Fran Golden - Frommers EasyGuide to Alaskan Cruises and Ports of Call 2014

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Fran Wenograd Golden is a well-known travel writer and the cruise expert blogger for USA TODAYs Experience Cruise website. She is also a contributing editor and chief blogger for Porthole cruise magazine. Former travel editor of the Boston Herald, she writers for numerous newspapers and magazines including the New York Daily News, Miami Herald and Virtuoso Life. When not at sea, she and her partner, David Molyneaux, make their home in Oberlin, Ohio.

Gene Sloan writes about cruising for USA TODAY and oversees USA TODAYs online cruise site, The Cruise Log (cruises.usatoday.com), as well as USA TODAY-owned VacationCruisesInfo.com. Sloan's stories are also distributed by the Gannett News Service to more than 80 other U.S. newspapers. A travel writer for nearly 20 years, Sloan has sailed on almost 100 cruise ships. He lives near Philadelphia with his wife and three daughters.

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A laska is one of the top cruise destinations in the world, and when youre sailing through the calm waters of the Inside Passage or across the Gulf of Alaska, its easy to see why: The jaw-dropping scenery is simply breathtaking.

Much of the coastline is wilderness, with snowcapped mountain peaks, immense glaciers that create a thunderous noise as chunks break off into the sea (a process known as calving), emerald rainforests, fjords, icebergs, soaring eagles, lumbering bears, and majestic whalesall easily visible from the comfort of your ship.

Visit the towns and youll find people who retain the spirit of frontier independence that brought them here in the first place. Add Alaskas colorful history and heritage, with its European influences, its spirit of discovery, and its rich Native cultures, and you have a destination that is utterly, endlessly fascinating. Even thinking about it, we get chills of the good kind.

The state celebrated its 50th anniversary of statehood in 2009. It was in January 1959 that the Union accepted what had once been a territory as a full-fledged statethe 49th. Every city, town, and hamlet seemed to hold celebrations in honor of the event, showing their Alaskan spirit.

The number of cruise passengers visiting the state was expected to top 1 million in 2013. In summer, some towns still turn into tourist malls. Were talking seasonal vendors, including jewelry stores geared towards the cruise crowd and shelves filled with imported souvenirs. However, the port towns youll visitfrom Juneau, the most remote state capital in the country, to Sitka, with its proud reminders of Native and Russian culturesmanage to retain much of their rustic charm and historical allure. Sure, you may have to jostle for a seat in Juneaus popular Red Dog Saloon (a must-do beer stop, and the oldest tourist attraction in the state) or ask other visitors to step out of the way as you try to snap a picture of Skagways historic gold-rush buildings or Ketchikans picturesque Creek Street, but these are minor hassles for cruise-ship passengers. If you want to get away from the crowds by taking an organized shore excursion, touring on your own, or booking a small-ship cruise that goes to more remote parts, theres opportunity for that, too. In addition, by signing up for the cruise lines pre- or post-cruise land-tour packages (known as cruisetours or land + sea adventures), you can also visit less-populated inland destinations such as Denali National Park, Fairbanks, the Kenai Peninsula, the Yukon Territory, or the Canadian Rockies.

Even before you cruise, we can predict youll want to visit again. This is a place that puts a spell on you. Fran first visited some 15 years ago and found her view of the world was forever changed. She quickly put the state at the top of her list of cruise destinations; numerous visits since have just confirmed her initial impression. She even traveled here in winter for the first time a few years ago, attending the Fur Rendezvous (Fur Rondy) in Anchorage, and discovered a whole new side to Alaska (where they know how to have fun even in the cold). Gene has also become a big fan of the cruising scenehe found himself doing three cruises in 3 months at one point. Alaska is like that. It grabs you by the scruff of the neck and wont let you go.