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Bald eagles hatch and rear young in April and you can see their mottled fledglings from May through June. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, Under the Midnight Sun, with the latest updates about new multi-day tours and day trips from Alaska Tours. Of course, temperatures during September will be lower than other times of the year, but the opportunity to see the Northern Lights is a real treat. If you are willing to trade warmth for less precipitation, then go for May. In fact, the end of May and early June offers some of the best weather in the region throughout the year.
Longer Alaska Cruises: A Chance to Explore More of the State
If you booked an interior or oceanview cabin for your 2024 Alaska cruise, consider upgrading to a balcony before your sail date. Regardless of where your cruise starts and ends, it’s always better to plan transportation logistics ahead of time to avoid any surprises and confusion upon arrival. If your cruise ends in Seward, you’ll want to schedule even more time to catch your flight, as it takes several hours to get to Anchorage from Seward.
The Best Time to Cruise Alaska for Good Weather: Summer (mid-June through August)
Smaller ships can reach ports of call and destinations that are inaccessible to larger cruise ships, allowing you to explore more remote settings and communities. For an even more customized experience, consider a private cruise on smaller ships like yachts and sailboats. The Alaska cruise season begins in mid-May, but it doesn’t reach full swing until after Memorial Day.
Advantages of Visiting Alaska in June
Sailings departing earlier in the season will less frequently be sharing berth space in port with numerous other ships, meaning that crowds in the ports will be somewhat lighter. You’ll enjoy wildlife viewing, warmer temperatures, and daylight returns to more typical hours. However, the dry season has ended, so rainfall will begin to increase as the month progresses. The cruise season beefs up in June, with the number of ships growing and the season in full swing by the end of the month. The midnight sun means many hours of daylight, especially on June 20, the longest day of the year — when you'll have to stay up late to see any darkness at all.
The Best Time to Cruise Alaska 2024: A Month-by-Month Guide - Condé Nast Traveler
The Best Time to Cruise Alaska 2024: A Month-by-Month Guide.
Posted: Thu, 29 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
July and August are the warmest months of the year with an average high temperature of 76 degrees Fahrenheit or 24 Celsius, the National Weather Service reports. The average high temperature is 67 Fahrenheit in June and 71 in July and August, according to the Meteorological Service of Canada. The best time to cruise to Alaska depends on both warm temperatures and a lower risk of rain. At AAA, we offer a wide selection of cruise itineraries to those explorers who want to get up close and personal with Alaskan wildlife, landscape, and culture.
Alaska Cruise Weather in August
One of my favorite aspects of cruising to Alaska is the pre-cruise stay in Seattle or Vancouver. Not only do both of these cities offer breathtaking natural scenery, but they boast an impressive amount of things to do within the city, too. In addition to airfare, you’ll also want to figure out transportation logistics on land, which can vary from one embarkation city to another.
The Best Time for Viewing the Northern Lights
The best time to cruise Alaska - The Points Guy
The best time to cruise Alaska.
Posted: Wed, 11 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Even if you're a seasoned fisherman, we recommend using a local guide to help find you the best fishing spot. Temperatures are relatively mild, with daytime highs in the upper 40s and into the 50s depending on where you're visiting and cloud cover. If your itinerary includes stops in Anchorage, Seward, or Whittier, you might experience rougher seas as you cross the Gulf of Alaska in September. With shoulder heights at 6 foot 9 inches and over 1,400 pounds, these massive animals are as dangerous as impressive, so you’ll want to view them from a distance. There is a chance you will see some snow, so a winter coat, gloves, and a hat are a smart addition to your packing list. With lows in the 50s, you don’t need to pack a winter coat and hat, but be sure to include warm, wicking layers to keep your temperature steady.
With fewer crowds in May, take a step inside Alaska’s finest fisheries and taste fresh king salmon — a local delicacy — as they’re plucked from the cool waters. Revel in the rousing vibrations of May sunlight and lookout for humpback whales as they make their first appearance of the year. Or, explore the outdoors on a peaceful boat tour through deep fjords and enjoy a relaxing train ride up the sweeping mountains.
How to Plan the Best Alaska Cruise
On the water, we rarely passed any other ships or boats, aside from fishermen out for their catches. If you're on a budget, stick to interior rooms and look for the big cruise ships, which tend to have more inventory. Small-ship Alaska cruise lines like American Queen Voyages and Uncruise can go further into narrow passages and get closer to shoreline wildlife like Dall sheep and bears. July and August are considered peak seasons to cruise to Alaska for good reason. These are the months when all good things combine to create the optimal Alaskan experience. June is a smart choice for cruisers who don’t want to travel during peak season but want more opportunities.
Jenna DeLaurentis enjoys exploring new ports of call around the world on a cruise ship, learning about new cultures, discovering beautiful landscapes, and trying diverse cuisine. She loves to get active while at port, whether cycling through mountains in the Caribbean or scuba diving under the sea. As your ship sails away from each port of call in Alaska, you will be rewarded with stunning views of the Inside Passage, and you won’t want to miss sailaway each evening. However, sailaway times often overlap with the early dining time, meaning you’ll miss these scenic sailings if you're in the Main Dining Room. If so, you can almost always expect warm temperatures and, aside from a chance of rain, pleasant weather conditions.
Those summer months, however, are when you're likely to see the warmest weather, with temperatures around 50 to 70 degrees, as well as the longest number of daylight hours, she said. The best time to cruise Alaska is in May or June, at the beginning of the cruise season. Alaska’s cruise season has always been short, peaking quickly at the height of the summer months and then done by early fall. But as the destination has grown in popularity, the season has extended, and there’s a definite sweet spot to target. In May and June, the days will be at their longest, the weather (although still unpredictable) will generally be its sunniest and driest, and the range of excursions and options at their most plentiful. Small ship cruises tend to offer more adventure-focused shore excursions alongside personalized service and luxurious accommodations and amenities.
Ice calving is both a thunderous warning of climate change and an incredible phenomenon to behold. The best time to view artic-blue ice plunge into the sea is during the warmest months of June, July, and August at active glaciers. Weather can get fairly warm in June, July, and August, which can make port days more comfortable. It’s not uncommon for the weather to be nice enough for t-shirts in the summer as opposed to the raincoats and down jackets you may have to wear in early spring or fall. The median months will see higher temperatures and longer days for touring, and it represents the limited summer that Alaska enjoys. However, July and August tend to also have higher levels of precipitation.
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