Seven days in Alaska without a snag: our 2026 Inside Passage playbook

Why Alaska is still a cruise sweet spot

When someone from Elk Grove or Galt stops us at the grocery store and asks, “Jenny, should we finally do Alaska?” the answer has been yes every year since we opened. Alaska rewards a boutique approach: small differences in itinerary, departure day, and cabin placement add up to a very different trip.

The itinerary we keep coming back to

Most of our travelers do best on a 7-night round-trip Seattle or Vancouver sailing that includes:

• Glacier Bay scenic cruising (with a national park ranger on board)
• A morning in Juneau for Mendenhall Glacier + a floatplane
• An afternoon in Skagway on the White Pass & Yukon Route railway
• One “quieter” port — Icy Strait Point or Sitka
• A full day at sea to actually enjoy the ship

Departure day matters more than you’d think

We strongly prefer Wednesday and Friday departures over Saturdays — fewer families with school-age kids, slightly better air pricing on the shoulder, and the shore-excursion lines in Juneau are noticeably shorter.

Cabins: what we quietly steer clients toward

Starboard-side balconies — mid-ship, deck 7 or 8 — for the Glacier Bay day. If your sailing routes it the other way, you’ll want port. We check the itinerary for every client before booking.

When to book

For summer 2026, the cabins we’d actually pick are mostly gone by late February. Lock the cabin now, pay it off later — the deposits are refundable up until about 90 days out on every major line we use, and you get first dibs on the good excursions.

How we help

We’re a small boutique team — just the Jenny’s and a handful of specialists — so we can compare five or six cruise lines in the time it takes you to compare two. Start an intake on the contact page and we’ll come back within a business day with a shortlist.