Choosing a Cruise Line & Ship
Choosing the right cruise line is one of the first and most important decisions you’ll make. Not all cruise lines are the same, and the right one depends on your travel style. Some questions to consider:
- Do you want to enjoy the onboard experience, or are you more interested in excursions and time in port?
- Do you prefer a more luxurious or casual experience?
- Are you travelling as a couple, with kids or with friends?
In the end, we chose our cruise line because it offered a slightly more upscale, relaxed feel. Other popular Alaskan cruise lines are the big names you’ll see advertised everywhere.
Our ship was the Solstice, one of the smaller, older ships in its fleet. To our delight, it was beautiful, well kept and very comfortable.
(If you’re curious about our room choice, you can check out this post where I share why we decided on a balcony stateroom.)
Picking an Itinerary
We chose a 7-day itinerary that worked well with our schedule and gave us a nice mix of port days and time at sea.
Most Alaskan cruises fall into two categories:
- Round-Trip Cruises: Start and end in the same port (often Seattle or Vancouver).
- One-Way Cruises: Start in one port and end in another. This lets you see more, but requires different flight plans.
Our itinerary started in Vancouver, BC, with port stops in Icy Strait Point, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. Our ship also took us to Dawes Glacier and sailed past our town both on the way out and on the way back (we loved that so much!).
Since we live on the west coast and regularly see whales, salmon and bears, we personally decided not to book excursions. For us, experiencing the ship and visiting the ports was enough. But if excursions are high on your list, consider that when choosing your itinerary.
Understanding the Costs & Upsells
One of the things you’ll need to consider when booking is upsells, “packages,” excursion costs and travel expenses beyond the cruise itself. Here are a few things to note:
- Drink Packages: These can be worth it if you plan to enjoy multiple coffees, sodas or alcoholic drinks each day. (You can get alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink packages. We didn’t opt for either.)
- Dining Options: Some restaurants are included, while others are specialty dining with an extra fee. Decide whether you want to try those in advance or stick with included meals.
- Wi-Fi Packages: Internet can be pricey, so think about how connected you want to be. (We didn’t pay for the onboard Wi-Fi, and we heard it didn’t work very well anyway. We just used Wi-Fi when we were in port to touch base with family, and that worked great for us.)
- Prepaid Gratuities (Tips Included): We chose this add-on when we booked, and I was so glad we did. It meant all the daily gratuities for our room steward, dining staff and other crew members were covered in advance. We knew everyone was being tipped fairly, and we didn’t have to think about it (or keep track of who to tip) during the cruise. It made the whole trip feel more relaxed and hassle-free.
- Excursions: These can add up quickly, but they’re what some people really love.
- Travel & Hotels before/after the cruise. Since we left from Vancouver, BC, we took a passenger ferry the night before and stayed at a hotel near the port. Hotels in that area are pricey! Ours was one of the most beautiful (and extravagant) hotels I’ve ever stayed in. It was worth it for the experience and convenience, but it’s definitely something to budget for.
Excursions
Once we booked our cruise, the cruise line began sending us information about excursions at each port. We quickly realized you could easily spend as much, or more, on excursions as you did on the cruise itself.
Booking excursions through the cruise line is typically more expensive than booking independently, but it comes with one big advantage: if your excursion runs late, the ship will wait for you. If you book independently and don’t make it back in time, the ship will sail without you. That peace of mind is one reason many people choose the official excursions despite the higher price tag.
Excursions include things like:
- Whale watching
- Helicopter tours over glaciers
- Kayaking
- Gondola rides & ziplining
- A scenic train ride in Skagway
If you don’t go on excursions (like us!), we enjoyed walking through the towns, searching for fun coffee shops and simply exploring a new area. We like to walk, so it worked perfectly for us. (Wear comfortable shoes!)
Dining & Restaurants
The dining experience was one of our favourite parts of the cruise.
Our basic package included:
- Oceanview Café (buffet): An incredible selection of food at almost all hours of the day. Whether you wanted a coffee-time treat, a full meal or a late-night snack, there was always a huge selection available.
- Main Dining Room (Grand Épernay): This elegant restaurant became our go-to for most meals. The service was excellent, and the menus offered wonderful variety.
- Mast Grill, a casual spot near the pool where you could order freshly grilled burgers, hot dogs and fries. It was a fun option for something different from the restaurants.
There were also many specialty restaurants onboard, including Italian, sushi and several other gorgeous dining rooms. These weren’t included in our package, but if you wanted the freedom to dine at any restaurant onboard, you could buy a specialty dining package or just pay extra for a different restaurant. We chose to stick with the included options and were more than satisfied.
Since my husband and I are big coffee lovers, I have to mention the ship’s coffee shop. The baked goods there were free (and delicious!), but the specialty coffees cost extra. We treated ourselves a few times, but for everyday coffee, the buffet offered free coffee, tea and juice that you could take with you anywhere on the ship.
Shopping Onboard
Of course the ship had gift shops! Some were high-end boutiques and art galleries with very expensive items, but there were also smaller shops with reasonably priced souvenirs. My husband picked up an Alaska hat for under $20, and I found the pricing in those shops very fair. It was a nice balance, with something for both collectors and casual shoppers.
Onboard Activities & Entertainment
There is always something happening on a cruise ship! Each evening, when our room steward prepared our cabin, he left a daily newsletter on the bed listing the next day’s activities and entertainment. There’s also a cruise line app you can download and use over ship Wi-Fi to plan ahead and create your own schedule.
Activities ranged from trivia games and craft sessions to fun competitions (my husband was a pro at archery!).
Every day there were also educational talks about the next port of call, Alaska wildlife or history. If you missed one, you could catch the replay on your in-room TV.
Evenings were a highlight. The ship had a team of talented singers, dancers and musicians who put on nightly productions. There were also guest performers. During our trip, we saw a phenomenal singer and an incredible pianist. We attended shows almost every night and found them thoroughly entertaining.
There were also plenty of later-night activities if you wanted to stay up and take part in things like sing-alongs to 70s pop hits or a silent disco. (We were sound asleep by then! ha ha!)
Of course, if organized activities aren’t your thing, there are plenty of quiet corners around the ship where you can read, relax or simply watch the beautiful scenery go by. Some passengers even had “their” favourite chairs they returned to each day.
Seasickness & Smooth Sailing
One of the reasons we chose our particular itinerary is that it sailed through the Inside Passage. Not only is it incredibly scenic, but it also makes for calmer waters than open-ocean routes.
For the most part, our sailing was very smooth, about 99% of the time. One evening, our room steward let us know the seas would be a bit rough, so I prepared by taking a seasickness pill and wearing wristbands. I was completely fine, and I didn’t meet anyone onboard who experienced seasickness during the week, although I did see quite a few seasickness patches behind people’s ears!;)
If seasickness is a concern for you, I recommend:
- Choosing an itinerary through the Inside Passage.
- Bringing medication or natural remedies just in case.
- Selecting a stateroom location that minimizes motion (midship, lower decks are generally best).
What I Wish I Knew Before Our Cruise
Even with all the research we did, there were a few things I wish I’d known:
- Bring a refillable water bottle. (We forgot ours!!)
- Without a drink package, not even pop was included! I didn’t realize soda counted as a “specialty drink” in the non-alcoholic package! It wasn’t a problem for us, but if you really like soft drinks, check whether your ship allows you to bring some of your own onboard.
- The big light shows during the nightly performances made my eyes go wonky (and gave me an instant headache). I learned to shut my eyes often, and wearing earplugs helped too. Goodness, that makes me sound old, but I found out I wasn’t the only one. I really enjoyed the shows, though. Just bring your earplugs if your head is sensitive to things like that.
- The ship’s online passenger group has some of the most helpful tips! I loved reading the conversations going on right among the cruisers, sometimes in real time.
- Spa prices are high. There is an onboard spa, but treatments were far more expensive than I expected. For us, it wasn’t worth it. Instead, we enjoyed the complimentary amenities like the pools, hot tubs and fitness room.
- Lunch at the buffet the first day was wild! Don’t let that scare you. It calms down after that,
- You don’t have to do everything. Don’t feel pressured to do what other people tell you to do. Be confident in how you want to enjoy your cruise. Some of our favourite moments were the simplest ones: reading a book by a window, watching the scenery or enjoying a quiet meal.
What to Pack for an Alaskan Cruise
I’ll be sharing a dedicated post soon with a full packing list, but here’s my number-one tip: pack for all four seasons.
On our cruise, the weather was one of the biggest surprises. It was much warmer than we expected, and it didn’t rain a single day. That said, Alaskan weather can be unpredictable, so bring layers. You’ll likely wear everything from a light T-shirt to a cozy fleece and a waterproof jacket in the same week (or even the same day!).
Want to See What an Alaskan Cruise is Really Like?
Sometimes words can only go so far, so I filmed short videos of our trip to really show what it was like. You’ll see the ship, our excursions, glacier day and lots of little details that bring the experience to life.
Click here to watch our Alaska Cruise playlist on video
It’s the perfect way to picture your own trip (and maybe start planning your dream cruise, too!).
Final Thoughts
If planning your first Alaskan cruise feels overwhelming, you’re not alone. I was right there, too. But once you get past the decisions, you’ll find the whole experience is really wonderful.
Whether you’re in it for the glaciers, the wildlife or just the joy of not having to cook every day, Alaska is a trip you’ll never forget.
And who knows, you might just find yourself planning your second cruise before the first one is even over.
