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In recent years, Alaska has become an increasingly popular cruise destination, leading to an expansion of cruise lines and sailings in the region. There are numerous reasons why booking an Alaska cruise is a great choice.
One of the main attractions is the untouched beauty of Alaska. Sailing through its pristine wilderness on a 7-day itinerary offers peace and solitude. Additionally, Alaska is unique globally, with its stunning landscapes and diverse wildlife.
Cruising Glacier Bay National Park might be a bucket list destination, so you’ll want to find a vessel that sails there. Finding the best Alaska cruise for your family is half the fun of planning.
Pictures don’t do this wilderness justice. The majestic landscape in Alaska is forever changing, with many glaciers receding rapidly. Seeing its glaciers before they’re gone is one of the top reasons to visit Alaska.
If you need more convincing, here is why you should book an Alaska cruise this year.
12 Top Reasons to Book An Alaska Cruise This Year
1. Experience Its Untouched Wilderness
One visit to Alaska, and you’ll understand why it’s called America’s Last Frontier. Alaska has soaring mountains, ancient rainforests, stunning glaciers, and immense landscapes that go on forever.
It’s easy to see why Alaska draws visitors from all over the planet. It’s also why some choose to live in Alaska.
With the population around the world exploding, you can rarely travel to a place with more wildlife than people. Seldom can you fly over an area and see no lights from concrete cities unless you are over an ocean.
Scarcely can you be close to a city but experience complete solitude. Alaska is immense, and much of it remains remote and inaccessible.
Of its 365 million acres, only 160,000 of it is inhabited. The rest remains untouched and unspoiled.
2. Spot Alaskan Wildlife
Because much of Alaska is still wild and unexplored, it provides a vital home for a large selection of wildlife, even some endangered species.
For those who have only seen wild creatures in a zoo or aquarium, you can find no better reason to book an Alaska cruise than the abundance of wildlife.
Humpback whales were put on the endangered list in 1966 after being hunted for centuries. Their numbers have grown from 1,500 to over 80,000, with ¼ migrating to North America’s west coast.
During an Alaska cruise, guests frequently spot humpback whales as they migrate through the inside passage to feed in the summer months. Look for the plume of mist and water along the shorelines. Other whale sightings can include Belugas, Blues, and Orca.
But let’s face it, if you aren’t coming to Alaska to see whales, you want to see a bear, right? Alaska has a large bear population, with over 100,000.
The most common of these are the black bears. However, the most impressive and most substantial are the Kodiak bears of Kodiak Island. Stay alert, as you can spot bears walking the shorelines from your cruise ship.
Keep your eyes on the waters, because sea lions, sea otters, and harbor seals are common in Alaska, also. There’s also a chance to see puffins in select areas. Pack a pair of compact binoculars to increase your chance of seeing Alaskan wildlife.
3. See Receding Glaciers
One of the most popular reasons to book an Alaska cruise is to view the spectacular glaciers. There are approximately 100,000 glaciers in Alaska.
Unfortunately, with climate change, many of these are receding rapidly.
Receding glaciers is of enormous concern because glaciers provide fresh water to many densely populated areas worldwide. Also, melting glaciers contribute to rising sea levels which cause widespread flooding and shoreline erosion.
In Juneau, you can reach Mendenhall Glacier from the cruise port by taking the “Blue Bus.” From the shoreline, you’ll have spectacular views of the glacier and huge “house-sized” icebergs floating down the river. For adventurous travelers, take an excursion onto the glacier.
Most 7-day Alaska itineraries include one to several glacier viewings; most are viewable right from your cruise ship.
4. Watch Glacial Calving
While glaciers look like stationary objects, they are, in fact, continually moving. Glaciers such as Mendenhall, Margerie, and Grand Pacific are receding; however, a few are advancing. Hubbard Glacier is a classic example of a growing glacier in Disenchantment Bay.
The constant movement causes the ice to crack with a rumble of thunder and then fall into the ocean. This action is known as calving.
Calving is a phenomenal event that travelers can only see at a tidewater glacier or one that ends in an ocean. It’s an activity that draws passengers out on the decks of a cruise ship for hours, regardless of the weather.
Since Hubbard Glacier provides lots of calving action, it’s a popular choice on itineraries from Seattle and Vancouver.
5. Visit Denali National Park
For avid climbers and those who love to be “one with nature,” there is no better place than Denali. Granted, you will only see Denali if you book the cruise and land tour, so consider the land portion.
The monumental Denali (or Mount McKinley) is North America’s most significant mountain peak. Its base lies 600 m (1968 ft) above sea level, and its summit is a towering 6190 m (20,320 ft).
Denali is so big that it’s often shielded by cloud cover. But if you are fortunate to view this beautiful mountain, Denali does not disappoint.
Each year, Denali draws hundreds of mountain climbers worldwide wanting to reach its summit. Since Denali lies almost on the polar circle, it’s known for its unpredictable weather and challenging terrain.
Because of this, mountaineers visit Denali as a training expedition for more demanding climbs such as Everest.
For wildlife lovers, Denali National Park offers the best opportunities to view native Alaskan wildlife. It’s the best place to see the US version of the Big 5; grizzly bears, moose, Dall sheep, wolves, and caribou.
Bring binoculars and a camera with a good zoom lens, as the animals will not be standing around posing for your picture. Wildlife sightings could include black bears and smaller mammals like ground squirrels and marmots.
6. Immense Yourself In Culture and History
Alaska has a rich and exciting history, including native Indians, gold mining, fishing, and fur trading. The United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867.
In the late 19th century, the gold rush brought thousands of get-rich prospectors to Alaska and resulted in the Alaska railroad construction. Today, the White Pass Yukon Route railroad ferries tourists on day trips to the Yukon.
If your cruise itinerary includes a day in Ketchikan, check out the world’s most extensive collection of totem poles. Like a book, every totem pole tells a story full of history of its tribes and clans and the historical events witnessed by these First Nation families.
In Skagway, learn about how the gold miners came to Alaska to “strike it rich.” At the Klondike National Historical Park, you can learn about a con artist and gangster, Jefferson Randolph “Soapy” Smith, and his shoot-out with Frank Reid. Then walk to the Gold Rush Cemetery to see where they were buried.
7. Enjoy The Midnight Sun
The midnight sun is one of Alaska’s remarkable phenomena. Nearly one-third of Alaska lies inside the arctic circle, which means the sun is visible in some areas at midnight during the summer months.
During your Alaska cruise, you will enjoy very long hours of daylight. This will enable you to view the scenery, watch for wildlife, or do whatever your heart desires without fear of getting dark.
Of course, if you want to see the sunset or sunrise, you’ll stay up until the wee hours or get up before the birds. Even Ketchikan, Alaska’s southernmost city, receives 17 hours of daylight in summer, while Fairbanks has only 3 hours of darkness.
8. A Photographer’s Paradise
Alaska is a photographer’s dream, with jaw-dropping glaciers, a menagerie of wildlife, and a dramatic landscape. It doesn’t matter what level of skill you have as a photographer.
Whether you’re an amateur learning the art of composition or trying to capture that unique perspective, the surrounding vistas scream so much beauty.
Alaska’s landscapes are forever changing. However, if you cruise to Alaska in May, you’ll enjoy a transitional month with snow-capped mountains and animals welcoming their young. It’s a majestic place that’s hard to capture a bad image.
The best souvenirs of a vacation are the photos you take and the memories you make, and you’re guaranteed to go home with lots. The landscapes are flawless in Alaska, just waiting for someone to capture her best side.
9. A Chance To See The Aurora Borealis
There are only a few places in the world to view the northern lights (aurora borealis), and Alaska is one of them. The Aurora Borealis results from charged particles from the sun hitting the earth’s atmosphere.
It would help if you were away from city lights with the optimum months for viewing, September to April.
There is no guarantee you will see the Aurora Borealis displaying their beautiful colors. However, the chase of seeing them can be compared to the paparazzi trying to get the next fantastic shot of a superstar.
10. Fishing and Seafood
Are you an avid angler? Or have you never tried fishing before? Alaska offers fishing excursions to suit everyone, whether it’s your pastime or a sport you’ve never tried.
Imagine Alaska King salmon, colossal halibut, Alaska king crab, or tasty rainbow trout. Alaska offers it all.
Need more time to try a fishing excursion? In Ketchikan, you can rent fishing gear, purchase a license, and try to catch the big one on the Stedman Bridge in town.
Should you catch any fish, numerous places will clean, package, and ship your fish home. Do you prefer to leave the fishing to someone else?
No problem, but stop at a local restaurant to try the freshest fish, or tastiest crab legs money can buy. Tracy’s King Crab Shack in Juneau offers several types of crab. Due to its popularity, you may have to wait to eat and be prepared to pay a hefty price to enjoy king crab.
11. Enjoy Charming Towns
Where else can you travel to and experience charming towns that look like they are from old movie sets?
For instance, Skagway, Alaska, came about during the Klondike gold rush as get-rich prospectors traveled north to mine for gold. When you visit today, you’ll feel like you’ve returned to a real gold-mining town.
Ketchikan oozes charm, with Creek Street built on wooden pilings over a picturesque creek. The brightly colored buildings house quaint coffee shops and interesting boutiques that sell locally made unique items.
The elevated boardwalk provides visitors with those “picture-perfect” vistas and an opportunity to see the salmon swimming upstream. It’s a favorite Alaskan town that passengers can enjoy on foot.
12. Unique Experiences
When cruising to a warm destination such as a Caribbean cruise, port tours or excursions are the same no matter where the ship docks. These usually consist of snorkeling, parasailing, boat rides, and diving, to name a few.
However, you can experience some unique attractions offered in a few areas of the world in Alaska. Top of bucket list items include dog sledding on a glacier, a helicopter and glacier hike, crab fishing, and riding a narrow-gauge train into the Yukon.
Have you wanted to try snorkeling in a wet suit in the frigid waters of Alaska? Or would you take a floatplane flyover to view Alaska’s spectacular ice fields from the sky?
If you’re adventurous, why not take a trekking excursion onto a glacier or hike the caves inside a glacier? In Icy Strait Point, you can ride the world’s largest Ziprider. Guaranteed to get your heart pumping, it drops 1,320 feet from its starting platform to sea level.
Alaska experiences are like none other, and once you cruise to Alaska, you’ll want to sail again. These are the top reasons to book an Alaska cruise. So, what are you waiting for?
Final Thoughts on Reasons to Book An Alaska Cruise
Many travelers choose Alaska for a special event such as an anniversary, reunion, retirement, etc. This speaks to how special an Alaska cruise can be in providing a unique experience.
While most Alaska cruises are seven days, some cruise lines offer extended itineraries of 13 days or more. If you want to enjoy more of the Last Frontier, consider back-to-back 7-day cruises for double the fun.
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Raised as a third culture kid living in South America and Europe, Annick caught the travel bug early. As an empty-nester, Annick enjoys sharing her tips for traveling for those with champagne taste and beer budgets.