Alaska 2004: chart a course to the wonders & wilderness of "the last frontier" - Cruise Guide

M.T. Schwartzman

Imagine an old-growth rain forest brimming with exotic flora and fauna. Somewhere in the Caribbean? Central America? South America? No, Alaska. It's called the Tongass National Forest and it covers virtually all of Southeast Alaska--the same stretch of coastline that cruise ships travel every year from May through September.

The Tongass is just one of the wonders of cruising Alaska. There are glaciers left over from the Little Ice Age, more bald eagles than anywhere else in the United States, islands where bears outnumber people, and new for 2004, a private destination built just for cruise passengers.

This, however, is only the beginning. Cruise ships ply some 3,000 miles of Alaska's coastal wilderness stopping at picturesque ports and exploring scenic bays and fjords along the way. Alaska is a land of many faces, and the course you chart will affect how you experience this place they call "The Great Land."

Today's Alaska-bound cruise travelers of have more choices than ever before. There are several homeports inside and outside Alaska, plus a variety of itineraries You'll also have a wide selection of pre or post-cruise land tour options, depending on where you embark or debark (see "Land Options").

For starters, Alaska has two basic itineraries that are selected by the vast majority of people. The traditional route, known as the Inside Passage, sails roundtrip from Vancouver or Seattle--and sometimes San Francisco. This is the historic path to Alaska, the one taken by explorers and then prospectors during the gold rush, as they made their way up Alaska's southeastern shores and then over the coastal mountains to the Klondike goldfields. Even the original cruise passengers followed this route, when several thousand a year flocked to see the newly discovered wonder of Glacier Bay in the late 1880s.

Many cruise lines also offer what's known as a Gulf of Alaska cruise, sailing one-way between Vancouver and Seward or Whittier (the port cities for Anchorage). This route emerged as a popular alternative to the Inside Passage in 1987, when Princess Cruises began service aboard the 1,200-passenger Royal Princess. Since then, the number of ships sailing a Gulf of Alaska itinerary has grown to at least a dozen in 2004. Gulf cruises cover the same southeastern coast as Inside Passage cruises, but also add the southcentral region, most notable fur its concentration of tidewater glaciers in College Fjord.

While most Alaska cruises are weeklong affairs, several longer options are available. Among the newest is an 12-day itinerary from Seattle to Sitka. Operated by the American West Steamboat Company, this unique vacation sails aboard the 235-passenger Empress of the North, the first paddle-wheeler to cruise Alaskan waters in more than a century. Lengthy repositioning cruises on other coastal-type ships also begin or end in Seattle, although these are typically one-time departures in the spring and fall, which mark the first and last cruises of the Alaska season.

San Francisco, meanwhile, has emerged as an alternative departure point for longer cruises on bigger ships. Princess offers 10-day itineraries aboard the 1,590-passenger Regal Princess. Celebrity Cruises has 12-day voyages aboard the 1,870-passenger Mercury, while Crystal Cruises sails for 12 days aboard the 940-passenger Crystal Harmony. Such cruises may call at twice as many ports as a seven-day cruise, stopping at six cities in Alaska and Canada rather than just three.

For something even more adventurous, a few companies such as Cruise West, Clipper Cruise Line, and Society Expeditions schedule Bering Sea itineraries, which may sail for two weeks or more. Due to their remote and northern destinations, only a few departures are scheduled each season aboard the 114-passenger Spirit of Oceanus, the 128-passenger Clipper Odyssey, and the 160-passenger World Discoverer, usually boarding in Anchorage, nearby Whittier, or the sub-Arctic community of Nome. These are expedition style voyages that kiss the Arctic Circle and explore largely uninhabited islands that lie between North America and the Russian Far East. Some departures may stop at the Commander Islands, the final resting place of explorer Vitus Bering--credited with "discovering" Alaska in 1741.

Yachtlike vessels offer yet another dimension, sailing to and from alternative homeports like Prince Rupert or Sitka, with a decided emphasis on the region's ecology. Some small-ship departures ply Alaskan waters exclusively, omitting the stretch of British Columbia that begins in Vancouver and ends at the Canadian outpost of Prince Rupert. They may have evocative names like "Wilderness Waterways" or "Hidden Fjords & Glaciers," suggesting their accent on scenic cruising. Typically, these cruises are eight days in length.

Besides Cruise West, companies offering this option include American Safari Cruises and Glacier Bay Cruiseline. Cruise West focuses on traditional port-to-port cruises with time for wildlife viewing en route. Glacier Bay emphasizes active adventure, with healthy doses of sea kayaking and shore hiking, while American Safari Cruises pampers its guests with larger-than-average accommodations, complimentary libations, and an under-the-stars hot tub. On a more cerebral note, Clipper Cruise Line and Lindblad Expeditions run a summer-long schedule of educational cruises, led by expert guides and academics. As a general rule, these vessels carry only about 100 passengers, and some are absolutely tiny, like the diminutive Safari Spirit and Safari Escape--capacity 12 persons each.

Although Alaska has a relatively small number of major ports, there are many different combinations to choose from, as each line tries to devise the perfect itinerary. A mainstay on most Alaska itineraries is Ketchikan, known as Alaska's "First City" because it's the first community ships encounter as they're heading north. Ketchikan is best known for its indigenous culture, which is easily explored in a shore excursion to Saxman Native Village. Also known as "The Salmon Capital of the World," Ketchikan's fishing heritage comes alive on an excursion to the George Inlet Cannery.

Virtually every cruise of Alaska includes a visit to Juneau, Alaska's capital city. With the water on one side and mountains on the other, the only way in or out of Juneau is by air or sea, which makes it unique among American state capitals. The Mount Roberts Tram whisks passengers from the dock to a perch atop the mountains in a matter of minutes. Just outside the city lies the Mendenhall Glacier, one of Alaska's "drive-up" glaciers--so called because they are easily accessible by road. Other worthwhile excursions in Juneau include a visit to the aptly named "Glacier Gardens" or helicopter flightseeing, sometimes combined with a traditional Alaskan salmon bake.

Skagway, meanwhile, hosts shiploads of people looking to retrace the steps of prospectors, who landed here more than a century ago in search of gold. Today's passengers come mostly in search of souvenirs and shore excursions, which can be found in abundance. Two favorites are the White Pass & Yukon Route, a narrow-gauge railway that still follows the old "Trail of '98," and the Skagway Street Car Company, which recreates sightseeing tours of the 1920s. Passengers calling in Skagway have the additional option of a side trip to the storied Canadian Yukon--land of Robert Service and Jack London.

While some lines have increasingly concentrated on Alaska's "big three" ports of Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway, other lines have been looking for less crowded destinations. Norwegian Cruise Line added Wrangell last year as an "exclusive" port-of call, and for 2004 the Norwegian Sun takes over calling weekly at this island community on the southern Inside Passage. Among its various attractions, Wrangell has totem poles and native-carved petroglyphs that dale back an estimated 8,000 years.

Haines, located south of Skagway, was for many years just a half-day call. Now, passengers traveling with Holland America Line on selected itineraries can spend a full day in this artists' community, which is located in "The Valley of the Eagles." Princess Cruises features Haines on selected departures of its 10-day cruises aboard the Regal Princess. Holland America passengers spend a full day in Haines during certain Gulf of Alaska crossings.

Sitka is the only major port along the Inside Passage that doesn't have a pier for big ships. As a result, fewer passengers call here--often during longer itineraries--but those who do come ashore find a unique and uncrowded destination. Sitka is rich in Alaska's Russian history--it was the capital of Czarist Alaska when the territory was a Russian colony--and has plenty of native culture, too, highlighted by the oldest national park unit in Alaska.

For something entirely new this season, passengers on selected Royal Caribbean/ Celebrity cruises will be the first to step ashore at Icy Strait Point, Alaska's first private destination. Modeled after the private islands that are so successful in the Caribbean, Icy Strait Point is the first Alaskan port-of-call designed entirely with cruise passengers in mind. Built on the location of an old cannery, this new port is strategically located across from the entrance to Glacier Bay National Park. It's the perfect spot fur launching wildlife cruises in search of whales, which--like cruise passengers--are known to gather every summer in Alaska's coastal waters.

LAND OPTIONS

A large percentage of cruise travelers choose to see Alaska by land and sea in a combination package known as a cruise-tour. Most Alaska-bound cruise lines offer this option, which may include travel by motorcoach, private railcar, or a specially designed day boat. Accommodations may be in luxury, high-rise hotels or sometimes in wilderness lodges built specifically for cruise passengers.

The most popular route follows the corridor between Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska's two largest cities, and features a stopover in Denali National Park, home of Mt. McKinley, in between. This itinerary is easily added to any seven-day Gulf of Alaska cruise beginning or ending in Seward or Vancouver.

Some land segments may be combined with a shorter cruise of three or four days along the Inside Passage, sailing from Seattle or Vancouver. These packages usually meet the ship in Skagway. As a result, they often feature the storied towns of Canada's Yukon Territory during the land portion of the trip.

Another option for passengers embarking in Seattle or Vancouver is to head inland to the Canadian Rockies, stopping in picturesque locales like Banff, Jasper, Calgary, and Kamloops. Finally, passengers sailing from Seattle or Vancouver can choose a local tour, which may include hotel accommodations end sightseeing to landmark attractions like Seattle's Space Needle or Vancouver's Chinatown and the historic "Gastown" district.

--M.T. Schwartzman

Best of Alaska

What's the best time to cruise Alaska? When is the best season for wildlife watching? There really aren't any definitive answers to these questions, but there are differences between spring, summer, or fall departures:

* Wildlife; Whales, eagles, and other animals are abundant throughout the cruise season, but their location will change according to food supplies. For example, in spring some creatures such as bears may be visible et lower elevations.

* Scenery: Even the scenery changes as the season progresses. During spring sailings, the mountaintops will still be covered in snow. In the fall, autumn leaves will bring a change of color to the coastline.

* Weather: May and June are statistically the driest months to cruise in Alaska. July and August are the warmest months, but the weather gets rainier as the fall draws nearer.

* Mosquitoes: Alaska is famous for big things, including mosquitoes. These are most troublesome in the Interior and soggy tundra of the sub-Arctic regions.

--M.T. Schwartzman

COPYRIGHT 2003 World Publishing, Co. (Illinois)
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group