Anne Vipond - Alaska by Cruise Ship: The Complete Guide to Cruising Alaska

Published by: Ocean Cruise Guides Ltd.

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Alaska By Cruise Ship 9th Edition

Author: Anne Vipond

Editors: Mel-Lynda Andersen, Diane Luckow, Duart Snow

Contributing Editors: William Kelly, Michael DeFreitas, Katharine Dawe

Contributing Photographers: Michael Defreitas, Jim Ferrier, Russ Heinl, John Hyde. Other images supplied by Anne Vipond and various cruise lines, port authorities and tourism organizations. For information on a specific photo, please contact us at: info@oceancruiseguides.com

Artwork by Alan H. Nakano

Cartography: Reid Jopson, John Kelly, William Kelly, Cartesia, OCG

Design: Ocean Cruise Guides Ltd

Publisher: William Kelly

Visit our web site: www.oceancruiseguides.com

ISBN 978-1-9277471-5-5 (paper)

ISBN 978-1-9277471-6-2 (ebook)

Foreword

A l aska the Great Land is inextricably tied to the sea. With nearly 34,000 miles of shoreline, Alaska is very much a coastal state. Its waterways have been traveled over the centuries by dugout canoes, sailing vessels and steamships delivering people and materials to far-flung ports. I first traveled this vast coastline in a sailboat skippered by my husband. Together we voyaged up and down the intricate channels of Southeast Alaska, anchoring in magnificent fjords and visiting tiny boardwalk communities. Eventually we headed further north into the Gulf of Alaska to explore the waters of Prince William Sound and Kodiak Island. In the course of our seaborne travels we met many people who live and work along this coast. And somewhere along the way, Alaska changed us. We were challenged by the weather and sea conditions, awed by the grandeur of the landscapes, and touched by the warmth of strangers who welcomed us into their homes.

Modern cruise ships travel the same waterways as mariners past and present and passengers are treated to the same ongoing panorama of mountains, forests and fjords. Much can be seen from the ships rail: snowcapped summits, cascading waterfalls, glaciers dropping their ice straight into the sea. Whales feed in these waters, bears roam the land, eagles soar overhead and schools of salmon swim homeward to the rivers that gave them life.

The natural wonders are there for all to see, but theres more to Alaska than meets the eye. This book is designed to help you, the traveler, better appreciate the splendid scenery gliding past your porthole.

Perhaps no traveler loved Alaska more than John Muir. A naturalist, mountaineer and writer, Muir was a man of strong opinions who quickly lost patience with others who didnt show sufficient interest in the natural forces glacial action in particular that have shaped and are still shaping the landscapes of Alaska. Most people who travel look only at what they are directed to look at, he wrote in Travels in Alaska. Great is the power of the guidebook maker, however ignorant.

As the maker of this particular guidebook, I can only hope that Mr. Muir were he alive today would not call me ignorant and that he might agree with some of the sentiments expressed here about his beloved Alaska.

As for you the traveler, I hope this book will help you see things that might otherwise go unnoticed as you cruise one of the most spectacular coastlines in the world.

Cruise Options

When to go?

The Alaska cruise season stretches from May through September, with late June to mid-August being the high season for fares. June and July are the brightest months, with early dawns and daylight lasting well into the evening during the northern summer. Flowers are in full bloom and Pacific humpback whales can be sighted in local waters, for coastal Alaska is their summer feeding grounds. In June salmon start swimming upstream along rivers and creeks, and passengers have numerous opportunities to witness the fascinating and heroic efforts of these sleek fish returning to their natal streams to spawn. Bears and bald eagles appear along shorelines and streams to feed on the salmon.

The shoulder seasons of spring and fall offer more than just reduced fares and fewer people. Springtime brings heavy run-off from mountain snowfields, producing a multitude of cascading waterfalls along the steep channels and inlets of the cruise route. The southern ports of Seattle, Vancouver and Victoria are pleasantly warm in spring (average mid-May temperature, 60 F) and their surrounding mountain peaks look their most stunning, still crowned with snow at higher elevations. Fall is the time of year to see Pacific white-sided dolphins rejoice in their annual rite mating and their acrobatics are a delight to watch when dozens of these swift swimmers make a beeline toward a large cruise ship to leap in its bow wave.

Weather in Alaska is unpredictable and localized, with rain always a possibility along the coast, even in the middle of summer. Fog can also occur in late summer and early fall, but is not prevalent in spring or early summer.

Which Alaska Itinerary

Nearly all Alaska cruises include at least one visit to a tidewater glacier.

The selection has never been better for travelers pondering an Alaska cruise. The ships servicing this region range from some of the newest and largest, carrying 2,000-plus passengers and offering a myriad of on-board amenities, to small cruisers carrying less than 100 passengers and able to get close enough to a berg to plunk ice into your drink.