Alaska Cruises
Best Time for an Alaska Cruise
The Alaska cruise season runs from late April to early October, and the month you choose affects your trip more than any other single decision. Weather, daylight, wildlife activity, crowd levels and price all move together across the season, and they do not all peak at the same time.
The short answer
Mid June to mid July is the best overall time for an Alaska cruise, combining the longest daylight, established whale activity and the most settled weather. August is best for bears and salmon but the wettest. Early May and late September are 30 to 50 percent cheaper with fewer passengers, cooler weather and shorter days.
Key points
- Mid June to mid July is the best all round window.
- August has the best bear viewing and the most rain.
- Early May and late September are 30 to 50 percent cheaper.
- May is the driest month of the season in much of Southeast Alaska.
- September has the clearest air and the fewest passengers.
Nobody can tell you the best month for an Alaska cruise without knowing what you are optimising for, because the variables move against each other. The warmest weather coincides with the biggest crowds. The best bear viewing coincides with the most rain. The cheapest fares coincide with the shortest days.
This page sets out how each variable moves across the season, so you can pick the trade off that suits you rather than the one a brochure suggests.
The season at a glance
| Month | Juneau high | Rain | Daylight | Crowds | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Late April | 50°F / 10°C | Low | ~15.5 hours | Very low | Lowest |
| May | 55°F / 13°C | Lowest | ~17 hours | Low | Low |
| June | 62°F / 17°C | Low to moderate | ~18.2 hours | Building | Moderate |
| July | 64°F / 18°C | Moderate | ~17.5 hours | Highest | Highest |
| August | 63°F / 17°C | High | ~15.5 hours | High | High |
| September | 56°F / 13°C | Highest | ~13 hours | Low | Low |
| Early October | 50°F / 10°C | High | ~11.5 hours | Very low | Lowest |
Month by month
Late April and May
The start of the season, and the driest part of it. Snow is still low on the mountains, which makes the scenery more dramatic than in high summer. Whales are arriving from Hawaii and Mexico but are not yet concentrated in their summer feeding patterns, so sighting rates are good rather than excellent. Bears are emerging from dens and are visible but not yet at the salmon streams.
Strengths
- Driest month of the season in much of Southeast Alaska.
- Fares 30 to 50 percent below peak.
- Snow low on the peaks makes the landscape more dramatic.
- Ports are genuinely quiet.
- Wildflowers begin in the second half of May.
Trade offs
- Cooler, with glacier days noticeably cold.
- Whale activity less concentrated than midsummer.
- No salmon and therefore few bears at streams.
- Some excursions and facilities not yet operating at full capacity.
- Johns Hopkins Inlet in Glacier Bay usually closed for seal pupping.
June
The best month by most measures. Daylight peaks around the solstice at roughly eighteen hours in Juneau and it never gets fully dark. Whales are established in their feeding grounds. Temperatures are mild and rainfall is still below the late season peak. Crowds build through the month but the first half is noticeably quieter than July.
July
The warmest month, the busiest month and the most expensive. Whale activity is at its peak, salmon begin running in the second half, and bears start appearing at streams. Everything is open and operating. The cost is crowding: four or five ships in Juneau on a July day means 12,000 to 20,000 passengers ashore in a town of 32,000.
August
The wildlife month. Salmon runs peak, which brings bears to predictable places, and whale feeding is still strong. It is also the wettest month of the summer in most of Southeast Alaska, and low cloud more often obscures the peaks. Crowds ease slightly in the final week.
September and early October
The most underrated part of the season. Air is clearer than at any other time, autumn colour appears on the tundra above the White Pass, the first snow returns to the peaks, and passenger numbers drop sharply. Days shorten quickly, weather becomes less settled, and the Gulf of Alaska is rougher. Fares fall back to shoulder levels.
Best month by what you care about
| If your priority is | Sail in | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall balance | Second half of June | Maximum daylight, settled weather, established whales |
| Lowest price | Early May or late September | 30 to 50 percent below peak |
| Whale watching | July and early August | Peak feeding concentration |
| Bear viewing | Late July and August | Salmon runs bring bears to streams |
| Driest weather | May | The driest month of the Alaska season |
| Fewest people | Early May or late September | Fewer ships, quieter ports |
| Photography | September | Clearest air, autumn colour, fresh snow on peaks |
| Longest days | Mid to late June | Around eighteen hours of daylight |
| Northern lights | Late September | Dark enough at night for a chance in the interior |
| Wildflowers | Late June and July | Peak bloom in Southeast Alaska |
Daylight, and why it matters more than you expect
Alaska sits far enough north that daylight varies enormously across the season, and this affects the trip in ways travellers rarely anticipate.
| Date | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 May | ~5:10 am | ~8:40 pm | ~15.5 hours |
| 1 June | ~3:55 am | ~9:50 pm | ~17.9 hours |
| 21 June | ~3:51 am | ~10:09 pm | ~18.3 hours |
| 1 August | ~4:50 am | ~9:25 pm | ~16.6 hours |
| 1 September | ~6:00 am | ~8:05 pm | ~14.1 hours |
| 1 October | ~7:05 am | ~6:40 pm | ~11.6 hours |
- In June it never gets properly dark. Twilight persists through the night, which is remarkable and also makes sleeping harder. Pack a sleep mask.
- Evening scenic cruising works in June and July. A College Fjord transit at 9:00 pm is in full daylight. The same transit in September is not.
- Photography light lasts for hours. The golden hour in June is closer to three hours, which is genuinely useful.
- September gives you actual night, which is why it is the only part of the season with any chance of northern lights.
The honest truth about Alaska weather
Southeast Alaska is temperate rainforest. Ketchikan averages around 140 inches of rain a year, Juneau around 62. Rain is not an aberration, it is the climate.
- Expect rain on two to four days of a seven night cruise, in any month.
- Rain rarely cancels anything except air tours. Boat trips, trains, walking tours and glacier viewing all proceed.
- Overcast conditions improve some things. Glacial ice reads bluer under cloud, and rainforest photographs better without harsh sun.
- Skagway is the exception. It sits in a rain shadow and receives about 26 inches a year, a fifth of Ketchikan.
- Temperature varies more by location than by month. A glacier face is 10 to 15°F colder than the same day at the mouth of the bay because of katabatic wind off the ice.
How price moves across the season
| Period | Typical fare | Relative to peak |
|---|---|---|
| Late April and first week of May | $800 to $1,200 | 50 to 60% |
| Mid to late May | $950 to $1,450 | 60 to 70% |
| June | $1,300 to $2,000 | 80 to 90% |
| July | $1,600 to $2,600 | 100% |
| August | $1,500 to $2,400 | 90 to 95% |
| Early September | $1,200 to $1,800 | 70 to 80% |
| Late September and October | $850 to $1,300 | 50 to 60% |
Frequently asked questions
What is the best month for an Alaska cruise?
When is the cheapest time to cruise Alaska?
What is the best month to see whales in Alaska?
When can I see bears on an Alaska cruise?
Does it rain a lot on Alaska cruises?
Is September a good time to cruise Alaska?
Can you see the northern lights on an Alaska cruise?
Keep researching
The complete overview.
A deeper look at the month by month case.
Real temperatures by port and activity.
How the season affects pricing.