Your Alaskan cruise vacation adventure is, in part, determined by the size of the boat or ship you're on and the route that you want travel.
Smaller Boats Get Closer To Nature Choose a smaller boat and you'll have a different Alaskan cruise vacation experience than you would on a large ship.
On a smaller boat you'll explore different environments than you would from the deck of a traditional cruise ship.

• If you want to get close to nature you should definitely choose one of the Alaskan cruise lines that have small passenger boats that carry about 100 passengers.
  
• These boats are small enough to take you to the inland waterways.
  There you'll get close to the wildlife but you won't have to strap on snowshoes and wander through the cold in order to do it.
  

Alaskan Cruise Lines Routes A lot of people believe that they have to fly to Alaska before starting their Alaska cruise vacation.
Not true.

• You can board several of the Alaskan cruise lines at ports in northern California, Oregon and Washington.
  
• Air travel into Alaskan ports can be pricey, so if you start your Alaska cruise vacation closer to home you will enjoy a longer ocean voyage and you can save some money too.
  

In any case, the majority of the Alaskan cruise lines focus on routes in the southern part of the state.
If you choose to explore Alaska's northern realm know that there are fewer ports - such as Prudhoe Bay in the Arctic Ocean - that the Alaskan cruise lines can venture to.
Also, be ready to deal with potentially extreme weather conditions above the Arctic Circle along with limited availability.