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Feature Article
Northern Exposure: First-time Alaska cruisers shed light on what to expect by Ellen and Paul Klugman Like many first-time cruisers to Alaska, we expected a nonstop stream of "in your face" wildlife encounters to parade past our balcony while we sipped martinis from the comfort of our deck chairs. Of course, there was that unforgettable moment when a whale suddenly appeared alongside the captain's quarters and waved its tail at the gathering of passengers assembled there. And from a distance, we also saw sea lions, otters, eagles and even a bear as it lumbered across an airstrip in Juneau. But truthfully, our closest encounters of the animal kind still stem from past visits to Sea World and the local zoo. A good thing about cruising to Alaska is that you get to see animals in the wild. A bad thing, of course, is that they rarely show up on cue. Even so, Alaska offers plenty of reasons for cruisers to "go north, my friend." In addition to wildlife sightings, cruising Alaska can be about standing atop a 1,500-square-mile "living" ice field that's moving at the rate of about two feet per day. Or sitting in the ship's hot tub while watching crystalline blue pieces of a multi-storied glacier "calve" off into the sea with a thunderous snap, crackle and roar. The diversity of scenery and wildlife seems matched only by the cruise options available. During Alaska's mid-May through September cruise season, passengers are able to choose from more than 450 trips, most of which are aboard mid-to-large-sized cruise ships that accommodate 490 to 2,980 passengers. About 97 percent of these voyages are offered on 30 different vessels operated by a dozen or so cruise lines. As if that's not enough, travelers can also choose from a selection of smaller, more intimate ships that carry 150 passengers or less. These vessels sail into inlets and coves that most large ships cannot access. From these smaller channels, the argument goes, you have a far greater likelihood of seeing wildlife up close. The other side of that argument says that these smaller vessels don't offer casinos, spas, black tie dinners, masseurs or Vegas-style entertainment like the large ships do. In the end, most people trying to choose the right cruise usually prioritize between creatures and creature comforts. In our case, we hoped for both but opted for creature comforts with Crystal Cruises, a deliciously upscale mid-sized cruise line. Our ship was the 940-passenger Crystal Harmony. While the Crystal Harmony departed from San Francisco, the majority of Alaska-bound cruise ships sail from Vancouver, Canada, or Seattle, Wash. Most ply the waters surrounding the panhandle of Southeast Alaska, a corridor of land sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and mainland British Columbia. Typically, these 7-14 day cruises include port calls or observation visits to Misty Fjords National Monument, Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Skagway or Haines, and Glacier Bay National Park. A handful of cruise ships nudge further north into the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound with port visits to Seward, Homer and Anchorage. The latter itineraries are usually one-way cruises, which means sailing one way and flying the other. Although Princess Cruises is the only cruise line featuring its own land-based lodges in Alaska, almost all cruise lines offer supplemental post-cruise land packages to spectacular destinations within Alaska's interior, such as Denali National Park and Preserve (home to North America's highest mountain, the majestic 20,320-foot-tall Mt. McKinley). Most cruise ships travel to Alaska via the 950-mile-long Inside Passage, one of the longest sheltered waterways in the world (providing smoother sailing than open-ocean excursions). As our cruise ship made its way through the Inside Passage, we discovered our visions of Eskimos and Titanic-like ice floes were more representative of the Arctic Circle, thousands of miles to the north, than to the portion of Alaska that most cruise passengers see. Brimming with rocky islands, long stretches of pine forests and inlets, the Inside Passage stretches from Bellingham, Wash., to Skagway, Alaska, and seems familiar to anyone who has visited the Pacific Northwest. The scenery does change in Misty Fjords National Monument, a segment of the Inside Passage where the razor-like fjords became more dramatic, and the fog, other-worldly. When it comes to Alaska's ports, they're a mixed bag. At Alaska's capital, Juneau, sophisticated art galleries stand shoulder-to-shoulder with upbeat gold-rush style eateries. Ketchikan features a former bordello district on a canal known as Creek Street, which is almost postcard pretty. While spruced up in recent years, most Alaskan port stops generally consist of a small cluster of streets lined with wooden buildings and uninspired trinket shops. Generally, your best advice upon docking is to get out of town. You needn't go far to find a memorable adventure. Mendenhall Glacier (a spectacular, if expensive, experience by helicopter) is a mere 10-minute taxi drive from downtown Juneau. A forest filled with totem poles, Sitka National Historic Park sits only a quarter mile from Sitka's downtown. Ship-sold shore excursions typically range from salmon fishing and sea kayaking to dog sledding on a snow-covered glacier. Last summer, Crystal Cruises even began offering black bear watching expeditions, as well. Naturally, the more exotic the adventure the higher the price—especially since a seaplane or helicopter is used to reach many of them. Reputable land-based tour companies frequently offer similar, less expensive excursions that can be purchased upon arrival. The biggest advantage to sticking with the ship's offerings, however, is that if a ship-sponsored excursion runs late, the captain delays the ship's departure — no such luck if your independent tour causes you to miss the boat, which could mean an additional travel expense to catch the ship at the next port of call. It also pays to contact the local tourist bureau directly to learn about options that may not be offered by your ship. That is how we discovered Sitka's Raptor Center, a non-profit institution that cares for and rehabilitates injured birds of prey and offers a much closer view of these magnificent birds than can be found in the wild. The Raptor Center can be reached by taxi or by walking through the totem-filled forest of Sitka National Historic Park. Port stops aside, most cruise ship itineraries include at least one stop beside a glacier (usually while visiting Glacier Bay, located within the Inside Passage, south of Skagway and west of Juneau). Sixteen separate glaciers flow into Glacier Bay. According to scientists, the area is experiencing the most rapid retreat of glaciers since the Ice Age. Two hundred years ago, for example, this inlet was blocked by a 20-mile-wide, 4,000-foot-thick wall. Once inside the bay, the ships square off with one of the glaciers, shut the engines, and wait. In our case, the Crystal Harmony stood beside the iridescent-blue 180 foot-high Margerie Glacier. As portions of its icy skin shed into the waters below, we spotted a bald eagle making lazy circles in the sky above. Meanwhile, many of our fellow passengers were enjoying high tea. For us, this moment captured our Alaskan cruise experience-nature and wildlife at your finger tips (not necessarily "in your face"), along with the option of occasionally ignoring it all for tea and a nice, thick Viennese pastry. n Ellen and Paul Klugman are professional travel writer/photographers based in Los Angeles.
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