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ALASKA CRUISING
Alaska Cruising
by John Parker

Alaska is a destination that conjures up images of
glaciers, mountains, wildlife, blue ice waters-but
photos don't do this cruise destination justice. It has to
be experienced. Over the years, the number of cruise
lines offering Alaska cruises has grown, with most now
offering land tour extensions as well. For the 2007
Alaskan season, even more options exist to explore
this incredible destination, with cruise departures now
readily available out of Seattle, Vancouver, Seward
and Whittier.

The first lines to pioneer the destination, offering both
cruises and cruise tours, were Holland America Lines
and Princess Cruises. Holland America actually
deployed its first ship, the MS Prinsendam, to Alaska
in 1975. Royal Caribbean International began offering
their first Alaskan cruises in 1990 aboard the Viking
Serenade, and Celebrity Cruises followed in 1996.
Carnival Cruise Lines also began sailing in Alaska in
1996 with their ship, the Tropicale, roughly half the
size of the ship they now have sailing in Alaska.

This trend continues with other cruise lines as well.
Ships placed in the Alaska market include special
features that embrace this destination. These are new
ships, not aging tonnage, that cruise lines are using to
increase their presence. As Noel DeChambeau,
Director of Marketing and Sales for Holland America
Lines, Inc. notes, "Holland America Lines has steadily
increased its presence to 159 sailings on 8 five-star
ships, including three Vista-class vessels - MS
Oosterdam, MS Westerdam, and MS Zuiderdam."

For the first time in 2007, Princess Cruises is including
the more intimate Pacific Princess on its Gulf of Alaska
cruises, so guests will have the option of selecting a
ship that ranges in size from just 670 to 2,670
passengers. Princess Cruises notes they offer the
most voyages of any cruise line across the Gulf of
Alaska, and in 2007 they will deploy a record five
vessels on this route, with a total of 85 Gulf of Alaska
departures on two different seven-night

Traditionally, there have always been two basic types
of Alaskan cruises-the Inside Passage and a Glacier
Route (sometimes called the voyage of the glaciers)
each offering two variations, either a northbound or
southbound sailing. For years, Inside Passage cruises
would depart and return to the Port of Vancouver with
stops at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway as well as
including a glacier area. Glacier Route cruises would
either depart from Vancouver and sail up the coast to
Seward (where passengers would then be transferred
to Anchorage for a return flight back) or do a
southbound reversal, with cruise guests boarding the
ship in Seward and sailing south down the coast with
an arrival in Vancouver.

Today, more variations exist. The Port of Seattle has
now gained a foothold, offering a nice alternative with
good airlift-and it's only a few hours south of
Vancouver, which lies across the Canadian border.
These advantages were part of Norwegian Cruise
Lines? decision to homeport their first ship, the MS
Norwegian Sky in Seattle back in 2000. According to
Heather Bryant, Public Relations Manager for the
Seattle Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the
reinterest in cruise lines using the Port of Seattle
developed after 9/11, in their quest to offer more
homeport departures. Heather notes, "In 1999, we
hosted six cruise ship visits; in 2006, we hosted more
than 200." According to additional statistics compiled
by the Port of Seattle, Heather further says, "The 200
sailings in 2006 more than doubles the number of
vessels that departed from Seattle in 2003."

Get more information on www.leisuregrouptravel.com
LEISURE GROUP TRAVEL December 2006 n 47
itineraries.

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