Anchorage AK Cruise Port

Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska, home to more than a third of the state's population, set in the south of the region on a spit of land between two arms of Cook Inlet and backed by the Chugach Mountains. To the south lies the Kenai Peninsula and to the north Denali, which gives the city its role in cruising: it is a gateway rather than a scenic quayside.

It helps to understand how you actually reach it. Most Alaska cruise ships do not dock in Anchorage itself. They call instead at the nearby ports of Whittier, about 97 kilometres (60 miles) away, or Seward, about 201 kilometres (125 miles) away, with passengers carried on to the city by road or by the Alaska Railroad. The working Port of Alaska sits a few kilometres north of downtown, but it is an industrial cargo and fuel port rather than a passenger terminal.

That makes Anchorage above all a turnaround and touring hub. It is where many cruisetours begin or end, pairing the voyage with overland travel to Denali National Park, Talkeetna and Fairbanks, and it is the headquarters of the Alaska Railroad.

The city itself is an easy place to spend time. The paved Tony Knowles Coastal Trail runs for about 18 kilometres (11 miles) along Cook Inlet, with moose sometimes seen from it, and downtown holds the Anchorage Museum, the Alaska Native Heritage Center and the ceremonial start line of the Iditarod sled-dog race on Fourth Avenue. It is also the springboard for the glaciers of Prince William Sound and the Kenai Fjords.

Summers are mild, with daytime temperatures typically around 55F to 78F (13C to 26C) and remarkably long daylight, close to 19 hours around midsummer.

On The Cruise Globe you can see the exact route any cruise took to and from the Anchorage area, the real path through Alaskan waters rather than the planned itinerary.