Seasons
The 2026 Alaska Cruise Season Opens: First-Week Tracker Recap
Three ships, three stories. Noordam first into Ketchikan, Volendam off-script at Kodiak, Coral Princess opening Whittier. Week one of the 2026 Alaska cruise season.
CruiseMigration
Articles
Editorial coverage of cruise ports, ships, seasons, and the rules that shape Alaska cruising. Pairs with the live trackers — start with an article, click through to follow the ship or port in real time.
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Ports
Port deep-dives, dual-terminal explainers, and the operational reality of how cruise ships actually call at Alaska's harbors.
Ships
Notable arrivals, season firsts, and the stories of individual cruise ships moving through the Alaska season.
Seasons
Season opener, monthly migration recaps, and the through-line of when, where, and how the cruise fleet shifts each year.
Explainers
How the rules work — PVSA, Glacier Bay permits, AIS tracking, and the policies that shape every Alaska itinerary.
World Cruises
Long-haul world voyages that wrap up in Alaska — comparisons, signature legs, and the Pacific crossings that make them possible.
Data
Original analysis from the CruiseMigration database — fleet sizes, port frequencies, transit timings, and other numbers we can verify ourselves.
Latest
Ports
Coral Princess Becomes First Cruise Ship of 2026 at Whittier
Coral Princess docked at Whittier on April 28, 2026 — the first cruise ship of the season — wrapping a 131-day world voyage from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles.
Explainers
The Cruise Ships That Can (and Can't) Enter Glacier Bay
Only ~150 cruise ship entries per season, max 2 ships a day, $8.28 per passenger. Inside Glacier Bay's concession contract — and why most cruise lines can't enter at all.
Explainers
How We Track Cruise Ships: AIS, Itineraries, and Why Glacier Bay Goes Dark
Cruise ships broadcast their position via AIS — but coverage isn't perfect. Here's how CruiseMigration combines AIS, scheduled itineraries, and crew-of-port reports to build the live map.
Explainers
Inside Passage vs Gulf of Alaska: Which Cruise Route Should You Take?
Inside Passage and Gulf of Alaska are the two main Alaska cruise routes. Inside Passage is calmer and shorter; Gulf of Alaska adds Hubbard Glacier and routes you to Anchorage. Here's how to choose.
Ports
Ketchikan's Two Cruise Ports: Downtown vs Ward Cove
Ketchikan has two cruise berths — downtown and Ward Cove, seven miles north. Which one your ship calls at materially changes your day, and not always for the better.
Explainers
Why Alaska Cruises Stop in Victoria: The PVSA Explained
Alaska cruises stop in Victoria, BC because of the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 — not the Jones Act. Here's the actual rule, the 2026 Iran-War carve-out that doesn't apply, and the only US-flagged exception.
Ports
From Seward to Anchorage by Train: The Cruise Connection
Seward is the second cruise gateway to the Alaska interior — but unlike Whittier, the connection to Anchorage runs through the Kenai Peninsula on one of America's most scenic train rides.
Ports
Skagway: Gold Rush History from a Cruise Ship
Skagway was the boomtown gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898. Today its main street is a National Historical Park, and the White Pass railway runs the same route prospectors took 128 years ago.
Ports
Whittier, Alaska: The Tunnel, the Tower, and the Cruise Port
The cruise gateway to Anchorage shares its only road with a railroad, fits most of its 200 residents into one Cold-War-era apartment building, and just opened a new dual-berth terminal in 2024.
World Cruises
Two World Cruises, One Pacific Crossing: Volendam vs Coral Princess
MS Volendam and Coral Princess took opposite paths around the planet, but wrapped their 2026 world voyages with the same Pacific crossing from Hakodate, Japan into Alaska.
Ships
MS Volendam in Kodiak: The Off-Script Alaska Port
MS Volendam called at Kodiak Island on April 24, 2026 — a rare cruise stop on Alaska's Emerald Isle, on day 110 of a 133-day Holland America world voyage.