Friends are often surprised when we tell them that we enjoy cruises. We never travel in groups and pretty much like exploring on our own.
But cruises are versatile. Yes, you can go with friends and be social. But you can also enjoy everything a ship has to offer on your own and take full advantage of seeing many different ports. And often cruises a great way to reach places without having to drive long stretches.
At the end of a busy summer we wanted a short trip, relatively close to home. Having lived in Whitehorse, we wanted to go back north and see the Yukon again. But did we really want to drive back and forth? We both love driving. But driving the Alaska Highway both ways is a bit long and monotonous. I used to love traveling on the Alaska State Ferry. But I nearly had a heart attack when I checked fares on the Alaska State Ferry website and saw that it would cost over US $2000.- one way! On the ferry. Without a cabin. “That’s more than a cruise to Alaska!” I said. And that’s how the idea was born.
I remembered many tantalizing emails about Alaska cruises and checked these out. Orbitz, my favourite travel booking website, offered a one way cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage. Price per person was about 650.- When all was said and done, including extra fees, taxes, gratuities, etc. we paid the exact same amount as a chair on the ferry would have cost. But a cruise, of course, includes all you can eat for 7 days plus room service to boot. We got out a map and ended up booking the cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines, via Orbitz. Then we booked a rental car in Anchorage and a flight back using our Alaska Airlines points.
We found a different animal on our bed each night…
When we boarded the ship in Vancouver, we weren’t sure what to expect. We don’t need a casino, are not fond of crowds and don’t need to be entertained. But I did really want a few days of NOTHING. I couldn’t wait to sleep in and get my meals served.
The boarding process was fast and efficient. I checked in online, printed off luggage tags and selected dinner times. We found our cabin which was just fine. A large, clean bed, a place to sit, a desk, plenty of storage space and a small fridge. Next time I’ll check the price difference with an outside cabin which has a window or small balcony. It would be nice to see daylight and what the weather is doing but for this week, a cheaper inside cabin is just fine.
The service on the ship was impeccable. Everyone was friendly, courteous and helpful.
Dining options on most cruise ships are many: from room service in your own cabin to poolside barbecue, from buffets in cafeterias to more formal dining rooms. The food quality in the main dining room was superb and we enjoyed going ‘out’ for dinner each night. We booked a table for two and savoured the service.
Dining room with a view
The ship can hold just over 2,000 guests. It has its own bakeries, one for bread and one for pastries. We rarely got the same little dinner rolls. And the cinnamon buns were out of this world.
Here’s a glimpse at the ship’s weekly shopping list:
• 15,000 pounds of beef
• 1000 gallons of juice
• 15,000 pounds of flour
• 30,000 pounds of fresh fruit
• 5,000 dozen eggs!
They said Costco loves it when they stop by!
I found it fascinating how our daily schedule and priorities changed overnight. On the first night, we sat in the gorgeous dining room and watched whales spouting against an orange sky. The quiet wake of the ship seemed to drain my aches, tiredness and my worries about deadlines, about how much more weeding I should be doing. From then on our main concern was what to order for breakfast…
A waiter draped a white starched napkin across my lap and handed me a menu. A menu for breakfast! Choices included 5 different kinds of juice, many options of fresh fruit, yogurts, pastries, breads, eggs, smoked salmon or bacon, porridge or french toast, pancakes, waffles… Enough already! Just bring me one of each.
After breakfast there was nothing to do but wait for lunch and repeat steps 1 – 3 (sit, order, eat). Same at dinner… Good thing the ship had a pool (for me) and a walking track (for Kees). We’d go for a swim and a walk before meeting for lunch somewhere.
The ship also offered bars, two theatres, a library, an observation lounge and many more facilities. It took us three full days before we stumbled upon a casino. How do you hide an entire casino on a ship? You put it between the shop and the art gallery, one deck up from the bars and theatres.
My favourite times were sipping a drink while listening to a good string trio playing Vivaldi. We had a ball sitting in a quiet corner and watching people. The guests on this ship were as varied as the books on a library shelf. Young, old, active, obese, classy and shabby. They came from countries all over the world: Germany, France, Australia, Japan, China, USA and everything in between. The crew alone represented 62 countries.
In the Juneau Public Library.
Besides on board entertainment like concerts and shows, we also stopped in beautiful locations: Ketichan, Juneau and several other ports. You can book excursions on the ship but you can also do your own thing. Having often been to Alaska, we opted for exploring on our own.
Ketchikan, Alaska is a quaint village clinging to the hillside. It rained which it often does here. But we found a nice coffeeshop with wifi (even 5.- per hour it was better than on the ship).
Through gorgeous scenery we sailed to Juneau, the capital city of Alaska. Juneau is more than the gold rush image of colourful wooden houses near the dock. It is also a large, modern state capitol with schools, university, libraries, and more. You had the option of several, expensive, trips here. But we also heard that boarding the van for Costco is an option to go to town…
We visited the Mendenhall Glacier with a fun bear viewing boardwalk just above a creek full of spawning salmon. It rained. I think ‘Alaska’ is the First Nations’ word for ‘rain’.
Mendenhall Glacier, Juneau
Skagway used to be a tiny gold rush village near the beginning of the famous Chilkoot trail. Instead of aging into a ghost town of cracked wooden sidewalks and sagging houses, the town opted for a facelift. The saloon type store fronts now host a Starbucks, many jewelry stores and comfortable eateries offering wifi. The town obviously caters mainly to tourists, many of which arrive here on cruise ships. Yet it maintains its last frontier image offering can-can girls and Soapy Smith shows to thousands of visitors. Skagway has discovered a whole new kind of gold mine.
We departed for Glacier Bay. Rough grey waves of the Pacific made way for a pristine, blue reflective bay of immense proportions. At the very end, our ship glided toward a crumbling glacier. The mirroring water was dotted with small, white icebergs. We lived in the North for many years and explored quite a bit in Alaska, but this was unbelievably beautiful. The views were breathtaking. The temperatures dropped drastically since we left Vancouver. Capris and sandals made way for fur coats and wool hats while we watched the icy beauty of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, a United Nations World Heritage Site. Comprised of 3.3 million acres of natural wonders, it is home to magnificent glaciers and snow capped mountains.
Next was Hubbard Glacier (The US Department of the Interior estimates there are more than 27,000 glaciers in Alaska!). Tall, wide and generally massive, Hubbard Glacier is a mesmerizing natural wonder framed in striking glacial blue. The largest tidewater glacier in North America is a whopping 76 miles long and 1,200 feet deep. Its foot is some 7 miles wide and the exposed ice is said to be over 450 years old. Impressive facts but not nearly as impressive as the sight of being right next to it. Hubbard is nicknamed the “galloping glacier” because of how quickly it’s advancing toward the Gulf of Alaska through Disenchantment Bay. This results in major calving — the dramatic breaking off of chunks of ice at the edge of a glacier. As we stood on deck, we heard sonic booms, followed by long deep rumbles. Large chunks of glacial ice broke off and tumbled into the sea, leaving spray and mist. The sounds and the feel of icy air, made the sights even more impressive. A sight I won’t soon forget! On the other side of the ship we spotted sea otters floating on chunks of ice or just on their backs…
After all this natural wonder, we sailed to our final destination of Seward, Alaska – some 12 hours on very rough open water. We had winds of 45 knots and 14’ waves. Even though this was a huge ship, it creaked and groaned as we bobbed on the waves. As if by magic, little barf bags appeared on all the stair handrails…
It was a week of gliding through impressive natural beauty while relaxing and being pampered, ánd magically arriving in Alaska. All in all an Alaska cruise is something we highly recommend. The scenery is unparalleled in the world.
In a next Alaska blog we’ll tell you about our Alaska Adventure by road and the drive to Yukon.
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