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An Alaska whale-watching cruise is one of the best ways to see the world’s largest mammals in their natural habitat. Elevate your Alaska cruise to the next level at The Retreat®, with sumptuous suite accommodation, access to a tranquil lounge, and dining at the exclusive Luminae at The Retreat. Be the first to know about our itineraries, and receive exclusive offers, destination articles and more. These solo cabins get our vote because they're located in a complex where a private lounge encourages mingling.
The 9 best Alaska cruises for every type of traveler in 2024
Lone travelers can also meet their shipmates while waiting to hop into a race care on the ship's go-kart track, at a showing of "Jersey Boys" or over a muddled drink at the Sugarcane Mojito Bar. If you're traveling with young kids in Alaska and want an activity- and entertainment-packed experience, make a beeline for Disney Cruise Line and its Alaska-based Disney Wonder. The ship has an extensive children's program, high-quality entertainment, and such activities as water slides and play areas. For any cruises listed, Cruise Critic does not guarantee any specific rates or prices.
Featured Alaska Cruises
While the kids enjoy Discovery Princess' spacious children's and teens' clubs, the adults might linger over a craft cocktail or enjoy a massage in the onboard spa. The family can come together for meals in a variety of casual and fine dining restaurants, and enjoy original production shows as the ship sails between ports. The ship offers nine- to 14-night cruise tours that head into the Canadian Yukon, following the route of the Klondike Gold Rush from Alaska to northwestern Canada. The line always stations one or two Quantum-class ships in Alaska for the season. Adults can linger in the glass-walled Solarium, relaxing in the indoor pools and whirlpools, while their kids zoom around the SeaPlex in bumper cars.
Best Small Ship Alaska Cruise: Alaskan Dream Cruises, Chichagof Dream
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A complimentary afternoon tea is served daily, with four-tiered pastry carts, artisanal brews and a live string quartet performing. Not to mention, Oceania Cruises' ships are stunning, even an older one like the 670-passenger Regatta. Expect public spaces in sky and sea hues and an abundance of timeless teak, stone and custom tile work.
This New Luxury Cruise Line Just Announced Alaska Sailings to See Whales, Glaciers, and Gorgeous Port Cities - Travel + Leisure
This New Luxury Cruise Line Just Announced Alaska Sailings to See Whales, Glaciers, and Gorgeous Port Cities.
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The cruise line with a keen focus on exploration, adventure and science has two of its hybrid technology ships—MS Roald Amundsen, built in 2019, and MS Fridtjof Nansen, built in 2020—sailing the waters that surround The Great Land. Each of the ships features an observation deck, library, science center, hot tub, pool and Explorer lounge, as well as a bar with floor-to-ceiling windows so you never miss a thing. An expedition team of Alaska experts join each voyage, hosting lectures about the areas the ships visit and guiding passengers on outings like nature walks through rainforests and kayaking trips around the foot of a glacier.
Life onboard is made easy, too, with the cruise line’s revolutionary Medallion technology that not only keeps people traveling together connected, but makes buying gifts in ports a snap by charging purchases back to your cabin. The cruise line’s Voyage of the Glaciers itinerary offers two glacier viewing experiences, as well as a voyage across the Gulf of Alaska to see Prince William Sound, known for its abundance of marine and coastal life. Guests can extend their Alaska cruise with three- to 10-day day pre- and post-cruise tours. Alaska cruises first made their debut in 1881, when the Pacific Coast Steamship Company began cruising the Inside Passage aboard its two ships, the Ancon and the Idaho. Today, with over 20 cruise lines and small ships sailing Alaska’s waterways, there are plenty of options for travelers to choose from during the Alaska cruise season, which runs every year from April through October.
Alaska Luxury Cruises
Luxury Alaska cruises have a different vibe than posh sailings in balmy climes. Lounging poolside plays second fiddle to shore excursions showcasing the state's spectacular natural wonders. Onboard experiences are uniquely Alaskan; viewing glaciers and wildlife from your ship's spacious decks and listening to fascinating lectures from passionate expert guests overshadow trivia games and wine tastings.
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Alaska’s summer season begins in early May and extends until late September. See our blog post to learn more about the best time to cruise to Alaska. Guests can explore the small fishing town of Petersburg or search for orca and humpback whales in Frederick Sound. Lindblad has special permits to bring passengers into the wilderness of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and the Tongass National Forest, beyond what the big ships can offer.
Cruise to the Flowing Ice: Alaska Glacier Tours by Sea, Land & Air
As on all Disney Cruise Line sailings around the world, its Alaska cruises feature spacious cabins with split bathrooms; kids clubs for ages three to 17; all meals, including snacks and room service; Broadway-quality stage shows and more. Shore excursions range from adventures like zip lining, hiking and rafting to seaplane exploration, photo safaris and high teas. Adults can enjoy themselves on an Alaskan Disney Cruise, too, with adult-exclusive dining; an adult-only pool and hot tub; fitness center; and Senses Spa & Salon. The good news is that Alaska luxury cruises generally come with things mainstream cruise lines would charge extra for, like some shore excursions, gratuities, alcohol, specialty dining, Wi-Fi and often even airfare included in the price of the cruise. And that's not all; they also entail impeccable service, access to butlers and concierges, along with fewer passengers and more intimate, personalized shore excursion experiences. With an expedition heritage that dates back to 1896, it’s no wonder Hurtigruten Expeditions found its way to Alaska.
Early and late season cruises are typically extended repositioning sailings. All Regent cruises are all-inclusive, including free shore excursions and free domestic airfare. Seabourn Odyssey's timeless design suits the country-club-ish ambience and makes for a cushy onboard experience. The ship offers eight complimentary dining venues plus 24-hour in-suite dining.
If your questions about Alaska aren't answered ashore, onboard guest speakers, such as naturalists, passionately share knowledge about the region's history, culture and environment. Silversea Cruises' newest ship, the 728-passenger Silver Nova, brings the outdoors in with abundant floor-to-ceiling windows, making the ship an idyllic ride for Inside Passage cruising. Those two things alone mean even a bargain-priced cruise fare can end with a whopping bill. Luxury Alaska cruises may surprise you with their offerings, and more importantly, with their comparative affordability. Your dream of splurging on a high-end Alaska cruise may not be as impossible as you think. Make a point of trying the local cuisine in Alaska, which is famous for its seafood.
Coming off of its 150th anniversary year, Holland America Line has been sailing to and around Alaska for more than half that time—75 years. Holland America Line’s “Alaska Up Close” deeply immerses guests in local cultures through onboard programs and activities, and shore excursions. On all of its Alaska cruises, a Huna Native Interpreter comes aboard Holland America Line ships to share the history of the Tlingit people. Disney Cruise Line set sail in 1998 with its first three- and four-night trips to the Bahamas and made its way to Alaska in the spring of 2011. The cruise line, which is celebrating its Silver Anniversary at Sea, offers 23 five-, seven-, eight- and 9-night round-trip Alaskan itineraries aboard the Disney Wonder, all of which depart from Vancouver.
Solo travelers don't always have to pay double to cruise Alaska on their own. Several Norwegian Cruise Line ships feature cozy studio cabins designed and priced for one person, and the 4,004-passenger Norwegian Bliss offers 82 solo rooms on its round-trip Seattle cruises to Alaska. The 450-passenger Seabourn Odyssey throws a dash of adventure into its luxurious surroundings. In addition to offering passengers complimentary Champagne and caviar and housing them in spacious suites, the ship boasts an onboard expedition team and does a posh version of expedition cruising in Alaska, using inflatable Zodiac craft and kayaks. Big ships can only offer deckside viewing of the marvels of Glacier Bay, but UnCruise Adventures sends its ships to the rarely visited outback.
Whether you want to go off the beaten track with an expedition cruise or travel the explorers' routes with a classic itinerary, we have you covered. If you envision sipping Champagne as you watch a glacier thunderously calve into the sea, consider booking an all-inclusive luxury cruise on a Seabourn ship. If adventure is what you crave on an Alaska cruise, you should seek out the small ships of UnCruise Adventures. All of the line's itineraries boast an active component, but its "Wild, Woolly and Wow" itinerary claims to be "the most active back country itinerary" of UnCruise's 2024 Alaska cruises.
Some look for romance, while others want to introduce the kids or grandkids to glaciers and eagles, gold panning and sled dogs. One of the best luxury Alaska cruise ships is the 746-passenger all-suite Seven Seas Explorer. It's one of Regent Seven Seas Cruises' most glam ships, and you can pamper yourself on board for a week as you sail from Seward, Alaska to Vancouver, British Columbia. If you love opulence — think exquisite marble and crystal lavished everywhere — and a magnificent multimillion-dollar art collection, look no further than Seven Seas Explorer for your vacation home-suite-home.
The same goes for scenic cruising in Misty Fjords, with nearly incomparable beauty. Seven Seas Explorer is offering seven-night cruises, sailing between Vancouver and Seward from May through mid-September 2024. Fares for a July 17, 2024, "Summer on the Frontier" cruise start at $6,799 per person. The best Alaska luxury cruises also deliver the pampering luxe-lovers crave. Smiling servers will pass you mugs of hot chocolate while you gape at calving icebergs.
