bittermelon

Definitely take the Nikon. But I wouldn't bother with tripod or monopod. You won't have time to set up, and it would bother other people with you.

pwrxprt Loc: Beaumont, California

We've been on the inside passage of an Alaskan cruise twice and I would do it again if the opportunity comes about. Without a doubt, take your gear. I'd take a tripod if you have a cabin with a balcony. When cruising the inside passage you are pretty close to the shoreline, so there are lots of things to shoot from the ship. In addition, when cruising to view the glacier, you definitely want your gear. Some of the most spectacular scenery you'll see in your lifetime. The inside passage is like cruising on a calm lake. So shooting from the ship is easy. In my humble opinion, save your nickels and dimes and go on as many shore excursions as you can, or at least the ones that might interest you. Have a fun safe trip. I look forward to seeing your photos.

Mike D. Loc: Crowley County, CO.

As you have noticed, there is no shortage of opinion here.

My advice is to take whatever you are comfortable carrying, especially if you plan to do a lot of walking.

As for me, I will be taking the trusty D 750 with a 24-70mm f2.8 and a newly acquired 70-200mm f 2.8. The only other thing that I might add but do not currently have is a 2X tele. We shall see.

I promised my wife that we would see as much of Alaska as possible by foot so for me this will involve a more than normal amount of my daily "cocktail" of ibuprofen and acetaminophen but it's unlikely that we will be doing it again so it will have to work.

In any case, good luck with your choices and bring back some nice images to share!

NDMarks Loc: Dublin, Ca

You will have plenty of "PhotoOps" On our trip we had dolphins swimming along with the ship, we took a trip onto a glacier, saw the city with many, many flowers, saw bears feeding on salmon, as well as lots of other opportunities. No matter what though, have fun. We did!

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

I can only give advice from my experience which was a cruise, but to the Caribbean, not to Alaska. I had my "real" camera with an 18-300mm zoom for onboard shots (it was a country music cruise) and a Lumix DMC-ZS100 for carrying onshore. Onboard was fine but I found the Lumix a little weak on the long end of the zoom and now recommend the ZS200 instead. As for the Sony HX99 mentioned in a previous post, my DCZS80 is comparable and it has a viewfinder (EDIT: the Sony doesn't) which I wouldn't do without and I highly recommend it.

LXK0930 Loc: Souh Jersey

I have been on a cruise to Aaska. Lots of stuff to photograph, especially if you take some off-ship excursions. Note that some may require a pretty long lens. (I took a helicopter ride, and saw grizzlys and other wildlife. My 200mm lens barely cut it).
Since you are considering using your phone, I assume exhibit-quality results are not a priority. I would acquire a decent quality travel camera, which can be purchased used fairly inexpensively. Specific model depends on your budget, weight tolerance, and image quality needed.
Enjoy your trip.

Flyerace Loc: Mt Pleasant, WI

Cruise ships provide one of two options to get to all the towns/cities you are going to visit. (the alternate is flying in on a small plane). There are no roads/highways to reach most cruise city destinations.

Visiting Alaska is frequently breath taking. You will see eagles as common as New Yorkers see pigeons. The mountains tend to go straight up and each town will invite you to come in and visit. I've only been once, but we did it all the way. After the cruise, we took the train all the way up to Fairbanks. Talkeetna, Denali and Fairbanks all offer interesting and beautiful vistas.

Take your D7000 and a utility lens that can give you slightly wide angle to slightly telephoto. You don't want to have to change lenses while out making beautiful pictures. You can always tighten a shot in post production.

Have a great time and let us know how it went. Flyer

RightOnPhotography Loc: Quebec,QC

Definitely take the camera. There will be many nice cityscapes in small towns and also many cruise ships sail to the Glacier Bay, get to the middle of the Bay and make 360 degrees turn. Views are amazing. Floating mini icebergs, birds and calving of the ice from surrounding glaciers are once in a lifetime photo opps. We also saw frolicking dolphins when sailing back. They did quite a performance.
I was there in 2007 with my first DSLR, 6Mp, and a simple 70-300 zoom and I brought home some of my best shots ever.

Moondoggie Loc: Southern California

In my opinion, take your gear. You will be disappointed if you don’t have the abilities to capture the pristine frontier of Alaska. Use your cell phone as your backup. I’ve been on two Alaskan Cruises and both times I’ve taken my gear. You have a great camera and you bought it to take great images. If you don’t think you’ll need a particular lens that day, you can lighten your load by leaving it in your room safe. Enjoy your trip!😀

OldCADuser Loc: Irvine, CA

Take as much of your 'real' gear as you can comfortably carry, you won't regret it.

My wife and I did a cruise of inland passage, from Vancouver to Skagway, Haines, Juneau and finally Ketchikan before returning to Vancouver, in June 2000. Since we were on one the smaller Norwegian Cruise Line ships, we were able to make several visits along the way, cruising into the Fjords, where we got close to some of the glaciers.

Some advice, if you're hoping to see a lot Bald Eagles, you may be disappointed, as we were, even with a stop and a float trip through the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve in Haines. However, when we got to Ketchikan, with it's many Salmon canning operations, the number of Eagles waiting around to eat the offal being discharged into the bay was amazing to watch, but it did show us that to some extent, Bald Eagles are just big majestic scavengers.

One of our first side trips was to the Sawyer Glacier, at the end of the Tracey Arm Fjord - June 2000 - Minolta X-GM, 28mm


And one of the many waterfalls that we say as we passed through the Tracey Arm Fjord - June 2000 - Minolta X-GM, 135mm


And busy downtown Skagway, where my wife was disappointed that she couldn't find a Starbucks - June 2000 - Minolta Vectis 25


We then took a train ride up to White Pass and into the Yukon Territory - June 2000 - Minolta X-GM, 135mm


And then we took that float ride down one of the glacial streams in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, near Haines, Alaska - June 2000 - Minolta X-GM, 28mm


Where we did see a few Bald Eagles - June 2000 - Minolta X-GM, 135mm


But the scenery, with the light for the setting sun striking the snow-capped mountains was awe inspiring - June 2000 - Minolta X-GM, 28mm


We then visited the Rain Forest at the Green Angels Garden, near Juneau - June 2000 - Minolta X-GM, 28mm


And then our last close-up visit to the glacier, the Mendenhall Glacier, near Juneau - June 2000 - Minolta X-GM, 28mm


Our last stop was in Ketchikan, just as the weather was starting to improve - June 2000 - Minolta X-GM, 50mm

NDMarks Loc: Dublin, Ca

As most people have said, take as much gear as you can carry onboard. On side trips you can always leave some of it in your room. A helicopter ride to Mendenhal Glacier (see above post for a photo) is well worth the trip, as is the trip to glacier bay. But most of all the wildlife. How often will you be able to photograph a bear close up in its natural habitat??? As I said before and as has been repeated here, have fun and if you need it, start taking your anti-nausea pills a week before departure!

charles brown Loc: Tennesse

Will be going on the inside passage cruise in August. Have looked at several videos on YouTube that talk about what camera gear to take on the cruise. Your iphone might suffice for photographs on the ship, but not for the scenery you will be seeing. I will be taking a Canon FF and four lenses: 16mm, 50mm, 24-105mm, and 100-400mm. Will also be taking a monopod but many here on UHH think that I will not need one.

Scott Kelby has a great video on YouTube where he talks about using your iphone as a backup camera.

rfarris1 Loc: Maryland, USA

I did the inland waterway
cruise last June. It was great. I took both my Canon 90D and M50 plus lenses. I am glad I did. Take your Nikon. Also make sure to take a travel tripod, you will want it. Make sure you have a long lens to capture wildlife especially eagles and whales.

Johnnyt Loc: keizer Oregon

Alaska! It is a fantastic place to visit, Cruise or whatever! My Wife and I have been there several times on Princess Cruises. It is really nice up there. There are many many places ports to see and tours! Be sure to take the Sled dog tour. It is great! Go to the Red Dog Saloon. It has a lot of history,( as far as the USA goes)! Also take your Dslr kit. Everything! You will need it for good photographs. You will need a long zoom to get wildlife photos (if you are into them) you will also need an appropriate lens for landscapes. I have used everything from a dslr to a long zoom point and shoot. I don’t like to use a phone because it doesn’t give me any control over anything.
You will love it! The landscape is gorgeous and VAST! There are also many national parks and places to see! Don’t forget to go to the local places. There are souvenir shops to beat the band. A lot to see. The ships usually dock at whittier. To get to anchorage you can take a tour, drive there or not go. It is a long drive from Whittier to Anchorage. Whittier is a small town with one building that is about 8-10 (i think so, I don’t remember) stories and some small buildings around it. I think they are stores of some sort. It is really isolated. There are some nice ports to visit. Juneau, ketchikan are some that are also cruise ship stops. I don’t know what line you are going on but they have lectures the night before they get to the port. Make sure you get to the presentations as they are very informative. GOOD LUCK! Have Fun and have a good time and don’t get sea sick! And try to get to listen to one of th locals, Steve Hites. He is a local singer the comes aboard the incoming ships gives a little concert and of course sells his music at a good price to take home. His music is a local genre of music but good!

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

Compromise in the middle - Sony RX10m4 and ENJOY the trip 8-) ......unless you are stringer for NatGeo ! ?

Do you SELL your work and/or make big prints (20X30 or larger) ??