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‘First Docking Opens Juneau Cruise Season Early’ headed up yesterday’s on-line edition of Anchorage Daily News. Yes, Juneau is starting the Alaska cruise travel season early this year. How great is that? Alaska has ‘opened up’ again!

The 1400 passenger cruise liner Balmoral from the Fred Olson Cruise Line with a 500-member crew is on a world cruise with its final destination England. It will call in to Juneau on Monday morning. This is a week ahead of the normal beginning of the cruise season by the Norwegian Star on April 29.

The benefit of early (or later) Alaskan cruise travel is three fold. Firstly, it’s the best way to avoid the summer crowds. Alaska’s window of opportunity for most visitors is generally from very the end of spring till the end of summer. This is certainly likely to provide travelers with the best weather but the dilemma about traveling then can be the arrival of many, many visitors generally to the same destinations and then their departure from these all at the same time.

Our first visit to Juneau was one spring and it is still our most memorable. It coincided with the annual Alaskan Folk Festival that year. We stumbled on this event and enjoyed great entertainment and a fascinating insight into the Alaskan folk scene. We still talk about that night which we discovered to our great surprise on arriving was free of charge. Juneau’s wide array of shops was opening at that time so we enjoyed pondering about our purchases and had plenty of assistance with this. Juneau locals had time to provide directions and share their beautiful city. So, if you prefer a less crowded Alaska travel experience, make your visit there in the off-peak seasons on either side of summer.

Travel to Alaska in summer doesn’t always guarantee weather any warmer than spring. We’ve enjoyed warm summers in Alaska but during last spring and summer there, we experienced much the same temperatures across both seasons. The beauty of Alaskan cruise travel is that it is a great way to travel regardless of the weather. Traveling on a cruise ship pretty well negates the effect of changing temperatures. If the wind blows up or temperatures drop, views from inside the viewing deck of cruise liners look just as spectacular as they do outdoors.

Alaskan wildlife is acclimatized to varying temperatures much better than visiting humans, so in spring your Alaska travel cruise will still provide opportunities to see orcas, humpbacks and salmon swimming, bald eagles flying and bears searching for something to eat. With a backdrop of amazing snow capped mountains and glaciers that look breathtaking year round, you are bound to enjoy these creatures on your cruise to Alaska as soon as the cruise ships start to embark on their journey to this magical place.

There are a number of good reasons that may see you preferring an Alaska cruise travel experience earlier or later in the season than mid-summer, so consider this as an option when you take the plunge and go!

Warm regards

Rowena French

For the Team@MightyDigitalDownloads.com

Rowena French has enjoyed a life-time love affair with Alaska, returning often, ‘just once more’, to experience another aspect of this spectacular part of the world. Want to venture to ‘Land of the Midnight Sun’ and not sure how? Hooked like me and want to return again? Stay updated through my blog posts here and go to my website alaskatravel4U

Tags: Alaskan Cruises

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 at 6:49 pm and is filed under Travel The World, Women Love Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.