Thinking Of An Alaskan Cruise?

By John Dalton

Now is the time to begin gathering information about an Alaskan cruise for next summer. I'm not trying to push or hurry anyone but you have a little over five months to make up your mind on when and where.

Let me tell you why.

First of all, the cruise lines start really serious booking in February and very often offer discounts and incentives (like air packages and land tours). As a result, the ships tend to fill up early.

Secondly, the ideal time to go on an Inside Passage cruise is late May or early June. The weather is spring-like with temps in the high 60s and low 70s. The passengers are mostly seniors or adults without children (because of school).

Thirdly, you'll find the cruise prices go up significantly each month and into mid-September.
And lastly, a February booking gives you more flexibility as to cabins, deck levels, cruise lines and cruise dates. For example: sailing the last week of May, we were the first ship allowed into Glacier Bay due to heavy ice floes and mid-month calving of seals.

Getting to the ship can be an experience of a lifetime. My wife and I flew from Atlanta to Seattle and from there to Anchorage. This took eight hours in the air with a layover in between.

Since Anchorage is not a port city, we were collectively gathered up, put on buses and taken some 40 miles to a railroad junction, where we boarded a train ­ while still on the buses! Yes, the buses drove onto flat railroad cars and off we went rocking and rolling above canyons and rushing streams.

After some distance on the train, we emerged from a mountain tunnel, and we rode the buses to the port of Seward where the cruise ship awaited us. Imagine, in one day we had traveled on two modern jet aircraft, a bus, a train, and a cruise ship! And they say "Getting there is half the fun." No kidding!

The cruise on the Inside Passage is beautiful and in some places resembles the fjords of Norway, with snow and glaciers coming right down to the water's edge. Stopping at Juneau and three or four coastal villages, each with their own cultural influence like Russian, American or Indian, adds charm to the trip. The side tours are worth the extra cash.

By the way, you can travel either North from Seattle/Vancouver or South from Anchorage on these cruises. Most of the cruises are either 5 or 7 days.

Romantic golden sunsets begin around 11 pm. If you're a camera buff, you'll be in heaven ­ surrounded by whales and eagles, gold mines and totem poles. Bring an extra memory card to help you make it back to Seattle.