Best Alaska cruise ports for first-timers + map + epic things to do in Alaska

Hi there!

Everyone wants to know…

Which are the best cruise ports in Alaska?!

Which Alaska cruise ports are must-visit?!

Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway are the “big 3” Alaska cruise ports. These are the cities that are the biggest cruise tourism towns in Alaska.

All the major cruise lines have cruises that go to these ports, including Princess, Holland America, NCL (Norwegian Cruise Line), Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival, and Disney.

But which cruise ports are a must-visit really entirely (okay, a lot) depends on your personal preferences and whether or not you are trying to do Alaska on an extreme budget, or if you are willing to spend extra money on epic excursions.

 

So in many ways I think it’s best to look port by port to see what you will consider to be the “not-to-be-missed” cruise ports:

• Best things to do in Juneau
• Best things to do in Skagway
• Best things to do in Ketchikan

 

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To me, Skagway or Juneau (either one) are “must-visit” cruise ports because of the epic Alaska glacier excursions that are offered in those ports.

But… if you already know that expensive excursions are out of the question, then one or the other may not be a must-visit for YOU!

For others, a “must-visit” is a port that has good walking around the downtown area.

Overall, I spend very little time downtown when I’m in Alaska cruise ports, and that’s not really a priority for me. (So you can keep this in mind as you read on.)

You can find some worthy things to do near the cruise ship, but I don’t think that Alaska is a place you go to primarily spend time walking near the cruise port in every port.

In many ports, to really see Alaska, you’ll want to get away from the port area.

That said, there are also some ports that you can do some cool very Alaska type things within walking distance of the cruise port!

So if you choose to do an (expensive) epic Alaska excursion in one port, and want to be more budget-friendly in another one or 2 ports, I do have budget-friendly ideas too!

 

Here are some budget-friendly things to do in Alaska cruise ports:

• Walking in Juneau
• Walking in Skagway
• Walking in Ketchikan
• Hiking in Alaska cruise ports

 

And then one of the other big considerations is whale watching!

Alaska has some of the best whale watching in the world.

If whale watching is important to you, you want to be sure you are on a cruise that goes to Juneau or Icy Strait Point to do one of the best whale watching tours in Alaska.

 

Most Alaska cruises start in Seattle and Vancouver. There are also cruises that start in San Francisco, as well as Alaska itself. See more about where Alaska cruises leave from (and things to consider in choosing where to start your cruise).

 

Below I also have a map of Alaska cruise ports that includes the most common cruise ports for an Alaska cruise, some (very) less common ports if you are looking for a unique Alaska cruise itinerary that few people do, and the locations of the “scenic cruising” glacier days.

It’s an interactive map so be sure to play around with it and read the descriptions there too!

 

👆 An interactive map of Alaska is below, with popular cruise ports, less commonly visited cruise ports, and glacier scenic cruising places. But first, a little bit about the most common Alaska cruise ports!

 

Okay, so now here are the common cruise ports in Alaska! You can see which ones you will want to make a priority when choosing your cruise!

 

 

Must-do in Juneau cruise port:

• Taku Lodge salmon bake excursion (with glacier seaplane tour)
• Mendenhall Glacier
  • You must consider the glacier canoe tour!
• Whale watching
• Tracy’s King Crab Shack (one of the most famous Alaska restaurants near the cruise ship!)

More detailed planning: Things to do in Juneau and easy walking in Juneau and Juneau cruise port map

 

 

Every cruise line has cruises that go to Juneau.

Not-to-miss Juneau activities include Taku Lodge salmon bake excursion (with glacier seaplane tour), Mendenhall Glacier, whale watching, and Tracy’s King Crab Shack!

You can even combine some of the best of the best through the whale watching + glacier combo tour or whale watching + king crab food tour.

The most ideal cruise itinerary will stay in Juneau all day long.

If you have 12 hours in Juneau (yes it’s possible!), then you can do something like whale watching in the morning, go back to the cruise for lunch (or eat crab on land!), and then walk back off the cruise ship in the afternoon to do something else like the Mendenhall Glacier! (Which is exactly how I did it on one of my port days in Juneau!)

It’s important to look for port times when considering an Alaska cruise itinerary.

 

 

Must-do in Skagway cruise port:

• Sled dog camp on a glacier
• Helicopter tour with glacier landing
• White Pass train
• Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (easy walking in Skagway from a cruise ship!)

More detailed planning: Things to do in Skagway and best Skagway cruise excursions and easy walking in Skagway and Skagway cruise port map

 

 

Every cruise line has cruises that go to Skagway.

Not-to-miss Skagway activities include dog sledding on a glacier, helicopter tour with glacier landing, White Pass train, and Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park!

It’s also possible to be in Skagway for 12 hours, as there are some cruise ships that stay all day long. Once again, look for port times!

On one port day, I did a White Pass train excursion in the morning, went back to the cruise port for lunch, and then did a helicopter tour and walked on a glacier in the afternoon!

 

 

Must-do in Ketchikan cruise port:

• Misty Fjords seaplane tour
• Salmon ladder (easy walking in Ketchikan from the cruise ship! mid-summer to early fall)
• Totem poles
• Snorkeling in Alaska (yes really 🤣)

More detailed planning: Things to do in Ketchikan and and easy walking in Ketchikan and Ketchikan cruise port map

 

 

Every cruise line has cruises that go to Ketchikan.

Not-to-miss Ketchikan activities include Misty Fjords seaplane tour, salmon ladder, totem poles, and snorkeling!

While it’s not possible to get as much time as Juneau and Skagway, there are many cruises that spend 8 hours in port.

So if you’re on a cruise that has 8 hours in Ketchikan, then once again it’s possible to do 2 or more worthy activities in Ketchikan, if you want to try to do as much as possible!

My first time in Ketchikan, I went to a state park to see totem poles, did a seaplane tour over a national forest, and then I still had enough time to walk the historic street at the end of the day! (It wasn’t salmon season so I couldn’t have the true salmon ladder experience at that time.)

 

Most cruise lines dock in downtown Ketchikan, but NCL does not. NCL cruise ships dock at Ward Cove, which means it requires more transport time to get to downtown Ketchikan compared to other cruise lines. (Well, there is no transport time for cruise ships docking downtown, because you walk off the cruise ship and there you are!)

 

 

Must-do in Whittier cruise port:

• 26-glacier tour
• Whittier to Anchorage train (or other way around)

 

 

Whittier cruise port is most commonly visited at the start or end of a one-way cruise between Whittier and Vancouver. You can choose to do a 7-day one-way cruise northbound or southbound. So northbound would be from Vancouver to Whittier, and southbound would be from Whittier to Vancouver.

The 7-day one-way cruises are ideal because they give you the chance to spend some time overnight on land in Alaska too.

You can also do the 7-day cruises back-to-back to make it a 14-day cruise going northbound and southbound.

By going to Whittier, you also get further north in Alaska than the typical 7-day round-trip cruises that might only go as far north as Skagway or Hubbard Glacier.

Anchorage is the airport you’ll fly into or out of for Whittier.

In 2026, Princess, Holland America, and NCL regularly do one-way 7-day cruises to/from Whittier

 

Must-do in Seward cruise port:

• Kenai Fjords National Park boat tour
• Seward to Anchorage train (or other way around)

More detailed planning: Things to do in Seward

 

Seward cruise port is also most commonly visited at the start or end of a one-way cruise between Seward and Vancouver.

If you’re going to Seward, look into doing a Kenai Fjords boat tour, or be sure to visit Kenai Fjords National Park in some other way!

While the boat tour is the most common way to see the national park, you can go hiking, ice hiking, or kayaking up to the face of a glacier too.

Anchorage is the airport you’ll fly into or out of for Seward.

In 2026, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity regularly do one-way cruises to/from Seward.

Alternatively, if you do a one way cruise to/from Whittier, you can plan for a few extra days before or after your cruise so you can make a trip to Seward!

I went to Seward as a “side trip” from Anchorage.

 

Must-do in Icy Strait Point cruise port:

• Icy Strait Point beach (easy walking in Icy Strait Point from the cruise ship!)

 

Icy Strait Point was developed for cruise ships so it’s another one of the major cruise ports that’s visited frequently, but don’t automatically think you’re in for an inauthentic experience!

You can have a real Alaska experience if you’re looking for it.

Icy Strait Point is one of the best ports for whale watching. And if you go for a walk along the beach, you might find some jellyfish washed up on shore or floating in the clear shallow water, which makes for a fun Alaska experience!

 

Must-do in Sitka cruise port:

• Sitka National Historical Park (easy walking in Sitka from the cruise ship shuttle drop-off)

More detailed planning: Sitka cruise port map

 

Sitka is another one of the more frequently visited cruise ports.

As a national park enthusiast, the must-visit in Sitka is the Sitka National Historical Park where you can do a walk through a forest to see totem poles, and also go beachcombing nearby to look for washed up marine critters.

Sitka also has easy access to hiking in Tongass National Forest on your own. Look for Sitka in my post about hiking in Alaska cruise ports.

I find Sitka to be a quiet easy-going port where you have the opportunity to experience nature. If you are interested in learning about Russian American history, then you will also love exploring downtown Sitka by foot. Sitka used to be the capital of Russian America.

 

Those are the top Alaska cruise ports. But wait, there’s more you need to know before you book your cruise!

 

It is very important to know that cruise ports aren’t your only consideration for your Alaska cruise!

Another BIG point of consideration is the glacier sea days!

A typical Alaska cruise will have at least one “scenic cruising day” with glacier viewing from the cruise ship.

There are different places that cruise ships go for these glacier viewings. You can see where these locations are on the map below.

The best scenic cruising day is Glacier Bay National Park.

If you are doing an Alaska cruise on a budget (aka not doing any excursions – see more about how to save money on an Alaska cruise), then you want to make sure you are on a cruise that goes to Glacier Bay National Park so that can be the glacier highlight of your cruise without spending any extra money!

The mainstream cruise lines that go to Glacier Bay are Princess, Holland America, and NCL. Cunard also goes to Glacier Bay.

If your preferred cruise line doesn’t go to Glacier Bay, then the second best scenic cruising day is Hubbard Glacier, so make sure you are on a cruise that goes there!

See more about the best Alaska glaciers to see during a cruise.

 

Alaska cruise ports map

👆 How to use this map: Click on the top left icon for a list of what’s on the map! Or, just start clicking the icons on the map! Each icon has more details, so click to expand for the information! If the map isn’t loading well for you, you can also open it directly in google maps.

 

Finally, consider that the FIFA World Cup is going to be taking place in Seattle, San Francisco, and Vancouver (and other cities) in the summer of 2026.

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing… well that depends on if you’re a soccer fan!

If you don’t care about it, consider that it could mean more expensive flights and hotels during that time and you might want to avoid going on a cruise then. Check the schedule.

 

More reading to do before you book your first Alaska cruise: Cruise Alaska 101

Also check the homepage on the blog for the beginner’s guide to Alaska cruises!

 

Happy choosing the best Alaska cruise ports for YOU!