Alaska by Ship and by Road: Why We Chose Both

Let me start by saying this: I am a cruise girl.

I love unpacking once, waking up somewhere new, and having someone else handle the driving, cooking, and general adult responsibilities. Put me on a ship with a balcony, a beautiful view, and somewhere nearby to grab a snack, and I am perfectly happy.

So, naturally, our Alaska adventure began aboard Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas.

We sailed one way from Vancouver to Seward, visiting Ketchikan, Sitka, and Skagway, with a day at Hubbard Glacier along the way. But when the ship reached Seward, we did not head to the airport.

We kept going.

Instead of booking a packaged cruisetour, we planned five nights on land ourselves. After a day in Kenai Fjords National Park, we picked up a rental car in Anchorage and headed toward Fairbanks, stopping along Turnagain Arm, spending time in Talkeetna, and staying two nights near Denali.

Did planning it ourselves require more work? Absolutely.

Was it worth leaving my happy little cruise bubble?

Absolutely.

Our first view of Alaska from Ovation of the Seas. This is why I will always be a balcony girl.

A Cruise Girl Heads to Alaska

Alaska did not waste much time showing off.

In Ketchikan, we visited a wildlife sanctuary, bird estuary, and totem park. We learned about the area and its wildlife, but let’s be honest, the black bears were the stars.

We were not looking at bears behind glass or watching them from across a zoo enclosure. These were actual black bears wandering around their own home while we stood there trying to take it all in.

That was our first real “Okay, we are definitely in Alaska now” moment.

Our first black bear sighting in the wild. He was not nearly as impressed with us as we were with him.

Sitka gave us a completely different kind of day.

We intentionally left ourselves room to explore. We found local trails, walked along the river to watch the salmon run, and visited some of the historic buildings around town.

There was no rushing back to a tour bus or checking the time every five minutes. We could simply wander and see where the day took us.

One of the quieter places we found while exploring Sitka on our own.

Eventually, we realized we still had extra time and found a local company that could take us whale watching. So we went.

That last-minute decision gave us sea otters and humpback whales, including the perfect whale-tail moment.

We did not wake up that morning knowing we would go whale watching. Sometimes the unplanned parts become the best parts.

That is one of the biggest lessons I brought home from this trip. You want enough of a plan to avoid missing the experiences that matter most, but you do not always need every minute scheduled. Sometimes you need a little space for Alaska to surprise you.

The Moments We Could Never Have Planned

Our biggest adventure from the ship happened in Skagway.

We climbed into a helicopter, flew over scenery that did not look real, landed on Meade Glacier, and walked right onto the ice.

Even writing that sentence still sounds a little ridiculous.

We saw the deep crevasses and beautiful blue formations in the glacier. We even drank glacier water straight from the source.

You can look at glaciers from the ship and appreciate how beautiful they are. Standing on one is completely different.

Everything around us felt huge, ancient, and completely unlike anything we experience at home. It made us feel very small in the best possible way.

Yes, we actually landed on a glacier. This was one of those “I cannot believe we are doing this” moments.

Later in the cruise, we approached Hubbard Glacier.

We had the option to book the smaller boat that takes passengers closer, but we decided not to do it. Instead, we watched from Ovation of the Seas.

We moved between our balcony and the open deck, listened to the naturalist talk about the glacier, and drank hot chocolate while Alaska put on the show.

Could we have gotten closer on the smaller boat? Yes. Did we feel like we missed out? Not at all.

Not every incredible experience requires booking the most expensive excursion offered. Sometimes the right choice is standing on your balcony with hot chocolate, taking in the view without rushing anywhere.

When the Ship Stopped, We Kept Going

Normally, the final morning of a cruise comes with a little sadness.

Your suitcase is packed. They are politely encouraging you to leave. Suddenly, you are expected to start cooking and making your own decisions again.

But when we arrived in Seward, I was not sad.

The cruise was ending, but our Alaska adventure was not.

Before traveling to Anchorage, we spent the day on a local cruise through Kenai Fjords National Park.

Yes, we got off one cruise ship and almost immediately boarded another boat.

I told you, I am a cruise girl.

Getting off one ship and onto another turned out to be an excellent decision.

The smaller boat brought us closer to a wilder side of Alaska. We saw sea otters, puffins, horned puffins, bald eagles, humpback whales, sea lions, and harbor seals.

We also saw tidewater, hanging, and valley glaciers throughout the park.

Then we watched a glacier calve.

You hear the sound before your brain completely understands what is happening. A huge piece of ice breaks away and crashes into the water, and everyone stops.

It was powerful, beautiful, and one of those right-place-at-the-right-time moments we will never forget.

That evening, our tour brought us from Seward to Anchorage. Along the way, we watched the bore tide roll into Turnagain Arm while locals surfed the wave.

Because apparently regular surfing was not adventurous enough. Alaska needed its own version.

Once we reached Anchorage, we picked up our rental car, and the rhythm of the trip completely changed.

Ovation had carried us effortlessly between coastal communities. Now we were responsible for the driving, hotels, meals, luggage, and schedule.

But we also had the freedom to stop whenever Alaska gave us a reason.

And Alaska gave us plenty.

Alaska at Our Own Pace

The next morning, we drove back along Turnagain Arm.

We visited the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, took the tram to the top of Alyeska Resort, spotted hanging glaciers in the mountains, and stopped at Beluga Point, where we saw beluga whales.

We even fit in a quick hike to a 20-foot waterfall before heading toward Talkeetna.

That is what I loved about having our own car.

We were not staring through a bus window, hoping it would stop somewhere that caught our attention. We could pull over, take pictures, stay longer, or decide it was time to keep moving. It was a full day, but it was our full day.

Talkeetna was exactly the kind of place where that freedom mattered. We walked through the historic downtown, explored the local shops and buildings, found local places to eat, and spent time near the braided river.

It is a fun, quirky, and completely different from the ports we had visited from the ship.

Talkeetna was made for wandering, eating, and seeing what you stumble across.

From Talkeetna, we continued toward Denali, where we stayed in cabins and found local places to eat. If you are going all the way to Alaska, staying in a cabin just feels right.

The next morning, we headed into Denali National Park on a five-hour bus trip. During the summer, private vehicles normally travel only as far as Mile 15 of Denali Park Road. Going farther into the park means taking a bus, hiking, or riding a bicycle.

Our bus driver was funny, informative, and constantly watching for wildlife. We stopped at scenic viewpoints and paused when someone spotted an animal.

We did see wildlife, although the animals did not magically appear on command.

Rude, honestly. Denali herself also decided she was not coming out to play.

The mountain is frequently hidden by clouds, and seeing it is never guaranteed. Of course, we still hoped she might peek out for us.

She did not. Apparently, Denali has boundaries.

Denali stayed mostly hidden, but the park certainly did not disappoint.

Even without seeing the mountain, the park was beautiful. The scenery, wildlife sightings, and stories from our driver made the early morning worthwhile.

One important piece of advice if you take a bus into Denali: pack your own drinks, snacks, or lunch. There are restroom stops, but there is not a restaurant waiting for you inside the park. Five hours is a long time to think about the sandwich you left back at the cabin.

Why Doing Both Was Right for Us

Cruise lines offer organized Alaska cruisetours that handle the transportation, hotels, luggage, and schedule. For travelers who want everything coordinated for them, that can be a wonderful option.

Planning the land portion independently is not automatically better. It was simply better for us.

We wanted control over where we stayed, what we did, and how long we spent in each place. We wanted to eat at local restaurants, stay in cabins, pull over for unexpected views, and build the trip around the experiences that interested us.

That freedom came with more responsibility.

We had to understand the distances, map the route, choose the hotels, manage the luggage, and keep track of several reservations. Alaska is not the place to glance at a map and assume everything is “just down the road.”

The cruise gave us the easiest way to experience coastal Alaska. We unpacked once, woke up somewhere new, and let Ovation of the Seas carry us between places that would have been much more complicated to visit individually.

The land portion gave us something different. It let us slow down, stop when we wanted, and understand just how big Alaska really is.

I went into this trip as a cruise fanatic. I came home still a cruise fanatic, so let’s not get carried away.

But I also came home understanding why an Alaska cruise can be even better when you keep going after the ship reaches Seward.

The cruise was not the whole trip. It was the beginning of it.

If Alaska is on your list, send me a message with the word ALASKA. I can help you compare a cruise, a cruise-sponsored land tour, and an independently planned road trip to find the experience that fits you best.

Because there is more than one way to see Alaska, and the best choice is the one that feels like your kind of adventure.