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Alaska Cruise Travel Guide: Planning Tips, Ports & Excursions
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Alaska cruises are one of the most efficient ways to experience multiple Alaskan destinations in a single trip, but planning the right one takes more strategy than most people expect. Your departure city, itinerary, ship, port times, and excursion choices can completely change the value of your trip.
This hub is designed to make planning simpler by keeping all of our Alaskan cruise posts in one place. Each guide below focuses on one specific decision, whether that’s choosing the right cruise, preparing for the weather, planning your ports, or deciding which excursions are actually worth the money.
How This Alaska Cruise Hub Is Structured
Rather than listing everything you could do, each post linked below is written for practical planning and real travel decisions, based on our firsthand experience cruising Alaska. These guides are designed to work together: start with the big-picture planning posts, then move into specific port days, excursions, and reviews as you build out your itinerary.
Start Here: First Alaska Cruise Planning Guide
If you’re cruising Alaska for the first time, this is the best place to begin. It covers how to choose a starting city, when to go based on weather and cost, what to pack, how to avoid overpriced excursions, and the biggest mistakes first-timers make.
Norwegian Encore Review (Our Ship Experience)
This post breaks down what the Norwegian Encore was actually like, food, cabin experience, onboard activities, what felt worth it, and what felt like an upsell. If you’re deciding whether to sail NCL or this specific ship, start here.
Skagway Port Guide (How to Spend Your Day)
Skagway was our favorite cruise stop thanks to its full-day port hours, walkable historic town, and easy access to outdoor adventures. This guide walks through what the town is like, what we ate, how to explore on your own, and why this port feels less rushed than others in Alaska.
Juneau Port Guide (Exploring Beyond Excursions)
Juneau has incredible scenery but limited time in port, which makes planning important. This post covers how we rented a car to visit Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls, what the glacier area is actually like, and how we balanced nature with a stop in town.
Shore Excursions Worth Booking
Alaska is expensive, and cruise excursions are often heavily marked up. This section focuses on the excursions we personally did, what they were like, and whether they were worth the price.
Seattle Pre-Cruise Guide
If you’re departing from Seattle, adding even one day before your cruise can make the trip feel smoother and more fun. This post covers an easy itinerary for a pre-cruise day without overcomplicating logistics.
What to Wear + What to Pack:
Packing for Alaska is different than most trips, rain, wind, and cold can hit unexpectedly even in summer. This guide focuses on what actually worked, what wasn’t worth packing, and the outfits that made the trip comfortable.
Nuuly Clothing Rental Reviews:
If you are looking for better options than purchasing all new clothes for your trip to Alaska, renting clothes with Nuuly might be a great option like it was for us. Checkout our full review on how Nuuly works, who it is right for, and if we would use it again
Final Thoughts
Alaska cruises can be one of the best “big trip” values, but only if you plan strategically. This hub is meant to keep all major Alaska cruise decisions in one place so you can move from broad planning into detailed port days and excursions without bouncing between dozens of pages. As we publish more Alaska cruise content, this hub will continue expanding with new posts, updated tips, and firsthand recommendations, all built to keep your trip worth your wallet.