CRUISING ALASKA IN SUMMER

by Lee Foster

Circular backs of humpback whales roll across the water. Stark white heads of bald eagles show readily in the green spruce trees. Calving glaciers send tons of ice crashing into the water, creating minor tsunamis. Gold mines testify to this northernmost allure of precious metal.

For such grand adventure and amazing sights, few cruise destinations approach the enormous scope and dazzle of Alaska.

With only a brief summer season available for exploration, cruise lines combine great comfort and ease of travel during the primary travel time, June-August, though there is also some cruising, usually at reduced rates, through the "shoulder seasons" of May and September.

Each year promises to be another banner year for Alaska cruising, with shipboard passengers expected to reach roughly 960,000.

Some 16 different cruise companies sail roughly 46 ships through Alaska each summer. Holland America and Princess, both long term players in the Alaska travel scene, traditionally carry the majority of passengers, many savoring their first taste of this vast wilderness. Holland America and Princess also own hotels and offer land tours to popular visitor stops, such as Denali National Park or Fairbanks. Each owns deluxe rail cars for the ride out to Denali.

Princess has six ships in Alaska and offers 122 departures, some being round trips from Seattle and San Francisco and others arranged as sailings between Vancouver and the railroad terminal at Whittier. Princess has two of its mega ships, the Diamond Pricness and the Sapphire Princess, each carrying 2,679 passengers, on the Vancouver-Whitter run.

Consumers should watch how these major players and their competitors continue to tweak their offerings to capture more cruisers.

Holland America sails eight ships with roughly 159 cruise departures to the Great Land, as Alaska is called. Holland America offers more visits to Glacier Bay than any other cruise line, plus its exclusive land options, such as a ride down the Yukon River on its Yukon Queen II sightseeing vessel. In Fairbanks, Holland America has restored a huge gold dredge, Gold Dredge #8, a national historic landmark from the early gold mining era. Princess emphasize on land its wilderness and urban lodges, including an upgraded Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge.

Every cruise company wants to be part of the Alaska cruise boom, which is running at near maximum capacity. Carnival sails its Carnival Spirit to Alaska. Celebrity commits three ships to Alaska and is expanding its land program. High-end Silversea sails its Silver Shadow on long trips from San Francisco and Vancouver to Alaska.

The single most popular cruise pattern for ships originates in Vancouver, then continues north to Juneau along a waterway called the Inside Passage. This watery trek snakes its way through a labyrinth of islands in Southeast Alaska, buffering ships from the rolling waves of the open sea, providing passengers a smooth ride. The cruise may include a visit to Glacier Bay National Park or an itinerary passing other glacial areas. There may be a pause at some interesting small Alaska towns of the southeast, such as Juneau, Skagway, and Sitka. Then the ship turns around and heads back to Vancouver, so you may fly in and out of Vancouver or Seattle.

Alternatively, some ships drop passengers at Skagway for an overland tour of the Yukon and Alaska. Holland America typically combines an Inside Passage cruise with an overland excursion.

Another pattern takes passengers from Vancouver to Juneau and then on to Seward or Whittier, towns connected by road or railroad to Anchorage. This itinerary sometimes celebrates the Gulf of Alaska, Prince William Sound, and the Kenai Peninsula. Princess Cruises puts particular emphasis on this approach. Passengers offload at Whittier and depart by air from Anchorage or participate in a land tour in combination with their cruise. Another covey of passengers flies into Anchorage and sails the voyage in reverse, disembarking at Vancouver.

Travelers looking for a small-ship experience in the wilderness waterways near Juneau, offered by Cruise West, fly in and out of Juneau.

Year-after-year, cruise passengers delight in seeing the glaciers and wildlife of Glacier Bay National Park, one of the most inspiring natural settings on the planet. Besides the wonders of nature, the interesting small towns to explore include Juneau, with its state-capital bustle; Skagway, where patient miners with visions of gold nuggets hiked across the Chilkoot Pass to the Yukon gold fields; and Sitka, noted for its Russian heritage.

Let these introductory remarks orient you to your potential Alaska cruise pleasures. Where the ship will go may have a bearing on which ship and sailing you choose.

GLACIER BAY

Bluish rivers of ice slowly push their way to the water's edge. As you watch, amidst the silence, massive chunks of ice dislodge and crash into the bay.

For these special sights, Glacier Bay National Park is the single greatest attraction in Southeast Alaska. Glacier Bay is our one National Park seen primarily via cruise ship.

Within Glacier Bay National Park, located west of Juneau in Southeast Alaska, you are likely to see eagles and bears along the shore. Humpback whales, orcas or killer whales, minke whales, seals, and dolphins disport themselves in the chilly waters. Ocean wildlife flourishes here because the conditions are favorable for their food supplies. The extreme coldness of the water coming off the glaciers supports abundant dissolved oxygen. Long summer daylight hours encourage rapid growth of plankton, krill, and other small plants and animals at the base of the food chain.

The major geological phenomenon of interest here is the rapid retreat of glaciers. Currently, these glaciers are making the fastest glacial retreat in recorded history. Park Service maps record the advance or retreat of specific glaciers. Two hundred years ago the entire region was covered with glaciers. When Captain George Vancouver explored the region in 1794, his logbook recorded that an impenetrable mass of ice impeded his progress at Glacier Bay. He measured the ice mass at 4,000 feet thick, 20 miles wide, and 100 miles long. By 1879, observer John Muir found that the ice had retreated 48 miles up the bay. The known forward face of the John Hopkins Glacier in 1907 was about 15 miles farther into the sea than its present position.

Glacier Bay is also a premier example of specialized forms of glaciers, including hanging glaciers and tidewater glaciers (glaciers that slide to the water's edge). The area is a perfect laboratory for the study of how plants successively colonize land newly opened up by retreating glaciers. Bartlett Cove at the entrance to Glacier Bay, for example, was solid glaciers 200 years ago, but is now a maturing spruce forest.

A relevant question to ask your potential cruise company would be, "How good is your naturalist program?" The more interpretive info you receive on an Alaska cruise, the more satisfying will be your experience. Certain primal moments, such as following a humpback whale meandering around Glacier Bay, can live in your memory forever.

JOE JUNEAU'S GOLD

Juneau began when Joe Juneau and his partner Dick Harris discovered gold there. It is said that Juneau wept because he believed he had made more money than he could ever spend in a lifetime. However, Juneau actually succeeded in overspending. He died broke in the Yukon. Friends took up a collection to ship his body back to Juneau for burial.

In Juneau there were several major mines and a stamp mill. The AJ Mine was at one time of the world's largest producers of low-grade ore.

Juneau was selected as the state capital, historically, though Anchorage overshadows it as a developed area and a population base. There are 274,000 Alaskans in Anchorage and only 31,000 in Juneau, out of a total population in the state of 655,435. Almost all of the people in Juneau work for the state or federal government.

It would be hazardous to argue that in the lower 48 states there is a state capital as attractive as Juneau. Where else is there a combination of visual pleasures that encompasses the sea, mountains, glaciers, wildlife, and salmon spawning, all close to the city's edge?

In Juneau take a city tour to orient yourself to the area. The tour will transport you outside of town to the Mendenhall Glacier. Mendenhall is one of 16 glaciers in the 1,000 square miles of ice fields around Juneau.

In Juneau, see the Alaska State Museum, with its elaborate collection of kayaks.

Stop for a drink at the lively Red Dog Saloon, a honky tonk with player-piano music and stuffed animals on the wall. The beverage of choice here is locally-brewed Alaska beer, a hearty drink. Try the award-winning Alaska Amber.

Take the comfortable tram up the mountain to get an eagle's view of the surroundings.

SKAGWAY'S CHILKOOT PASS

Skagway boomed when miners seeking passage to the Klondike Gold Rush needed a staging area. Looking at the map, it was determined that traversing the Chilkoot Pass and then taking rivers downstream was the surest route. Canadian authorities allowed only miners with a year's supply of provisions to proceed. Skagway booms again today, but it is cruise ship passengers rather than precious ore generating the wealth. The community of 845 people swells with about 300,000 summer visitors a year.

Explore Skagway by strolling through the historic area. Stop at the park service headquarters for the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. There you'll see photos and displays of this major historic event. Photos, for example, show how miners used fold-up canvas boats on the Yukon River to get their supplies down river. Most of the boats were abandoned when they proved to be too flimsy. The walls of the Park Service headquarters are covered with quotes from Robert Service's poetry, echoing a constant theme: human perseverance in the face of crushing adversity.

The photographic image of long lines of men, chained together for safety, hiking in the middle of winter up the 45-degree grade of the Chilkoot Pass, is one of the most moving images of the Klondike rush. The weather here can be severe. In fact, Skagway is derived from the Tlingit Indian word, skagua, that means "home of the north wind."

Be sure to see the Skagway presentation, each afternoon and evening, of the Soapy Smith revue. In the revue you get a sense of the Gold Rush of 1898 and the consummate con man, Soapy Smith, who knew a thousand ways to separate a sourdough from his gold nuggets. The Red Onion saloon is a favorite bar, often featuring impromptu jam sessions led by musicians from the cruise ships. The town is compact and pleasant to walk around. Explore the shops, such as Tresham Gregg's gallery of his Tlingit Indian art creations. Gradually, many of the buildings are being restored to their 1898 appearance as the National Park applies its influence and funds. The photo shop Dedman's, for example, was one of the original photo studios and still has glass plates from the gold rush era.

SITKA'S RUSSIANS

Sitka was populated by Tlingit Indians for thousands of years. Russia watched the area with interest after Vitus Bering sighted the Alaskan coast in 1741. In 1799 Russian Alexander Baranov began building fortifications at Sitka. Baranov intended to colonize Alaska for Russia and develop the fur trade. The Tlingit resented Russian infringement, burned the fort, and killed most of the settlers in 1802. Baranov returned in 1804 with the warship Neva and 1,000 men. He fought a decisive battle against 700 armed Tlingit. The Tlingit retreated and the Russians formally established their colony of New Archangel. Be sure to see St. Michael's Russian Orthodox cathedral and its historic icons, some from the 14th century. The cathedral was built 1844-1848, burned in 1966, then was rebuilt as an exact replica.

Today no white Russians live in the Sitka area, though several Tlingit Indians with Russian names and some Russian blood reside here. Renewed interest in Russian heritage inspired the New Archangel Russian Folk Dancers, a group of women who entertain visitors with a repertoire of Russian folk dances. Be sure to catch their daily performance in the Centennial Building, which also houses a small Sitka City Museum. Because of the declining fur supply, the Crimean War, and Russia's inability to defend Alaska, Russia eventually decided to sell Sitka and all of Alaska to the U.S. in 1867 for $7.2 million, or about 2 cents per acre.

Sitka is an isolated town surrounded by islands and backed by Mt. Edgecumbe, an extinct volcano. At the Sitka National Historical Park you can see Tlingit Indians engaged in carving, weaving, and jewelry-making. Walk the oceanside path to see Tlingit and Haida totem poles. Today about a third of Sitka's 8,891 residents are Tlingit. Interpretive displays at the park headquarters describe how the Indians and Russians co-existed.

The Sheldon Jackson Museum showcases missionary Jackson's collection of artifacts gathered from various native groups in Alaska. The museum is on a college campus of the same name, where 200 students are enrolled. There you'll see salmon-skin garments, masks, and many day-to-day artifacts of the Indian material culture, including the ceremonial eating bowls of the Tlingit.

Stop in at the Russian Bishop's House, which the Park Service has restored. The Russians briefly made Sitka the "Paris of the Pacific." Ships from 13 nations weighed anchors here. Trade goods ranged from Virginia tobacco to Flemish linens. The settlement included schools, a flour mill, tannery, and a foundry that cast the bells for some of California's Spanish missions.

An Alaskan cruise is a memorable vacation because of its two major pleasures--glacial wildernesses with spectacular natural beauty and historic port towns once alive with gold fever and Russian intrigue.

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ALASKA: IF YOU GO

Many travelers to Alaska will select the cruise option, and possibly the cruise-and-land-tour strategy. The most comprehensive website on today's Alaska cruise scene is the dedicated coverage of veteran travel journalist, Mike Miller, who lives year-round in Juneau. Miller's website at www.AlaskaCruisingReport.com has two virtues. First, the consumer gets up to date information from an observer who is on the scene 24/7/365. But, even more importantly, Mike Miller has watched the scene for the past 25 years as a consumer advocate and can distinguish the fog from the clarity that sometimes occurs in industry pronouncements. Arguably, the most trusted name in Alaska tourism information is Mike Miller.

For tourism information on Alaska, contact the Alaska Travel Industry Association, 2600 Cordova Street, Suite 201, Anchorage, AK 99503, 907/929-2200, www.travelalaska.com.

Information on all the large cruise companies going to Alaska can be obtained from an industry organization known as Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), 500 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1407, New York, NY 10710, 212/921-0066, www.cruising.org.

This article was written by Lee Foster of Foster Travel Publishing. Contact him at his website www.fostertravel.com or via email at lee@fostertravel.com. Copyright Lee Foster.

Lee Foster's most recent travel guidebooks are Northern California History Weekends (Globe Pequot), which won a Lowell Thomas Award, and Adventure Guide to Northern California (Hunter Publishing).

Lee Foster's new literary book is Travels in an American Imagination: The Spiritual Geography of Our Time.

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