Since my daughter will be in middle school at the time, the only May date I could do is the 31st. No way to do September at all.
We understand. Working around Katie's summer schedule is a challenge. We hope school gets out on the 26th or 27th, Youth Symphony plays back up to a large 4th of July outdoor concert, followed immediately by Texas Tech University orchestra camp, then working at the National Ranching Heritage Center youth camp, etc, etc, etc.
When we started looking at when to try and book Alaska I googled "best time to cruise Alaska" and that is where I got the September and late May/early June dates. Others on the DIS have said they like to cruise Alaska more in the middle of the summer.
All this, but mainly Katie's schedule, drove us to the conclusion that the May 31st sailing to Alaska was the best choice for us.
Bill