The 10 best Alaskan cruises for 2025
Alaska is one of the world’s great cruising destinations, with superlative landscapes – notably the island-studded Inside Passage and sublime glaciers of Tracy Arm and beyond – as well as numerous opportunities to spot wildlife, from bears prowling distant shorelines to the seals, whales and dolphins often visible from the deck of your ship. Alaskan cruising also has a broad appeal, especially across age groups, with plenty for couples, solo travellers and families alike.
Many cruise lines follow similar itineraries, dropping anchor in the same ports, and from the same points of departure.
But below we’ve highlighted some of the more unusual options in 2025, from the smallest ships to the most far-flung destinations, and from the family-friendly to the active and educational.
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Alaska’s Last Frontier
While most cruise companies run itineraries from Vancouver or Seattle to Juneau or Anchorage, only a handful operate west of Anchorage in the even more remote waters of the Alaskan Peninsula and Aleutian Islands, an untainted and little-visited region rich in wildlife, majestic scenery and Second World War history.
How to do it
New for 2025 from UnCruise (uncruise.com), a small, specialist operator with several off-beat itineraries, is an 11-day “Aleutian Islands Adventure Cruise” that takes in several of the region’s tiny ports and islands aboard the 18-cabin Safari Explorer. The price is from $7,900 (£6,205). Note that some 2025 dates are already waitlist only.
Classic itinerary luxury
The 229-cabin Seabourn Quest is able to access areas impassable to larger vessels and as such, the ship’s itineraries often offers ports of call and scenic sailing that are rarely found on Alaskan itineraries, notably in Misty Fjords and with stops in Wrangell, Prince Rupert, Alert Bay and elsewhere.
How to do it
Seabourn (seabourn.com) offers classic itinerary Alaskan cruises with a luxurious twist. The 14-day “Glacier Bay, Fjords & Inside Passage” cruise, round-trip from Vancouver, departing May 16, costs from £6,119, a considerable premium on big-ship prices, but for that price you do get to visit lesser-known spots.
Seabourn also offers an unusual one-off, 29-day Alaska Autumn & Japan Foliage cruise (seabourn.com), departing Juneau on September 12, from £8,499, and taking in far-flung Alaskan destinations such as Kodiak and Dutch Harbor (on the Aleutian Islands) en route for Yokohama.
A Rockies Bonus
The beauty of many Alaskan cruises is that they depart from Vancouver, itself a great city in which to extend your trip, but also a springboard for exploration of the spectacular interior of British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies.
How to do it
Titan Travel (titantravel.co.uk) offers a 18-day “Rockies and Alaska Grand Discovery” option from £4,295 per person, including flights and most meals. The route combines Banff, Lake Louise and elsewhere in the Canadian Rockies with three days in Vancouver and a seven-night cruise aboard Holland America’s 1432-passenger MS Zaandam; a round-trip sailing from Vancouver calling at Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway.
Learning at sea
Many operators have on-board guides to add an educational aspect to your trip, but often as something of an afterthought. Lindblad-National Geographic (nationalgeographic,com/expeditions), by contrast, place great emphasis on learning as you travel. Their 13 Alaskan expedition cruises also use smaller ships and follow unusual itineraries, often focused on particular areas.
How to do it
A typical (and new for 2025) cruise with Lindblad-National Geographic is the eight-day “Exploring Alaska’s ABC Islands”, which centres on the region south and west of Juneau, with the opportunity – rare on Alaskan cruises – to make landfall for hikes and wildlife viewing. The cost is from $7,801 (£6,115) for departures in June and July, with a maximum group size of 62.
Disney family cruise
You may not feel a Disney cruise is for you – but your children might. The company has decades of experience catering for a broad demographic, with cruising’s usual adult-only dining, spa and entertainment on-board options combined with three family-friendly and age-related Kids’ Clubs, movies, waterslides and more. Such options are invaluable on trips where two or more days at sea – and the potential for boredom – are the norm.
How to do it
Disney has 19 Alaskan departures in 2025, most on seven-night round trip cruises from Vancouver via Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. The cost is from £4,791, departing May 12, for two adults and two children. July departures start at £7,269.
California dreaming
While many Alaskan cruises run round-trip from Vancouver or Seattle, it’s also possible to embark in San Francisco and, more rarely, in Los Angeles. This offers the chance to extend your trip in these cities and explore places such as Sonoma, Napa, Yosemite and the Pacific Coast Highway from San Francisco.
How to do it
Princess (princess.com) offers seven departures from San Francisco in 2025 aboard Ruby Princess. An 11-day cruise – with five days at sea – departing San Francisco on May 4 costs from £1,011, with stops in Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Victoria. Princess offers a single 16-day sailing round-trip (with eight days at sea) departing Los Angeles on September 4 from £2,095.
Southbound expedition
There are a handful of cruises distinguished by departures from Anchorage – rather than Vancouver or Seattle. Look for the ones with flights to the city included, and an itinerary that eschews the region’s typical stops in favour of Haines, Wrangell, Sitka and Alert Bay, and instead embraces virtually all the key scenic cruising options between Seward and Vancouver.
How to do it
Norway-based Hurtigruten launched its HX (travelhx.com) expedition arm in late 2023 and in 2025 dips a toe into Alaskan waters with two 15-day “Wilderness, Glaciers & Culture” sailings (May 16 and June 9) aboard the state-of-the-art, 265-passenger expedition vessel MS Roald Amundsen. From £8,227, including flights.
Exclusive charter
If the idea of other people on both big- and small-ship cruising fills you with horror, then a smaller ship is probably the way to go. Some ships are specially built for Alaskan waters and while typically pricier, exclusive charters allow for total freedom when choosing your route.
How to do it
Alaska Uncharted (alaskauncharted.com) offers the 12-berth MV Sikumi, for cruises in and around Juneau in one of the most diverse areas of the Inside Passage region. Cabins can be booked individually but the ship can be taken exclusively for tailor-made generational family and other groups. Meals and excursions can be customised (and are inclusive). Prices start from $9,500 (£7,450) for double cabins and $49,950 (£40,890) for the entire vessel, with availability in 2025 from June 20.
Best on a budget
Let’s assume what you want from an Alaskan cruise is the scenery, with ships and their amenities less important, and that you are prepared to travel in April, when prices are keenest and ports of call are at their least crowded.
How to do it
If so, and you take advantage of early booking discounts, then you can secure a seven-day cruise with Holland America, round-trip from Vancouver, departing April 26, 2025, from £649 per person in an inside cabin. The cruise follows the most straightforward classic itinerary in the region, with scenic cruising in the Inside Passage and Glacier Bay, and port calls at Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway.
Prices are for 2025, cruise-only, unless indicated, based on two sharing
