Best Alaska Adventure Cruises in 2025

adventure cruise ship review alaska

On the map, Alaska seems to be part of Canada, but it’s not! Indeed, Alaska, often nicknamed “The Last Frontier“, is the 49th state of the United States of America. Sharing land borders with the Canadian province of British-Columbia and the Yukon territory, Alaska also shares a maritime border with Russia. Sparsely populated, Alaska is surrounded by a few well known bodies of water such as the Bering Strait, the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas (extensions of the Arctic Ocean) and the Pacific Ocean. On an Alaska cruise, it’s the southeastern portion of the state which is explored the most. Indeed, expedition cruises in Alaska will mostly sail around the Inside Passage and the Gulf of Alaska, so closer to the Canadian province of British-Columbia.

It’s an undiscovered state by many, yet the best vacation destination for nature lovers. Alaska is pure wilderness, with endless views of mountains, glaciers and frequent spotting of wildlife. On land or on the sea, Alaska is a land of adventures like you’ve never seen before.

Cruise Destination Review : Alaska

Alaska is the perfect cruise destination for the active traveler. Indeed, Alaska is a nature-oriented destination where you will be able to do many activities while on a cruise. If kayaking icy cold waters, driving a dog-sled and hiking mountains sounds good to you, you’re on the right page! Unarguably, the wildlife and stunning scenery are the most common reasons named by travelers for visiting Alaska. The thrills and adrenaline pumping adventures are many. There are intriguing towns to discover, a culture to understand, and many museums and activities to help you do that.

alaska cruise review activities northern lights

Alaska has a whole lot to offer, let’s figure it out with some interesting facts:

First, it’s the most rarely seen side of the United-States! Indeed, unlike Florida, which ranks high among the most visited US states, Alaska tends to be seen as unreachable. It’s not! Again, if you’re big on outdoor activities and that you don’t mind colder climate, Alaska has a whole new perspective on the world to offer!
Secondly, Alaska doesn’t only have scenic mountainous views, it also has the Northern Lights! You can observe this mythical phenomenon mostly during winter, but seeing northern lights in cruise season can happen! That being said, you’ll need walk away from your cruise and explore areas like Fairbanks, which have them around 250 days each year with high viewing peaks in winter, but frequent sighting in September as well.
Lastly, Alaska is the state with the most water area with over 245 000 square miles of water. Water ways are everywhere in this vast state, reaching 3 different seas in the Pacific and Arctic oceans as well as the Bering Sea. In other words, Alaska was meant to be cruised!

Best Time to Visit Alaska on a Cruise

Here we will try to answer the most common question: When to go to Alaska? Every possible answer is subjective and conditional to what activities you want to do, the region you want to visit or even the wildlife you’re hoping to see. One thing is certain; the best months to visit Alaska in general are the spring and summer months of the northern hemisphere. Indeed, between April and September, the ambiant temperature is warmer, and the weather conditions allows for more activities. Also, the number of daylight hours is then greater than the number of darkness hours, peaking in June with up to 22 hours of sunlight in the Fairbanks area!

Basically, the Alaska cruise season goes between April and September. Everything is at it’s best and the weather conditions are the most stable in the most areas.

When to go on an adventure cruise to Alaska?

The busiest months of Alaska cruise season are June, July and August. The temperatures are then warmer, averaging 15-25°C (60-80°F). The late summer months are ideal as they often bring more wildlife encounters, in land and at sea. The main downsides are that it rains often in July and August and both the prices and numbers of tourists will be higher.
The shoulder season is mostly the month of May and September. Indeed, there will be less tourists and the Alaska cruise prices will be lower. The downside being the unpredictability of the weather, you might see some activities cancelled.
If you are hoping to see the northern lights, September is your best bet. That being said, if you are discovering Alaska on a bigger cruise ship, and that you pass through the Gulf of Alaska, make sure you are not seasick. Indeed, the sea, apart from the Inside Passage, is known to be rough. Otherwise, you have to come back during the winter months, and preferably head to the Fairbanks region to see the northern lights.
Still during the mid-season, the Inside Passage region sees the least precipitation in May. Plus, photographers will be thrilled as there’s a little snow everywhere, making picturesque photos, but hikers should be cautious as snow is also on the paths.

Departure Ports & Itineraries for Alaskan Cruises

alaska cruise adventure review map

There are many routes for small ship cruises in Alaska. They mostly concentrate in th southeastern portion of the state, which we refer to as the “panhandle” or the Inside Passage. The most common departure ports to cruise Alaska are local ports like Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka and Skagway. Also, sometimes you can take off on a adventure cruise in Alaska from a major port such as Seattle or Vancouver. Only big cruise ships offer Alaska cruises from San Francisco or Los Angeles.

Let’s go through all of this in details as the Alaska cruise departure ports will vary greatly depending on the type of cruise. Plus, note that the non-diving cruises that we present on Divezone are focused on small ship cruises, also referred to as expedition cruises or adventure cruises.

Inside Passage

The Inside Passage starts from Seattle (Puget Sound), goes through British-Columbia and ends in the Gulf of Alaska. Lots of adventure cruises will offer this complete itinerary on a 14 nights journey. That being said, the most common Alaskan small ship cruises will sail a portion of the inside passage on a 7 nights or 8 nights cruise.

You can expect a lot of activities during an Inside Passage adventure cruise. Indeed, itineraries are thought so you can get the most scenic views, but also live the best adventures. The islands of the Inside Passage are home to an incredible amount of wildlife, both on land and in the water. You can expect to see bald eagles, puffins, raptors, many species of water birds, whales, porpoises, orcas, sea lions, seals, bears, mountain goats, and much more.

The departure ports for an Alaska cruise are often local ports such as Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg and Ketchikan. Sometimes, adventure cruises to Alaska will depart from Seattle or Vancouver, making it convenient to people from everywhere in regard to air travel time and cost.

Ports of call will often include Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, Wrangell, Petersburg and Ketchikan. Also, when the cruise departs from Seattle, it will include a Canadian port of call such as Victoria or Vancouver.

alaska cruise port juneau review

Inside Passage small ship cruise itineraries

Here are some itineraries available within the Inside Passage, each proposing a unique opportunity for adventure.

Glacier Bay National Park is the largest UNESCO protected biosphere in the world. Definitely worth sailing, the national park offers breathtaking views and plenty of wildlife.
Tracy Arms is a fjord, offering stunning views of waterfalls, glaciers and sheer mile-high walls.
Chichagof Island and Baranof Island. The first has the highest bear concentration per square foot in the world, and fascinating porpoise swimming aournd. The latter gets hidden coves and hot springs to discover on shore excursions.
Ketchikan, beside being the Salmon capital of the world, is a great historic city to discover. Restaurants and museums can’t look better than surrounded by stunning views and wildlife.
Sitka is another historically rich town, located in the south of Baranof Island.

Finally, the Inside Passage expedition cruises are perfect for those who want to explore and enjoy outdoor activities. Also, most Alaska cruise tours will be oriented toward a particular attraction and you will get the best of it for 7 days. For example, some small ship cruises will be dedicated to Glaciers exploration, other to Fjords exploration and some will focused on wildlife observation. Looking through the different cruise ships and the routes they present will help you decides what’s the best area for you to explore.

Reviews of Small Alaska Cruise Ships

Divezone readers have rated & reviewed these ships

The readers of Divezone are mostly scuba divers, but they are also travelers, adventure seekers and explorers! Some of them have left a rating or a review on the small ships offering Alaska cruise tours. We are putting the best rated and reviewed of these adventure cruise ships right here for you.

!!! // Please note that as this section is newer on our website (October 2017), the small cruise ship on the list below are from the best rated expedition cruise ships of our partner, Liveaboard.com.

Alaskan Dream

alaskan dream adventure cruise alaska

Rated 8.8 – Fabulous

The ship offers itineraries….

Praised for…

MV Catalyst

catalyst cruise ship adventure alaska

Rated 9.2 – Superb