Our first Alaska,
in autumn light

This is the trip that started everything. We'd cruised before — the Caribbean, Hawaii, a long-weekend down to Mexico — but Alaska in late September on NCL Jewel was the first one that completely rearranged how we thought about travel. We came home with a thousand photos, a list of trips we wanted to plan for ourselves and other people, and a clear sense that this was something we wanted to do, and help people do, for the rest of our lives.

So: this is the original Alaska journal. We've since done Alaska a second time in May (on the Bliss — read that one) and they're two different magical trips. Here's the fall version.

May vs. September Alaska —

Two trips, two seasons, two very different experiences. May (which we did in 2024) gives you long days — sun until 10pm — snow still on the peaks, and the start-of-season ship energy that's a little quieter than July or August peak. September (this trip) gives you fall colors on the slopes, golden light through almost the entire daylight window, fewer crowds, lower prices, and the chance of dramatic weather days that turn into the photos you tell stories about. If we had to pick a favorite we wouldn't be able to. If we had to recommend one to a first-timer, we'd recommend May for the long days. If we had to recommend one to a photographer, September every time.

We came home from this cruise and signed up to become travel agents within the month. That's how much we wanted to spend our lives on trips like this one. — Greg, on the flight home

A few favorite days —

The glacier day. Whether your itinerary includes Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, or Tracy Arm Fjord, the glacier day is the day. The ship moves slowly through ice-strewn water, the engines drop to a hum, and you watch a wall of blue ice as tall as a building drop pieces of itself into the sea. In September the surrounding hills are lit gold and orange. It does not feel real.

Juneau, on foot. Juneau is small enough to walk. The tram up Mount Roberts gives you a sweeping view, the dock-side breweries are excellent, and if you're feeling extravagant the helicopter glacier landings are exactly as cinematic as advertised.

Skagway and the train. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railway is the headline excursion and earns it — open-air cars climbing through narrow canyons, waterfalls past your window, gold-rush history at every stop. Bring layers. It got cold.

Ketchikan, salmon, and the Misty Fjords. The small-boat tour of the Misty Fjords is the underrated Alaska excursion. Half the size of the bus tours, ten times the wildlife, and a captain who knows exactly where the eagles are.

See all 133 photos from this trip →

What we'd do differently —

1. Bring a real coat. Late-season Alaska is in the 40s during the day, sometimes 30s at night, and the deck is twenty degrees colder when the ship is moving. Pack like you mean it. Waterproof shell, warm midlayer, gloves, hat. You will be on the deck — that's where Alaska is.

2. Book the small-boat excursions. Same advice we give for every cruise: skip the ship's big bus tours and find the small-group option. In Alaska especially, the small boats get into the fjords the big ships can't.

3. Accept that the weather is the weather. The forecast on a 7-night Alaska cruise is a suggestion, not a contract. Bring the layers, embrace the rain, and the photographs will reward you. Some of our best shots from this trip were taken on the day it never stopped misting.

Want to go? —

NCL, Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival all run Inside Passage cruises May through September. The shoulder seasons (early May and late September) are the value windows. We can plan this exact trip — or a longer cruise-tour version that adds Denali by train — for you, your family, or your group.

Plan my Alaska trip

Read our second Alaska sailing: Seven days through the Inside Passage (NCL Bliss, May 2024)