Hi there!

 

Here are 3 Japan to Alaska cruises you should consider for spring 2024:

 

I will also give you ideas below to extend your cruise itinerary with back-to-back cruises! (Which, you should do to get the full Alaska cruise experience!)

I’m not sure how widely it’s known outside the US, so in case you are not American, AK is the abbreviation we give for Alaska!

 

Being a repositioning cruise from Japan to Alaska, it means that cruise ships going to Alaska will be at the start of the Alaska cruise season.

The end of April is still pretty early for Alaska cruise season (when the NCL cruise ship will arrive in Alaska), and as a result not all of the well-known Alaska excursions may be offered.

There is also a chance that there is too much ice to sail to the glacier on the glacier sea day.

Even May is considered early season (when the Holland America and Princess cruise ships will be arriving in Alaska).

This doesn’t mean that you can’t have a perfect Alaska cruise, but just something to manage your expectations.

In general, April and May also tend to be early for wildlife watching, although it’s possible that you can have some exciting wildlife sightings.

For example April and May is generally considered early for whale watching in Alaska. Prime time to see bears during an Alaska cruise is July, but again it’s possible that you might see bears in early season.

By mid-May, most Alaska excursions will be offered, although they will be weather dependent, as is the case for an Alaska cruise any time of year.

That said, I booked a lot of Alaska excursions in May, and none were canceled. I felt I was able to do a lot of “very Alaska” things in May.

Weather can change from year-to-year, but you can see pictures from an Alaska cruise in May that I did.

 

 

Repositioning cruises to Alaska from Japan

 

1. NCL cruise from Japan to Alaska (April 10) Norwegian Jewel

 

The NCL cruise from Japan to Alaska on a Norwegian cruise ship is the 12-day cruise that starts in Tokyo on April 10 and ends in Seward Alaska.

The Japan cruise ports are Sendai, Hakodate, and Aomori.

The Alaska cruise ports are Dutch Harbor, Kodiak, and Homer.

 

Once you reach Seward, you can stay on the cruise ship for the April 22 cruise to see more of Alaska. The following cruise will go to the Alaska cruise ports of Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan. These cruise ports are basically all of the major Alaska cruise ports. It will also do a glacier sea day to Hubbard Glacier.

 

If you will be ending your cruise in Seward, then you will want to look into staying in Seward a few days to go to Kenai Fjords National Park and doing a Kenai Fjords National Park boat tour… and go to Exit Glacier.

 

You can get your cruise to Alaska started early by first going to more Japan cruise ports. If you get on the cruise ship for the March 31 cruise, you will also go to the Japan cruise ports of Kochi, Kagoshima, Nagasaki, Kobe, and Shimizu, along with the South Korea cruise port of Busan.

 

Search ncl.com for your perfect Japan to Alaska cruise.

Tip: filter by “ship” (Norwegian Jewel) and “date” (March 2024, April 2024).

 

 

2. Holland America cruise from Japan to Alaska (April 27, 2024) Westerdam

 

The shortest cruise from Japan to Alaska on a Holland America cruise ship is the 16-day cruise that starts in Tokyo on April 27 and ends in Seattle.

The Japan cruise ports are Muroran and Kushiro.

The Alaska cruise ports are Kodiak, Icy Strait Point, and Ketchikan.

 

You can also extend your Holland America cruise by making it the 30-day cruise from Japan to Alaska.

If you get on the cruise ship on April 13 instead of April 27, you will circle Japan before going to Alaska by stopping by the Japan cruise ports of Omaezaki, Kobe, Kochi, Fukuoka, Sokcho, Kanazawa, Niiagata, Otaru, Aomori, and Hakodate.

Talk about really seeing Japan!

 

Once you reach Seattle, you can stay on the cruise ship for the May 12 cruise to see more of Alaska. The following cruise will go to the Alaska cruise ports of Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan. It will also do a glacier sea day through Endicott Arm to see Dawes Glacier.

 

Search hollandamerica.com for the perfect Japan to Alaska cruise.

Tip: filter by “ship” (Westerdam) and date (April 2024, May 2024)

 

 

3. Princess cruise from Japan to Alaska (April 27, 2024) Royal Princess

 

The shortest cruise from Japan to Alaska on a Princess cruise ship is the 15-day cruise that starts in Tokyo on April 27 and ends in Anchorage.

 

If you are new to Alaska cruises, what you should know is that in general, among the best cruise lines for Alaska are said to be Princess and Holland America.

I can’t talk about Holland America specifically since I haven’t been on a Holland America cruise ðŸĪŠ but…

An Alaska cruise with Princess isn’t just about the destinations, it’s about getting more out of your Alaska cruise onboard.

Alaska-specific onboard programming on a Princess cruise includes things like Princess naturalists and other expert Alaska speakers, bringing on sled puppies onboard, and even watching Alaska-specific programming directly from the stateroom TV in your cabin.

So Princess is among the best for Alaska.

If you want to get the full Alaska cruise experience with Princess, it won’t be enough to just do the 15-day cruise from Japan to Alaska.

Because this cruise only includes one cruise port in Alaska, the final disembarkation cruise port of Whittier.

You can also book your Japan to Alaska cruise as a 22-day cruise from Japan to Alaska to Vancouver.

The 22-day cruise will get you some of the great cruise ports and glacier sea days of an Alaska cruise on a Princess cruise ship!

This includes Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park, Sitka, and Juneau.

Missing however, is Skagway and Ketchikan.

 

There are some epic Alaska excursions in these cruise ports:

 

In which case, maybe you want to stay on the cruise ship for the next cruise too, which does go to Skagway and Ketchikan, for the 7-day cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage that starts on May 18.

 

Bummer: The Royal Princess actually goes from Australia to Japan to Alaska! What an epic cruise! But unfortunately, it looks like the Australia to Japan part of the cruise is sold out? Which I guess is completely not surprising at all, since Asia had been closed for the longest time so of course people are booking up any opportunity to do a rare cruise from Australia to Asia! But, you can also check if you’re interested, in case it’s just me that’s getting the “not available” message.

 

Search princess.com for your perfect Japan to Alaska cruise.

Tip: Filter the search results by “ship” (Royal Princess), “date and length” (April 2024 and May 2024), and “sort” by “date” too.

 

And that’s to get you started on your search on a cruise from Alaska to Japan!

 

Not sure yet if you want to do an Alaska cruise?! See my cruises:

 

HAPPY CRUISING TO ALASKA FROM JAPAN!

 

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