Cruising to Alaska

Contemporary Review, Jan, 2003 by James Allan Evans

The piece de resistance of the Alaska cruises, however, is Glacier Bay. It is a good example of Global Warming in the last two centuries. When Captain James Cook visited this area, there was no bay to be seen. The glacier filled the whole inlet. But by the time Captain Vancouver arrived in 1794, the glacier had retreated enough that he could chart the beginnings of a bay, and since then Glacier Bay has grown into a long fjord reaching the Canadian border. The Norwegian Wind sailed in fearlessly. Her passengers gathered at the rail to see the wall of grey ice surrounding us on three sides, an ancient survivor of the Pleistocene Period, now in full retreat. Then back to the Observation Lounge to hear a lecture by the ship's biologist on seals and sea lions.

Last stop: Ketchikan. Ketchikan has a claim to two designations: the 'Rain Capital of North America' (it is in a rain forest) or the 'Salmon Capital of the World' for its main industry at one time was canning the Pacific salmon, not to be confused with Atlantic salmon. Its main industry now is tourism. The shops along the harbour have false fronts, displaying a refurbished authenticity. Ketchikan is ready for the eager shopper.

The Norwegian Wind was on her voyage home to Vancouver. We entered Canadian waters and passed through Hecate Strait, Queen Charlotte Sound and Queen Charlotte Strait where the Japanese Current meets the northern tip of Vancouver Island. At lunch, I shared a table with a couple from Perth in Australia. They had flown to Vancouver via Singapore for the Alaska cruise. It was a trip they had always wanted to take. For the first time on the voyage, the service at our table was poor. Perhaps the report had reached the dining room staff which the Juneau Empire had purveyed, that tourists at the beginning and end of the season who get bargain fares are poor tippers. Or perhaps the Filipino lad who looked after us lacked sufficient clout in the kitchen.

James Allan Evans lives on Mayne Island off the coast of British Columbia, where he can see cruise ships passing during the summer months.