Best time to cruise Alaska from Seattle

Alaska cruises from Seattle run for about half the year. On the port's 2027 schedule the first Alaska departures leave in the third week of April and the last in early October, and nothing sails from November to March. Within that window the choice comes down to three things: how many sailings there are to pick from, what they cost, and the weather you're willing to pack for.

How busy each month is

July has the most departures on the 2027 schedule, with August, May and June close behind. April and October have only a handful, at either end of the season. The table at the end of this guide is rebuilt from the schedule every day, so it shows the current count for each month.

More sailings means more choice of ship, line and date, which matters if you need a particular week.

What it costs

Fares follow the calendar. On 23 October 2026, the median starting fare for a seven-night Alaska cruise from Seattle was:

Month (2027)	Typical 7-night fare	Lowest 7-night fare
May	$949	$616
June	$1,199	$880
July	$1,194	$791
August	$1,054	$710
September	$949	$660

These are per person, for the cheapest cabin Cruisebound listed, with taxes and fees included. May and September were about a fifth cheaper than June and July for the same length of trip. Fares move daily, so use the live table below for today's figures.

Weather, month by month

These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the airport weather stations in four of the ports Seattle cruises call at most often, and at Sea-Tac for comparison. Highs and lows are in degrees Fahrenheit, rain in inches for the whole month.

Month	Juneau	Ketchikan	Sitka	Skagway	Seattle (Sea-Tac)
May	58 / 40, 3.5 in	57 / 43, 8.7 in	53 / 43, 3.8 in	58 / 43, 1.1 in	66 / 49, 1.9 in
June	62 / 47, 3.8 in	61 / 49, 7.0 in	58 / 48, 2.9 in	63 / 49, 1.2 in	71 / 53, 1.5 in
July	64 / 50, 5.1 in	65 / 53, 7.3 in	60 / 53, 4.6 in	65 / 52, 1.4 in	77 / 57, 0.6 in
August	63 / 49, 6.4 in	65 / 53, 11.3 in	62 / 53, 7.3 in	63 / 51, 2.4 in	78 / 57, 1.0 in
September	56 / 44, 9.2 in	59 / 48, 14.3 in	58 / 49, 11.7 in	57 / 46, 3.9 in	72 / 54, 1.6 in

Three things stand out. Southeast Alaska is cool all season: average highs stay in the 50s and 60s, even when Seattle is in the 70s. July and August are the warmest months. And rain builds through the summer, so September is the wettest of these five months at every Alaska station in the table. Ketchikan averages more than 14 inches in September, four times Juneau's May total.

Skagway is much drier than the other three. NOAA marks its normals as "representative" rather than standard, which means fewer years of records, with gaps filled from nearby stations, so treat them as a rougher guide.

Daylight

The days are long. NOAA's solar calculator puts sunrise in Juneau at 3:51am and sunset at 10:08pm on 21 June 2026, about 18 hours of daylight. On 21 May it is about 17 hours, on 21 August about 15, and by 21 September about 12. NOAA notes that the calculator is no longer maintained and can't guarantee its accuracy, so take these as close rather than exact.

Which month suits you

• For the most choice of ship and date, go between May and August, when every week has departures on several lines.
• For the warmest weather, go in July or August, and expect rain either way.
• For lower fares, go in May or September. May was drier than September at every Alaska station above. September had the same typical fare on 23 October 2026, but more rain and shorter days.
• April and October have very few departures, so book early if you want the edges of the season.