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I'm looking for some advice from those that have been on them. Been doing a little research on them here and there and the choices of where to go and what cruise lines to use seem limitless. For those that have been what destinations did you use and what cruise line, and what's the best time of year to go? My wife's lifelong dream has been to go on an Alaskan Cruise and see the Northern Lights. She was super excited about the Northern Light show in Alabama a week or two ago so I'd like to take her on an Alaskan cruise next year for our anniversary so she can see them again and cross that Alaskan cruise thing off of her bucket list.

Any advice would be appreciated.

It's gonna be tough to do a Alaskan cruise and see the Northern Lights on the same trip. Their big Cruise season is May till mid - September , that's outside Northern Light viewing season.
We went in '17 on the rail tour through Princess Cruise lines, but didn't go via a cruise. We flew into Fairbanks and worked our way back to Anchorage, spending 8 days in AK . We went last week of August and did a lot of tours . Princess has their own rail cars made for viewing , you just click along about 40 MPH and see the scenery. When we went into Denali the leaves were turning and we saw A BUNCH of wildlife . The Moose were sheading velvet.
I can't speak for a cruise , however, if you go to Alaska and do a cruise only , you've missed Alaska. I don't care much for Whales and icebergs. You could spend 2-4 weeks up there and still only hit the high spots. One of the few places I've been that I want go back to, we plan on going back soon.

Good information. I'm not locked in on a cruise at all.

If you're wanting to go see the most in the shortest amount of time, the intrastate flights aren't bad. Raven Air and I think the other one is Grady both offer multiple daily flights between cities that are pretty affordable.

There's never a guarantee you'll see northern lights. After living in AK, the only way I'd visit would be a flt there, a rental car, and a pre-made itinerary.
Lots to see including glaciers/whale watching etc by just doing day trips with small business and ya not stuck on a boat with only a few port calls.
The train rides are cool too

I fly out of Atlanta to go on one saturday. Goes into Juneau, Skagway, cruises thru Glacier Bay, then to Kethcikan, and finally Victoria BC. It;s thru Norweigan. We booked excursions thru them in case we are late getting back, they hold the boat for us.

I want to see the northern lights something awful, but really don't expect to see them on the cruise.

We went last summer and flew into Anchorage. Ended up renting a suburban from an individual....made me a little nervous at first but its common there and had no issues.

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.

We did Royal Caribbean, my Mother's choice, and it was fine. Left Seattle, stopped in Juneau, Skagway, went up the fjord to a Glacier, then stopped at Victoria. Our group did various excursions ranging from whale watching and a fly in fishing trip in Juneau. My kids went with grandmas for the whale watching and enjoyed it. My brother went fly fishing and said it wasn't worth the cost. Me, my wife and daughter just walked around town and probably had the best time of all in Juneau. I really wanted to go Halibut fishing but no one else was interested.

Skagway some went on a train ride but me, my son, brother, and SIL rented a jeep from Green Jeep Company and drove into the Yukon. Saw much more than the train riders for a lot less money. When we got back we still had plenty of time to ride around the Skagway area. If you stop anywhere you will need your bug spray to try to keep the hummingbird sized mosquitoes at bay. Had my fill of fresh Halibut downtown and it was great.

Make sure to get up early and get a good spot on deck for the glacier. The ship goes up the fjord to the glacier and then does an impressive 180 to get back out. Enjoy a Hot Chocolate with Brandy while enjoying the view. Take binos because we saw a lot of wildlife. More Sea Otters than I could count.

Victoria is a city I would like to return to one day. Some went to some Gardens and museums while the rest of us rode a double decker bus to see the sites. It makes a big loop around the city and then you can return to what interests you. We then walked back to their little China Town area for real Chinese food. I think what we got in Seattle at Pike's Market was more authentic, but both good. Then we just walked around along the water and did tourist stuff. A very clean city. I enjoyed our day there but the walking wore me out. You'll need a Passport here.

We stayed at a motel by the airport right next to a Light Rail stop. It was real easy to hop on it and go into Seattle to all the high points like Pike's Place Market. My wife and daughter insisted on getting coffee from the Starbuck's Mother ship there. No different than any other but we can say we've done it. Personally, Pike's was where I got my first ever Boba tea and I liked it much better than Starbucks.

The one thing about this trip is the scenery. Not often on the cruise are you not able to see land and even then you can sit on the deck and spot whales. Especially Orcas. Tons of them.

I was hoping to see the Northern lights, but never did. I've got a friend that took his family to Iceland last year and they saw them. Might want to look at something that way. They really enjoyed that trip.

The only cruises offered to AK are in Summer months so they kind of make your mind up about when to go for you. I loved it so have fun and don't feel like you have to book excursions. Some of our most fun times were just walking around.

BC is my wanna be archery hunt for Roosevelt Elk, bulls around 400" there...

We did an Alaska cruise May 11-18 of this year. Saw the northern lights. This is no guarantee you will see them. Way too many variables. Went on Princess out of Seattle and it was a fantastic trip. We did a private whale watch tour in Juneau which was amazing. Dog musher camp and sled ride in Skagway. It was good but i felt a little rushed there. Weather was good trip was great. We love to cruise and the scenery was amazing. We had about 1/2 a day in Glacier Bay which was stunning. I would go back to Alaska for an inland trip, but will stick to warm weather cruises or maybe a European cruise or two. All in all it was a great trip and Princess cruise line delivered.

In Juneau as I type on Norwegian been a awesome trip so far head down to skagway to do the jeep rental and see the country side. It's my first time on a cruise it's fun lots to see and do pack plenty of rain gear

Lots of good cruise info here as well as interior info. Our cruise was right at the end of the season. We could barely see the lights one night. The display a few weeks ago was better. Problem is summer is when it’s is daylight most of the day. I was fortunate enough to be there late October, early November some years back. The lights we saw that night were majestical. It should be on everyone’s bucket list. Alaska is an awesome place. Maybe more awesome than the Rockies. If the lights are important to you, look into a trip to Iceland for that, again, not in the summer.

I’ve been on a Disney interior passage from Vancouver and a Royal Caribbean outward passage from Seattle. Loved both cruises, but I like the interior passage much better. We did the normal stuff like whale watching and dog sledding and took a helicopter tour to a glacier. I would like to go again and do the interior train thing.

I lived in AK 27 years. If you have the time and the money, ride the ferry (Alaska Marine Hwy) up from Bellingham to South Central AK. Get to Anchorage and rent a vehicle. Drive north towards Fairbanks on the Glen, then Parks Hwys. Cut east at the Denali Hwy (or head up to Fairbanks and backtrack down to the Denali) to the Richardson Hwy, then turn south to Valdez. The Denali Hwy is remote and rough in spots, but absolutely worth the drive. Turn around and head west on the Glen and back towards Anchorage. Head south from Anchorage to check out the Seward Hwy and Kenai Peninsula, then back to ANC and fly home. If you do this in late August or September, you'll see plenty of sights and wildlife and there is a decent chance to see the aurora. Spend some time doing it, hit family lodges or BnBs for overnight stays. Expect cooler temps and potential snow in higher elevations.

PM me if you want more specific info.

Cruise out of Vancouver to do the cruise thing and see glaciers, whalewatch, and ride into the yukon in ketchikan, juneau , and Skagway. Catch the train to Fairbanks in Anchorage with a stop in Denali for an interior experience. Fly home from Fairbanks. In late August or September you have a chance of seeing the northern lights. Cruise lines have land sea packages but you can book the land portion including train and all excursions cheaper for better experiences yourself. PM me if you want info on what we booked ourselves.

Thanks for the info fellas. I may hit a couple of yall up soon.