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Cruising by the city
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Today’s
cruise ships are veritable floating cities, with
first-class entertainment, a variety of recreational
opportunities, on-board educational lectures (feature
topics include Native culture, history and archaeology,
art, cooking and foreign languages), quality medical
services and unforgettable food—all of it included in
the ticket price!
While all cruise lines do their utmost to ensure a
memorable cruising experience, it’s always wise to match
individual preferences with a ship’s offerings to get
the best cruising experience possible. For example, some
passengers are eager to meet others and indulge in the nightlife scene, while others might prefer to
spend their time at educational events. Those with young
children or teenagers will want to book a ship that
offers specialized family programming. Those wanting an
“up close and personal” experience might opt for smaller
ships while passengers looking forward to being pampered
will enjoy the luxury, spas and amenities of larger
ships. Others might make their choice based on a ship’s
itinerary. The choice is yours! Ask your travel agent or
cruise line representative about special needs and
expectations to ensure you find the best match.
TIMELINE OPTIONS: Most large cruise lines offer
seven-day Alaska cruises, many with weekend departures.
Trips can be one-way or round trip. Some companies offer
two-week packages or optional rail or airside trips
before returning home. A qualified travel agent should
be able to provide good information about various
options as well as any special offers. Although
occasionally there are excellent last-minute deals,
especially for May and September, most cruise
ships servicing Alaska fill up, so booking early is
usually the best idea.
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The major cruise lines have large ships
that generally carry 1,000-3,000 passengers. Each
company works hard to market various
specialties. These examples are given in
alphabetical order:
 Carnival Cruise Lines is a family-oriented line with
ships that are well known for their excellent
children’s facilities. Carnival also prides itself on
fleet-wide fine dining. The Carnival Spirit accommodates
2,124 passengers.
www.carnivalcruises.com
 Celebrity Cruises is a favourite among cruise regulars.
Ships such as Infinity and Summit feature modern décor
and gourmet cuisine. Smaller Celebrity ships now
call in at several British Columbia destinations in
addition to their Alaska itinerary.
www.celebrity-cruises.com
 Holland America Line is a long-established,
Seattle-based line, with ships such as Ryndam and
Zuiderdam offering traditional and elegant cruising to
Alaska. Holland America offers a wide selection of pre-
and post-cruise tour options.
www.hollandamerica.com
 Norwegian Cruise Line offers casual onboard atmosphere,
unstructured dining and good children’s programming, so
a ship like the Norwegian Wind is a popular choice for
families and young couples heading to Alaska. The
2,240-passenger Norwegian Star is NCL’s biggest ship
sailing to Alaska.
www.ncl.com
 Princess Cruises has served Alaska for decades, with a
variety of ships. All boast a high percentage of balcony
cabins and flexible dining. Public areas can be elegant
dining rooms or brightly decorated children’s
facilities. Princess has its own lodges at various
Alaska wilderness attractions and offers direct rail
service at some locales.
www.princess.com
 Royal Caribbean International is a family-oriented line
that appeals to active cruises. Shipboard facilities
include a rock-climbing wall and golf putting greens.
RCI ships such as the 2,110-passenger Serenade of the
Seas and Radiance of the Seas are decorated with
spectacular modern works of art and a glass-wrapped
observation lounge for viewing the Inside Passage.
www.royalcaribbean.com
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Several cruise lines specialize in smaller
ships (ranging from 700 passengers down to 12).
 American Safari Cruises offers the most intimate version
of Inside Passage cruising—two of its three yachts carry
only 12 guests and Safari Quest carries 21. Based in
Lynnwood, Washington, the company was founded in 1996 to
provide up-scale luxurious all-inclusive yacht cruises
to Alaska.
www.amsafari.com
 American West Steamboat Company is one of the most
unique Alaska tour companies, with its Empress of the
North the first sternwheeler to sail the Inside Passage
in over 100 years. The company’s sternwheelers offer a
historic experience paired with modern technology.
Emphasis is on a floating family, rather than a floating
city.
www.americanweststeamboat.com
 Clipper Cruise Line’s Clipper Adventurer and Clipper
Odyssey are ice-strengthened vessels suitable for Arctic
or Antarctic cruising and among other adventures cruise
to Alaska.
www.clippercruise.com
 Cruise West is a Seattle-based company that features
informal adventure cruising with stops at wildlife areas
as well as native and coastal villages. Their ships are
equipped with a fleet of Zodiacs and offer a casual
atmosphere for 110 guests. Cruises feature on board
experts for active, informed travel.
www.cruisewest.com
 Lindblad Expeditions is another Seattle-based company
that features informal adventure travel with on board
specialists. Its smaller ships explore coves and inlets
where larger ships cannot go. The emphasis is on
flexible expeditions for the adventurous traveler, not
scheduled tours.
www.expeditions.com
 Regent Seven Seas (formerly the Radisson Seven Seas)
offer luxury cruising for 700 passengers aboard the
Seven Seas Mariner. The ship offers all outside suites
with balcony. A recent merger with Regent Hotels now
facilitates ship-to-shore packages and pre- and
post-cruise hotel stays and land tours.
www.rssc.com
 Silversea’s ship Silver Shadow carries 382 passengers,
all in outside suites, to Alaska. As with all Silversea
ships, the emphasis is all-inclusive luxury. Conde Nast
Traveler magazine consistently rates Silversea and its
elegant Italian ships as the number one small ship
cruise line.
www.silversea.com
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