Hi and Happy Thursday!
Life has been somewhat stressful lately, which explains the lack of blog posts around here. I do have several posts planned for the near future, so stay tuned for those. In the meantime, I have been distracting myself by daydreaming about our recent vacation to Alaska. It was such an amazing trip! If you missed my recaps, you can read them here:
- Two Days In Seattle
- What To Do In Juneau, Alaska
- An Alaskan Cruise Stop In Skagway
- A Day In Glacier Bay
- An Evening In Victoria
Luckily I don’t have to wait too long until our next vacation because we are going on another cruise in October! We just made the final payment this week and we are really looking forward to that trip. *Sidenote: we pay for our vacations in cash and if you want to read how we do that, check out THIS post.
Until October rolls around, I am going to keep reliving our Alaskan cruise. I’ve had several family members and friends ask me for more details about our trip since they are interested in possibly taking an Alaskan cruise someday. So I figured that would be a good blog post and I could share here what I’ve shared with them!
The Weather
First things first, lets talk about the weather. This is probably the #1 question I got asked about our cruise. Everyone assumed it was freezing since we went to Alaska, but we had great weather! It can be very hit and miss, but in May when we went, typically you can expect less chance of rain but colder temperatures. We lucked out though and most of our port days were sunny and warm and in the 70’s! The weather was definitely colder on the ship when we were at sea so bundle up on those days. But overall, the weather was great! I would recommend packing lots of layers so you are prepared for whatever the weather is doing during your trip. If a packing guide would interest y’all, let me know! I would be happy to write a post on that.
The Vibe
There is definitely more of a relaxed vibe on an Alaskan cruise. This is not a party cruise to Mexico. There were not as many late night activities and parties on-board, although there were some. You could tell that the true purpose of this cruise is to see and enjoy nature, which is exactly what we did! It was a more casual cruise too and most people wore leggings, jeans, and jackets, except for the occasional dress-up night. If you are a jeans and t-shirt person like me, you will fit in perfectly!
The People
An Alaskan cruise is definitely more of an adult cruise. There were a few children onboard but they were few and far between. Typically when Chris and I take cruises, we spend a lot of time in the 21 and up area, but that was not necessary on this trip. It also seemed like people were more friendly. I don’t know if it’s Alaskan cruises or we just happened to be on a cruise with more talkative people, but we met several couples on this trip we really enjoyed talking to and getting to know.
The Naturalist
One of the coolest things about an Alaskan cruise is that there is a naturalist on board throughout the entire cruise. She would announce on the loudspeaker anytime wildlife was spotted and tell us its location. This was amazing because we were always informed when there were whales, porpoises, seals, and sea otters. We didn’t have to worry about missing anything because we were kept very informed. Oh, and I definitely recommend bringing binoculars on this trip. We used ours every single day!
The Ports of Call
You can expect to have 4-5 ports of call on an Alaskan cruise, depending on where your ship leaves from. On our trip, we made 3 stops in Alaska and 1 stop in Canada. There was so much to see and do in each port, it was hard to narrow down exactly what we wanted to do. There are lots of outdoor activities and scenic tours, as well as some adventurous tours. And you don’t need to plan excursions in every port either. There is so much to see just by walking through each of the towns. Chris and I planned excursions for 2 of our stops and we just played it by ear in the other 2 ports. It worked perfectly for us!
The Food
Typically no one writes home about the food on cruises, but an Alaskan cruise is different. To be honest, this was the one area of our trip I was a little nervous about. After his kidney transplant, Chris is not supposed to be eating at buffets, and can only eat made-to-order type food. It turns out I was worried for nothing, because this wasn’t an issue at all on our trip. There were tons of food options on the ship that were not buffets and to be honest, we were both impressed by the food! From what I understand, the cruise ships will get local food supplies while docked in port and this is a great benefit of Alaskan cruises, because there is amazing seafood in Alaska. We had some great seafood onboard the ship and when we were exploring in port. If you’re worried you won’t eat well on an Alaskan cruise, worry no more!
I’m sure I am missing some details, but those are the major things you can expect from an Alaskan cruise. Above all, you can expect it to be the trip of a lifetime. Alaska is beautiful and truly stunning! Chris and I are so happy we had the opportunity to see a small part of it. We are already planning to go back someday! If you have any specific questions, feel free to comment below!
Gina
I enjoyed your pictures. Taking an Alaskan cruise is on my bucket list. My daily wardrobe consists of jeans and t-shirts. I’m glad to know I will fit in perfectly! 🙂
Amanda Morgan
Oh yes, you would fit in perfectly! I am a jeans and t-shirt girl, so I can relate!