Alaska Cruise Expert Guide

The Alaska cruise is a breathtaking adventure thatyou'll never forget. Giant snow-capped mountains,sparkling glaciers, thick pine forests rising up from theshoreline and abundant wildlife vie for your attentionin this dramatic landscape. Towns and villages brimmingwith history tell a story of the Great Land that willendear Alaska to you forever.

An Alaska cruise typically departs from Seattle inWashington State or from Vancouver in British Columbia.Winters are very harsh in Alaska, so the main cruisingseason is confined to the summer months, typicallybetween May and September.

The most popular Alaska cruise route takes passengerson a one week round-trip up the Alaskan coastline andthrough the Inside Passage. This route takes in theports of Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Sitka in theextreme southeast of Alaska. Other cruise routes runto Prince William Sound near the city of Anchorage,and also along the Alaska Peninsula and into the BeringSea. These longer cruises are often one-way, requiringpassengers to make their return journey by train orplane.

Ketchikan is well worth a visit alone for the TongassNational Forest - the most northerly rainforest on theNorth American continent. It is more than eight timesthe size of the Yellowstone National Park, and offersthe ultimate in adventure tours where you'll find richsalmon runs and grizzly bears. Ketchikan is also hometo the world's largest collection of totem poles.These can be found at the Totem Heritage Center Museum.

Juneau, often known as 'little San Francisco', isAlaska's capital. Here you can experience life in atrue northern city. The Mendenhall Glacier is sureworth a visit, as is the Sawyer Glacier a littlefurther to the South.

Skagway is Alaska's gold-rush town. It is wellpreserved and offers access to the Klondike Gold RushNational Historical Park. Disembark at this port andview the way of the world famous White Pass railroad,before panning for gold in this northern outpost. Andwhen you're done with the gold, why not take time outto watch the whales near Sitka - a haven for thesebeautiful creatures all year round.

For the more adventurous, an Alaska cruise can takein Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Known asAlaska's 'Emerald Isle' Kodiak Island takes visitorsback to the time when the first inhabitants settled onthe island more than 7,500 years ago. You can evenlocate Alaska's oldest parish here on Kodiak Island...

John Metcalfe is the author and web publisher of A to Z Cruises your #1 source
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