By the second week of September, the question starts to come up over coffee in Seattle and Vancouver: is it too late to see Alaska from the water? Rain jackets come out of the closet, the evenings begin to feel like autumn, and the cruise brochures keep showing glaciers. September is a real Alaska cruise month, a little cooler and wetter in the southeast ports, with the long days of midsummer already behind it.
What is an Alaska cruise like in September?
An Alaska cruise in September is still a full Inside Passage voyage, with the same ports, the same sheltered channels and the same glacier visits, only under softer, shorter days. The Inside Passage is a sheltered sea route that stretches for more than 1,000 miles from Seattle to Skagway, and the Alaska part of it runs 500 miles from north to south. That protected water is what a cruise ship follows from port to port.
Pick the shape of the trip first, then the line. Some voyages are a week at sea, some stretch much longer, and some add days on land in the interior.
Round trips and one-way voyages
Holland America Line offers Alaska cruises that range from 7 to 28 days, leaving from Seattle, Vancouver, Whittier or San Diego. That spread covers everything from a first-time week to a long voyage for people who like days at sea. The line also has a glacier guarantee: if a cruise does not include a glacier visit, passengers receive a Future Cruise Credit equal to 15% of the fare.
Princess Cruises offers a Voyage of the Glaciers itinerary of 7 or more days, as well as roundtrip Alaska cruises from Vancouver. Norwegian’s Alaska cruises depart from Seward, Vancouver and Seattle, so a ship can start in the Gulf of Alaska rather than in the Pacific Northwest.
Ports of call
Norwegian lists Skagway, Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Sitka, Ketchikan, Prince Rupert, Victoria and Astoria among the ports its Alaska cruises call at. Read in order, it is a tour of small towns tucked between mountains and water, from Ketchikan with its rainy streets to Juneau, the state capital, and Skagway at the head of the passage.
Royal Caribbean’s 7-night Alaska Adventure, which visits Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier, sails roundtrip from Seattle from June through August. That itinerary is therefore not one to plan for September.
Cruisetours with days on land
A cruisetour joins the ship to a trip inland. Holland America’s Alaska cruisetours run from 9 to 17 days and start from Seattle, Vancouver, Anchorage or Fairbanks. Princess offers Alaska Cruisetours of 10 or more days, and Royal Caribbean pairs a 7-night cruise with a 2 to 6 night land journey into Denali National Park.
Princess lists two Denali lodges for the land portion. Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge is one mile from the park entrance. Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge is 40 miles from Mt. McKinley and two hours south of the park entrance. Princess has also been voted Best Cruise Line in Alaska 22 times by readers of Travel Weekly.
What is the weather in September?
September weather on an Alaska cruise is cool and often wet, with the rain heaviest in the southeast ports and noticeably lighter in Anchorage. Daytime air in the ports stays in the mid-50s, and evenings drop into the 40s, so a ship deck calls for layers and a rain shell rather than summer clothes.
| Port | Average high (°F) | Average low (°F) | Precipitation (in) | Days with precipitation | Daylight on Sept 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juneau | 56.1 | 44.1 | 9.15 | 17.0 | 12 h 56 min |
| Ketchikan | 58.9 | 48.3 | 14.30 | 15.8 | 12 h 51 min |
| Anchorage | 55.7 | 42.9 | 3.10 | 8.0 | 13 h 03 min |
| Seward | 55.7 | 43.4 | 9.90 | 13.1 | 13 h 00 min |
Ketchikan and Juneau: the wettest ports
Ketchikan is the mildest of the four and also the wettest, with the most rain of any place in the table. Rain here comes as a regular part of the day, so a waterproof jacket matters more than an umbrella on the boardwalks and hillside streets. Juneau sees precipitation on more days of the month than any other port listed, though less in total. Snow does not figure in September at the Juneau airport.
Out on a deck near ice, expect it to feel colder than the town numbers suggest.
Seward and Anchorage: the Gulf side
Seward, where some Norwegian cruises begin or end, gets a good deal of rain, but fewer wet days than the southeast ports. Anchorage is much drier, with a few light flakes of snow possible in an average September. For a cruisetour that ends in the interior, that is the first hint of the season turning.
Days are a little over twelve and a half to thirteen hours long in these towns in mid-September, enough for a full day ashore with the evenings arriving earlier than in midsummer. There is no midnight sun at this point in the year.
What wildlife and scenery can you see in September?
The scenery is the big draw in September: steep, forested fjords, waterfalls fed by the rain, and glaciers that ships approach by water. The Inside Passage is a drowned landscape of channels and islands, and the mountains rise straight from the shore, often with cloud hanging on the ridges after a wet spell.
Glaciers from the ship
Glacier viewing is the centerpiece of many itineraries. Holland America promises a glacier visit or a Future Cruise Credit of 15% of the fare, which shows how central the ice is to the product.
Princess markets its Voyage of the Glaciers itinerary around the same idea. Standing on deck, you look at blue-white faces and the gray water at their base, and on a rainy day the color of the ice can look even deeper against the clouds.
Pack gloves and a hat even in September. Wind off the ice is cold, and the deck can feel much cooler than the town temperatures above.
Wildlife as a chance
Alaska’s coast is home to whales, sea lions, eagles and bears, and from a ship you may see some of them, though no sighting is ever guaranteed. Watching the water and the shoreline from the rail, binoculars in hand, is part of the routine on a sea day. Scanning a quiet channel for a blow or a fin takes patience and sometimes yields nothing at all.
If your cruise adds a land trip, Denali National Park is the interior highlight, and the lodges near its entrance put you close to the mountain scenery. Clouds often hide the peak, so treat a clear view as a bonus.
Is September a good month for an Alaska cruise?
September is a good month for travelers who care more about glaciers, forests and quiet towns than about warm, dry weather. The rain is real, particularly in Ketchikan and Juneau, but the same ports, channels and ice are there, and the days are still long enough for a full program ashore.
Who it suits
It suits people who are comfortable in a rain jacket and who like the moody look of a cloudy fjord. It also suits those who want a longer voyage, since the range of itineraries is wide, from a single week to several weeks. A cruisetour is a good fit if Denali is on your list, because the cruise and the land stay can be booked as one trip.
If you want the driest port days, Anchorage and the Gulf side are lighter on rain than the southeast. Departing from Seward is one way to start there.
What to weigh before you book
Check that your specific itinerary is running in September, because not every sailing covers the whole season. Royal Caribbean’s Alaska Adventure, for example, sails only from June through August. Look at the departure port too: Seattle, Vancouver, Whittier, Seward and San Diego all appear among the lines’ options, and each changes the start and end of the trip.
If ferries are part of your plan, the Alaska Marine Highway System has a Sailing Calendar for monthly schedules and a Sailing Search where you enter a port and a date. The calendar can be sorted by month, port or vessel.
Good to know before you go
Think in layers: the ports sit in the 40s and 50s, and rain is common in the southeast. Days are around thirteen hours long in mid-September, so evenings are dimmer than in summer. Choose your itinerary by departure port and by whether you want days on land, then confirm that the exact sailing runs in September.
Sources
- Princess Cruises, Alaska cruises (https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises), checked October 11, 2026
- Holland America Line, Alaska cruises (https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises), checked October 11, 2026
- Princess Cruises, Alaska cruise tips (https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/alaska-cruise-tips), checked October 11, 2026
- NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USW00025309), station Juneau Intl Ap, elevation 16 feet, checked October 11, 2026
- Computed from the date and the latitude of the place (sunrise equation, solar elevation -0.833 degrees), October 11, 2026
- NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USW00025325), station Ketchikan Intl Ap, elevation 76 feet, checked October 11, 2026
- NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USW00026451), station Anchorage Intl Ap, elevation 120 feet, checked October 11, 2026
- NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USW00026438), station Seward Ap, elevation 22 feet, checked October 11, 2026
- Norwegian Cruise Line, Alaska cruises (https://www.ncl.com/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises), checked October 11, 2026
- Royal Caribbean, Alaska cruises (https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises), checked October 11, 2026
- Alaska Department of Transportation, Alaska Marine Highway System, Schedules (https://dot.alaska.gov/amhs/schedules.shtml), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Inside Passage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Passage), checked October 11, 2026
To plan your stay
- Which Side of the Ship for an Alaska Cruise: Glacier Bay, Inside Passage Routes and Balcony Choices
- Alaska Cruise Ports: Ketchikan, Skagway, Sitka, Icy Strait Point and Where Cruises Start
- How Much Does an Alaska Cruise Cost?: Cruise Lengths, What's Included and Extras
- Alaska Cruise Excursions: Glaciers, Floatplanes, Whale Watching and Wildlife Tours