Alaska may be considered one of the more remote parts of North America, but it is one of the most accessible destinations for expedition cruising thanks to easy fight connections from the USA and Canada, with many voyages starting or ending in Juneau or Vancouver. For those with limited time for cruising, this can be a great vacation choice as its possible to find short duration cruises, 7-10 days being a typical voyage here. This is a superb location for expedition cruising, with spectacular landscapes of true wilderness areas, impressive wildlife, and intriguing history.

Cruising in Alaska focuses on Southeast Alaska, the arm of the state that lies alongside British Columbia, and some voyages will stop in B.C. too.

You don’t necessarily need to go on an Expedition Cruise ship to enjoy Alaska, many larger ships also operate here, and these provide a more low-cost option. These ships may not take you directly into the best parts of Alaska, but you can utilise shore excursions and local tour operators from the ports you visit. See our recommendations for local tours on our page here.

The Alaska cruise season runs through the summer, May-September, with June-August being the peak season as the weather is at its best, and wildlife at its most abundant.

Alaska offers a wealth of wildlife-watching, with the potential for truly memorable encounters with iconic species;

Bears Both Black Bears and Brown/Grizzly Bears are present in Southeast Alaska and you have a realistic chance of seeing them on an expedition cruise to Alaska, especially if you take a specific excursion to see them. I have seen them occasionally while ship cruising, and on zodiac cruises, but your best bet is to take a tour to a traditional feeding site like Annan Creek. Read our post about seeing Bears in Alaska here.

Whales The waters of Alaska atrract A LOT of whales during the summer cruise season. Humpback Whales come to feed on the huge amounts of krill and small fish. If you spend any amount of time watching from your ship as you cruise along in daylight hours, you’ll see Humpback Whales, you will also see them from zodiac cruises and there are plenty of whale-watching tours on offer. Read about the best tours here

Orca Killer Whales/Orca are one of those species that everybody coming to Alaska wants to see, and with good reason. These are magnificent creatures, beautiful in appearance, intelligent, and fearsome predators. Orca can be found pretty much anywhere in Alaska waters, your best bet is to spend as much time as possible looking from the open deck or your veranda. A good expedition ship will have naturalists looking for wildlife during sea time and will announce sightings over the PA, and maybe even stop the ship for a closer look, subject to navigation requirements. Particularly good areas for Orca include the Johnstone Strait and Alert Bay in BC, and the Inian Islands/Icy Strait Point/Hoonah in Southeast Alaska. Joining an Orca focussed tour will increase your chances, read about our choices here.

Sea Otters Sea Otters can be found over large stretches of West coast North America, but there’s nowhere quite like Alaska for seeing good numbers of them, up close. Being a small animal, views from the ship are a bit limited, but you can get superb encounters from zodiac cruises. The best place to see them is the Inian Islands.

Bald Eagles This iconic emblem of Alaska is one of the easiest species to see, indeed it’s almost impossible to visit Alaska without seeing one. Any of the ports will have Bald Eagles loitering around somewhere, usually looking for fish scraps from fishing activities, and feeding at the river mouths during the salmon run

Sea Lions

Others

Glaciers