Alaska, the final frontier. When you visit you’ll understand with it’s wild and rugged terrain, and vast expanses without anyone around.
We had the unique opportunity to take an Alaskan cruise in September with his family.
We typically prefer DIY road trips and RV travel, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone we’re not avid cruisers (especially post COVID). But we have cruised in the past to the Caribbean on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Celebrity cruise lines. I share this to say we did have a baseline of what to expect during a cruise.
Since we returned from Alaska everyone keeps asking, is a cruise the best way to see Alaska?
That is a great question! During our two weeks in Alaska we had the benefit of spending five days on our own with a rental car before joining the cruise. So in theory we had the best of both worlds!
As you might imagine, there are definitely pros and cons to exploring on your own versus being on a cruise, especially when it comes to Alaska.
Before I share our thoughts on if cruising is the best way to see Alaska, here are a few points I think are important. Let’s jump in.
Important Considerations
Alaska is Huge
When you consider the best way to see Alaska, the first thing you must understand is the enormity of the state. Alaska is huge! Alaska’s sheer size creates a challenge deciding how you will see and do all the things on your Alaska bucket list.
During our two-week trip, we spent time in each of the blue markers on the map below. You can see that we focused on the southwest, coastal portion of Alaska. One thing we didn’t realize is how many of the southern, coastal cities in Alaska are only reachable by plane or boat, including Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Hoonah, etc. These cities are on islands!
Our Alaskan Itinerary
It’s also important to understand our itinerary for our time in Alaska. If you want more details on how we decided our two-week itinerary, click here.
Exploring on Our Own
The first five days we spent on our own with a rental car, splitting our time between Anchorage (and a bit north in Glacier View, Willow, and Palmer) and Seward on the Kenai Peninsula.
| Day 1: | Arrive in Anchorage, pick up rental car, and explore immediate area |
| Day 2: | Drive scenic Glenn Highway to Matanuska Glacier, and explore Hatcher Pass |
| Day 3: | Drive south along scenic Turnagain Arm, visit Whittier, and drive to Seward |
| Day 4: | Hike in Kenai Fjords National Park and explore Seward |
| Day 5: | Drive back to Anchorage, return rental car, and prepare for the start of our land tour |
Land Tour & Cruise
After exploring on our own for five days, we checked in to our hotel in Anchorage to start the land tour and cruise portion of our trip with Holland America cruise line. We spent two nights just outside of Denali National Park at McKinley Chalet Resort, and then boarded the Nieuw Amsterdam in Whittier for a 7-night south bound sailing to Vancouver.
| Day 6: | Take glass-domed McKinley Explorer train to Denali National Park |
| Day 7: | Explore Denali National Park |
| Day 8: | Take motor coach to Whittier and board ship |
| Day 9: | Scenic cruising of Hubbard Glacier |
| Day 10: | Scenic cruising in Glacier Bay National Park |
| Day 11: | Port of Skagway |
| Day 12: | Port of Juneau |
| Day 13: | Port of Ketchikan |
| Day 14: | Scenic cruising Inner Passage |
| Day 15: | Arrive and debark in Vancouver |
We were very fortunate to hit many of the most popular areas of Alaska during our trip. But I will say we spent a lot of time prior to boarding our cruise ship traveling to the various places because points of interest are so spread out.
In our experience Google Maps estimates were far off from actual drive times by at least 25-40%. Many roads in Alaska are just two lanes, meaning traffic can easily cause delays, or more likely, construction. We ran into numerous construction delays while exploring on our own. Which, makes sense since their fair-weather season for road repairs is so short.
And trains are not faster or even more direct… Our ride on the incredible glass-domed McKinley Explorer from Anchorage to Denali was 8 hours! We essentially killed a day (luckily the scenery was beautiful, but still!) on the train just getting to Denali.
Alaska is Expensive
A trip to Alaska will not be cheap. The total cost for our trip, including small things like souvenirs, dog boarding, etc. was just over $10,000. We were able to use credit card points for two nights in our Anchorage hotel, and paid for our flights with miles (there was still $248 in airline fees). Our cost would have been even higher without the points and miles.
The cost for our 10-night land tour and cruise was $6,155 (included all lodging and a balcony room, trip insurance, tips, all meals during the cruise, and airport/location transfers). This cost only included one of our favorite excursions, the Denali Tundra Wilderness bus tour.
So how much did we spend for the other amazing things we did in Alaska, like the flight-seeing tour, the Matanuska Glacier hike, and visiting Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau? An additional $1,017 (!!).
Another large line item was meals out. We had breakfast included for the 5 days we were on our own, and often times ate snacks for lunch while we were exploring. We still spent $806 in meals (we had to cover some of our meals during our Denali stay).
There’s just no getting around it. A trip to Alaska will cost you.
Okay, now you’ve got some context: Alaska is big, you understand the locations we visited during our two-week trip, and it’s also expensive.
So, Is a Cruise the Best Way to See Alaska?
Frankly, I don’t think a cruise is the best way to see Alaska. But.
I do think a cruise is a good way to see Alaska when you consider the different places you can visit in a short period of time for the overall cost.
The Pros of a Cruise in Alaska
A cruise is a great option for those don’t want the hassle of figuring out how to get to different locations in Alaska, where to stay, what to eat, etc. Which, honestly goes back to our magic travel hack question.
When I think about the five days we spent on our own, most of our time was spent traveling between Anchorage, Seward, Whittier, and Glacier View. In reality, a fairly small area. Our 7-day cruise covered much more ground than we could have on our own, and for many that is a huge benefit.
Additionally, an Alaskan cruise will typically include ports that can only be accessed by boat or plane, so you couldn’t drive to them anyway. Visiting Hubbard Glacier, magical Glacier Bay National Park, and Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau were experiences we won’t forget.
So, given how large Alaska is, I do think a cruise is a good way to see Alaska.
The fact that meals are included on cruises is definitely a pro, especially since meals out in Alaska are expensive.
When it comes down to it, cruising makes your trip easy, and that alone can be worth it.
The Cons of a Cruise in Alaska
One of the biggest cons we see with a cruise (in general) is the lack of control you have for the itinerary and when you can get off the boat to explore. You are on the cruise ship’s time, not your own. For this reason, picking the right cruise itinerary is crucial to your overall cruise experience.
In our case, if Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay National Park hadn’t been on our cruise itinerary, I doubt we would have enjoyed our cruise as much. They were such unique, awe-inspiring places to see.
The other (big) con we see of cruising is… people. We often travel to get away from the hustle and bustle, which is difficult to do on a cruise ship with thousands of people. And, then in ports, which are often visited by multiple cruise ships in a day.
With advance planning and research though you can carve out time on your own. For example, during our day in Skagway we decided to hike to Lower Dewey Lake. Once we were on the trail we mostly had it to ourselves and were able to enjoy a beautiful hike in the woods on a brisk, fall morning.
The other con of cruising is the cost of excursions. While an activity or excursion in Alaska will be expensive, excursions through the cruise ships are even pricier. We prefer to find a similar excursion with a local vendor, which saves us money, and then they money goes directly to the vendor vs. the cruise line.
And yes, with excursions outside the cruise line you can run the risk of the ship leaving you stranded if by chance your excursion gets delayed or you get held up. But with due diligence in your vendor research and asking the right questions, we generally feel comfortable booking activities outside the cruise line.
So there you have it. When you consider the pros and cons, we think a cruise is a good way to see Alaska!
If you’ve done an Alaskan cruise, I’m curious of your thoughts! What were the pros and cons? Did you think it was the best way to see Alaska?
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