Planning
Alaska Packing Mistakes People Regret
The packing errors Alaska cruisers most often regret, from water resistant jackets to missing binoculars, and the cheap fixes for each.
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Founding editor
Marin Holloway
Fourteen Alaska sailings across seven cruise lines.
About Marin
Marin founded AlaskanCruises.us after a decade of writing about expedition and mainstream cruising for consumer travel titles. Their focus is the gap between what a brochure promises and what a passenger actually experiences on a wet Tuesday in Ketchikan.
They have sailed Alaska fourteen times since 2011, both northbound and southbound, on ships ranging from a 600 guest premium vessel to a 4,000 guest mainstream megaship. Most of that time was spent taking notes on things that are hard to research from home: how long the gangway queue really runs in Juneau, which decks lose the view in a following sea, and how a Glacier Bay day is actually paced.
Marin sets the editorial standards on this site and personally reviews every page that recommends one product over another.
Relevant experience
- Fourteen Alaska cruises between 2011 and 2025, including six Glacier Bay sailings and three Gulf of Alaska crossings.
- Sailed with Princess, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Celebrity, Disney and Silversea in Alaska specifically.
- Completed the Seward to Fairbanks rail and land segment twice as part of a cruisetour.
Articles by Marin
First Timers
Your First 24 Hours on an Alaska Cruise
What to do in the first 24 hours of an Alaska cruise, from boarding to the first morning, including the bookings that must happen immediately.
Updated
Onboard
Food on an Alaska Cruise
What the food is like on an Alaska cruise, which lines cook best, where to find genuinely fresh Alaska seafood, and what to eat ashore.
Updated
Destinations
Adding Denali After Your Alaska Cruise
How to add Denali National Park to an Alaska cruise, comparing cruisetours with independent booking, what the park delivers and how many days you need.
Updated
Itineraries
Alaska Cruise vs Land Tour
Whether to see Alaska by cruise ship or by land, comparing what each covers, what they cost, and why most travellers should do a combination.
Updated
Itineraries
Small Ship vs Large Ship in Alaska
How ship size changes an Alaska cruise, covering port access, crowds, facilities, cost and which size suits which traveller.
Updated
Planning
Cruising Alaska Solo
How to cruise Alaska as a solo traveller, covering single supplements, studio cabins, which lines suit solo travellers and how to meet people on board.
Updated
Onboard
Do You Really Need a Balcony in Alaska?
Whether an Alaska cruise balcony is worth the money, with the arguments on both sides, the ships where it matters least, and what else the money buys.
Updated
Itineraries
7 Day vs 14 Day Alaska Cruise
Whether a longer Alaska cruise is worth it, comparing ports, pace, cost per night and what the second week actually adds.
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