Great Family Vacations: Alaska Cruises Best Picks In Port
- by Candyce H. Stapen
On an Alaska Inside Passage or Gulf of Alaska cruise you'll see glacial ice fields, pristine lakes, and panoramas of snow-capped mountains. The Inside Passage is an area of land and water beginning from the U.S.-Canada border (near Seattle) that winds north past Vancouver, Victoria, Ketchikan, and Sitka, and around Admiralty Island to Juneau and the longer inlets of Glacier Bay, Haines, and Skagway. The Gulf of Alaska continues into Prince William Sound to Seward. Because much of this region is roadless, one of the easiest ways for families to see this spectacular terrain of finger-like fjords, islands, glaciers, and coves is to book a cruise.
Each day brings you to a different port for a new adventure. Shore tours are no longer just for the sedentary. You can paddle a sea kayak through bays populated with porpoises, seals, Steller sea lions and whales; take a float trip in search of eagles; fish for king and coho salmon; and fly over icefields to land in a rain forest. Here are some of our favorite picks for Alaskan ports:
ANCHORAGE The Alaska Native Heritage Center, schedule to debut May 1999, is an outdoor park and museum focusing on the five major Native groups in Alaska: Yupik/Chupik Eskimo, Inupiat Eskimo, Aleut, Athabascan and Tlingit/Haida. Alaska natives will be creating handicrafts with traditional tools as well as demonstrating native games and dances. A Tlingit cedar long house, an Eskimo sod hut, and an Athabascan log cabin are on property.
Scenic Drive: When cruise ships list their embarkation port as Anchorage, they actually leave from Seward,127 miles south (21/2 to 3 hours by car). If you can, try to travel the Anchorage-Seward Highway in daylight. The gently winding National Forest Scenic Byway cuts through Chugach State Park and Chugach National Forest, treating you to classic Alaskan views. Snow-capped mountains loom across the silty waters of Turnagain Arm, gray clouds float low over the rugged mountain peaks in the distance and alongside the road the slopes are green with tall spruce trees and dotted with purple wildflowers. Arctic terns swoop across the inlet, their white wings bright against the mist.
From the marsh boardwalk at Potter Point State Game Refuge, milepost 117.4, you can view Canada geese, trumpeter swans and many species of ducks. At Beluga Point, milepost 110.3, named for the whales who frequent this spot, you may also be witness to Alaska's fearsome bore tide, a breaking wave of water up to 6-feet At Big Game Alaska, (907) 783-2025, a drive through game park at milepost 84, there are moose, eagles, caribou, elk, ox and bison. The road ends in Seward.
SEWARD: Kenai Fjords National Park: Book a day cruise into Kenai Fjords National Park with Kenai Fjords Tours (888-4-PUFFIN) Their ships, with a capacity of 150-passengers each, can navigate much narrower channels than can the large cruise vessels. On the full-day and half-day cruises you're likely to see many animals as the ship brings you close to nesting grounds. Enroute to a glacier you pass shorelines of green spruce, brown windblown mountains and craggy peninsulas covered in mist. You might see humpback, orca and minke whales, as well as colonies of sea lions and a puffin rookery where hundreds of these black birds with orange curls of feathers dot the rocks. The ship comes within 100 yards of a glacier, putting you close enough to hear the thunderous crack as big chunks of ice break off into the sea. One caution: bundle up in your winter clothes as it's cold on deck. There is a heated, enclosed cabin, but those who have a tendency to get seasick will want to be out in the fresh air.
The Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward (800-224-2525; www.alaskasealife.org), is another good Seward pick. The $56 million marine mammal research and rehabilitation center opened last summer. Sea otters swim in wall size tanks, seals splash in a pool, and the facility's stars, Stellar sea lions live in a rocky enclosure. The center is one of only a few aquariums to exhibit these large sea lions.
HAINES: Thousands of bald eagles summer at the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. Chilkat Guides, (907) 766-2491, offers scenic half-day float trips through the preserve as well as a canoe trip that takes you on a lake to float among icebergs at the toe of Davidson Glacier. Bundle up and be sure to bring the binoculars.
JUNEAU:From Juneau, it is about a twenty-minute drive to the Mendenhall Glacier, a twelve-mile-long "river" of white-blue ice. Often the best time to visit is late afternoon, when both the crowds and the light are less intense. Bright sun tends to whitewash the glacial colors, but the softer afternoon rays, or a cloudy day, bring out the aquamarine hues. Walk, at least for a little while-on the trails alongside the glacier. Photo Point Trail, a .3-mile scenic path adjacent to the visitor center, is handicapped accessible and good for strollers. Temsco Helicopters, (907) 789-9501, is one of several outfitters offering flightseeing tours.
Other aerial tours swoop over the Juneau Icefield, a 1500-square mile icecap in the mountains, the source of the Mendehall Glacier. Era Helicopters, (907) 586-2030; (800) 843-1947, offers helicopter tours as well as a combined flightseeing dog sled tour. Fly over several glaciers while listening to a narrated tape, then take a dog sled ride around the bowl of a glacier.
The Mount Roberts Tramway, (907) 463-3412, located at the cruise dock, whisks people to an observation deck, 2000-feet above Juneau. The 60-passenger trams depart every ten minutes or so. From the observation point you can walk a mile uphill to a higher scenic look-out.
Juneau's waters, known as the best in Alaska for fishing, are filled with king and pink salmon. It's easiest to arrange guided fishing trips through your ship's shore tour office. The Juneau Convention and Visitors Bureau, (907) 586-2201 maintains a list of charter boats.
KETCHIKAN: This long, narrow city is known for both its rain and its heritage. Ketchikan is the hub of three different Alaskan tribes: Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. Ketchikan is also the closest city to Misty Fjords National Monument, Prince Wales Island, and the Tsimshian town of Metlakatla on Annette Island, the only reservation in Alaska.
Ketchikan provides easy access to the Tongass National Forest, and located within it the Misty Fjords National Monument (MFNM) (907) 225-2148, a 2.3 million acre rain forest wilderness of cascading waterfalls, rivers, fjords, and rugged granite cliffs rising 4000 feet. With close to 17 million acres, the Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the U.S. An exciting, easy but somewhat pricey way to see both a part of the Tongass National Forest and the Misty Fjords National Monument is to book a float plane from Ketchikan. The tours include landing on a glacial lake. Several companies offer day-long guided boat and plane tours: Alaska Cruises, Inc.,(907) 225-6044, Taquan Air Alaska, (800) 770-8800, (907) 225-8800, www.taquanair.com.
SITKA: Sitka was the thriving capital of Russian America with a population of about 3,000 in the mid-1800s. In 1867, ownership of Alaska transferred from Russia to the United States. Sitka is an easy town to visit on your own. Pick up a map at the Centennial Building Visitors Bureau near the dock, and walk to all the attractions.
The Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center, (907) 747-8662, (800) 643-9425, rehabilitates wounded or ill birds of prey and then releases them back into the wild. This facility gives youngsters a chance to get up close to eagles, hawks, and other raptors.
The 107-acre Sitka National Historical Park, (907) 747-6281, begins a half mile from town. Follow the self-guided nature trail, lined with fifteen totem poles, to the site of the Tlingit fort, burned by the Russians in 1804. At times, crafts people demonstrate.
Fishing is popular in Sitka. Try it just for the halibut as well as for the king and silver salmon. Outfitters include: Alaska Adventures Unlimited, (907-757-5576), (800) 770-5576; Alaska Fantasy Charters (907) 747-0754; (888) 747-0574; and Island Adventures, (907) 747-8424
SKAGWAY: Skagway, which in native Tlingit means "home of the north wind," is located at the northern end of the Inside Passage. Skagway surged as a boomtown during the 1897 to 1898 gold rush days, growing from a handful of residents to about 20,000. If a walking tour of the town or a narrated bus trip makes you yawn, rent a car and drive fifteen miles on the Klondike Highway from Skagway to the Canadian border at White Pass. The road passes scenic waterfalls and huge chasms and crosses an impressive cantilever bridge.
The White Pass and Yukon Railroad is a great shore tour. The narrow-gauge train follows the arduous path of the Klondike fortune seekers. This is one of America's great history trails, climbing almost three thousand feet in twenty miles. You pass canyons, gorges, waterfalls, rushing streams, and such spots as Dead Horse Gulch, named for the three thousand animals that died in the struggle to cross this pass.
The Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park occupies seven blocks of downtown Skagway. While the facades have been preserved, most shops now cater to tourists searching for souvenirs. The Visitor Center, however, is worth a browse because of its photographs of the hearty and the hopeful arriving from Seattle and because of its display of the one ton of goods each prospector was required to carry over the mountains. Looking at the cook stoves, pans and crates of biscuits, bacon, flour and beans, you gain new appreciation for the arduous task the gold seekers faced.
Family-friendly Ships Cruising Alaskan Waters
Carnival, Celebrity, Norwegian, Princess and Royal Caribbean all have comprehensive children's programs. Carnival divides their program into four age groups: two to four; five to eight; nine to 12; and 13 to 17 years. Celebrity has a fleet of sophisticated, relatively new ships. In summer the children's program is generally split into five age groups: three to six; seven to nine; 10 to 12; 13 to 15; and 16 to 17.
Norwegian Cruise Line's Kids Crew, is a year-round youth program available on all ships. Children are divided into four age groups: three to five; six to nine; ten to 12; and 13 to 17 years. Princess-otherwise known as the "Love Boat"--- has a fleet of some of the newest ships afloat, many with private balconies. Princess' children's program works especially well for young kids and grade-schoolers. Of the ships cruising Alaska, the youth program is offered for ages two to twelve and ages thirteen to sixteen on the Sea, Sun, Crown, Dawn, Regal and Sky.
Royal Caribbean International offers youth and teen programs on all its ships year-round. Most of the time kids on RCI kids are divided into four age groups: three to five; six to eight; nine to 12; and 13 to 17. But, alas, this may not occur on non-peak sailings. Holland America's Club HAL has intermittent activities-not a day-long children's program-- for ages 5 to 8, 9 to 12 and teens. But Holland America does offer kids-only shore excursions in Alaska.
Resources
An excellent resource for outings in all of the ports is the Alaska Wilderness Recreation & Tourism Association (AWRTA),(907) 271-2737,, P.O. Box 22827, Juneau, AK 99802. This trade association for independent tour guides and outfitters in Alaska publishes a directory of more than 250 members offering adventure trips, nature tours and accommodations at remote lodges.
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