Even with a season that solely runs from April by October, Alaska attracts roughly 40 large cruise ships and dozens of smaller cruise vessels every year, making it probably the most common cruise locations on the earth after the Caribbean and Europe. The most effective Alaska cruises vary from off-the-beaten-path voyages on vessels carrying fewer than 100 passengers to weeklong jaunts by the Inside Passage aboard megaships that maintain 1000’s.
It may be arduous to determine which cruise ship will ship your concept of a “bucket checklist” expertise within the Final Frontier. Quite a bit comes all the way down to your journey fashion, preferences and price range.
Some vacationers demand luxurious Alaska cruises, whereas others do not thoughts going much less fancy if it means shut encounters with bears and different creatures within the wilderness. Some search for romance, and others need to introduce the children or grandkids to glaciers and eagles, gold panning and sled canine.
The excellent news is there is a ship in Alaska for you, irrespective of your style or fashion. Here is a freshmen information to the very best Alaska cruises that can assist you slender down your selections.
Finest for megaresort followers: Anthem of the Seas
Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas. SHUTTERSTOCK
The road all the time stations one or two Quantum Class ships in Alaska for the season. On 4,180-passenger Anthem of the Seas, you possibly can order a drink from a robotic bartender, attempt simulated skydiving or browsing experiences, and take a experience in a glass capsule that travels excessive above your ship on a mechanical arm — a extraordinary method to see the Alaska surroundings. Adults can linger within the glass-walled Solarium, stress-free within the indoor swimming pools and whirlpools, whereas their youngsters zoom across the SeaPlex in bumper vehicles.
Anthem of the Seas sails round-trip from Seattle on seven-night cruises, however the actual itinerary varies by week. The ship cruises Endicott Arm for scenic views of Dawes Glacier and usually visits two Alaska ports and Victoria, British Columbia.
Associated: A freshmen information to choosing a cruise line
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Finest for land and sea adventures: Nieuw Amsterdam
Associated: Why a Holland America Alaska cruise ought to prime your checklist within the Final Frontier
The road will ship six ships to Alaska in 2026, with a variety of stand-alone cruises and cruisetours that mix a cruise with visits to such inside locations as Denali Nationwide Park & Protect, Fairbanks and Anchorage. Nevertheless it’s 2,106-passenger Nieuw Amsterdam that gives a number of the most fascinating Alaska cruisetour itineraries in 2026.
The ship provides nine- to 14-night cruisetours that head into the Canadian Yukon, following the route of the Klondike gold rush from Alaska to northwestern Canada. You may sail from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Skagway, Alaska, with a cease in Tracy Arm or Glacier Bay Nationwide Park & Protect, then journey to Whitehorse and Dawson Metropolis within the Yukon earlier than persevering with on to Fairbanks (the gateway to Arctic Alaska), Denali Nationwide Park (residence to North America’s largest peak) and Anchorage.
On board, get pleasure from dwell music at Billboard Onboard and B.B. King’s Blues Membership, play a recreation of pickleball on the outer deck or get pleasure from fantastic eating at quite a few eating places serving sushi and Asian delicacies, steak, seafood, Italian fare and Dutch treats.
Finest for households: Disney Marvel
Goofy on Disney Marvel in Alaska. SUMMER HULL/THE POINTS GUY
In the event you’re touring with younger youngsters in Alaska and wish an activity- and entertainment-packed expertise, make a beeline for Disney Cruise Line and its Alaska-based Disney Marvel. The ship has an in depth youngsters’s program, high-quality leisure and actions comparable to waterslides and play areas.
Cabins are designed with households in thoughts and embody cut up bogs (one with a rest room and a sink, the opposite with a shower-tub combo and a sink), in addition to pullout couch beds and bunks to sleep 4 in a cabin. Disney-themed eating places and attentive waitstaff take the stress out of household mealtimes.
Bonus: Everybody’s favourite Disney characters shall be on board for reveals and meet-and-greets. Goofy may even make an look as you admire hovering eagles, blue icebergs and glaciers.
Associated: The most effective cruise traces for households
The ship won’t have all of the wild sights of its Alaska counterpart Anthem of the Seas, but it surely nonetheless provides youngsters golf equipment, out of doors motion pictures, an indoor adults-only solarium, a rock-climbing wall, themed events and a number of eating venues, making it an excellent worth for the worth.
Associated: Finest time to cruise Alaska
In the event you’re in search of different surefire methods to save lots of, inside and ocean-view cabins are sometimes less expensive than balcony cabins on Alaska cruises. These non-public verandas are extremely fascinating, with everybody searching for views of the wilderness, snowcapped peaks and glaciers. As these reserves get low, the costs are likely to get greater.
Cut price seekers ought to both ebook early for these lodging or select inside, outdoors or assure cabins (the place you do not decide your room location) to save lots of extra.
Finest for Alaskan journey: Wilderness Legacy
Kayaking in Alaska. UNCRUISE ADVENTURES
If journey is what you crave on an Alaska cruise, it’s best to search out the small ships of UnCruise Adventures. All the road’s itineraries supply an lively part, however its “Wild, Woolly and Wow” itinerary claims to be “probably the most lively backcountry itinerary” of UnCruise’s 2026 Alaska cruises.
A day aboard 86-passenger Wilderness Legacy may begin out with a hike by a forest to see waterfalls, adopted by a late-day kayak journey in Thomas Bay. Or, you may get pleasure from a little bit of scenic cruising by LeConte Glacier (the place the massive ships do not go) by small boat and even stand-up paddleboard. Huge ships can solely supply deckside viewing of the marvels of Glacier Bay, however UnCruise Adventures sends its ships to the hardly ever visited outback.
Mountain biking, whale watching and glacier mountaineering are all in your cruise agenda. Simply whenever you’re prepared for a relaxation, guided skiff excursions will take visitors seeking Alaskan wildlife in distant bays and secret coves.
The seven-night itinerary sails round-trip from Juneau, Alaska.
Finest for multigenerational teams: Star Princess
Alaska has grow to be a scorching spot for multigenerational household journey, with grandparents taking their youngsters and grandkids of all ages on a memory-making vacation. Princess Cruises is a line that gives one thing for everybody, and its soon-to-be Alaska-based Star Princess is our best choice for household reunion teams.
The brand-new Star Princess, which simply debuted earlier this month, will sail round-trip to Alaska from Seattle — a handy U.S. residence port for households to achieve by aircraft or automotive — all through the summer season of 2026. Its “North to Alaska” program will delight youngsters with totem pole adorning, sled canine puppies within the ship’s Piazza and northern lights viewing in an on-ship planetarium. Dad and mom and grandparents will admire native seafood on restaurant menus and onboard cultural programming with Alaska residents.
Associated: The most effective Alaska cruise shore excursions — from heli-hiking to whale watching
Whereas the children get pleasure from Star Princess’ spacious youngsters’s and youths golf equipment, the adults may linger over a craft cocktail or get pleasure from a therapeutic massage within the onboard spa. The household can come collectively for meals in quite a lot of informal and fantastic eating eating places and luxuriate in authentic manufacturing reveals because the ship sails between ports.
With room for 4,300 passengers, Star Princess would be the largest Princess cruise ship ever to sail Alaska.
Finest for luxurious lovers: Seabourn Encore
In the event you envision sipping Champagne as you watch a glacier thunderously calve into the ocean, contemplate reserving an all-inclusive luxurious cruise on a Seabourn ship.
Seabourn Encore, which may accommodate as much as 600 passengers, throws a splash of journey into its luxurious environment. Along with providing passengers complimentary Champagne and caviar and housing them in spacious suites, the ship has an onboard expedition group and does a complicated model of expedition cruising in Alaska, utilizing inflatable Zodiac craft and kayaks.
Seabourn calls its program “Ventures by Seabourn.” Consultants on board these sailings embody naturalists, biologists and different scientists who’re members of the expedition group. They lead the out of doors actions (together with hikes) and supply passengers with a deeper perception into Alaska. As soon as visitors end communing with nature, they’ll take pleasure in connoisseur delicacies in a number of eating places, get pleasure from a complimentary cocktail or chill out in an upscale spa.
Seabourn Encore sails each one-way, weeklong itineraries between Vancouver and Juneau and two-week, round-trip itineraries from Vancouver in 2026. It visits common Alaska ports like Ketchikan and Sitka, in addition to much less touristed locations like Wrangell, Alaska, and Prince Rupert and Alert Bay in British Columbia.
Associated: The most effective luxurious cruise traces for class and exclusivity
Finest for off-the-beaten-path journey: Nationwide Geographic Quest
Nationwide Geographic Quest in Rudyerd Bay. ANDREW PEACOCK/LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS
In the event you’re trying to get away from the megaship crowds, the very best Alaska cruise for you is perhaps with Nationwide Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions. Nationwide Geographic Quest, with house for as much as 100 passengers, frequents off-the-beaten-path locations in Alaska on weeklong itineraries between Juneau and Sitka in 2026.
Company can discover the small fishing city of Petersburg or seek for orca and humpback whales in Frederick Sound. Lindblad has particular permits to carry passengers into the wilderness of Glacier Bay Nationwide Park & Protect and the Tongass Nationwide Forest, past what the massive ships can supply. A hike on Chichagof Island is the proper alternative to identify bald eagles within the wild.
Sooner or later is even devoted to serendipitous exploration. The ship’s captain has the flexibleness to hunt out the very best distant islands and bays for beachcombing, tide pooling, mountaineering and kayaking adventures.
So long as you do not thoughts a mellower setting the place lectures and impromptu guitar sing-alongs change casinos and present productions, you will be proper at residence as you deeply expertise coastal Alaska.
Finest for solo vacationers: Norwegian Bliss
Norwegian Bliss in Alaska. NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE
Solo vacationers do not all the time must pay double to cruise Alaska on their very own. A number of ships function cabins designed and priced for one. A number of Norwegian Cruise Line ships function cozy studio cabins designed and priced for one particular person, and 4,004-passenger Norwegian Bliss provides 82 solo rooms on its round-trip Seattle cruises to Alaska.
These solo cabins get our vote as a result of they’re situated in a fancy the place a personal lounge encourages mingling. Lone vacationers can even meet their shipmates whereas ready to hop right into a race automotive on the ship’s go-kart monitor, at a exhibiting of “Jersey Boys” or over a muddled drink on the Sugarcane Mojito Bar.
The ship sails seven-night cruises from Seattle, visiting Dawes Glacier, Sitka and Icy Strait Level, in addition to Juneau and Ketchikan in Alaska and Victoria, British Columbia.
Finest for foodies: Riviera
Pool deck on Oceania’s Riviera. TIM FAIRCLOTH/OCEANIA CRUISES
You won’t have Alaska in your checklist as a scorching spot for culinary journey, however Oceania Cruises sees each vacation spot as a possible foodie paradise. Its 1,250-passenger Riviera simply sailed its first Alaska cruises this 12 months and is returning to the state in 2026, giving visitors many alternatives for good eats on board and off.
Strive a food-forward shore tour to see what culinary magic Alaska has hidden behind its glaciers and mountains. Take a culinary tour of Sitka and sip native beers, snack on Russian dumplings and pattern different treats like reindeer scorching canine. In Juneau, you possibly can join a seafood tour across the metropolis’s favourite eating places. Or, attempt a chef-led Culinary Discovery Tour in Ketchikan, the place you go to an oyster farm and style its merchandise.
On board, visitors can join new regionally themed, hands-on cooking lessons and study to make treats from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.
Plus, passengers can get pleasure from Riviera’s a number of eating places at no additional cost. A latest refurb has given the ship a brand new out of doors pizzeria and Italian trattoria, or if it is too chilly, head indoors for French delicacies (in partnership with famend chef Jacques Pépin), steakhouse favorites or spicy Asian fare.
Riviera will sail seven- to 12-night cruises from Seattle in 2026, and a few function the up-and-coming cruise port of Klawock, Alaska.
Finest for fun-loving adults: Sensible Girl
Virgin Voyages’ Sensible Girl cruise ship. VIRGIN VOYAGES
Sensible Girl is an adults-only ship that may accommodate as much as 2,770 passengers, however that does not imply it is boring. On its northern sailings, the ship will nonetheless supply visitors the prospect to get a tattoo on board, benefit from the surroundings from a personal balcony hammock, cut up their sides at a drag present, dance all evening on the Scarlet Evening celebration and immerse themselves in a number of the finest onboard leisure at sea. The ship eschews cavernous cruise ship eating places and buffets for a plethora of complimentary onboard eating places serving every part from Korean barbecue to Mexican specialties and veggie-forward dishes.
Virgin Voyages cruisers love selection, so Sensible Girl will not sail one itinerary on repeat in summer season 2026. The ship will sail a mixture of seven- to 12-night Alaska cruises from Seattle, with scenic cruising in Tracy Arm or Hubbard Glacier.
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