Here are excerpts from a Vancouver Sun article we thought you would find interesting.
Spring marks the approach of a new Alaska cruise season and each year brings changes -- new ships, new itineraries and an ever-growing array of activities, both on board and in port.
This year one of the most exciting new itineraries being offered is on the Tahitian Princess. This mid-sized ship carries 670 passengers and is sailing 14-day roundtrip voyages from Vancouver throughout the summer. If you make just one trip to Alaska, this is the cruise to take.
Not only does the ship pull into the popular ports of call -- such as Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway -- it visits quieter ports such as Russian-founded Sitka and scenic Valdez, nestled at the base of the Chugach Mountains on the shores of Prince William Sound.
The ship even stops at Kodiak Island, a place better known for its large fishing fleet and even larger brown bears than as a port of call for cruise ships.
Tahitian Princess (sister ship to Pacific Princess) offers cruising at its classic best. You won't find water slides or rock-climbing walls on board this ship, but you will be able to relax in the poolside whirlpools or pamper yourself at the spa, or sink into an easy chair in the wood-panelled library, or simply enjoy the attentive service provided on this elegant ship.
With fewer onboard distractions, you can focus on the scenery, which includes a daytime visit to Glacier Bay -- a cruise highlight with its numerous tidewater glaciers and a thriving population of humpback whales. The ship even cruises down the west coast of Vancouver Island and pulls into Victoria before returning to Vancouver.
Tahitian Princess is part of the Princess Cruises fleet of ships, which has been offering cruises to Alaska since 1969 when the company first chartered the Princess Patricia, a Canadian Pacific steamship.
The timeless appeal of cruising the pristine fjords of the Inside Passage is still a major incentive to board a ship bound for Alaska, but the activities pursued by passengers have changed considerably.
With the average age of passengers steadily dropping, the list of adventurous shore excursions is increasing. Gone are the days when most passengers boarded tour buses for a passive view of the local sights.
Today a typical day in port might include ocean kayaking past a tidewater glacier, flying over an icefield in a helicopter and landing at a sled-dog camp to try your hand at mushing across a glacier with a team of dogs trained to run in the famous Iditarod Dog Sled Race.
Whale-watching is offered in several ports, most notably Juneau -- where humpbacks feed throughout the summer in nearby Stephens Passage and Lynn Canal.
While it's possible to see a humpback whale from the ship, you're much more likely to see these gentle giants up close on an excursion boat that takes you to specific spots where they are known to feed. Half-day excursions are on board specially built vessels equipped with waterjets for speed and manoeuvrability.
While an onboard naturalist provides commentary, the whales can be viewed from inside a comfortable cabin with large windows or from the boat's upper deck.
Another reason to go on a whalewatching excursion is the chance to get out on the water in a small vessel -- an experience that's especially appealing to anyone who dreams of one day cruising up the Inside Passage to Alaska in their own boat. We have been fortunate to cruise these waters in a 35-foot sailboat and one night at anchor, when the air was perfectly still, we could hear the thunderclap sound of humpbacks smacking their tails on the water. The next morning we motored up Stephens Passage, the main channel leading to Juneau, where we watched feeding humpbacks blow puffs of mist into the air and occasionally arch their backs out of the water as they prepared to do a deep dive. Huge icefields crown the mainland mountains bordering Stephens Passage, where floating ice sculptures drift seaward from tidewater glaciers.
Princess Cruises offers an extensive selection of Alaska shore excursions that can be reviewed and booked online before you board the ship. If you like the idea of taking a customized excursion with a small group of friends or family members, Princess now offers passengers the opportunity to book a private whalewatching boat in Juneau for a party of up to 10 people.
CRUISING WITH KIDS
Unlike taking your children to a theme park for your family vacation, a cruise to Alaska is treating them to a big slice of real life. Wildlife, in fact. In the course of an Alaska cruise, your children will have the opportunity to view humpback whales, rafts of sea otters, black bears feeding at salmon-spawning creeks and Pacific white-sided dolphins leaping in the bow wave of your ship. To enhance what your children are seeing, a park ranger comes aboard the ship in Glacier Bay (which is a U.S. national park and preserve) to explain the dynamics of glaciers and the species of animals that inhabit this region. Even supervised activities in the ships' playrooms focus on Alaska and its natural wonders.
Most of the major cruise lines have youth facilities on their ships and a trained staff to handle large numbers of young passengers. The minimum age for participating in youth programs is usually three years, but some ships also offer private babysitting at an hourly rate. (Be sure to check these details with your travel agent, for they vary with each cruise line.)
Holland America Line offers a wide range of onboard activities for their junior cruisers, and one of the most popular is their cooking school.
There are also shore excursions geared to kids but most excursions can be enjoyed by the whole family. These include canoeing, kayaking and rock-climbing in a mountain pass near Skagway. Forest hikes can be enjoyed with an organized group or on your own. Skagway has several excellent trails that are a short distance from the cruise docks, and at Juneau you can take the tramway to the top of Mount Roberts for spectacular views and a selection of easy hiking trails.
In Ketchikan a fun event for families is the lumberjack show, in which two teams (one representing British Columbia, the other Alaska) pit their logging skills against one another. These crowd-cheering contests include pole climbing and log rolling. A popular eco-adventure in Ketchikan is the Bear Creek Zipline Course, which accommodates kids five and up on its cable ziplines, suspension bridge, mountain slide and tarzan-style swing. And when your family returns to the ship after an active day in port, the evening promises elegant dining and live entertainment for the adults while the ship's youth counsellors keep the kids entertained in their own fun zone.
It looks like another big year is on tap for Alaska cruising. Last season, nearly a million visitors cruised Alaska's waterways, and 2008 may well bring even more travelers anxious to view and experience the state's wilderness waterways, glaciers, forests, snow-capped mountains, wildlife, picturesque port cities and native Alaskan culture.
In 2008, 15 cruise lines will dispatch a whopping total of 47 vessels to explore the waters of Alaska's Inside Passage and beyond. Here's the scoop on cruising patterns, the cruise lines, and the ships:
Cruising patterns remain largely unchanged from years past with four basic options: Most traditional is an Inside Passage round trip in seven nights, eight days from Seattle or Vancouver, B.C. to Southeast Alaska and return. Port calls usually include at least three or four of the principal communities of the region -- Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, Haines and Skagway -- plus Glacier Bay National Park and/or other spectacular glacier-viewing sites.
Another favorite is a one way ''Gulf and Glaciers'' sailing in seven nights/eight days. This option takes in many of the same Inside Passage cities and sights but adds glacier-rich Prince William Sound. A Gulf-and-Glaciers voyage ends (or begins) at Seward or Whittier at the north end of a voyage, or Vancouver at the southern end. Some voyages include a full-day's visit at the award-winning Alaska Native-owned cultural and light adventure site at Icy Strait Point near the native community of Hoonah.
Passengers also may opt for cruises entirely within Alaska -- either round trips from a single city such as Ketchikan or Juneau, or a one-way voyage between two communities, such as the seven-night trips between Juneau and Sitka.
Finally, more adventurous travelers consider expedition-type voyages, some extending well beyond traditional options to include Aleutian and other remote islands, sub-Arctic ports, and Russian lands across the Bering Sea.
Here's the lineup of Alaska-bound vessels for 2008:
LARGE/MEGA SHIPS
Carnival Cruise Line, 2,124-guest Carnival Spirit makes one-way Gulf-and-Glaciers sailings between Vancouver and Whittier, plus a smaller number of Inside Passage cruises from Vancouver to and through Southeast Alaska and return.
Celebrity Cruises, 1,950-passenger Millennium begins its season with a 14-night open-jaw sailing between San Francisco, Alaska, and Vancouver, then ends the season with another open-jaw option from Vancouver to Alaska ending in San Diego. Most other sailings will be one-way seven night cruises between Vancouver and Seward. Celebrity's 1,950-guest Infinity will offer Inside Passage sailings from Seattle to Southeast Alaska and return. The Mercury (1,870 guests) sails from Vancouver to the Alaska panhandle and return in seven-night sailings, ending its season with an eight-night open-jaw journey to Seattle.
Holland America Line, Eight of its major vessels will be stationed in Alaska. Amsterdam (1,380 guests), Oosterdam (1,848) and Westerdam (1,848) offer round-trip Inside Passage voyages from Seattle to Southeast Alaska; Ryndam and Statendam (each 1,258) and Zaandam (1,432) visit Alaska's southeast region on round trips from Vancouver. Holland America's season-long Gulf and Glaciers option of one way north or south voyages between Vancouver and Seward will be served by the line's Veendam (1,258), Volendam (1,432), and Zaandam (1,432).
Norwegian Cruise Line, Seven-night round-trip voyages from Seattle to Southeast Alaska aboard the Norwegian Star (2,244 guests). The 2,394-guest Norwegian Pearl will homeport in Seattle while the Norwegian Sun (2,002 passengers) will sail the Inside Passage route from Vancouver.
Princess Cruises, Three itineraries: seven-night Inside Passage sailings, seven-night Gulf-and-Glaciers offerings, plus a new-for-'08 14-night option that the line calls a ''Connoisseur'' itinerary. It, too, offers traditional ports and viewing areas but adds Kodiak Island, the region around Valdez and travel in Kenai Fjords National Park.
Vessels sailing the round trip Inside Passage route from Seattle include Star Princess and Golden Princess (sister ships, each accommodating 2,600 guests) and Sun Princess (1,950) cruising round trip from San Francisco. One-way sailings between Vancouver and Whittier are offered on Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess (each 2,670) and Coral Princess and Island Princess (each 1,970). The two-week ''Connoisseur'' option will be aboard the Tahitian Princess (670 guests).
Royal Caribbean International, The season opens with an open-jaw sailing by Serenade of the Seas (2,100 guests) from San Francisco to Vancouver with port visits at Astoria, Seattle, Victoria, and Southeast Alaska communities, followed by Vancouver-based round trips to Alaska's Southeast. The final trip of the year will be another open-jaw sailing Sept. 20 from Vancouver to Southeast Alaska with disembarkation in San Diego.
Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas (2,000 guests) will arrive in Alaska waters from Asia, with visiting Dutch Harbor, Kodiak, the Hubbard Glacier and other Alaska ports before disembarking in Seattle. It then begins a series of Seattle-based round trip sailings to the Alaska panhandle and return. Radiance of the Seas (2,100 guests) will sail between Vancouver and Seward. The vessel will close the season with an open-jaw from Vancouver to Southeast Alaska with disembarkation in San Diego.
MID-SIZE VESSELS ( luxury )
Regent Seven Seas Cruises, 700-guest Seven Seas Mariner offers three options: a single 11-night season opener from San Francisco to Seward, a summer-long series of seven-night one-way voyages between Vancouver and Seward, and a seven-night round trip season closer from Vancouver to Southeast Alaska.
Silversea Cruises, The 382-guest Silver Shadow offers a varied menu of Southeast Alaska-bound round trips and open jaw voyages.
SMALLER SHIPS
American Safari Cruises, adds the 36-guest Safari Explorer to its fleet. The elegant yacht will sail a season-long seven-night round trip itinerary from Juneau through wilderness waters of the northern panhandle. Safari Escape (12 passengers) will do eight-night one way cruises between Juneau and Prince Rupert, B.C. while Safari Quest (22 guests) will offer one way, seven-night cruises between Juneau and Sitka. Safari Spirit (also 12 guests) is scheduled for one way, seven-night sailings between Juneau and Petersburg. The Escape, Quest, and Spirit offer 14-night positioning cruises in spring and fall.
The Boat Company, The 20-guest 1940's converted wartime minesweeper Liseron and the 24-guest replica Mist Cove will make a total of 30 sailings between Juneau and Sitka.
Cruise West, the nation's largest small-ship cruise line, will offer eight ships in Alaska this year. The largest carries 138 passengers, the smallest 78. Sailings rang from three nights to 24 night.
Discovery Voyages, : Offers 12-guest, 65-foot former missionary vessel Discovery throughout Prince William Sound, specializing in wildlife viewing cruises, hike and kayak adventures, birding trips, whale watching and glacier photography.
Lindblad Expeditions, National Geographic Sea Lion and National Geographic Sea Bird, each accommodating 62 guests, offer season opener/closer sailings of 11 nights. Throughout the season, each offers a seven-night one way cruise between Juneau and Sitka.
Majestic America Line, Sternwheeler Empress of the North (223 guests) offers a season of saltwater cruising in Southeast Alaska with seven-night itineraries.
Maple Leaf Adventures, An authentic sailing schooner (8 passengers) more than a century old makes one-way voyages from Prince Rupert. B.C. and Juneau.Read the full story....http://www.miamiherald.com/living/travel/story/434609.html
AlaskaThe value of northbound CruisetoursYou probably know you can take an Alaska Cruisetour northbound or southbound.But did you know that northbound cruisetours are typically priced between $150-$500 less than the southbound version?That's money you can use to help upgrade from an inside all the way up to a premium outside stateroom—or from a mid-outside stateroom to a verandah suite! Or use the savings for shopping or for once-in-a-lifetime shore excursions—such as the Juneau Taku Glacier Lodge, Feast & Flight by Floatplane, or Four Glacier & Dog Sled Helicopter Adventure.You can also use these savings to extend your Cruisetour with Fairbanks or Anchorage post-packages, such as the Brooks Range Expedition out of Fairbanks or the Alyeska Resort with a Kenai Fjords cruise out of Anchorage.Many guests like having the cruise portion first because it gives them time to relax and rejuvenate before the more adventurous land portion of their vacation, allowing them to fully appreciate all that they'll experience in Alaska.