Alaska trip: Cruise or fly in?

I've done it both ways.

Left from Vancouver and cruised to Alaska. That was my favorite.

Have not cruised but we flew in, rented a car, and did 4 aurbnbs over 10 days. Felt like we got a lot of time in each place. Part-time would have been much shorter. And no worries on making it back to the boat when doing bay cruises or fishing trips.

All depends on what you plan on doing there. Cruise is nice but you will have limited time in port. If that’s OK, then cruise. If you want to spend extended periods of time then fly and rent a car. If you cruise suggest going out of Vancouver. If you cruise out of a U.S. port you will have to waste a stop in Canada port on the way to Alaska.

Cruise is way to go

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Starting to plan a vacation to Alaska with 2 teenagers. Trying to see if it would be better to do a cruise or fly to Alaska?

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We did both last year and plan to go back next year with 3 teenagers on just a cruise. The cruise will be less time in a vehicle, don't have to repack every couple of days, plenty of food, entertainment, etc. I also felt like I had plenty of time in the ports for daily excursions.

If you're up for adventure look into driving up the Dalton Hwy from Fairbanks to Dead Horse. We found the drive to be gorgeous but not nearly as nice as the mountains of coastal AK.
We went a few miles north of Wiseman and then turned around. We also drove down to Denali National Park but really only had a day there where we went whitewater rafting. Unfortunately, we didn't see much wildlife while driving through the interior.

If you take a cruise I highly recommend looking into Holland America Line or Princess Cruise Line and choose an itinerary the goes to Glacier Bay National Park. That was absolutely incredible.

You could also do both by flying into Anchorage a few days before your cruise and fly home from Vancouver. I highly recommend land before sea.

Whether you choose a cruise or interior I recommend driving instead of the train rides. With a car you control your adventure, you can stop along the way to take quick hikes, plenty of pictures, check out local cuisine, while traveling at a leisurely pace. The trains typically run parallel to the hwy so the views are the same. We did DIY Jeep tour in Skagway instead of the train and it was an incredible drive up the Yukon Hwy.

If on the cruise find local alternatives for your excursions. For example if you are whale watching in Juneau book a trip on Harv and Marv small boat excursion instead of the excursion through the ship. Unless you would rather be crammed on a boat with 50+ people instead of a boat with 6 people going to the same locations to see the same whales!