Monday, April 1, 2024

Alaska on a Budget: Cheap and Free Things to Do in Port

inexpensive alaska cruise

Most passengers not on an organized shore excursion opt for the glacier express bus, which has regularly scheduled shuttles between downtown Juneau and Mendenhall Glacier for $45 round trip. Skagway is most known for its role in the Klondike Gold Rush, and many attractions in Skagway showcase the town’s gold rush history, including the famous White Pass & Yukon Route Railway and the Gold Rush Cemetery. Nearly a dozen major cruise ships operate Alaska cruises out of Seattle during the summer months, giving cruisers plenty of choice.

Deal Details

The sheer size of Alaska lends itself to a wide variety of terrain and travel experiences. This diversity means you need to be prepared for a lot of change while traveling. In Alaska, ancient rivers of ice wind between mountains and grind out of valleys. Towering walls of ice like the Hubbard Glacier, Endicott Arm Dawes and the twin Sawyer Glaciers thunder as they calve massive icebergs. Some shore excursions allow up close interaction with these natural wonders.

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO Alaska Cruises Insider

You might find that Viking Ocean Cruises cost more, but are a great deal when you factor in the included drinks, Wi-Fi, and excursions. If I visit Icy Strait Point again, I’d probably choose to spend money on a shore excursion for half the day and explore on my own for the other half. We were in Icy Strait Point for the longest time of any ports on the cruise, but I ran out of things to do in the early afternoon. Booking a whale watching tour in addition to walking around on my own would be a nice way to fill up the entire day.

Explore the Town

Princess Cruises is famous for the vast amount of destinations they visit as well as the amazing facilities their ships have to offer their guests. Lastly, visiting St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral is another way to learn more about Sitka’s history, as visitors can browse the cathedral’s unique architecture and artwork. The church was originally built in the 1840s but was rebuilt in 1976 following a fire, and it’s one of the best representations of Russia’s cultural influence in Alaska in the 19th century. There are three free attractions in downtown Sitka that provide insights into the city’s Russian influence. As the former capital of Russian Alaska, Sitka once had around 700 Russians living in the town before Alaska was sold to the United States in 1867. For $20, you can ride to both sites on the shuttle bus, although the admission fee of each center is not included.

There is also Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas, with surf sessions using the FlowRider on the deck and a skydiving simulation. If you’re looking for the most adventure, these cruise lines take things up a notch as part of their excursion programs. Other larger luxury ships with all-inclusive rates in Alaska include the 375-cabin Regent Seven Seas Explorer and Silversea’s 298-cabin Silver Muse. Whether you visit the Inside Passage or venture inward to Denali National Park, there is a cruise for every price point, desire and type of traveler. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services.

Popular Alaska ports to cruise to

Just because this cruise is a deal doesn’t mean you’ll miss anything. It will visit Juneau and Skagway, followed by scenic cruising in Glacier Bay National Park. The trip wraps up with a stop in Ketchikan, Alaska prior to returning to Vancouver. This trip aboard Norwegian Jewel takes you from Seattle to Sitka, Icy Strait Point, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, and Victoria before returning home.

ALASKAN CUISINE WILD IS THE WAY

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Weather is unpredictable anywhere in the world, but especially in Alaska, so I think we lucked out on this cruise. I even took off my jacket a few times to walk around in just a long sleeve shirt and remained comfortable. The shop was owned by an Egyptian, and in true Egyptian culture, he invited Reeham and I inside to chat. Mohamed, the shop owner, and Reeham enjoyed talking to a fellow Egyptian in a town as remote as Skagway, and we stayed in the shop for a while to learn more about local life in Alaska. My favorite place in town was the Baranof Castle State Historic Site, the location where Russia formally handed off Alaska to the United States.

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That means you’ll get to sail a big ship with all the latest amenities as you hit all the highlights. On the six-night cruise you’ll sail from Vancouver and sail up the Inside Passage. From there, it’s the capital city (Juneau), Skagway, and the Tracy Arm Fjord before returning back to Vancouver. It’s not that many days in port but if you’re wanting to see some dramatic landscapes and are a Royal Caribbean fan, this might be the trip for you.

inexpensive alaska cruise

The natural beauty of Icy Strait Point is pristine, and we spent the morning looking through our binoculars trying to spot whales, bears, and sea otters. Radiance of the Seas docked at the dock furthest away from downtown Juneau, and while there was a shuttle available for around $6 roundtrip, we decided to save money and make the 20 minute walk into town. My favorite was Starquest and the Diamond Lounge, which are both located on the top deck of Radiance of the Seas.

Denali National Park takes you out of the city altogether, into a wilderness full of spruce forests and snow-capped mountain peaks. No vacation in the world delivers once-in-a-lifetime adventure like Alaska. Mark this as your year to cross this bucket-busting destination off your list once and for all. Take off by dogsled across thousand-year-old ice as you soak in otherworldly sights. Trek across the majestic Mendenhall Glacier for breathtaking views of the wildest country.

To help you digest every cruise tip and trick we know about finding a great deal on an Alaska cruise, consult this handy cheat sheet. We've broken it down into the basic tactics you'll need as well as some handy insider info on scoring a cheap cruise to Alaska. There is a Blue Line bus stop here, so I told her it’s easy to pop in on their way back from seeing the bears. The town is walkable, pretty, and small, but I recommended they head to two wildlife options. Later in the season, follow the route to the Ketchikan Creek Falls viewing footbridge to see the migrating salmon. You can spend longer here and see more than on most of the ship tours, and it can be done for a few dollars.

A one-way trip from Vancouver to Seward, Alaska, this trip starts at just $349 per person and leaves in early May. The cruise is aboard Celebrity Summit, making it ideal for those wanting a more luxurious experience than what you normally find on mass-market lines. It’s among the cheapest trips to Alaska you’ll find, and stops in Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, and more.

From there, it’s Skagway and the Endicott Arm, followed Ketchikan and then sailing back down the Inside Package to return to Canada. For 2024, we’re finding lots of low prices sailing from Vancouver — especially if you sail one-way (often the return voyage is also fairly inexpensive). In this case, Norwegian Jewel is heading from Vancouver to Seward on a week long trip. On the way there, it will visit Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Hubbard Glacier and Seward.

It's definitely doable to have a memorable time without busting your vacation budget. -- experiences we found in the popular ports of Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Victoria, British Columbia. It's twice the size of Texas, the natural beauty is immense and prices for tourist staples are supersized, as well. That's because the cost of what you eat, drink or buy in Alaskan ports reflects the cost of getting it there.

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