There are adventurous travelers and there are travelers who really enjoy being pampered more than a great adventure. I have vacationed the complete spectrum, I have pinched pennies while vacationing in Gatlinburg Tennessee and stayed in a very expensive vacation home with a private maid in Saint Jean de Luz, France. I will admit that the vacation home with a private maid was a nice way to experience France.

But, I am an adventurer at heart probably born from my days as a kid where I grabbed a fishing pole or net and waded creeks and ponds to see what was there. My favorite type of travel is where you see things up close and personal with exposure to the people, culture and wildlife. This might require you to hop on a rubber landing raft and land on a beach where no one lives or it might require you to reach down and pet a whale. Adventurers run between 8 and 98 years old generally.

Today’s adventure takes you on an Alaska Cruise to the lower Alaska coast, the Alaska Inside Passage and it’s wonderful glacier areas. This is one of the world’s most unspoiled locations where wildlife abounds and beautiful scenery is found at every turn. There are few other trips where you can hope to see Humpback Whales, Killer Whales, Minke Whales, Dolphins, Bald Eagles, Puffins, Dall Sheep, Caribou, Reindeer, Moose, Elk, Brown Bears and Black Bears. My first whale watch was in the Northeast. The whales were bubble feeding and I literally could have jumped off the ship and into the whale’s mouth as it rose with a mouth full of water (and krill). This is a great experience that any wildlife lover should enjoy.

Besides the wildlife and scenery there are several amazing things to do in Alaska which include taking a dogsled ride, viewing bears as they catch salmon, stream fishing for salmon and trout, ocean fishing for salmon or huge Halibut, walking on a glacier, flying over incredible mountains and glaciers.

There are several ways to see Alaska:

1) Rent an RV or car and drive. This is an adventure but you cannot see the coast and two vehicles together is much safer. If you are really interested in driving Alaska go to this website http://www.northtoalaska.com

2) Fly and stay at a lodge which is a great way to see inland alaska or a section of the coast. Most of these lodges focus on fishermen, if you don’t fish the other opportunities are limited. A couple of the best lodges for non fishermen are Denali Backcountry Lodge and Kantishna Roadhouse.

3) An Alaskan Cruise with a major cruise company aboard a large ship. These large ships often hold thousands of people and provide shows and gambling for your entertainment. The two biggest cruise companies in Alaska are Holland America (my first alaska cruise was with them) and Princess but almost every major cruise company has an Alaskan Cruise. This is normally the cheapest way to see Alaska. This can also be combined with a land tour before or after the cruise.

4) An Alaska Cruise on a smaller cruise ship which holds approximately 100 people. This is not the cheapest way to see Alaska but it is the best value for adventurous people. This can also be combined with a land tour before or after the cruise.

A small ship cruise is made for explorers & adventurers. The advantages are:

1) Small ship cruising is usually more personal as the crew and other passengers are very focused on the destination and it is a casual atmosphere. Most people you speak to will have interests similar to yours.

2) You will be able to safely cruise close to shore where wildlife is very abundant,

3) Small cruise ships offer education and expert visitors.

4) A small ship cruise can squeeze into narrow passages and beautiful fjords that a larger ship can only think about.

5) Small ships also carry inflatable landing rafts which allow you to beach and explore remote areas, or come close enough to a brown bear to make you nervous.

The Cruise West cruise company was founded by Chuck West, an Alaska bush pilot who started the Arctic Alaska Travel Service in 1946. This eventually became Westours which he sold to Holland America, and then started Cruise West.

These ships have experts on board who love and appreciate the wildlife and scenery. They are usually cruising close to shore and searching for whales, bears and other wildlife. When they spot something they generally detour the ship to give you an up close look. Instead of continuing their course past feeding whales they position themselves upcurrent of the feeding whales hoping to drift back closely so you can see them. If there is a section of shoreline just begging to be explored they can anchor the ship and launch inflatable zodiaks to take you ashore. A small ship cruise is more like a continual shore excursion rather than cruising from port to port.

Here is one of the itineraries available.

Alaska Cruise Day 1 - You will meet your traveling companions and ship representative in the lobby of the hotel. A motorcoach will take you to the ship.

Alaska Cruise Day 2 - MISTY FJORDS NATIONAL MONUMENT AND METLAKATLA On my first trip to Alaska I took a plane ride to Misty Fjords. On this trip you will cruise through the Misty Fjords area with steep mountains shrouded in mist. This is a great area to see brown and black bears

Alaska Cruise Day 3 - PETERSBURG

Enjoy “Little Norway” with a population around 3000. The scenery is beautiful with 10,000 foot mountain peaks along the water’s edge. The Leikarring Dancers will perform traditional Norwegian dances in colorful and authentic Norwegian dress. Samples of Norwegian pastries are also included.

Alaska Cruise Day 4 - FREDERICK SOUND AND TRACY ARM

Travel through Holkham Bay and the steep fjord cliffs of Tracy arm for 25 miles. This is an incredible area with beautiful greenish sea water.

Cruise Frederick Sound which has a very large population of Humpback Whales due to high nutrient levels in the water. The Humpies travel back and forth from Hawaii each year to feed and build up strength for having their calves. You will also see sea lions and seals in this area.

Alaska Cruise Day 5 - SITKA

You will not arrive in Sitka like a large cruise ship. You will come in the back way through beautiful passageways between Baranof and Chichagof Islands. These scenic passages are too narrow and dangerous for a large ship. There are many wildlife viewing opportunities while you are enjoying the scenery. You can see bears, bald eagles, black tailed deer and see otters.

There are plenty of optional shore excursions available in Sitka. This is also a great place to fish for Salmon or Halibut.

Alaska Cruise Day 6 - GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE

The ship will enter the park in the early morning and pick up a park ranger and a Tlingit Interpreter to provide you with great insight into this magnificent area. While cruising the park you will see beautiful glaciers and icebergs floating by. The sky will be filled with seabirds such as puffins and murrelets. Steller’s sea lions, brown and black bears will be seen on the shorelines and islands. In the water will be seals, sea otters and humpback whales feeding in the rich waters.

Alaska Cruise Day 7 - SKAGWAY AND HAINES You will disembark the ship and receive a tour of the Skagway area. The Chilkat trail at Skagway was a primary access for gold rushers. You will also be able to see and possibly buy the famous Tlingit blankets made out of the hair of mountain goats. There are also optional shore excursions available here such as fishing.

You will stay in a top hotel this night

Alaska Cruise Day 8 - ARRIVE IN JUNEAU

Transfer to the Juneau hotel and enjoy the city or lots of optional activities such as hiking, flightseeing or even dogsledding.

Alaska Cruise Day 9 - Bid a sad farewell to Alaska and transfer to the airport. Or, you can cover the interior of Alaska which is next week’s trip

Brian@freecruisebook.com For more details click here

Posted on October 5th, 2007 by John
Filed under: Cruising, Vacation Tips