Question: Can you
comment on our choice of cruise ship?
Answer: I do not
write the portion of my books about
cruising, so I can’t give detailed comments on cruise lines or choices
of
ships. I do know something about some of the small ship operators in
some parts
of the state.
Question:
Should we take a small or
large ship?
We're
trying to decide between a small- and a large-ship cruise.
What do you recommend?
Answer:
The
issues to consider are the level of comfort you need and the
degree of your interest in Alaska's
outdoors, scenery and wildlife. The big ships offer every
conceivable amenity, including discos, movie theaters, swimming pools
and the
like. If none of that has anything to do with
Alaska, the
passengers don't seem to mind--they have most of their fun on the ship
itself,
with short, scripted and fairly crowded visits to the towns along the
way. Two
of the large ship lines,
Princessand Holland America also own
hotels, buses and other facilities to add on a
land-based package tour at the beginning or end of a voyage. My choice,
however, would be a small ship cruise. Although lacking all the fancy
attractions of a floating city, the boats are perfectly comfortable.
More
importantly, they see more of
Alaska, getting
closer to the wildlife and sights and allowing passengers more time in
the
outdoors. One of the best is Cruise West, which
has its own
shore tour operation.
Question: Is
Discovery Cruises out of Whittier worth
the money?
I am
considering a
Discovery Cruise out of Whittier and the
high price is
scaring me a little. Would the money be better spent on the small ships
out of Juneau? I have
read and
understand the differences in the ships and companies that run them.
It’s just
that Discovery seems to be the only one on
Prince
William Sound and I
got curious if
I should look at going somewhere else.
Answer:
I have
heard only good
things about Discovery Cruises and I’ve been on board and been
extremely
impressed by the quality of the service and the knowledge of the
skipper. I
think the high price is due to the very personal nature of the
experience, which
I think would be more comparable to renting a yacht with a crew than
going on
one of the small ship cruises. If being on a small vessel with just a
few other
people is not high on your priority list, then a small ship such as
those
operated by Cruise West would save money, but I don’t think you’ll find
anything better than Discovery.
Question:
Should we go to Glacier
Bay and Prince
William Sound?
We are
planning a trip
to Alaska for next
summer. As part of our trip
we will be chartering a small boat for a 4 night excursion into Prince
William Sound. We had
also thought
that we would go to the Glacier
Bay area and
stay in
Gustavus for 3 nights and do a couple of small boat day charters to see
the
scenery and do some whale watching. By going to
Glacier
Bay are we
repeating the Prince
William Sound
experience or are the
two areas different enough to warrant visiting both?
Answer:
Sounds
like a great trip. Prince
William Sound in a
small
boat is our favorite thing to do in this world. You are correct,
however, that
the experience in the two areas will have much in common. The whale
watching is
more predictable at
Glacier
Bay, but I
think the general scenery is superior in Prince
William Sound--more
variety, more narrow fjords and small islands. Halibut fishing is good
either
place, possibly with an edge to Glacier
Bay. Staying
in Gustavus has the allure of a very charming small
town. But for the same money you could spend a few days at a fly-in
wilderness
lodge and experience a different part of
