You might be asking - what does Shoulder Season mean?  Most travel destinations will have a Peak Season and an Off Season but there will also be a bit of in between time which is the Shoulder Season.  Most popular travel destinations will have some sort of shoulder season.  In some places where year round travel is pretty popular, like here in Central Florida for example,  we don't have much of an off season or shoulder season. 
Cruising in Alaska has such a short Season in total that it offer a great example of Shoulder Season.   Cruise ships can only sail Alaska in May - September (maybe very late April and into very early October but not much).   The Peak Season is Mid-June through Mid-August so that leaves May and September as the Shoulder Season.   The rest of the year is totally Off Season since the ships cannot even go there if they wanted to.  There is some good and bad to choosing shoulder season anywhere.

There are 2 good reasons to cruise Alaska during Shoulder Season - 

#1 - Lower Prices - since it isn't the most popular time the rates are lower to try and entice more visitors.

#2 - Smaller Crowds - Most people either only want to or can only travel during the dates of the Peak Season so there are more crowds at that time leaving smaller crowds in the Shoulder Season.

There are also 2 not so good reason to choose Shoulder Season - 

#1 - Not everything will be open or available.   For example Denali National Park won't open until Mid June so if you want to go there you need to pretty much stick to Peak Season.  Another thing to consider is snow melting over summer will cause some excursions to not be offered in September.

#2 - There won't be as much wildlife.   If you are really going to Alaska for the wildlife the best times for that is going to be Peak Season when the Salmon are running and the Bears are out of hibernation.

You might think that weather would be a reason to choose peak season but in Alaska the weather can be all over the map at anytime of the cruise season.   You should be prepared for rain anytime you cruise Alaska.   It is possible that May and September will be colder than June - August but it might not be.   There is a slight chance you could catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights during shoulder season but you shouldn't plan your trip around that since it isn't very likely. 
 I have cruised Alaska twice - once in May and just this year the end of August so my dates have been shoulder season.   The photo I posted above shows one of the big differences in May and August since you see a lot less snow in the August photo.   As pretty as the snow was in May we almost didn't get close to the glacier because there were still a lot of big ice chunks and frozen water in that area.   I enjoyed both times of year and I think the smaller crowds of shoulder season were nice too but I would still like to try peak season too.

​  Alaska really is an amazing wilderness and one that everyone should have on their must see list.   An Alaska cruise is not your typical cruise though.   There are certain things that are worth the splurge when it comes to an Alaska Cruise. 

  #1 Your room - This is one of those times when splurging for a balcony is really worth it.   There will be a lot to see outside and it is nice to be able to watch some of it from the comfort of your room.  

#2  The excursions.    On some cruises you can get away with just exploring town or finding a beach to relax on but in Alaska the excursions are really worth the splurge.   There are many that can be a bit pricey so it is good to budget for those in advance.   I have done a few that were big splurges and they were all worth every penny.  On this visit I went big with the Helicopter to a glacier to go dog sledding.   It was truly amazing!    There were only a total of 4 adults on our excursion so it felt very private and we got a lot of time on the glacier with the dogs.   This is something you really cannot do anywhere else so it one of those once in a lifetime moments you won't soon forget.  The other big splurge we did last time in Alaska was a flight-seeing ride on a float-plane.   Alaska is really best seen by air and you can only get to some places via a plane.   Our float-plane flew around some fjords and even landed on a lake so we could pop out of plane for a bit.   Again there were only 4 people total in our plane so it was pretty much a private excursion.   If you are into fishing then Alaska is one of those places you must book a fishing excursion.  You can even have the chef back onboard cook up your catch for your for dinner!   You can also ship your big catch home if you prefer.   
   
#3 Private viewing areas.  Find out if you ship offers any private areas that you can reserve for your time in Glacier Bay or whichever glacier you might visit on your cruise.   The top decks can get very crowded on the glacier day so if you ship offers a private area you can reserve a spot it is worth the cost.   For our cruise Princess offers the Sanctuary up on the top deck in the very aft of the ship.   This area is available to reserve anytime during the cruise for a small fee but on glacier day it really it a great place to be.   The lounge chairs are super comfy with extra blankets and attentive service.   You do get to actually reserve a specific chair so you can come and go and not worry about losing your spot.  For our cruise they served pastries, lunch, and tea during our time in Glacier Bay.   They would also bring hot chocolate, coffee and tea or water anytime you needed more.   With the limited number of guests in the Sanctuary it was very easy to get all the perfect photos you wanted while viewing the glaciers.

#4 The right wardrobe.  Packing for Alaska can be tricky as you really do need a little bit of everything since you just never know what kind of weather you might get.  Generally in summer you can pretty much count on rain though.   Having the right gear can really help make sure you get the most out of your vacation.   Depending on where you live you might not get a lot of regular use out of some of these things but they are worth the splurge to have for Alaska.   Number one would be a nice pair of waterproof hiking type shoes.   It is no fun to be walking around in wet shoes with cold feet.   Another item that you might not normally purchase would be some water resistant clothing.    I bought a pair of water resistant hiking pants from Columbia that worked out really well for the wet days.  A good rain jacket is also much easier than carrying an umbrella.   One tip though  when it comes to certain excursions be sure to note if they will provide some gear.  We did a few excursions that did give us boots or other outerwear to keep us protected on the excursion so that was a nice bonus.

#5 Camera - Alaska has a lot of wildlife to catch a glimpse of and if you want to really capture that image your cell phone camera just isn't going to cut it.   This is one of those trips when having a nicer camera is worth it.   Binoculars also come in handy so they are worth picking up a pair before your cruise.  
  
#6 - The spa.   With all the excursions and outdoor activities to choose from in Alaska a spa treatment might be just the splurge you need to recover and also warm up.   Some ship spas will also offer a thermal spa and I cannot think of anywhere better to warm up than a heated lounge chair inside the relaxing atmosphere of the spa.   Some ships will have the thermal spa set up where you can even have an amazing view of the outside while lounging.    You might be able to get just a day passes but many times only length of cruise passes are offered.   There are even some ships that have specific stateroom categories that will come with spa access included with the room.  

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When you think of summer vacations do you picture sitting on a beach or by a pool somewhere?  I know those of you that live somewhere that gets cold in winter look forward to summer vacation and think about laying in the sun but then summer comes and some of you might be complaining it is too hot.  Sure you could cool off a little with a dip in the ocean or pool but why not go somewhere really cool like Alaska or Norway?  Would I go to these places in winter - NO WAY!   However summer is a great time to head North to escape the heat and enjoy a literally cool vacation.   Another bonus is the longer hours of daylight make you feel like you get so much more vacation time.   There is just something really memorable about looking outside at midnight and the sun is still out.

There are 4 cool places to cruise that are only available in summer.

#1 Alaska
   If you had asked me about 5 years ago what I thought about traveling anywhere that is considered a colder climate I would have said no way.   That was before I actually sucked it up and went to Alaska for the first time.  I admit I was worried that I was going to be too cold to enjoy it.   I did prepare by buying a cold weather wardrobe but was happily surprised to find that Alaska really wasn't that cold in summer.  I actually found it a nice break from the Florida heat.  After that I started thinking where else can we cruise in summer that will offer a refreshing break from summer sizzle.
Alaska really is huge with so many breathtaking things to see and explore.  Most cruise lines offer the typical 7 night round trip cruise out of either Seattle or Vancouver.   Some cruise lines have been in Alaska longer and they offer some stops that the others cannot.   Princess and Holland America have both been in Alaska for 50 years so they really are the experts and offer the best options.   If you are just doing a 7 night cruise your really want to be sure it includes one of the big glaciers - Glacier Bay really is the BIG one but the other is Hubbard Glacier.  Doing just a cruise only lets you see the very edge of Alaska.  If you really want to get more in depth into Alaska you would want to book a cruise along with a cruisetour.   The cruisetour portion will be either before or after your cruise and you can choose the number of nights.   Holland America and Princess have their own lodges but the other cruise lines will offer some type of cruisetour.   I am actually headed up to Alaska next week to do a cruise tour before my cruise so stay tuned for my trip report and  hopefully some live updates.  

#2 Norwegian Fjords
   After cruising Alaska and realizing that cooler locations make a nice summer break we started looking at other options.  The Norwegian Fjords always looked so picture perfect with all the waterfalls and cute villages.    It did not disappoint!  I loved every stop and even though weather conditions caused the ship to cancel our 2 stops above the Arctic circle it was still very cool to be able to say I have been above the Arctic Circle.   We went in May and even though that isn't Peak season we had wonderful weather with even a bit of a heat wave where it was in the 80s.  For those of us on the East Coast we are kind of in the middle of either Alaska or Norway so it would a tough call as to which to pick as they are similar but also different.  If you really want wildlife I think Alaska offers more options but Norway seemed to have more waterfalls. 

#3 British Isles  
  You might think the British Isles are too small to warrant their own cruises but trust me they are not!   The typical British Isles cruise is 10 - 14 days.   You might think that means you are only visiting British ports but you will usually have some that are not as well.    Some cruises might even include Iceland.   Our British Isles cruise mostly focused on Ireland but we also had a few UK stops and we started and ended in Amsterdam.    Generally smaller ships do these cruises which is what I love since that means you never really feel overcrowded even when visiting some of the big cities.  Our cruise stopped at the big ones like Dublin, Cork, Belfast, and Liverpool but we also had some smaller stops too.   I really enjoyed the smaller ports where you could walk to the local pub from the ship and really feel like you were part of this small town even if only for the day.  The North Atlantic can be a little rough on the West Coast of Ireland though and on our cruise it was so rough we had to turn around and go back around the other way.   I guess they don't call it the Wild Atlantic Way for nothing. 

#4 The Baltics
  A Baltic cruise is also sometimes called Northern Europe and will typically include Scandinavia and Russia.   You might stop in places like Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Tallinn, and St Petersburg.   If you have always wanted to visit Russia a Baltic cruise is one of the easiest ways to do it.   The Visa requirements for Russia can be tricky but booking a cruise shore excursion will usually take care of all of that for you.   You really get to see a wide range of cultures and histories on these cruises since you are visiting so many countries.   A Baltic cruise can be pretty port intensive for that reason so that is important to take into consideration.  

 Cruise lines only sail these locations April - October.  Peak season for these really is June  and July.   Earlier or Later in the season can offer less crowds and lower prices but might also not have the best weather.  School vacations also mean more kids during those peak dates.
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Bermuda and Canada/New England are also places that have a limited summer window for cruising but may not offer the same cooling effect as the others.   Generally  Bermuda cruises are April - November with with June - August being peak season.   For Canada/New England cruises will run May - October with August - October being the time to leaf peep.  
If you are sweating right now and thinking how can I cool off why not start thinking about planning a cool cruise for next summer (there might still be some last minute deals for cool cruises this summer too - just contact me to find out).