I was planning on taking the Northern Cruise to Anchorage as a good way to see the south of Alaska (Inside Passage cities). Then rent a car in Anchorage and drive around the central part for 10 days or so. BUT I do not like cruises and cannot fathom spending 7 days on a ship. I can get reasonable air fare from Fort Lauderdale to Anchorage and then use Alaskan Air to hit some highlights of Inside Passage cities before or after renting a car. The airfare is not unreasonable, especially compared to the cost of a cruise ( I would need a balcony to keep my sanity!) Am I crazy or what???

What cities should I visit by air? Ketchikan? Sitka? Juneau?

Thanks for your help!

You are not crazy!! We took a cruise and DH said that he would "rather have his hair set on fire and be put out with a base ball bat than take another". I would have enjoyed that part of the trip more with a happier travel companion, but once we started the land portion he was much happier.

We did not go to Sitka but did stop in Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway. Of those I found Juneau and Skagway the most interesting, but it was raining hard in Ketchikan so that may have colored my view of it.

Do drive up to Denali and take the park service bus in as far as you can. It is basically a school bus and you want to bring food and drinks, but it was the highlight of the trip for us. We saw lots of animals, moose, sheep, bears, etc. and we saw Denali, which I guess was lucky.

We went at the end of August/beginning of September and the tundra had turned a beautiful pink/purple and the trees were yellow. No mosquitos either.

There are several TRs here from people who have done the kind of trip you propose. If you use the view by state box at the top of the page and click on Alaska you can find many.

I liked Skagway but we did an overnight so we could take the train ride and we got there on the Alaska Ferry from Bellingham WA. Skagway is a lot different when one or more cruise ships are in port. (crowded) We had a car on the ferry so drove two days to get to Anchorage (overnight in Tok). The ferry is much smaller plus it's the way people in that area of AK "commute". There was a park ranger who gave several talks each day which was interesting. Food wasn't great and IF you had a cabin, they are small and spare. I think it's possible to take more than one ferry to get up to Seward but with only 10 days flying into Anchorage and traveling from there is probably a better idea. Each town has its own personality. The ferry stops along the Inside Passage are pretty brief so we didn't do any sightseeing except for how far we could walk. You do have the option of getting off and then staying awhile before getting on another ferry.

Last August we flew to Anchorage, rented a car, and explored Danali, Homer, Seward (day cruise with lots of wildlife), and Whittier (day cruise with 26 glaciers).

I wish we had planned for more time.

The highlights of a cruise we took to lower Alaska in 2015 was sailing into and out of Seward and sailing in Tracy Arm Fjord--experiences that can't be had by flying into those towns on Alaska Air.

This year I was very tempted by a cruise out of Vancouver that goes through the inside passage; has stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Seward; and cruises Tracy Arm Fjord and Glacier Bay. I booked a room with balcony, and then learned that the cruise line allows smoking on balconies (a problem we had on Carnival, but which was solved by security because Carnival doesn’t permit smoking on balconies).

HTtY

PS Denali and Seward suffer from their popularity.

One of the highlights of our trip this year was the day we drove to Hatcher Pass (not far from Anchorage). It is beautiful. Locals go there.

Embassy Suites is the best place we stayed in Alaska. It's nondescript on the outside, but warm and welcominng on the inside. The hotel has plenty of tourists, but it caters to those on business in Alaska. Result: Service that reeks of "please come back soon."

Thanks for your input(s)!

Embassy Suites in what city??

When is this trip planned for? Just the two of you?
Check my trip report from early June.
since you are planning on going north from Anchorage check on the Microtel in Eagle River. The parking lot is poor but the rooms are OK.
We also stayed at B&Bs in North Pole and in Homer.
If I ever want to see Juneau, I'll fly in.

The Embassy Suites was in Anchorage. Nice place.

Alaska is all about scenic grandeur. I didn't see any "destination" town or city during my two visits there.

HTtY