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Here's
Your 2008
Alaska Cruising Report!
All
15 Cruiselines and All 47
Cruiseships
Sailing to Alaska Next Spring-Summer-Fall
(Plus Cruising
by Alaska, BC and Independent
Ferries)
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Diamond
Princess Cruising Tracy Arm
(Princess Cruises Photo)
Alaska's
2008 cruising season is shaping up to be yet another wonderous year for
Alaska seaborne visitors. Fifteen cruise companies will
dispatch no fewer than 47 cruise vessels to America's northern frontier
waters in 2008. Some ships are large (read, very
large, as
in 2,000-passengers-plus large). Some are comparatively quite small,
pampering as few as a dozen.Whatever your cruising style
the scene from your stateroom or deck will be the same: sky-piercing
mountains, dense lush forests on thousands of islands large and small,
brilliant blue glaciers. breaching whales in the water and wild
creatures ashore. For a complete and up-to-date report on all the lines
and all the ships coming to Alaska this season, click on
the "2008 Alaska Cruises" page at left.
The
ABC's of Alaska Cruising
Three vessel sizes; four
"flavors" of Alaska cruising;
when to visit Alaska; and, oh yeah, Alaska's weather
No doubt about it, Alaska's 2008 cruise season promises to be a another
banner year for seaborne travel in this land of brown bears, mountain
goats, humpback whales, sprawling glaciers, ice-capped mountains,
steep-walled fjords, lunker king salmon and lush towering forests.
Forty-seven cruiseships are scheduled to sail in the Alaska trade in
2008. Here are the ABCs of comfortable cruising in these wondrous
wilderness waters from spring and summer through early fall.
More...
15
Lines Announce 2009 Cruises
Fifteen cruiselines have announced their 2009 cruises to
Alaska. You can call for information or view their websites at the
following locations:
American
Safari Cruises: 1-888-862-8881; www.amsafari.com. Four
vessels: Safari EscapeSafari
Explorer (36), Safari
Quest (22), Safari
Spirit (12).
The
Boat Company: 1-360-697-4242; www.theboatcompany.com; Two
vessels: Liseron
(20 guests), Mist Cove
(24).
Carnival Cruiselines: 1-800-437-3111; www.carnival.com.
Vessel: Carnival Spirit
(2,124 guests).
Celebrity Cruises: 1-800-437-3111;
www.celebritycruises.com. Three vessels: Infinity (1,950
guests), Mercury
(1,870), Millennium
(1,950).
Cruise West: 1-800-888-9378; www.cruisewest.com. Eight
vessels: Spirit of
’98 (96 guests), Spirit
of Alaska
(78), Spirit of Columbia
(78), Spirit of
Discovery (84), Spirit
of Endeavor (102) Spirit
of Glacier Bay (102), Spirit
of Oceanus (120), Spirit
of Yorktown (138).
Discovery
Voyages: 800-324-7602; www.discoveryvoyages.com: One
Vessel: Discovery
Holland
America Line: 1-877-SAIL
HAL; www.hollandamerica.com. A company spokesman advises
www.AlaskaCruisingReport.com that Holland America Line will return to
Alaska in 2009 with eight vessels. Ship names, schedules, deployment,
and fares will be announced later.
Lindblad Expeditions: 1-800-EXPEDITION;
www.expeditions.com. Two vessels: National
Geographic Sea Lion and National
Geographic Sea Bird,
both 62 guests.
Majestic America Line: 1-800-434-1232;
www.MajesticAmerica.com. One vessel: Empress
of the North
(223 guests). A company spokesperson advises that departure dates and
schedules will be announced in May.
Maple Leaf Adventures: 1-250-FUN SAIL;
www.MapleLeafAdventures.com. One sailing vessel: Maple Leaf (8-12).
Norwegian Cruise Line: 1-866-234-0292; www.ncl.com. Three
vessels: Norwegian Pearl (2,394 guests), Norwegian Star
(2,244), and Norwegian
Sun (2,002).
Princess Cruises: 1-800-PRINCESS; www.princess.com. Eight
vessels: Coral PrincessDiamond
Princess (2,670), Golden
Princess (2,600), Island
Princess (1,970), Pacific
Princess (670), Sapphire
Princess (2,670), Sea
Princess (1,990), Star
Princess
Regent Seven Seas Cruises: 1-800-285-1835;
www.TheRegentExperience.com. One vessel: Seven Seas Mariner
(700 guests)
Royal Caribbean International: 1-800-327-6700;
www.royalcaribbean.com. Three vessels: Radiance of the Seas
(2,100 guests), Rhapsody
of the Seas (2,000), Serenade
of the Seas
Silversea Cruises: 1-877-215-9986; www.silversea.com.
Vessel: Silver Shadow
(382 guests).
(12 guests), (12 guests). (1,970 guests), (2,600). (2,100).
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Cruiseship
passengers and Juneau locals enjoy the "Aurora
Strings" performing at the "Concert in the Park" at Marine
Park on the Juneau cruiseship wharf. Cruiseship in the background is
the Holland America Line vessel Zaandam.
Every Friday in the summer features different local artists. (Photo by
Mike Miller)
2008
FERRY SCHEDULES AVAILABLE –
IN PRINT OR ON THE WEB
If you’ve been waiting for
this summer’s Alaska ferry schedules, here’s good
news! Sailing schedules are now available not only on the web but as a
printed brochure as well. Call 1-800-642-0066 for the
brochure edition. For the web version visit www.ferryalaska.com..
For vacation travelers the most notable
difference between the new 2008 schedule and the schedules of years
past is the reduction of weekly sailings between Bellingham, WA and
Ketchikan, AK. In previous years the system has offered two trips
weekly between Alaska and the Washington port city. This summer, after
the ferry Matanuska (499 passengers) arrives and departs Bellingham on
Friday, May 2, the system has scheduled the Columbia (499 passengers)
for Friday Bellingham service through October 3.
Having been reassigned from the
Bellingham run of past years, the Malaspina (also 499 passengers) will
operate this summer on daily three-port runs connecting Juneau, Haines,
and Skagway.
Also of note, the new schedule now calls
for monthly (formerly twice monthly) trans-gulf service from Southeast
Alaska ports to Southcentral ports and vice versa. A similar change
reduces Aleutian Island service from twice-monthly sailings from Kodiak
to one sailing each month.
Think Alaska Cruising Is
Just for Grownups?
Bring the
kids! Alaska cruiseship travel can be a fabulous, fun, family vacation!
Click
here for details.
Concerned
About How Much to
Tip on an Alaska Cruise?
Click
here for guidance, and to see Theron P. Keller's incredibly
easy-to-use calculator that instantly tells you just the right amount
to budget for gratuities – even,
if you wish –
before you leave home!
Alaska Cruise
Tours – The Way to Cruise
Alaskas Hiways, Flyways & Railways
First time cruisers sometimes wonder
what a “cruise tour” might be. A
“tour” of the cruiseship perhaps?
Well, no... When you buy an Alaska
cruise tour (also called a "cruisetour" or a "cruise- tour") you
purchase a package that includes a basic cruise plus additional tours, travel,
and destinations ashore either before or after the cruise.
Your pre-cruise and post-cruise choices range from wilderness lodges
and national parks to scenic rail and motorcoach excursions, riverboat
journeys, travel to Canada’s Yukon Territory, and any number
of other pleasurable things-to-do and
places-to-see.
All necessary transportation, hotels,
tours, and transfers – including, of course, your
basic cruise – are usually covered in a single purchase.
Exceptions: Some meals ashore may or may not be included; gratuities
seldom are.
The cruise tour offered most by
cruiselines is a one- or multiple-night option featuring luxury rail or
motorcoach from Anchorage to Denali National Park. The package may or
may not include a sightseeing bus ride deep into the park’s
interior in search of grizzly bears, moose, caribou, Dall mountain
sheep, foxes, and - if you’re incredibly lucky - wolves or
wolverines. Some Denali tours extend north to (or from) Fairbanks.
More...
Alaska's "Other" Ferry System
You've heard about cruising via Alaska's excellent state ferries. And
about BC Ferries' fine service just south of the Alaska
panhandle. But have you heard about Alaska's "other" ferry
system? Click
here to read about this "Off the Beaten Path" travel
opportunity.
Alaska's Exciting Ports of Call
The port cities, towns, and villages you can visit on an Alaska cruise
or ferry ride are a diverse and exciting lot. Some communities, like
Anchorage, are big and busy and business-oriented, yet Alaskan to the
core; the Anchorage Museum of History and Art and the Alaska
Native Heritage Center are both "must see." Skagway is an authentic
19th century goldrush town. Sitka relishes the memory of its
Tlingit Indian heritage and its Russian colonial past.
They don't call Petersburg "Little
Norway" for nothing, and if you don't believe it drop by toward the end
of May and help the locals celebrate Norwegian Independence Day.
Juneau's three "G's" (Glaciers, Gold, and Government) make it a
favorite stop among both cruisers and ferry patrons.
Ketchikan's world class collection of totem poles is much treasured by
residents and visitors alike - as are the magnificent cedar monuments
on Chief Shakes Island within the harbor at Wrangell. At Haines,
residents likewise embrace historic and contemporary Tlingit Indian
art, as well as the world's largest gathering of American bald eagles.
Tiny Baranof Warm Springs, as the name implies, boasts natural outdoor
warm springs pools in the woods - sites much appreciated both by
locals, itinerant commercial fishermen and smallboat cruise passengers.
Tenakee's natural springs have similar appeal.
Icy Strait Point, adjacent to
Hoonah, is Alaska's first planned cultural and activity port,
reserved for passengers from no more than one cruiseship a day. Cordova
and Valdez, both located on the shores of glacier-rich Prince William
Sound, offer unexcelled waterborne sightseeing and angling. Goldrush
Nome, the Eskimo village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, and Little
Diomede Island can only be described as "way far out," in more ways
than one. More...
BC Ferries
New Vessel Now Sailing Inside Passage
To Prince Rupert and Alaska Ferry Access to
Ketchikan
Click
here
for
details
Our
Site Map
links you to the
many-splendored facets of Alaska Cruising.
At
our Site Map page you also may view our Privacy
Policy.
To view the page click
here
(All
written material and Mike Miller/Marilyn Miller
photos at this website,unless otherwise noted,
(c) copyright 2006-2008. All rights reserved.)
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