A Guide to Taking Your Dream Alaska Cruise!
The Alaska cruise is a breathtaking adventure that you'll never
forget. Giant snow-capped mountains, sparkling glaciers, thick
pine forests rising up from the shoreline and abundant wildlife
vie for your attention in this dramatic landscape. Towns and
villages brimming with history tell a story of the Great Land
that will endear Alaska to you forever.
An Alaska cruise typically departs from Seattle in Washington
State or from Vancouver in British Columbia. Winters are very
harsh in Alaska, so the main cruising season is confined to the
summer months, typically between May and September.
The most popular Alaska cruise route takes passengers on a one
week round-trip up the Alaskan coastline and through the Inside
Passage. This route takes in the ports of Ketchikan, Juneau,
Skagway and Sitka in the extreme southeast of Alaska. Other
cruise routes run to Prince William Sound near the city of
Anchorage, and also along the Alaska Peninsula and into the
Bering Sea. These longer cruises are often one-way, requiring
passengers to make their return journey by train or plane.
Ketchikan is well worth a visit alone for the Tongass National
Forest - the most northerly rainforest on the North American
continent. It is more than eight times the size of the
Yellowstone National Park, and offers the ultimate in adventure
tours where you'll find rich salmon runs and grizzly bears.
Ketchikan is also home to the world's largest collection of
totem poles. These can be found at the Totem Heritage Center
Museum.
Juneau, often known as 'little San Francisco', is Alaska's
capital. Here you can experience life in a true northern city.
The Mendenhall Glacier is sure worth a visit, as is the Sawyer
Glacier a little further to the South.
Skagway is Alaska's gold-rush town. It is well preserved and
offers access to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical
Park. Disembark at this port and view the way of the world
famous White Pass railroad, before panning for gold in this
northern outpost. And when you're done with the gold, why not
take time out to watch the whales near Sitka - a haven for these
beautiful creatures all year round.
For the more adventurous, an Alaska cruise can take in Kodiak
Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Known as Alaska's 'Emerald Isle'
Kodiak Island takes visitors back to the time when the first
inhabitants settled on the island more than 7,500 years ago. You
can even locate Alaska's oldest parish here on Kodiak Island.