Alaska cruises embark from Seattle (round-trip Inside Passage) or Vancouver (one-way Gulf of Alaska). Both port cities deserve a night or two on either end — Seattle's Pike Place, Vancouver's seawall + Stanley Park. Expedia hotels at both, free cancellation on most.
Alaska cruise season runs May through September only.
✓Seattle and Vancouver hotels within an easy ride of the cruise terminal
✓Most one-way Alaska sailings warrant 1-2 nights at the disembarkation port
✓Pacific Northwest weather: pick hotels with refundable rates