mgtr

We leave in a week for our Alaskan cruise. I knew when we booked it that the end of May is still the off season (which is why we got a great deal) and we may encounter some wet weather.
However, when I look at the 10 day forecast, it says showers every day! Has it just been the light mist sort of showers or rain on and off....or is it at constant downpour?
Should we cancel the cruise?
We booked excurions and the main one I am worried about if it rains is the Taku Lodge Float Plane....will they even go up in rain?
I would appreciate any advice or input.
Thanks

anniemoll

Please, do yourself a favor and just go. We learned a long time ago to just relaxx and go with the flow. We had booked a cruise this exact same time last year on Glacier Bay (a small cruise ship, 60 passengers) to the Inside Passage. It was a little more expensive than our normal trips and we wanted it to be perfect. I looked on the internet prior to departure and every single day for 10 days showed the biggest, black clouds with showers you could imagine. We were very disappointed but decided to bite the bullet and go anyway. Well, it was the most incredible weather we could have hoped for. A very sprinkles one afternoon, otherwise it was sunny, warm and wonderful, so please, take your chances and go for it. Enjoy.

Orcas

I can't speak for the inside passage weather but I can tell you we have different names for precipitation in the Pacific NW, and showers are different from rain. Showers are light precipitation and there are generally times without any precipitation at all on days when there are showers. In fact, sometimes there are "sun breaks." I would think this would be quite normal weather for this time of year in Alaska. If you want more of a guarantee of sunshine, you'd have to go in August, I would think. And even then, I'd check on some weather websites. That part of Alaska is wet!

We went on an Alaska cruise in June a couple of years ago and we had plenty of showers. This makes the skies dramatic. We had some sunshine, as well, but not a whole lot, I must admit. We went kayaking in the showers when we were in Sitka and had great fun. I'll never forget looking back on Sitka as the clouds rolled in and out.

I doubt they'd cancel a float plane trip for showers. It's way too wet in that part of Alaska to let a little precipitation stop things. Why not contact the cruise line and ask?

kakalena

I was in Alaska for several months a while back and almost left after several weeks because of the rain. I doubt I'd cancel a ten day cruise over it though.

The fog obscured everything but the road in front of us. It was truly worth waiting for the sun though. We backtracked over some of the places we'd alreay visited and were shocked at what we had missed.

There will be plenty for you to see no matter what...it's Alaska!

BudgetQueen

At this point are you willing to loose your money??? Isn't your cruise nonrefundable at this point??

ON averages, dryest time for Alaska is May and June, wettest is Sept. August/July some rain.

There is no way to predict the weather. I am just back from the first Alaska sailing this year- 6 out of 7 days of rain. PLENTY of sorry passengers who just were not prepared, I was. Made all the difference.

BudgetQueen

Yes the float planes go in the rain.

Bobmrg

News flash!! Airplanes fly in the rain, even in Alaska (where I learned to fly). The show-stopper is visibility; if the visibility is too bad to fly under visual flight rules (3 miles or better), it will be lousy for sightseeing. Low ceilings would also cap what your pilot could do for you...but that is true anywhere.

Bob Gardner