Mike Miller

Think All Cruises Are the Same? Alaska Cruises Are As Varied as the Big State Itself!



Posted: Friday, January 23, 2009

by Mike Miller
Mike Miller

Varietys the very spice of life wrote 18 th century poet and hymn writer William Cowper. If thats true, the big state of Alaska may well offer the spiciest, most varied range of cruiseship choices of any major cruise destination.

For starters consider vessel size. Among the 46 cruiseships sailing Alaskas wilderness waters in 2009 the range in size of cruise vessels varies dramaticallly: Biggest are Princess Cruises sister ships Diamond Princes s and Sapphire Princes s ( www.princess.com ), each of which accommodates an impressive 2,670 guests. Serving the smallest number in the Alaska lineup is the classic Maple Leaf Adventures sailing schooner Maple Leaf ( www.mapleleafadventures.com ) which accommodates nine.The latter is a tall ship sailing vessel, the only one of its kind in the Alaska cruise trade and the only one more than a century old.

Or consider cruise tours. Most of the lines serving Alaska offer these options which are cruises combined with highway, rail, or air extensions. Perhaps the prize for the most comprehensive cruisetour belongs to Holland America Line ( www.hollandamerica.com ). HALs unique 15-nighter aboard the Volendam or Zuiderdam features Inside Passage cruising, deluxe motorcoach travel, two rail excursions (the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Fairbanks and the vintage White Pass & Yukon Route out of Skagway), three national parks (two U.S. and one Canadian), and two capital cities, Juneau in the state of Alaska and Whitehorse, the capital of Canadas Yukon Territory.

Or, consider this variety in vessel style: The Boat Company ( www.theboatcompany ) offers dramatically upgraded accommodations aboard the American-built mid-century French navy minesweeper Liseron and the equally upscale replica Mist Cove. (For sure, navy swab jockeys of any nationaliity never had it so good!)

If youre into historic style but 21st century conveniences consider Cruise Wests vessel Spirit of 98. ( www.cruisewest.com ). The ship is thoroughly modern in every respect but constructed to look like a turn-of-the 20 th century coastal packet steamer. This same company offers the shortest and longest voyages on the upcoming Alaska cruise calendar: Shortest are a pair of three-nighters, sailing Southeast Alaskas Glacier Bay out of Juneau or Prince William Sound out of southcentrals Whittier. Longest is a 27-night one-way voyage, north or south, called In Harrimans Wake aboard the company flagship Spirit of Oceanus. The trip stretches from Vancouver to and through the Southeast Alaska Inside Passage to Southcentral Alaskas glacier-rich Prince William Sound then Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands chain. Finally come additional islands in the Bering Sea, Providenia on the coast of Russia, and journeys end at Nome for flights to Anchorage.

Looking for unique activities aboard ship? Each Royal Caribbean International ship in the Alaska trade ( www.royalcaribbean.com ) Radiance of the Seas, Rhapsody of the Seas, or Serenade of the Seas sports one of those 30-foot outdoor rock climbing walls you see on the companys TV ads. Theyre located just aft of each ships funnel.

Then theres the unlikely sport of bowling aboard ship. If bowling is the thing you enjoy most (next to cruising, of course) consider Norwegian Cruise Line ( www.ncr.com ) whose Norwegian Pearl contains the worlds only bowling alley afloat.

If you travel with children there is certainly no shortage of Alaska cruises that include childrens programs and adventures.. Only one line, however, schedules special sailings each year expressly devoted to families traveling with kids. American Safari Cruises ( www.amsafari.com ) is the luxury yacht company offering such journeys and KIN (for Kids in Nature) is the name of the program.

Speaking of one-of-a-kind kids features, the newly renamed vessels National Geographic Sea Bird and National Geographic Sea Lion (60 guests each) from Lindblad Expeditions ( www.expeditions.com ) now provides young travelers with a special-edition comic/coloring/puzzle book called Fun and Games With Little Lin the Wonderful State of Alaska. The book is the creation of famed cartoonist Stan Goldberg, created following the illustrators own visit to Alaska. It chronicles the adventures in Alaska of its young heroine Little Lin as she travels the wilderness waters of the Inside Passage.

Although Silver Seas Cruises ( www.silversea.com ) has placed a single vessel in Alaska service in 2009 the company has scheduled the luxury vessel Silver Shadow for the largest offering of round trips, one-way trips, and open jaw trips from and to a variety of embarkation and disembarkation ports in the Alaska trade this year. Choices include three roundtrip Vancouver to Alaska to Vancouver Inside Passage voyages in nine days; one open-jaw sailing Vancouver to Alaska to San Francisco in ten days; three round trips San Francisco to Alaska to San Francisco in 12 days; one open-jaw San Francisco to Alaska to Vancouver in 10 days; one one-way trip Vancover to Seward in seven days; one one-way voyage Seward to Vancouver in seven days; one open-jaw trip Vancouver to Alaska to Los Angeles in 12 days; and one round trip Los Angeles-Alaska-Los Angeles offering in nine days.

With continued sailings by Regent Cruise Lines Seven Seas Mariner ( www.RSSC.com ) in Alaska this year, the line will mark its 10 th consecutive year of ultra luxury cruising in these waters longer than any other line in the Alaska trade, says its spokesperson.

Notable Notice in the most comprehensive nature and wildlife small boat category has to go to the vessel Discovery (Discovery Voyages; http://discoveryvoyages.com ) a comfortably converted and upgraded former missionary vessel whose choice of Prince William Sound itineraries vary from a 13-day spring birdlife and wildlife voyage to six-day photo excursions, hike and kayak trips, whale-watching adventures and a mid-June Solstice-themed voyage.

Now if youre feeling really, really lucky (as in Louis XIV Casino l ucky) book passage aboard Carnival Cruise Lines ship Carnival Destiny ( www.carnival.com )

and choose to play MegaCash for a chance at the world's largest cruise ship jackpot. One lucky cruiser won $1.065,428! (Repeat, one million, sixty-five thousand, four-hundred and twenty-eight smakaroos!)

And finally, although Celebrity Cruises ( www.celebritycruises.come ) no longer offers the only acupuncture treatments afloat, the line does lay claim to having been the first to pioneer the holistic experience as a cruiseship spa option.

(c) Mike Miller 2009 All rights reserved



Alaskan travel writer Mike Miller lives in Juneau where his current passion is publishing an information-packed website about Alaska cruising and ferry travel: http://www.AlaskaCruisingReport.com. The site covers all the ships, all the lines, and all the Alaska cruiseline and ferry ports plus excursions, health afloat, Alaska family cruising, and even a fun Alaska travel trivia quiz. Miller has authored or contributed to a number of books (Fodors, Sierra Club Books, Globe Pequot, The Milepost and others). He also writes for TravelAge West (for travel agents) as well as for major newspapers and magazines.

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