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Most Alaska Cruises Don't Go To Plan. Here's Why!
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Jun 9, 2025
Recently, I had to step in to stop some friends making big mistakes while planning their Alaska cruise. It reminded me of all the pitfalls there are when cruising Alaska, and because of that why I meet too many cruisers saying their trip of a lifetime to this stunning region fell short. I'm Gary Bembridge, and I'm going to tell you how I helped my friends have a great Alaska cruise, and help you get your Alaskan cruise right. Links mentioned in the video: * Alaska Things To Do Without Breaking The Bank PDF: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/AlaskaPorts * Exploring Alaskan Ports WITHOUT Breaking The Bank!Video: https://youtu.be/GmGVi0v2rGA * 5% off shore excursions: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/shoreexcursions and code "TFT5" For bonus & exclusive content (including videos, articles, eBooks and more) become a channel member or patron: --------------------------------------------------- * Patreon Patron: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers * YouTube Channel Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qE-Obs2ocdmPXY0TIU-cw/join Check out my cruise-themed T-shirts and products: --------------------------------------------------- * TeePublic Store: https://tipsfortravellers.dashery.com * Teespring Store: https://tips-for-travellers-youtube.creator-spring.com * Fourthwall: https://gary-bembridge-1-shop.fourthwall.com Book Cruise Port Excursions
View Video Transcript
0:00
recently I had to step in to stop some
0:02
friends making big mistakes while
0:03
planning their Alaska cruise It reminded
0:06
me of all the pitfalls there are when
0:08
cruising Alaska And because of that why
0:10
I meet too many cruisers saying their
0:13
trip of a lifetime to the stunning
0:15
region fell short So welcome aboard I'm
0:17
Gary Benbridge and I'm going to tell you
0:19
how I help my friends have a great
0:21
Alaska cruise and also help you get your
0:24
Alaskan cruise right The key reason
0:27
things don't go to plan is I see
0:29
cruisers including my friends choosing
0:32
the wrong itinerary When my friends
0:34
decided to cruise Alaska they did not
0:37
appreciate that not all Alaska cruisers
0:40
are the same I know it's easy to fall
0:42
into the trap of missing out and
0:44
visiting the right ports and seeing the
0:46
best sites It's really easy to do So let
0:49
me talk about the itineraries to choose
0:51
from There are three key itineraries I
0:54
told them they had to consider all of
0:55
them to see which was best for them The
0:58
most common and popular is the inside
1:01
passage These are usually 7-day round
1:03
trips mostly sailing to and from
1:05
Vancouver Canada or Seattle in the USA
1:08
The best inside passage cruisers call on
1:11
three key ports First Juno the capital
1:15
which has the Menh Hall glacia and other
1:17
glaciers Mount Roberts and some of the
1:20
very best whale watching tours Next
1:23
Skagway which is best known for the
1:25
White Pass and Yukon Railway and also a
1:28
quaint historic town And thirdly
1:30
Ketchacan affectionately known as the
1:32
salmon capital of the world This is best
1:34
known for attractions like the great
1:36
Alaskan lumberjack show the historic
1:39
creek street totem parks and access to
1:41
the Misty Fjords region Inside passage
1:44
cruisers are ideal firsttime cruisers to
1:47
get a feel for Alaska And being round
1:49
trips it makes it quite easy for booking
1:51
flights as well The downside is they
1:54
tend to have at least two sea days one
1:57
at each end getting to and from Alaska
2:00
So you have limited time exploring
2:02
Alaska than the other itineraries offer
2:04
Also if you do the sailing out of
2:06
Seattle under US law it must call into a
2:09
foreign port usually Victoria Canada so
2:12
you can have even less time in Alaska
2:15
The second itinerary and my favorite are
2:17
those selling north to south They sell
2:19
between the ports closest to Anchorage
2:21
Seward and Witier and Vancouver While
2:25
usually also including those iconic
2:26
ports of Juno Skagway and Ketchacan
2:29
because they go further north they
2:31
include the stunning Hubbed Glacia Vald
2:34
and Sitka They are usually 10 days long
2:37
and with usually just one sea day you
2:40
get to spend more time and see much more
2:42
of Alaska The downside is having to get
2:45
a one-way flight to or from Anchorage
2:47
which can be really expensive The hotels
2:49
in Anchorage are outrageously overpriced
2:52
and it's actually quite fiddly getting
2:53
down to Seward 120 mi away or Whitier 60
2:56
mi away Although there are some stunning
2:59
scenic train options as well as cruise
3:01
line bus transfers on offer The third
3:04
itinerary which many people including my
3:06
friends had no idea about as they're not
3:08
spoken about much are the expedition
3:11
cruise options Now these are not a
3:13
classic cruise lines or ships and
3:15
include small cruise lines like Uncruise
3:18
or the Norwegian-based line Herti Gurin
3:22
They don't call on those main ports that
3:24
I mentioned earlier and they cruise in
3:26
more out of the way places They're much
3:28
more wildlife and scenery focused With
3:31
limited vacation time and mostly wanted
3:33
to see those iconic Alaska highlights my
3:35
friends had chosen the inside passage
3:37
option But I could see their chosen
3:40
cruise fell way short in a major way
3:44
They had planned to book a Norwegian
3:45
Bliss 7 night inside Passage cruise out
3:48
of Seattle but as I said it fell short
3:50
on many areas First of all it didn't
3:53
call on all three iconic ports Instead
3:56
of Skagway it went to Icy Strait
3:58
Secondly they didn't look carefully as
4:01
how long the ship spent in each of the
4:03
ports and places The cruise was only
4:06
calling in Juno for example in the
4:08
morning from 6:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m which
4:11
is too early for many of the excursion
4:12
options and it really limited time to
4:14
explore They would have been an icy
4:16
straight point from 6:00 a.m to 3:00 a.m
4:19
So the same problem and a Ketchacan also
4:21
in the morning from 6:00 a.m to 1:15 p.m
4:25
There was simply not enough time to
4:27
spend exploring these ports and getting
4:29
the most out of them because the sites
4:31
the stores and many of the excursions
4:33
wouldn't be available for a big chunk of
4:35
the early morning when they arrived It
4:37
also by the way called in Victoria
4:39
Canada on the way back but it was there
4:40
from 8:00 p.m until midnight making
4:43
sightseeing near impossible in that very
4:46
pretty city Looking at the trip there
4:48
was going to be a lot of time at sea not
4:51
on land exploring and sightseeing Alaska
4:54
So make sure that you look at the detail
4:56
of any Alaska cruise to ensure that
4:59
you're getting to spend all or much of
5:01
the day in all of the critical ports and
5:03
places as you possibly can So we did
5:06
that and actually suggested my friends
5:07
switch to a Q not Queen Elizabeth cruise
5:10
also out of Seattle which had more time
5:12
in port but offered something in
5:14
addition that every ideal Alaska cruise
5:18
should have Let me explain The second
5:20
critical area where I see people get
5:22
things wrong is they don't go on the
5:24
right cruise line And I felt my friends
5:26
were doing that not just because of the
5:28
ports but by not thinking through what
5:30
they really wanted from the cruise line
5:32
I feel there are three critical
5:34
considerations when looking at what
5:36
cruise line to choose for any Alaska
5:38
cruise And choosing is a challenge
5:41
because there is a lot of choice
5:43
According to Clear the Cruise Line
5:45
Association 50 ships sell Alaska every
5:48
season with over 700 individual sailings
5:51
to choose from Almost every single major
5:54
cruise line sells in Alaska with more
5:57
going every year So these are the three
5:59
critical things that you need to think
6:01
about when choosing the right cruise
6:03
line First choose a cruise line that can
6:06
take you into Glacia Bay Of those 700
6:10
cruises a year just over a third are
6:12
allowed to go into Glacia Bay So 70% of
6:15
people cruising to Alaska will miss out
6:17
seeing one of the most impressive places
6:20
in Alaska The National Park Service
6:22
which controls Glacia Bay only allows
6:24
two large cruise ships in per day They
6:27
also further limit that through a
6:29
licensing system to only six cruise
6:31
lines which currently are Princess
6:33
Cruisers Holland America Line Norwegian
6:35
Cruise Line Seabour Kunard and Viking I
6:39
strongly recommend you look at those
6:40
lines that take you to Glacia Bay as it
6:43
is one of the most magnificent parts of
6:45
Alaska to cruise to By the way if you
6:48
are looking at those six Holland America
6:50
have been cruising Alaska the longest
6:52
way over 70 years and Princess for over
6:55
50 years So as well as getting into
6:56
Glacia Bay they generally have very
6:59
strong links within Alaska They usually
7:01
get the best docking spots and times in
7:04
every port as well So the second mistake
7:06
is cruisers do not spend time thinking
7:08
about what onboard experience is best
7:11
going to match their needs Because as
7:13
you've heard you will have a fair bit of
7:15
time at sea So you want to make sure
7:17
that you're on a cruise line that's
7:19
going to really match you your family or
7:22
whoever you're traveling with's needs
7:24
Now whether you focus on the glacia bay
7:26
lines or not you have many options If
7:29
you're traveling with families or want
7:31
lots of entertainment you've got Royal
7:33
Caribbean Carnival Norwegian Cruise Line
7:36
If you want to go adult only you've got
7:39
Viking or Virgin Voyages You want a
7:42
small ship luxury or ultra luxury
7:44
experience there's Oceanania Crystal
7:46
Regent Silver Sea and Seaborn But if you
7:50
want a more enrichmentbased trip there's
7:53
Viking or Kunard Now my friends love
7:56
enrichment talks They love dressing up
7:57
on cruises So by getting them to go on
8:00
Kunard made much more sense than their
8:03
original Norwegian choice which is very
8:05
relaxed and doesn't have enrichment Now
8:07
my third watch out may sound slightly
8:10
contradictory to those I've given you so
8:12
far but when choosing the right cruise
8:14
line for Alaska consider that the cruise
8:16
lines may not have the usual onboard
8:19
passenger mix nor the full experience
8:21
you're going to find when you're sailing
8:23
with them in the rest of the world
8:25
Alask cruise for people and with such a
8:28
short season running from May only
8:30
through to September many travelers are
8:32
constrained about when they can go
8:34
because many travel as multigenerational
8:36
groups or with their family and so many
8:38
people just literally look for a
8:39
cruising line that's going when they
8:41
want at a price that's within their
8:43
budget So even on lines like Kunard
8:45
Honda America and Princess which
8:48
traditionally are sailing with older
8:49
couples and few to no kids in Alaska
8:52
they usually full of families on most
8:55
sailings On both my Honda America and
8:57
Princess cruises to Alaska they were
8:59
both jam-packed with kids who would take
9:02
over the indoor pool overrun events So
9:04
it's not a traditional experience I
9:06
usually have on those lines So bear that
9:08
in mind That's actually why on my last
9:10
Alaska cruise I actually booked on
9:12
Viking because it's an adult only line
9:14
and on the next one I've booked on a
9:16
more luxury line Silver Sea after the
9:18
school vacation period so I can have
9:20
more of a classic Silver Sea experience
9:23
But talking of timing there's an even
9:25
more important timing issue I see
9:28
causing many Alaska cruisers to not go
9:31
to plan My friends wanted to maximize
9:34
their chance of seeing wildlife
9:35
especially bears and whales but their
9:38
initial cruise was going actually too
9:41
early in the season to ensure that As I
9:43
mentioned the season is short running
9:45
from May through to September though
9:47
some do push it into October Now if cost
9:50
is a factor look at going at the start
9:52
and the end of the season So May and
9:54
September it will be cheaper tend to
9:56
have fewer families and ports will be
9:58
less packed May is also the month with
10:00
the lowest rainfall It rains almost all
10:03
through the season in Alaska so you need
10:05
to expect that But if like my friends
10:08
you really want to be sure to see more
10:10
wildlife the prime bear season kicks off
10:13
mostly in July and into August when the
10:15
salmon run starts It's also a really
10:18
good time for whale watching and birds
10:20
Although I must say in my May and early
10:22
June cruises I did get to see a couple
10:24
of bears I did see some whales sea
10:26
otterters and birds but nothing like
10:27
later in the season Of course July and
10:30
August are peak time They're busy
10:32
They're the costliest time But that
10:34
still made more sense for my friends who
10:36
wanted to ensure they saw wildlife Now
10:39
talking of costs this is another thing I
10:41
see causing many Alaska cruisers to not
10:44
go to plan My friends also had failed to
10:47
appreciate the severity of this Alaska
10:50
cruise fairs can be much higher than
10:52
many are used to paying for Caribbean or
10:54
Mediterranean cruises But it doesn't end
10:56
there As most of the other associated
10:58
costs are much higher than many expect
11:01
or unfortunately plan for there are two
11:05
critical costs that many including my
11:07
friends underestimated and underbudgeted
11:09
for First getting to and from the cruise
11:14
Flights to and from the ports be it
11:15
Seattle Vancouver or Anchorage tend to
11:18
be really costly because demand is
11:20
really high in those few short months
11:23
It's best to book flights as far ahead
11:25
as you possibly can because airfares
11:28
will get increasingly expensive the
11:30
closer to the cruise you book Also book
11:33
any pre or postay hotels really early
11:36
too Hotels in all those ports Vancouver
11:38
Seattle and certainly Anchorage can get
11:41
crazy expensive Anchorage for example
11:43
has really limited hotel options and
11:45
rooms For example I have an Alaska
11:47
cruise out of Seward coming up and
11:49
staying at the Hilton in Anchorage which
11:51
is pretty shabby and run down and poor
11:53
It's showing rates of from $500 to $600
11:57
for one night Some hotels are already
11:59
totally sold out for the dates too I
12:02
looked at hotel availability and pricing
12:03
in Seattle where my friends will be
12:05
selling from and as they had left it
12:06
late prices are almost double what they
12:08
had expected and budgeted it to be Now
12:11
the second thing that people don't
12:12
factor in is excursion costs Unlike the
12:16
Caribbean excursions are way more
12:18
expensive in Alaska There's high demand
12:21
and limitations on availability for some
12:23
of the iconic tours including whale
12:25
watching in Juno or Sitka Going on
12:28
wildlife watching boat tours followed by
12:30
salmon bake lunch Flying up onto glacias
12:32
to walk on them or go dog sledding on
12:34
glacias Sea plane flights over glacias
12:37
and landscapes or even going on the
12:39
historic White Pass and Yukon Railway in
12:41
Skagway to do Many of these exotic tours
12:44
can add hundreds to the trip with some
12:47
excursions costing up to $600 per person
12:50
for each of the tours Many cruisers have
12:53
not budgeted or simply can't afford to
12:56
experience any of those kind of magical
12:58
tours Now because my friends found they
13:00
couldn't afford many of the cruise line
13:02
excursions having not budgeted enough
13:04
for the flights and hotels that wiped
13:06
out a slug of their budget and to help
13:08
you as well I have done two things to
13:11
help If you're struggling with this
13:13
issue first of all I made a video and
13:15
created a PDF download to take on your
13:17
trip of things to do in every port for
13:19
free or very minimal cost Details on how
13:23
to watch that video and download the PDF
13:25
booklet at the end of this Secondly I
13:28
negotiated with the independent tour
13:29
company Shore Excursions Group to get my
13:32
friends and also you 5% of any of their
13:35
Alaska tours Now I like booking their
13:37
tours because they're already cheaper
13:39
than cruise line ones and they have
13:41
smaller groups Now to get 5% off their
13:43
tours use the link
13:46
tips.com/shore excursions and use the
13:48
code TFT5 at checkout I've also put
13:51
those details in the notes of this but
13:53
it's
13:55
tips.com/shore excursions and the code
13:57
TFT5 at checkout I also like by the way
14:00
on their site that you simply put in the
14:02
line the ship departure date and it will
14:04
bring up all of those available tours by
14:06
port I already mentioned the importance
14:08
of booking flights and hotel as far in
14:11
advance as you can to keep costs down
14:13
but everything should be booked as far
14:15
ahead as possible to ensure your trip
14:18
goes to plan I cannot stress this enough
14:20
My friends only planned their Alaska
14:22
trip six months before they wanted to go
14:24
and they found their cruise fair was
14:26
much higher than people who'd booked a
14:28
year or more out Also they had limited
14:30
choice of cabins by booking late They
14:32
didn't get the location they wanted
14:34
because early bookers had snapped them
14:36
up But as well as excursions being
14:39
costly they can be in short supply and
14:42
the best will often sell out well before
14:44
the trip I'll give you an example where
14:47
early booking made a huge success for me
14:51
personally because I experienced an
14:53
incredible adventure as a result of
14:56
moving early on my Majestic Princess
14:58
cruise 2 years ago We had morning scenic
15:01
cruising to the gorgeous Hubbed Glacia
15:03
Now I booked my cruise 18 months before
15:05
I checked the excursions as soon as they
15:07
opened and I saw there was an excursion
15:08
listed on a small 120 passenger boat
15:11
that would meet the ship near Hubbet
15:13
Glacia and sat as close to the glacia
15:16
itself as was allowed It wasn't
15:17
expensive and on the day I got really
15:19
close to the glacia to see it carving
15:22
while there was over 2,000 guests some
15:24
distance way back sitting on the ship
15:26
fuming away because of course they
15:28
hadn't gone in and locked it in early
15:31
With all of this in mind why don't you
15:33
join me over in this video that I
15:34
mentioned earlier that I've made on how
15:36
to get the most from Alaska ports for
15:38
free or minimal cost and links there to
15:40
download the PDF to take on your trip
15:43
See you over there
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