I will echo what 2Dogs said, A few years ago my wife and I wanted to check out Alaska, her bucket list item was dog sled, mine was northern lights, so after some research we decided January was our best time to go. We spent a week based out of North Pole / Fairbanks. We rented a car and Airbnb a house, -34 most days, but we had prepared and bought heavy clothing, it was a blast. Drove one day to Denali and back, drove east one day, went ice fishing, and snowmobiling , but we felt like we saw the real Alaska, I would love to see everything again but in spring/ summer without snow this time. All that said I think a cruise would be beautiful also, Alaska is so huge and beautiful, but different from the coast vs inland.
