Alaska 2002 - cruise travel services and itineraries

Cruise Travel, Oct, 2001 by M.T. Schwartzman

Cruise "The Great Land" Any Way You Want

Choice: It's the clamor of cruising these days. Everybody wants to have a choice in dining, a choice of activities, and a choice in entertainment. In Alaska, there's probably more variety than anywhere else in cruising: The biggest ship sailing there carries 2,600 passengers, the smallest carries 12, and there's everything else in-between. There are ships with sea kayaks, ships with visiting scientists aboard, and ships with hundreds of private balconies.

Alaska-bound passengers can also choose among three basic itineraries: Inside Passage cruises sail the southeast or "Panhandle" region, roundtrip from Vancouver. Gulf of Alaska cruises add the south-central coast, sailing-one way between Seward (the port city for Anchorage) and Vancouver. Bering Sea cruises are expedition-style itineraries that follow the route of the prehistoric land bridge, which once linked North America with Asia.

The Alaska cruise season is short but busy, attracting nearly 700,000 passengers in a period that runs from May through September. Altogether, 16 major cruise lines are fielding more than 40 ships in Alaska for 2002, including at least four vessels making their Alaskan debut.

The big news for Alaska-bound cruisers is Princess Cruises' 109,000-gross-register-ton/2,600-passenger/710-balcony Star Princess, which will become the first 100,000-grt cruise ship to sail in Alaska. Joining the Star Princess are the "baby grand" quadruplets: the 77,000-grt/1,950 passenger Sun Princess, Dawn Princess, Sea Princess, and Ocean Princess. The Princess fleet sails on seven-day Inside Passage or Gulf of Alaska cruises.

On the land side, Princess unveils its next wilderness lodge, located outside Wrangell-St. Elias National Park--the largest national park in the United States. The 100-room lodge is being built at a cost of $10 million and will be included in new cruise-tours.

Holland America Westours counters with at least five ships of its own. The 55,451-grt/1,266-passenger Statendam, Ryndam, and Veendam cruise the Gulf of Alaska between Vancouver and Seward. The 60,906-grt/1,440-passenger Volendam and Zaandam cover the Inside Passage roundtrip from Vancouver. A sixth ship may be added to HAL's deployment to replace the Westerdam, which had been scheduled to sail the Inside Passage but instead will be transferred to sister line Costa Cruises in spring 2002.

Royal Caribbean International returns to Alaska with three mega-liners: the 90,090-grt/2,100-passenger Radiance of the Seas, 78,491-grt/2,000-passenger Vision of the Seas, and 69,130-grt/1,804-passenger Legend of the Seas--the latter returning to Alaska for the first time since 1998. RCI sails both the Inside Passage and Gulf of Alaska routes.

Celebrity Cruises has its gas-turbine powered sisters, the 91,000-grt/1,950-passenger Infinity and Summit, on cruises of the Inside Passage or Gulf of Alaska. These state-of-the-art ships feature a multitude of balconies, a top-deck observation lounge, and exterior glass elevators for continuous views of the Coastal Mountains.

Both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean passengers can extend their vacation to points farther north with Royal Celebrity Tours, which offers nine- to 13-day cruise tours in its second season of operation. These itineraries are available to passengers sailing on Celebrity's Summit and RCI's Legend of the Seas.

Norwegian Cruise Line continues to offer a choice of two departure points for its Inside Passage cruises of Alaska. The 77,104-grt/2,002-passenger Norwegian Sky remains the only big ship sailing out of Seattle, eliminating the three-hour bus ride (each way) between Seattle-Tacoma airport and the Canada Place cruise pier in Vancouver, while the 50,760-grt/1,748-passenger Norwegian Wind cruises from Vancouver. Both ships offer NCL's "Freestyle" cruising.

Carnival Cruise Lines presents a second season of Gulf of Alaska cruises between Vancouver and Seward aboard the 88,500-grt/2,124-passenger Carnival Spirit. The ship begins and ends the season with an alternative itinerary sailing the Inside Passage roundtrip from Vancouver. The Carnival Spirit has 682 private balconies, perfect for viewing the passing Alaskan scenery, and an expanded program of shore excursions.

Moving up to the upscale lines, Crystal Cruises mixes things up a bit with three variations of the basic Alaska itineraries, covering the Gulf and Inside Passage aboard the 49,400-grt/940-passenger Crystal Harmony. The ship's season begins with a 10-day southbound Gulf of Alaska cruise from Seward to Vancouver. A 10-day Inside Passage trip from Vancouver to San Francisco is next, followed by six departures of a 12-day Inside Passage itinerary, roundtrip from San Francisco. Crystal's Alaska season concludes with a 10-day Inside Passage cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver.

For Radisson Seven Seas Cruises, the 33,000-grt/490-passenger Seven Seas Navigator returns to Alaska after a one-year hiatus. Four itineraries cover the Inside Passage and the Gulf. The season starts with a 12-day cruise from Los Angeles to Vancouver, followed by a nine-day cruise from Vancouver to Steward; 11 departures of the standard seven-day Vancouver-Seward route take RSSC through the bulk of the season, which ends with an 11-day swing from Vancouver to San Francisco.