How to Select an Alaska Cruise

Alaskan cruises are the perfect opportunity to explore the final frontier of the western world. Alaskan cruises range from preplanned tours with scheduled stops and destinations to custom tours that allow you to explore on your own schedule. You can fish, bear watch, hunt, bird watch, kayak and more in Alaska. With a little planning you can select the Alaskan cruise that is right for you.

Instructions

1. Increase your knowledge of Alaska with an online search.

   - Visit the Alaska.org Web site. It is entirely dedicated to introducing travelers to Alaska and all that it has to offer. Alaska has opportunities for wine tasting, bear watching, fishing, bird watching, kayaking, beach combing, and hunting.

   - Visit the Outback Alaska Web site. This site offers guided tours and flights to some of the hardest to reach rivers, lakes, glaciers and mountains in Alaska. They can plan a custom trip for you that includes hiking, fishing, kayaking and anything else you'd like to add to your cruise adventure.

   - Visit the Alaska Beyond Web site. This is a blog site of one traveler's observations of Alaska and beyond. It includes great insight from one individual's personal travels throughout Alaska. A very different look than provided by cruise ship Web sites.

2. Make a list of sites and destinations you want to see.

3. Decide what time of year you would like to travel. Use a site like the Alaska.org site to determine weather by season, day light hours, and rainfall by the inches.

4. Decide what size ship your want to cruise Alaska on. Smaller ships are generally more informal and can allow you more custom travel options. Larger ships offer more preplanned activates, planned stops, and entertainment.

5. Decide how long you want your cruise to last. Alaskan cruises can range from as little as three days to as many as ten days.

6. Establish a budget. Alaskan cruises can range from as little as $1,100 to as much as $7,000.

7. Search for Alaska Cruises Online.

   - Visit the Sikumi Web site for smaller cruise ship options. It has cruises that include bear watching, specialized fishing trips and custom sight seeing tours. This cruise line is for the very hands-on traveler.

   - Visit the Al-Cruise Web site for larger cruise ship choices. It offers two of the most popular cruise routes in Alaska as well as preplanned trips, stops and destinations. This can be a great help if you are not familiar with Alaska. Its two most popular cruises offer some of the most breathtaking views of Alaska.

   - Visit the Alaskan Tours and Vacations Web site for a selection of both small and large cruise ships. It offers arctic day tours as well as traditional extended cruises. It is also a great site for determining weather conditions and appropriate clothing while in Alaska.

Tips & Warnings

• Arctic glacier tours are offered during the summer months. Many of these sites become inaccessible in the fall and winter months.

• Most Alaskan cruises run from May to September, the peak season. Book months in advance if you plan to travel during this time.

• Many round trip cruises to Alaska from cities located on the west coast are longer. You can shorten your cruise length by flying into Alaska.

• In May and June much of Alaska has more than seventeen hours of daylight.