Alaskan Cruise: Bucket List Trip or Tourist Trap?

CruiseUSAAlaska

Apr 29

Holland America’s Westerdam cruise ship docked in Ketchikan, Alaska

It all comes down to what you do in port…

Is cruising a good way to see Alaska? It depends what you want to get out of it. When you’re talking about the actual Alaska part of a cruise (not the onboard ship activities), we experienced some pretty straightforward pros and cons.

Pros:

In a short period of time, you can see several different Alaskan cities

Cons:

There’s not enough time in each port to truly explore the destination, and
Unless you pay for an excursion, it’s difficult (near impossible) to really get a feel for Alaska

Our Ports of Call: Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan & Victoria, B.C.

One of the biggest drawbacks to cruising for us was the crowded ports filled with kitschy souvenir shops. We love getting out and exploring to get a sense of new areas when we travel. It proved hard to do that from a cruise ship.

The area around the ship ports was overwhelmed with too many people coming off all the cruise ships at the same time. Some of the ships in port were twice the size of the Westerdam, so you can imagine how busy the port was. Restaurants and shops were instantly crowded and time was short in all the ports (4 hours was our shortest shore time; 9 hours the longest). All that made it tough to “experience Alaska” without paying in advance to book an excursion.

So… Our advice? Do some research and book your excursions well before you set sail. A lot of the most popular excursions (like dog sledding) sell out early.

Juneau, Alaska

If you have a bit of an adventurous spirit and want an authentic Alaskan experience, you have to book the Juneau Shore Excursions: Helicopter Tour & Dogsledding Experience. It’s pricey, but 100% worth it!

We had 9 hours in Juneau and it was without a doubt a “BEST DAY EVER” kind of day! Disembarking from our ship and setting foot for the first time ever in Alaska was already a little surreal, but then… A helicopter ride over the Mendenhall Glacier and touchdown at the dog camp on the Hubert Glacier was like nothing else in the world.

Our excursion included a bus pick-up right at the dock for a short ride to the airport. There, we watched a safety video and suited up with glacier-safe booties over our shoes. While it was pretty warm at the dock, it was cold and rainy up on the glacier. A great example for the importance of layering when visiting Alaska.

At the dog camp, we mushed and gave our dog team as many pets as possible – but, of course, not enough for them. The Alaskan Huskies were beautiful and so excited to make new friends and show off their sledding power. And we were SO HAPPY to share the experience with them!

The glaciers were beautiful and like nothing we’d seen before.

Worth visiting near the dock:

Not far from where we disembarked, we found Deckhand Dave’s Wild Alaskan Fish Tacos - a cute little outdoor food court. There were several food trucks with fresh seafood and local brews. Since we had a bit of time before catching our bus, we sat down for some oysters and a beer.
After our dog sledding adventure, we had some time before we had to board the ship, so we stopped in at The Hangar on the Wharf for dinner with a couple we met on the glacier. Funny thing, we didn’t compare orders ahead of time, but it turned out we all ordered an Alaskan halibut dish, just prepared four different ways!
We did walk around the downtown area, admiring the totem poles and watching the seaplanes take off and land, but not much more. If we’d had time, we would have liked to explore the Alaska State Museum, but given the choice we’d definitely choose dog sledding again.

Sitka, Alaska

We opted not to pre-book an excursion in Sitka. Instead, we hurried to catch the free bus into downtown Sitka and wandered off to explore the Tongass National Forest – the largest rainforest in the U.S.

We walked along the totem trail, then stopped to watch the thousands of salmon spawning up the Indian River and dozens jumping in Sitka Sound. It was absolutely crazy cool!

Other things we did in downtown Sitka:

We stepped into the St. Michael the Archangel Russian Orthodox Cathedral and admired the ornate, historical memorabilia inside (there was a large tour group lined up to go in when we first got there, so we walked around and came back later)
We ate reindeer sandwiches from a food truck and sipped a cold Alaskan beer while people-watching
We did a little souvenir shopping
And we explored the Russian Bishop’s House (a historic landmark)

Ketchikan, Alaska

For our stop in Ketchikan, we opted to pre-book another excursion. This time, a sea kayaking excursion. As soon as we got off the ship, we got right onto a waiting shuttle that took us a half-hour away from the touristy downtown area.

These were our favorite port days – away from the crowds, into the beauty of Alaskan nature.

After the shuttle ride, we hopped into a zodiac boat for a fast ride out to where our kayak adventure began. We paddled around the Tatoosh Islands. Our guide told us “tatoosh” means protected waters and on the unusually calm and sunny day when we were in Ketchikan it made sense. The water was calm and smooth and crystal clear as we paddled around the islands. We’d read a lot of reviews before booking our excursion and had hoped to see some marine wildlife, but our only up-close encounter was with a majestic bald eagle. We would have loved to stay out on the water wandering and waiting for the company of whales or otters who reportedly live in the area, but our shore time was short, so we headed back to the ship.

Victoria, British Columbia

This was our token international stop and we were surprised to learn that we’d only spend four hours in Victoria, from 8 p.m. to midnight. We weren’t sure what we’d find open at that time, but downtown Victoria turned out to be a bustling late-night city (probably catering to the cruise ship audience).

It was a beautiful night when we left the ship, with a forecast of thunderstorms later, so we walked the mile from the ship dock into Downtown Victoria where we discovered a magical city of twinkling lights and flowers – more than 19 billion flowers according to their annual count!

We stopped in at the Empress Hotel for a “Sip at Sunset” tea-infused cocktail
We strolled along the waterfront, browsing through a pop-up arts and craft fair
And we sat people-watching at a local brewery before making our way the mile back to the dock. This was about the time we saw the first crack of lightning…

We almost made it back before the rain, but not quite! By the time we reached the gangway, we were soaked and laughing, having the time of our lives. Four hours in Victoria turned out to be just right.

Final Thoughts…

Back to our initial question… Is cruising the best way to see Alaska? Maybe not, but it’s an easy introduction.
Excursions… Are they necessary? Maybe not - especially if you’re traveling on a budget - but we found they were the best way to get away from the crowds and experience more of the beauty of the Last Frontier.
Can you cruise to Alaska AND see more of the state than just a few hours in the ports? Absolutely. Look into a cruisetour, combining an Alaska cruise with a land tour. Several cruise lines offer this option that takes you to other parts of Alaska, including into the Denali National Park.

STEP 1: Book a Cruise