Our Alaska Cruise Planning Timeline: Everything We’re Doing Before We Sail

Planning an Alaska cruise feels a little different than planning a beach vacation. There’s more research, more layers, and definitely more weather preparation involved.

Here’s exactly how we’re preparing.

Six Months Before

• Book cruise
• Purchase travel insurance
• Research ports
• Start excursion planning
• Administrative tasks

I may have booked this cruise a bit earlier in the year, but six months is a good time frame to be sure you’re booked. Any later and you risk the cruise being sold out or not being able to secure your preferred room. It was also around this time that I started doing a lot of research on the logistics of this vacation – which if you’ve ever planned an Alaskan adventure, you know it’s a BEAST! I also took the time to do these few administrative tasks that have set me up for success over the remaining months:

1) Created my “Alaska spreadsheet” to make sure I had my important details in one place including: a budget, itinerary, & packing list.

2) Created an “Alaska” folder in my email inbox so that I could store all relevant emails in an easy to access location.

3) Created a section of our household budget to account for these plans.

Three Months Before

• Book excursions
• Reserve specialty dining
• Begin shopping for Alaska-specific gear
• Check passport requirements

As the anticipation increases, now is a good time to knock out those logistical items and check on some administrative details. You’ll want to check on passport requirements to make sure everyone is up to date with enough time in case you have to submit for or renew a passport. I know you’ve been doing a bunch of research on the various excursions Alaska provides. We all know that Facebook group, right? Let’s make sure we seal the deal to ensure the tours and excursions don’t sell out! And if you are planning to have dinner in the formal dining room, you will want to lock in your reservations as soon as possible to secure your time slot.

Now might also be a good time to begin shopping for Alaska-specific gear. If you’ve done your research, you know it’s best to prepare for all kinds of weather situations : LAYERS! LAYERS! LAYERS! If you need more ideas of what to pack, check out my blog post X or click the image below to shop my Alaska Essentials.

Two Months Before

• Create packing list
• Purchase layers and rain gear
• Research embarkation logistics
• Check on / book flights

Who else loves planning and creating lists?? No? Just me then… well then I guess I’m a good friend to have! I strongly suggest having a packing list to ensure you have all the items you need: travel documents, cruise cabin essentials, all of those…layers. You definitely don’t want to show up without your passport or worse…your underwear!

Since I’m such a good friend, I am willing to share my customizable Travel Checklist & Itinerary with you. Make sure to personalize it to YOU. And don’t forget to submit your vote for Friend of the Year.

You may also want to begin looking into flights if you haven’t already. By this time I already had our flights booked because I was anxious to get my logistics in order. But, our flights did change on us multiple times. Another benefit of waiting is being able to keep an eye on prices. It’s totally up to you and your unique situation, but now is a great time to start having a think about it at least.

One Month Before

• Complete online check-in
• Organize travel documents
• Confirm reservations

Okay, things are getting pretty serious now. Even though I’ve been in full fan girl mode for MONTHS now, it’s time to complete the online check-in with your cruise line! We’ve been keeping a constant eye on that countdown right!? Don’t tell me it’s just me again! Around this time I am going through all of my reservations to confirm payment, dates and times. I’ll also be printing out all of my documents to compile in an organized manner. You could put all of these in a little folder, but because I’m extra, I put all of my documents together in a little spiral bound notebook.

Two Weeks Before

• Check weather trends
• Finalize outfits
• Begin packing

I am screaming with excitement!!! It’s time to check on weather trends, finalize those outfits, and throw them in a suitcase! Of course, I mean, to meticulously fold and arrange those outfits in a thoroughly thought out manner. I have a YouTube video on that somewhere. 😉

One Week Before

• Print travel documents
• Charge electronics
• Finish packing

Having a timeline has helped make the planning process feel much less overwhelming and much more exciting.

And because I know there is a lot to plan and a lot of decisions to make, you can check out all of my Alaska essentials right on my Amazon storefront. No fuss. Just click that bright orange box below.