Cruising to Alaska or Norway? Here's 7 things you MUST think about!

Over the last few years, I’ve spent a lot of time on cruise ships, visiting such varied parts of the world in the process. Two regions that I was absolutely blown away by were both Alaska and Norway. For these cruises, I travelled with very different cruise lines and on very different cruise ships, but one thing was clear - regardless of which cruise line you choose for these itineraries, there are a few things you should think about that apply to everyone.

Before we get started on my list of 7 things for you to think about, please do consider supporting my journey by visiting me on YouTube - come over and subscribe to my channel (you can do this by clicking here) - every view, ‘thumbs up’ and subscriber helps my content to reach more people, so thank you!

Okay, let’s get started!

1) Think carefully about your cabin…

You knew this one was coming, but it might not be for the reason you suspected. I read so many blogs and reviews for cruises to Alaska and Norway that highly recommend booking a balcony, and I also read reviews from people who say it’s just not worth cruising to these parts of the world if you’re ‘on the inside’. Putting my cards clearly on the table, I cruised to Alaska onboard Discovery Princess in an Inside cabin, and cruised Norway on MSC Virtuosa in a balcony, so have been able to sample both sides of the divide. While it was a real luxury to have the balcony for that ‘wow moment’ in the morning, it absolutely wasn’t critical.

If you’re got the money to splurge on a balcony, of course - book it! However, if you’re perhaps a more ‘budget aware’ cruiser (like me), then fear not - you’re still going to have an amazing time cruising to these parts of the world without an ocean view from your cabin!

Infact, you’ll often find that the ships that visit these regions are specifically designed for doing so. What this means is that the public spaces onboard are specifically designed to accommodate people who are looking at the scenery, so think big windows, lower lighting, window seating in public areas - there’s going to be LOTS of options for you to enjoy the view if you don’t have your own private space! On this same point, I found that I spent most of the days on both my Alaskan and Norway cruises wandering the top decks, amazed at the ever-changing landscape. Yes, this would’ve been really nice to see from my room, but I reckon I’d have got itchy feet sitting looking out one side of the ship all day…

The final point to mention in your ‘balcony or no balcony’ decision is the weather. We’ll come back to weather in more detail later in this post, but remember that these regions don’t ever really get HOT, and at best you’ll be enjoying ‘warm’ weather (if you’re visiting at the height of summer). My point here is that you’re probably not going to be spending time lying sunbathing on your balcony, and it might not even be warm enough to sit and eat out there, so think carefully - do you need it, or could you save the money and invest it elsewhere in your experience? For example, could saving the money on the cabin allow you to splurge on a nice meal at one of the Speciality restaurants, or could it allow you to take an excursion you had seen?

2) Think carefully about the weather…

We’ve all seen the photographs in the brochures: the beautifully calm, blue waters, with the pristine snow-capped mountains rising out of the valleys on one of these cruises, but let me tell you from my personal experiences - it doesn’t always look like that! Granted, sometimes it does and, before I tell you any more about the weather, check out this photo from onboard MSC Virtuosa as we sailed up Geirangerfjord - absolutely INCREDIBLE! Ps. can you spot me in the picture?!

Now, this picture doesn’t help me to prove my point about the weather not looking like the brochures, but I just couldn’t NOT share it with you - I absolutely love it!

Getting back to my point, the weather in these parts of the world can change SO quickly. Even if you’re cruising in July, you should be expecting a combination of rain, hail, sunshine and clouds - it’s really unpredictable. Each morning on both my MSC and Princess cruises, we’d get a weather update from the crew onboard (they would usually do an announcement through the speakers shortly after docking), and they would admit that, even if it was sunny in the morning, it would probably change later in the day.

My advice here? Don’t worry about it too much, but take a variety of clothes for your Alaskan or Norwegian cruise. Think jackets, a hat, a scarf and some gloves for starters - it’s far better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Of course, you can usually buy things like this onboard your cruise ship down at the shopping arcade, but do you really want to be paying those onboard prices and have less choice? Me neither - just pack a few extra bits with you!

3) How much money should you take with you if you’re taking a cruise to Alaska or Norway?

This one’s SO important, especially for those of you reading this who don’t usually partake in official cruise line excursions. Personally, I much prefer to throw on my trainers and go exploring when I arrive into port, but I always try to budget enough to eat and drink ashore, or at least spend a little bit of cash locally on a coffee and a snack (the locals love this mentality - if every passenger did this, it would change some little cafe owners’ lives!). It’s worth remembering that, generally speaking, you’re not cruising to the cheapest corner of the world, so you’ll probably want to budget a little more than you normally would for this adventure. This was particularly true for Norway, where I often found the cost of a coffee in a coffee shop to be about DOUBLE what I’d expect to pay back home in the U.K.!

Eating and drinking aside, you’re going to want to think about WHAT you want to do in port that could require money, as this cost me more than I’d expected it to, particularly in Alaskan ports of call. Some ports will have amazing activities for you to enjoy, but sticking to the finance theme here, you’re going to need to be prepared to pay for them. For example, if you’re visiting Juneau in Alaska (this is a really popular port call for most Alaska cruises), there’s an awesome cable car (it’s called the Goldbelt Tram), and it’s potentially a little more expensive than you might think ($55 per adult, and $40 per child at the point of typing this post…!). A little prep beforehand will help you to budget - if you’re looking for inspiration, why not check out where YouTubers have visited, and see what they got up to? I’d love to show you more over on my channel - just search ‘Fraser at Sea’ on YouTube to subscribe and check out my content!

4) Does your Alaska or Norway cruise feature a ‘Scenic Cruising’ day? Think about this!

I had no idea about this experience before I took my cruises, but did you know that most Alaskan and Norwegian cruises will feature ‘Scenic Cruising’? This can either take place for a few hours, or it can sometimes take place over an entire day! This essentially means that there’s a period of time where the ship will be in an area of particular beauty, and so you’ll want to be out on deck soaking in the views.

For Noway, this will be when you enter or leave the Fjords - the views will be absolutely remarkable! For Alaska, it’s more likely that this will be when you leave some ports (for example, Skagway provides some amazing vantage points as you’ll have mountains on both sides of the ship!).

The cruise line will often have an expert onboard who specialises in the region that you’re visiting. As the ship sails, they’ll often provide a running commentary of the history of the area, or what you’re seeing - it’s well worth getting to wherever you’ll be able to hear them! Your cruise line will tell you about this in advance, so keep listening for insights from your Captain in the days leading up to your arrival into the beautiful ports on your itinerary - you won’t want to miss this!

If you’re cruising to Alaska, your itinerary is probably going to have a Glacier visit. People always ask me - if we have a ‘scenic cruising’ day and it features a Glacier, how do I know I’ll see it from my cabin? My advice - both cruise lines that I used for these itineraries performed full rotations of the ship at key landmarks (and Glaciers), so it shouldn’t be an issue where on the ship you are. That said, PLEASE check if this will be the case on your cruise - I’d hate for you to take this advice and then miss out on that incredible ‘bucket list moment’ of seeing your first glacier! Ps. in the photos below, this is what I was wearing IN JULY up in Alaska - yes, even a scarf…!!

5) Think about Dining times!

This is one that I had absolutely no appreciation of until I experienced Norway for the first time. When your ship is in port, you’ve got all day to head off and enjoy the area. When you get back onboard the ship, you have the luxury of relaxing with a drink, or some food, and looking out the windows (or from the open decks) at the view. However, have you put any thinking into your dining time, and what that means for you enjoying the scenery? Let me explain…

Some of the ports you’ll visit will be in VERY beautiful parts of the world, and you’re probably going to sail out around 6pm or 7pm - prime time for you to be eating dinner. Now, would you like to be sitting in the middle of a huge Main Dining Room while leaving port (and be unable to see the view), or would you rather be relaxing, eating at your own pace, and enjoying seeing what’s around you as you move out? I’m assuming the latter! In this case, on the days when your ship will be in the particularly dramatic areas, I’d recommend you consider either checking that your Dining slot doesn’t clash with sailaway or, do as I did, and take these ports as the ones where you’re happy to eat at the buffet.

I can almost promise you - so few people will think of this, and you’ll have some STUNNING views to yourself while most other people are down in the busy dining rooms! Also - yes - the picture below is REAL!

6) Think about sea sickness, especially if you’re cruising from the U.K./Mainland Europe for Norway, or Seattle or Vancouver for Alaska!

This one might sound strange initially - you’re going on a cruise ship, and here’s me telling you to think about sea sickness - perhaps a little obvious, right? However, stay with me! Looking at your itinerary on the above routes, you’ll find the majority of cruises are in fairly sheltered waters once you reach either the Norwegian Fjords, or Alaska’s Inside Passage. However, it’s going to take some time to get there, and the length of time will depend on which cruise you’ve opted to take.

For example, cruising from Southampton, Hamburg, or somewhere similar, will mean you’ll usually spend one day ‘at sea’ (when the ship just sails all day due to the distance you need to travel) at the start of your itinerary, and another at the end. For Alaska, you’ll find the same going from either Seattle or Vancouver until you reach the Inside Passage, where you’re rarely going to find extreme water conditions.

Generally speaking, Norwegian and Alaskan cruises are safe bets for decent weather once you get there. For your days in the more exposed waters of the North Sea (for Norway) and the Pacific (for Alaska), you’ll probably want to double check that you’ve packed your travel tablets or wristbands. Hopefully you won’t need them, but just incase…!

7) You’re heading off on a complete BUCKET LIST itinerary - have you got good camera equipment to capture the trip?!

For some cruise routes, it’s fairly conceivable that you might do it again over the years. As a British cruiser for example, it’s not unattainable or unthinkable for me to take multiple 7-night cruises out of Barcelona during my life - infact, it’s strange that I don’t currently have one booked! However, routes like Norway and Alaska are totally different, and both featured on my ‘bucket list’ of cruises I was absolutely desperate to do at least once in my life, but I’m not totally sure if I’ll make it back.

I met so many people onboard who were local to Seattle, and so Alaskan cruising was fairly common in their lives, and they’d actually taken quite a few! However, they all confirmed that no two visits to this region are the same, and it got me thinking - how do you capture your cruise memories? Do you keep it all in your mind? Do you paint your memories onto paper while you’re away? If you’re like me, you might LOVE taking photos and videos to remember your experiences, and that brings us onto this tip!

Be sure to make sure you’re happy with your camera equipment before you travel! This could mean purchasing that fancy camera you’ve always wanted to buy, or it could just mean asking one of your friends (or maybe one of your kids, if applicable) to help you figure out how to work that iPhone you bought that you’re not fully confident with yet… Whatever this area means for you, it’s important that you make sure you’ve got it all ‘under control’ when it comes to capturing your memories, in order to avoid stresses while you’re away!

Hopefully you’ve found this post useful if you’re planning to cruise to either Alaska or Norway. If you’d like to see more from my travels, then please do come over and subscribe to my YouTube channel. You can find me by searching ‘Fraser at Sea’ on Youtube, or just CLICK HERE to be taken there now! Also, if you’d like to be kept up to date with everything going on here at FraserAtSea.com, then be sure to SIGN UP for my FREE newsletter!