Alaska Cruise with NCL
 

Is late August too late in the season to take an Alaskan cruise? Also, we are looking at the
Norwegian Sun cruise ship which leaves out of Seattle, WA.

The ships only sail during the summer months so yes, it’s a good time to go. It’ll be less crowded than July. I’ve never been on the Sun but I’ve been on several NCL ships and I really like that cruise line. I love Vancouver so I like taking cruises out of that port but I’m sure Seattle will be nice too.

We’ve done the Sun to Alaska, although it was many years ago. We’re not big fans of NCL, and the Sun is a dated ship. If you do decide on the Sun pick and aft facing cabin for the best views and weather protection.

Rollie

I’ve cruised Alaska a few times, two years ago in mid-September. It was a bit cold (needed a good, warm jacket, cap and gloves), but not so cold that I couldn’t get out on the water or hike on land. Scenery was beautiful and September was a great time to cruise, so August should be fine.

Princess has a nice trip of two components. One where you're on a land tour for a week and stay in the Princess's beautiful lodges. The second part is where you on the ship for a week touring. It was a wonderful experience.
Doing just a cruise, you are missing so much of what Alaska has to offer.

Good point. Thank you

That’s when we are going and leaving out of Seattle. The airfare to Vancouver’s almost $1,000 more so we chose port of Seattle. Looking forward to a week of slightly cooler weather by then.

We cruised in late August and it was very chilly. You definitely couldn’t be outside on the deck very long while cruising. Take warm clothes, gloves, and hats!

I cruised then and sat in the jacuzzi in glacier bay. Lived in California and used to reposition up in May or reposition down in September It all depends.

Alaska cruising
 

Two hints If you're trips include cruising up close to a glacier do not bother to get up early and see this event because it'll be hundreds of people out there in the way and you won't be able to get decent photos sleep in get up and eat breakfast and then after the ship turns around to leave to the glacier, you can be out on the rear of the ship with probably no other people get the same scenery and take shots without people in the way .
if your stop include Juneau rent yourself a car for about $100 a day then you will be able to see several things instead of let's say going to an mendenhal glacier which will probably cost you and whoever with you over $100 each just to do that event we rented a car last time and we were able to see Mendinhal glacier breweries the govenors mansion and several other things all in the same day God bless and have a fantastic trip.

August is the earliest you want to go if you want to see the northern lights.

That’s what we did with Princess in taking both the land and sea trip. It was spectacular, and the lodges and sights on the land were truly amazing.

August is fine. If you go land to Denali in September many of the shops close mid September. Did a two week Holland America out of Seattle in 17 was great then RV’d to Alaska in 18 and 23 in August and early September. Weather chilly but comfortable.

Try another ship
 

Been on many NCL PRECOVID. WENT ON SUN IN LATE NOVEMBER. SHIP WAS DIRTY, ROOMS VERY SMALL, FOOD AWFUL. Look around for another ship that you would enjoy.

Too late? No, August is usually decent weather although the weather is unpredictable wherever you are.

A couple of comments regarding Seattle. Are you planning roundtrip from Seattle? If so most of your time will be sailing with fewer ports. Check the itinerary compared to a one way cruise. I know it's more money but you will see so much more.

Also the ships leaving from Seattle usually don't sail the inside passage which can mean rougher seas...and the scenery is not quite as good.

Hope this helps. Have a great trip!

Two comments on this. The first is that I highly recommend an itinerary that includes Glacier Bay. The National Park Service limits the number of ships per day/per season that obtain a permit to enter Glacier Bay. It is a very worth while day on an Alaska cruise. As others have commented, on a one-way cruise to or from Alaska you see a lot more than RT Seattle and RT Seattle always includes Victoria BC so a non-Alaska port plus a sea day to consider vs the days actually in Alaska ports.
Second, pay very close attention to the itinerary port times and if you will be docked or tendered. You want as many hours in each port as possible, especially in August when the days start to get shorter. On our sailing, the Princess ships were docked at the pier and the NCL ships were anchored and tendering in several of our ports. Tendering adds a lot of time and frustration to your port day. Princess has Alaska “locked up”. They own the busses, rail cars, hotels etc. Other companies are outsourcing and in August the college labor has left for the season.
Just some things to consider.

I took the last cruise of the season which was first week of December. It was chilly, but beautiful. We even do the top of Denali. It was out of the clouds for 2 days. Beautiful and unusual.

What cruise line sailed in December?

We took that same cruise last year, last week of August-first week of Sept. Sun ship is ok but dated. Bring layers, weather can be fickle. Enjoy Alaska!

We've done two Alaska land/cruises with Princess. Not only are their lodges exceptional, they also have their own railcars to get you to some of the locations. You see so much more on the train than you ever will on a bus.

We usually do the land portion first. We like to see as much as we can while we are there. Whether it be rafting in Talkeetna or taking the tour up into Denali. There are endless options for things to see and do, whether it's through princess inhouse excursions or privately arranged.

Then after a week of going full speed, you get a nice relaxing cruise back to the mainland. Well, sort of relaxing. We still see as much as we can at each port stop.

No First part of Sept will probably be ok. Look up historical temp. Mornings a little cool and afternoons could be shorts and a tee shirt.

Late August should be fine, better chance to see the Northern Lights. Is it round trip or one way? If round trip to Seattle I think you won't see much, if any, of the inside passage. We went on Royal Caribbean from Vancouver BC to Seward, then booked a 5-day land tour through the cruise line ending up in Denali, then taking the glass dome train to Anchorage. If you can manage it, I would highly recommend doing so. It was the highlight of the trip.