ALASKA CRUISE SEASON SPRINGS INTO ACTION
Spring’s here. I’m walking around cherry blossoms down by English Bay in downtown Vancouver and the daffodils can be seen everywhere.
Spring? Flowers? That means we’re closing in on the Alaska cruise season. The first ship to depart for Alaska from Vancouver, according to cruisetimetables.com, will be Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam.
The Alaska season means cruises depart mainly from Vancouver, Seattle and — on a few occasions — San Francisco. Sales to this point are booming.
The best departure port is Vancouver. Sorry, Seattle, you may have the Seahawks but Vancouver has the most scenic route to the 49th state.
It’s all about the Inside Passage. You sail through it between Vancouver Island and the mainland when you leave Vancouver, either on a return trip or when cruising one-way north, and you sail it on one-way cruises to Vancouver from either Whittier or Seward, Alaska. Most Seattle cruises stop in Victoria and take the route cruising Vancouver Island on the outside before seeing the tip of the Inside Passage.
West Coasters love cruises, even when they’re not on board. Ships can almost be touched as they sail under the Lions Gate Bridge, their downtown dock at Canada Place makes ship watching a noon-day sport, and in late afternoon joggers or walkers pause to watch them sail into the sunset.
There are lots of seven-day return cruises from Vancouver, but if you really want to see Alaska, take either a southern or northern one-way trip and add a land portion. Three to five days before or after your cruise means immersing yourself with sled dogs, the Arctic tundra and the Northern Lights. And if you’re really lucky, the clouds will lift from Denali (formerly Mount McKinley) and you’ll see it rising majestically out of dense foliage and sometimesbarren land.
Head to Fairbanks from Anchorage, ride the rails through Denali in dome cars, or take Denali tours above the tree line. The choices are many. A sightseeing flight gives you an even greater feel for this unique land.
This year, you’ll find improved facilities in Alaska. There are new docks — Icy Strait Point has a new floating dock and a new terminal, and Juneau’s first of two new longer docks (more than 305 metres long) is ready to handle larger ships.
If you want that “I can touch the water” feeling, consider cruise lines like Alaska Dream Cruises, Un-Cruise Adventures, Maple Leaf Adventures, which all take you where the big guys can’t.
Things you should know before booking:
Weather can be unpredictable. Some days you’ll be basking in warm Alaska sunshine; on other days, you’ll be bundled up in sweaters and rain gear. Pack for all eventualities.
Binoculars and a good camera are must-haves for seeing everything from bears to caribou to orcas.
Eat on the run! If you’re in Anchorage, there’s a new gathering place for all the food trucks that are also plentiful in Vancouver. Favourites in Vancouver include Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck, usually near the Art Gallery and Tacofino Cantina (fish tacos) near Robson and Howe streets.
As an old Johnny Horton song goes: “North to Alaska, go north, the rush is on.”