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When planning your Alaska Cruise itinerary, you will likely need to make a decision between visiting the Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay National Park. After visiting both of these impressive natural treasures, we have some thoughts that we’d like to share.
First of all, it must be noted that you can’t go wrong with either. Both are remarkable and will surely leave a lasting impression. And, both are part of the same UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Secondly, if you are loyal to a particular cruise line, you might not have the option to choose. Depending on your departure time and departure city (ie. Seattle or Vancouver), the available cruise itineraries with your favourite cruise line might be limited to one or the other.
We visited the Hubbard Glacier while on the Celebrity Eclipse (read about that cruise here).
And we visited Glacier Bay National Park while on Holland America Line’s Koningsdam ship (more on that Alaska cruise experience here).
Note – you may find select Alaska cruises that visit BOTH. This is called the ‘Double Glacier” itinerary.
Both of our Alaska cruise experiences happened in mid-August, with Vancouver as the departure city. This is an ideal time to take an Alaska cruise because the weather is typically good. We had smooth sailing and lots of sunshine on both cruises.
The Hubbard Glacier is famous for being North America’s largest tidewater glacier. As you can see in these photos, it’s awe-inspiring! The sightseeing boat in the above photo puts the scale of the glacier into perspective.
It’s over 120 kilometers long (75 miles), 11 km wide (7 miles) and it flows directly into Disenchantment Bay, which feeds into the North Pacific Ocean. While the vast majority of the world’s glaciers are retreating, Hubbard Glacier is currently advancing.
The glacier originates in Canada’s Yukon Territory and flows through Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, before reaching the ocean.
The height of Hubbard Glacier is said to be 600 feet at its terminal face (350 feet exposed above the waterline and 250 feet below the waterline – source). For perspective, that is higher than the Washington Monument in Washington DC!
Because of its height, this glacier is known for its calving. This is happens when the ice breaks off the glacier and splashes into the water. It’s an incredible experience to see the glacier calving. And it’s very loud! It’s a thunderous sound that echoes across the bay.
Visiting Hubbard Glacier on a cruise ship is a “one stop” experience. Once the ship arrives at the glacier, it will slowly spin 360 degrees for a couple hours. This allows every stateroom balcony and observation deck to get a panoramic view of the glacier.
We had plenty of time to view the glacier from observation decks as well as our stateroom balcony.
Hubbard Glacier is prone to ‘ice choking’. If there is too much floating ice in Yakutat Bay and Disenchantment Bay, captains may deem it unsafe to approach, forcing the ship to view it from a great distance or skip it entirely.
The risk of being unable to visit the glacier is highest in the early season (May and early June) and the late season (September).
Because Hubbard is an advancing glacier, it calves frequently. The large icebergs from the calving can sometimes rise from below the waterline unexpectedly, which presents a risk. Consequently, cruise ships must maintain a safe distance, sometimes preventing the up-close experience that passengers expect.
Visibility is another risk. Alaska’s weather is predictably unpredictable. Rain and dense fog may impact your ability to see the glacier. And, it some cases, may prevent ships from entering the bay.
While Glacier Bay National Park offers views of multiple glaciers (making it highly likely you will see at least one), Hubbard is a single massive glacier. If weather or ice prevents access to this one spot, there are often no “backup” glaciers on that specific part of the Alaska cruise itinerary.
The cruise ship spins around so that every guest has an unobstructed view of the glacier. No need to crowd in one spot to get “the shot”.
We witnessed multiple ice calving events during out time at the glacier. It’s an incredible experience.
Glacier Bay isn’t just one glacier; it’s home to several glaciers spread over hundreds of kilometers of stunning landscapes.
Most Alaska cruises will spend about 8 to 10 hours navigating the fjords and inlets. The park has several tidewater glaciers, including Margerie Glacier (pictured above), Lamplugh Glacier, Reid Glacier and Johns Hopkins Glacier (picture below).
Cruise ships will enter Glacier Bay via Icy Strait and sail north through the fjord before turning around and backtracking to the entry point. Ships do NOT dock in Glacier Bay.
This stunning Alaska region is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage under Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek.
National Park Rangers will board your cruise ship during your time cruising through Glacier Bay National Park. Live narration is delivered over the ship’s PA system, so you’ll enjoy some commentary as you soak up the incredible scenery.
There’s a very good chance that you will see lots of wildlife, including whales, porpoises, sea otters, harbor seals, bears and eagles. This is a protected ecosystem, so wildlife is abundant. We spotted hundreds of sea otters on the return trip from Margerie Glacier.
For the 2026 Alaska cruise season, only two cruise ships are allowed into Glacier Bay National Park per day. Most of these slots are reserved for ‘historical operators’.
The cruise lines with the most frequent access and permits for 2026 are Holland America Line (HAL), Princess Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL).
Holland America Line holds more Glacier Bay permits than any other cruise line. Princess Cruises shares the historical operator status with Holland America, together receiving roughly half of the total summer use days.
If you want to experience both without choosing, several lines offer ‘double glacier’ routes in 2026.
Many of these itineraries are one way. Northbound itineraries typically depart from Vancouver or Seattle and conclude in Whittier, Alaska (closest cruise ship port to Anchorage, Alaska). Southbound itineraries depart from Whittier and conclude in Vancouver or Seattle.
Some longer itineraries (10-14 days) include both Hubbard and Glacier Bay, but these are less frequent and may not have availability during your desired departure dates.
Cunard Line has fewer total permits than Holland America and Princess, but it offers multiple sailings that feature both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. However, 2026 is expected to be Cunard’s final season in Alaska.
We did the 7-Day Alaska Inside Passage cruise. It departs from Vancouver, sails up the Inside Passage, stops in Juneau and Skagway before sailing through Glacier Bay. It then stops in Ketchikan before returning back to Vancouver via the Inside Passage.
Learn more about this Alaska cruise itinerary here.
Back to the original question for this blog post – what Alaska cruise is better?
The answer, however, is not that simple. There are several factors to consider, including preferred cruise line, itinerary, departure dates, etc.
We enjoyed visiting both and lucked out with clear skies and calm water on both cruises.
The size of Hubbard Glacier is mind-blowing. It’s such a magnificent glacier. Witnessing the thunderous ice calving is an unforgettable experience. If you want to see the biggest and most impressive glacier in Alaska, this is the one.
However, the totality of the Glacier Bay National Park experience might give it a slight edge. In our opinion, based on our personal experience.
Margerie Glacier is remarkable and, in some way, comparable to Hubbard (but on a smaller scale). Witnessing several glaciers in one day is an amazing experience. And the scenery in Glacier Bay is spectacular.
Another thing to note is that Glacier Bay is generally more reliable (visibility and ice conditions) and ships can get closer to Margerie Glacier than Hubbard Glacier.
Leave us a comment below if you have questions about Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay National Park.
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