What to Do on an Alaska Sea Day

A Caribbean sea day is downtime. An Alaska sea day is scenery, and treating it as downtime is the most common way to waste a day of the itinerary. Here is how to use it.

On a Caribbean itinerary, a sea day means open water in every direction and the ship becomes the entire experience. On an Alaska itinerary, a sea day usually means transiting the Inside Passage, with forested islands a few hundred metres away on both sides.

That difference is the single most useful thing to understand about the day.

Where to be

A forward facing observation lounge, if your ship has one. On Norwegian Bliss, Encore and Joy the Observation Lounge runs the width of the ship with floor to ceiling glass, seating for hundreds, a bar and binoculars provided. It is the best public viewing space on any large ship in Alaska.

Royal Caribbean Quantum class has Two70, a rear facing lounge with a three deck glass wall.

A wraparound promenade deck, if your ship has one. Holland America Vista and Signature class ships carry a genuine teak promenade with deck chairs, sheltered from wind and close to the water. It is the best place on those ships.

The highest forward open deck, if neither exists. Cold and windy, but the view forward is worth it in short spells.

What to watch for

• Humpback whale blows, which look like a puff of white vapour and often appear before anything else does
• Bald eagles, near constant on any shoreline
• Waterfalls on steep walls, particularly after rain
• Fjords opening off the main channel, including Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm
• Dall's porpoise, fast and black and white, sometimes riding the bow wave
• Small communities and fish camps, which give a sense of how people actually live here
• Grenville Channel, if your route includes it, which is 45 miles long and barely half a mile wide in places

Bring binoculars to the lounge. Most passengers leave them in the cabin for shore days and miss half of what passes.

The talks

The naturalist and destination programming is the best free content on the ship, and on the sea day it is at its most useful because it sets up the ports and glaciers ahead.

Princess and Holland America run the strongest programmes, with regional speakers, Alaska Native presenters and dedicated destination spaces. Other lines vary. Check the daily programme and attend at least one.

The admin worth doing

The sea day is also the right time to sort the rest of the week.

• Confirm excursion times and check where each one departs from
• Book specialty dining for the glacier evening rather than a port night
• Book the North Star slot if you are on a Quantum class ship, for the glacier day
• Check all aboard times for each port and note them somewhere
• Look at the deck plan and find the forward lounge, the quiet spaces and the nearest laundry
• Check your onboard account and set the habit of doing so daily

What not to fill it with

The spa. Sea day spa promotions exist because the spa is quiet, and on a warm weather cruise that is a good trade. In Alaska the sea day is the scenery. If you want a treatment, book it during a port call you are skipping.

The casino. It has no windows.

A long sit down lunch. The buffet or a quick meal in a room with a view is the better use of the hour.

Sleeping in. In late June it is light by 4:00 am and the water is often glassiest early. The best hour of the day is usually before breakfast.

If the weather is genuinely bad

Some sea days deliver low cloud, rain and limited visibility. That is when the ship earns its keep.

• Naturalist talks and cooking demonstrations
• The theatre
• On Royal Caribbean Quantum class, SeaPlex and the enclosed Solarium pool
• The library, which on Cunard is genuinely excellent
• A long lunch, which is now the right call

Even then, keep an eye on the water. Alaska weather changes quickly, and a channel that was invisible at 11:00 am is often clear by 2:00 pm.