If you love incredible scenery, the chance to see wildlife right from your balcony and sailing close to land, a visit to Alaska, and especially to the famous Inside Passage is the right option for you.

Alaska has a relatively limited cruise season, only a select number of ports capable of hosting cruise ships and with limits at most destination due to their size, making sure you are on the right line and the right ship can really make or break a holiday to the region.

Our top placed line for cruising Alaska is the Princess Cruise Line who offer lots of variety in their cruises including departing from Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

As well as offering one of the widest ranges of itineraries and ships sailing in Alaska, Princess cruises also offer the chance to add on a land-based holiday to your cruise as they own and operate 5 lodges in incredible spots such as the Denali and the Kenai National Parks.

The line makes it easy to cruise the way that you want to cruise in the region as they base some of their biggest ships in the region as well as some of their smallest.

Princess ships don’t offer the all action resort style of cruising as other lines in the region but for us that is actually a big plus as when sailing somewhere such as Alaska, we don’t want to spending our time in cinemas or ice rinks when there is so much stunning scenery to take in all around us.

There could be a bit of bias on our part as the Celebrity Cruise Line is one of our favourites but many of the reasons, we enjoy them so much is just what makes them a great option for choosing them for an Alaskan cruise.

The line offers a good range of ships cruising in the region, including the impressive Celebrity Edge in 2025 and they offer both round trips and repositioning cruises from a range of ports, so no matter where you want to start and how you want to cruise, the chances are that you can do it.

No matter which ship you sail on, you will not get the top deck taken up with flues, race tracks, laser quest and more but you will have plenty of places to sit, relax and take in the Alaskan scenery.

Their ships also have large observation lounges and plenty of places to sit and take in the views if the weather isn’t at its best which is just what we want from a ship in a region such as Alaska.

The Holland America Line has been sailing in Alaskan waters for over 75 years, so it’s safe to say that they are experts in the region.

The line offers a wide range of cruises from Seattle and Vancouver and they also offer cruise tours that allow you to explore the region on land or by rail before or after your cruise.

The line offers one of the widest ranges of cruise ships sailing the Inside Passage but one area that they really stand out is in their immersive programme for those choosing to cruise with them as they feature naturalists, park rangers and local experts who come onboard to teach you about the history, culture and wildlife of this special part of the world.

Hurtigruten and especially in their expedition’s offshoot offer some of the most advance, modern and impressive small ships that are perfect for exploring a region such as Alaska.

Their ships focus more on visiting national parks, bays, small towns and with their own onboard zodiacs, they can get you really close to the action.

Their onboard experts share their knowledge of the local wildlife, the history and culture of those who live in Alaska but perhaps best of all, they offer a much more sustainable way to explore and to help keep Alaska as beautiful for the next generation.

As mentioned, we have sailed with NCL in Alaska and there are plenty of pluses of doing that but some negatives.

Onboard their larger ships, such as the Bliss that we sailed on, they have huge observation lounges that make for a great place to sit and enjoy the views, especially if the weather isn’t the best.

Unfortunately, there all action ships tend to not have too many places to sit outside if the weather is good and that was the case for us with a laser tag area and Go-Kart track taking up much of the outside space on the top deck.

There is a large promenade deck, known as the Waterfront with lots of places to sit and that is where we spend much of our time.

The line does offer a wide range of ships however including some older and smaller ones that have more of a focus on relaxing and been able to enjoy the views, so it really depends on what you want from a ship, as the chances are NCL will offer it for cruises in Alaska.

If you want to mix all-inclusive luxury cruising with the scenery of Alaska, booking your next adventure with Silversea cruises could be perfect for you.

The line is well known for its luxury accommodation, attentive staff, impressive staff-to-passenger ration and for its 5-star dining and all of that can be enjoyed whilst cruising past glaciers, waterfalls and whales in the Inside Passage.

Silversea offer round trip journeys from either Seaward or Vancouver, or you can do a repositioning journey between the two and whilst the price is often higher than other lines, it does include shore excursions, wi-fi, drinks, tips, and also you often get flights, transfers and hotels.

The expedition cruise experts of Lindblad Expeditions have teamed up with National Geographic to provide cruises where you can sail onboard small ships and get close to the stunning scenery of Alaska whilst using the knowledge of National Geographic experts.

This is a great option for those who are more interested in learning about the region and seeing the wildlife found throughout but are not as interested in the cities and attractions that can be experienced once on shore in the bigger Alaskan cruise ports.

The Carnival Cruise Line maybe best known for their all-action cruise ship where the focus is on fun, sun, family entertainment and well, booze cruises but away from the Caribbean and Mediterranean, they still offer a good option for those who want a more relaxed style of cruising.

Whilst not offering the same choice of ships and itineraries as many on this list, they do visit all of the main cruise ports in the region and ships with plenty to do if you prefer to keep busy whilst on holiday.

If you prefer a more luxurious style of cruising but still want to see and experience the best of what Alaska has to offer, a cruise with Cunard could be the option for you.

There more relaxed style of cruising gives you plenty of time to sit in the numerous lounges and take in the views or head to the theatre for a lecture from one of many experts the line brings onboard that allows you to gain an understanding of the region history, culture and wildlife.

This maybe a line that you have never heard of and there are perhaps a few reasons why that is as they offer a different type of Alaskan cruise when compared to all overs on this list.

Firstly, they offer small ships with little to known facilities on them so don’t expect casinos, West End Shows, swimming pools and formal nights as these ships are all abut exploring as much as possible in Alaska.

When cruising with UnCruise Adventures, you are not limited to the larger ports that can host mainstream cruise ships, but you are able to visit smaller ports where you can really immerse in the culture of the people who live there, or you can even use the onboard kayaks to explore without docking.

This line is a great option for those who want to get up close to the local wildlife in Alaska and who want to explore the regions glaciers, wildlife and rainforests.