Cruise Geography, Part II

The second most popular cruise destination is Alaska.  Alaska’s travel seasons are much shorter, and cruise itineraries are only available from May through October.

• High Season – June-August.  Weather allows for an abundance of wildlife viewings.  High season is the longest season in the year to visit Alaska.
• Shoulder Season – May and September-October.  Weather is chillier and less wildlife is visible, but you can still enjoy breathtaking scenery.

Alaska also has a unique no-travel season from November through April.  Cruise ships pull out due to ice and snow and typically reposition back to the Caribbean.

The most popular embarkation ports are Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia.  One-way cruises are available departing from Seward or Anchorage and travel south to Seattle or Vancouver.  Occasionally a longer cruise may embark in San Francisco.  You can usually see this as ships reposition early in the season from Hawaii to Alaska.

You will have less variety to choose from with Alaska cruise itineraries.  The length of the trip dictates how far north is traveled.

Standard Alaska cruise ports are:             

• Skagway
• Juneau
• Tracy Arm Fjord
• Ketchikan
• Sitka
• Hubbard Glacier

There are two types of cruise lengths to choose from.  A seven-day cruise starts and ends in the same place (round trip), but tend to spend less time in port cities.

One-way cruises allow you to sail deeper into Alaska than the round-trip cruise and typically operate on a north- to south-bound rotating basis.  You also have the advantage of tacking on a land package with a one-way cruise.  Some people prefer back-to-back one-way cruises, extending travel time to 14 days.

European Cruises

River cruising is recognized as a great way to see Europe.  River cruise ships spend more time in port cities than their larger ocean cruise counterparts.

The seasons vary from itinerary of choice.  Northern European circuit is preferable in the summer months of June through August for its warmer temperatures.

Popular western Mediterranean itineraries may be just as busy during June through August.

Early spring and fall are shoulder seasons.  Weather is still very favorable with little daytime showers.  If you are looking to take a river cruise at a great price, this is the best time of the year to do it. 

Mediterranean Cruise

November through March is the low season.  Most of the US cruise lines have repositioned to the Caribbean, but localized lines offer available cruises such as the Italian-based lines of MSC and Costa. 

European itineraries are separated into three categories:

• Western Mediterranean
• Eastern Mediterranean
• Northern Europe

Europe has the most diverse itineraries in the cruise market.  Because ships are smaller they can reach a wide variety of ports.  Due to an expanding market of growing fleets, there are many ports of call.  Ports visited depend on the cruise line and ship size.

For the longest time, the Western Mediterranean has had one major cruise port – Barcelona, Spain.  However, an increased number ports for embarkation are now used, such as:

• Monte Carlo
• Athens
• Venice

Popular ports of call are:

• Cannes
• Nice
• Florence (Livorno)
• Naples/Capri
• Rome (Civitavecchia)

The Eastern Mediterranean has three embarkation ports:

• Rome
• Venice
• Istanbul, Turkey

Popular ports of call are:

• Dubrovnik, Croatia
• Athens
• Santorini, Greece
• Haifa, Israel
• Dubai, Emirates

Northern Europe has three main embarkation ports:

• London
• Stockholm, Sweden
• Copenhagen, Denmark

Sample of a River Cruise Map

Popular ports of call are:

• Berlin
• Copenhagen
• London
• Oslo, Norway
• St. Petersburg, Russia
• Stockholm
• Tallinn, Estonia

Rhine River Cruise

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