Cruising Alaska

Overview

Barely changed since the beginning of time, America’s 49th state has eight national parks, sixteen of the country’s twenty tallest mountains, half of the world’s glaciers, its second biggest rainforest after Amazonia and 34,000 miles of coastline, more than the east and west coasts of the ‘Lower 48’ combined.

We believe that cruising the coast, where the most dramatic of Alaska’s natural wonders are found, makes more sense than touring by road.

We offer two approaches:

Holland America

Because of the depth of water in the channels, even large cruise ships enjoy amazing intimacy with the land. We can arrange one week, round trip or one way itineraries out of Vancouver aboard Holland America ships, cruising the fabled Inside Passage (see the tours link above for detailed information).

Cruise West

We can also arrange cruises on the smaller vessels of the Cruise West fleet (out of Vancouver, Seattle, Ketchikan and Juneau) which can nudge into the tightest bays, nose into the narrowest fjords and edge close enough to the shore to make hops by ribs (rigid inflatable boats) as convenient as jumping in a taxi (see the tours link above for detailed information).

Highlights

Both cruises include the sensational Glacier Bay. With its fifteen glaciers and mass of icefields, it is the biggest wilderness area in the world. Your ship will carry you along the 70 mile long fjord, through a confetti of mini icebergs (some ridden by seals looking like loafers on stark white sofas) and edge within an ice cube throw of the 300 foot high, sharply pinnacled wall of glaciers you can watch the ‘calving’ spectacular, which begins with a snap, crackle and pop sound followed by a deep cannon boom as the iceberg breaks away. Other ports of call include Sitka, the former Russian colonial capital of America (Siberia is as close to Sitka as Brighton from London); Skagway, gateway city to the Klondike gold fields; and Ketchikan with its preserved old quarter built on stilts with a score of resident Bald Eagles.

Both cruises also offer a range of soft adventures, such as kayaking, helicopter and floatplane jaunts, sport fishing, hikes, white water rafting, mountain biking and ‘dog mushing’, Alaska’s official sport.

We can also arrange extensions to the cruise, either joining an escorted tour or a self drive itinerary, that includes the vast Denali National Park, roughly half the size of Wales and home to bears, moose, wolf and caribou as well as the 20,320 foot Mount McKinley, North America’s highest mountain. Ask your consultant for more details.