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Best Cruise Lines for Alaska

Do you want to know the best cruise lines for Alaska?

We’ve sailed Alaska four times. Here is our perspective on the matter.

But before we get to my opinion, let’s take a peek at the various cruise lines that sailed in Alaska in 2022.

The chart to the right is from the Cruise Industry News’ annual report for 2022.

The first thing to notice is that a staggering 60 ships were capable of bringing nearly $1.6 million people to Alaska.

If you look at the first six players on the chart, you will notice that these are large ship cruise lines with multiple thousands of people on each ship.

Our first Alaska cruise was on one of these large ships; frankly, I didn’t like it.

There were too many people on the ship; the food was mediocre, and if there were four of these mega-ships in port at the same time, it was a madhouse.

Imagine Skagway, a town of roughly 1,100 people, and then imagine these floating cities dumping 10,000 in port.  If you wanted to have lunch and a beer at the infamous Red Onion Saloon, forget about it.

Therefore, I will tell you that if you want the best cruise line for Alaska, ignore these large ships.

Okay, so let’s take a peek at the small ship luxury ships that sail in Alaska’s pristine waters.

Our Favorite Alaska Cruise Lines

I’m going to take them in order as we continue down the list above:

• Silversea – Silversea has two ships sailing in Alaska each year. Carol and I have sailed with Silversea three times, and we’re big fans. Silversea’s ships, the Silver Whisper with 396 guests, and the Silver Muse with 596 guests, offer seven and fourteen-day sailings. The other thing we like about Silversea is that many of their sailings begin in the middle of the week, avoiding many large ships while in port.
• Regent – We sailed with Regent in Alaska a few years back. Regent has one of their newer ships, the Seven Seas Explorer (732 guests), doing seven-day itineraries in Alaska. Regent also offers mid-week sailings to avoid the large ships in port.
• Viking – Viking has one ship with a maximum of 930 guests offering 11-day roundtrip sailings between Vancouver and Anchorage.
• Oceania – Oceania has one ship, the Regatta, with 656 guests offering 7-11 day cruises predominantly from Seattle to Seattle.
• Seabourn – Seabourn offers 7-14 day cruises on their Seabourn Odyssey (458 guests).

Our Favorite Alaska Expedition Cruise Lines

And if you want an Alaskan cruise with a little more adventure, let us recommend these expedition cruise lines:

• Lindblad/National Geographic
• Windstar

We have high confidence that you will enjoy any of these Alaskan cruises. To discuss the nuances from one to the other, please feel free to give me a call.

How to Book a Fun Alaska Cruise

All of these cruise lines are part of our Virtuoso Voyages program.

When you book any of these cruise lines through Roaming Boomers Travel Services, you will receive exclusive complimentary amenities on select sailings that you wouldn’t get by booking directly with the company.

Additionally, you will also enjoy our hands-on expert service and care for your booking.  And the price is exactly the same booking with us or booking with the company.

For more information, please call Roaming Boomers Travel Services at (480) 550-1235 or use our convenient online information request (click here), and we’ll reach out to you.

Additional Reading

Best Time of Year for an Alaska Inside Passage Cruise

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Roaming Boomers Travel Services is an Independent Affiliate of Cadence, a Virtuoso® member. CST#201120-40