Destination
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| Voyage to the Bering Sea | Coastal Odyssey | Inside
Passage Daylight Yacht Tours |
Glacier Wonderland |
Gold Rush Inside Passage | Alaska's Inside Passage | Wilderness Inside Passage |
Experience the Extraordinary: Relive the historic voyage of 1899. America's most powerful railroad magnate, Edward Henry Harriman personally organized and funded what was to become the most significant scientific expedition ever undertaken in Alaskan waters.
You can follow in his wake. It took 50 experts 12 years to record the scientific observations of Harriman's expedition. Much of the collection is now in the Smithsonian Institution and is still available for testing using modern technology.
Cruise West's epic journey knits together two exceptional voyages into one dramatic whole as the Spirit of Oceanus revisits the areas Harriman's historic expedition explored. This special itinerary, In Harriman's Wake takes you between Vancouver BC and Nome, Alaska, a voyage of almost 3,600 miles. In 25 life-changing days you'll discover, as they did the true wonders of Alaska - its thundering glaciers, its clamoring wildlife, its scenic wonders and its welcoming people.
Do you seek the truly unusual? Let us welcome you to a voyage unlike any on earth. Let us take you north - far, far north where the petrified remains of a 20-million year old forest still stand sentinel. How about traveling by Zodiac close to a wilderness shore in Katmai National Park, hoping to see a grizzly bear browsing along the beach where hords of seabirds and herds of reindeer flourish. Or stepping ashore on a beach in the Shumagin Islands littered with pieces of petrified wood where people who still follow traditions their ancestors embraced thousands of years ago will open their hearts and homes to you. On the Voyage to the Bering Sea, you will come into contact with people, places and cultures that few other travelers will ever see. Travel with us for nearly 2,000 miles aboard the Spirit of Oceanus, exploring the extraordinary lands and waters between anchorage and Nome, to the Arctic Circle and beyond. Discover the solitary splendor of the tundra. Experience the amazing wonder of Russia's Far East. Give yourself the freedom to explore.
The coastal waters between Vancouver BC and Anchorage Alaska are among the most beautiful on earth. On one epic voyage nature puts on the show for more than 1,600 miles while you explore the entire Inside Passage and Glacier Bay. You’ll cruise across the Gulf of Alaska, and visit Kenai Fjords National Park and the artists’ colony of Homer. Each day of your journey presents new wonders. Cliffs soar 3,000 feet from the water's edge. Spectacular glaciers that press into narrow channels break into thunderous roars. Dense forests that crowd the coastline cradle the entire ecosystem. You'll delight in a free spirited dance - thrill at the sounding of humpback whales - marvel at the majestic artistry of ancient totems - renew your spirit in the warm hospitality of a simple native village. Begin or end your cruise right in downtown Anchorage.
On our most unique cruising option, you will cruise only during daylight hours aboard the touring yacht Sheltered Seas. Overnights are spent in small hotels near the waterfront in Ketchikan, Petersburg and Juneau. Alaska’s wild seascape is so majestic, so grand that you won’t want to miss a single moment. On this cruise between Ketchikan, Petersburg and Juneau, you’ll delight in every flip of a whale’s tail, every curve of an iceberg-filled fjord, every sighting of wildlife in the sea, land and air – all during daylight hours. Then in the evening, pull into a small town’s inner harbor, to experience life in the real Alaska.
Just to the south of the rugged Chugach Mountains lies a little-known maze of forested islands, glacier-carved fjords, and wildlife-filled waterways: Prince William Sound. This area is equally as spectacular as the traditional Inside Passage, but far less traveled by cruise or excursion vesse
Our exclusive 10-night cruises between Seattle and Juneau provide the most leisurely, flexible exploration of the entire Inside Passage. This is the route the yearning gold-seekers followed north during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. Choose a Spring departure to see Alaska at its most un crowded, while snow gleams on the mountaintops, wildlife lingers near the shoreline, and the Alaskan villages are eager to greet the first travelers of the season.
The ship’s Exploration Leader ensures that you don’t miss a thing. Other special guests are welcomed on board as well. In Glacier Bay, a Park Service Ranger may join you aboard for a splendid day of cruising deep inside the park. In Misty Fjords, Forest Service Kayak Rangers paddle right up to the ship, to join you on board in Rudyerd Bay.
NEW INSIDE PASSAGE CRUISE FROM CRUISE WEST GOES FARTHER INSIDE ALASKA: WILDERNESS BEACHES, HIDDEN INLETS, INTER-TIDAL ZONES AND A RARELY-VISITED TLINGIT INDIAN COMMUNITY
“Wilderness Waterways”, a new eight-night cruise package from Cruise West, offers an unspoiled view of Alaska, reminiscent of its early cruising days, by combining Southeastern Alaska’s two most magnificent fjords, Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm, and two of its most interesting ports, Juneau and Sitka, with access to a backwater wilderness that is bypassed by almost all other cruise ships, large and small. Passengers are introduced to a world of hidden inlets, waterfalls, boardwalk hamlets, islands, islets, rain forest trails, wildlife refuges, inter-tidal zones and a rarely-visited Tlingit Indian community.
Cruise West’s 78-passenger Spirit of Alaska, equipped for both bow landings on isolated beaches and Zodiac exploration of coastal waters, sails roundtrip from Juneau, focusing on the northern half of Alaska’s 1,000-island Alexander Archipelago. The eight-night package (seven nights on the ship, one in Juneau) has weekly departures, June 6 through August 29. The June 27 and August 15 departures will be accompanied by Kodak Ambassadors, professional photographers who lecture, advise, and work with camera-carrying cruise guests.
A highlight of the cruise is the opportunity to go “gunk holing” -- a form of exploration by ship that lets curiosity be the guide. The cruise schedule and size of the ship allows the captain to go almost anywhere he thinks might be interesting for the passengers and to idle the engines when wildlife such as whales, bear, deer, sea lions, seals, porpoise, eagles and mountain goats are spotted. This flexibility, coupled with Cruise West's expert local knowledge, allows the line to guarantee that whales will be sighted during the cruise or passengers receive a $250 refund on their cruise price.
The ship explores the coves, coastline and inlets around the perimeter of Admiralty Island National Monument, where the only inhabitants are vastly outnumbered by bears, and passengers tour Kake on Kupreanof Island, a village of 700 Tlingits, whose livelihood still derives from the forest and the sea and acting as guides, welcome guests ashore with a dance performance in traditional costume. Kake is also home to the world’s tallest totem pole -- 132 feet high -- standing on a bluff above the village. Other activities include whale watching in Frederick Sound; walking through an inter-tidal zone, habitat for sea anemone, jellyfish, sea stars and other species; and visiting the ‘off-the-beaten-path’ boardwalk hamlet of Elfin Cove or Pelican, built on stilts over tidewater where mountain meets sea and home to a year-round population of fewer than 50.
The cruise takes in glaciers in both arms of “Sum Dum Bay,” explored in 1880 by John Muir escorted by Tlingits in their 40-foot dugout canoe and known today as Tracy and Endicott arms, using Zodiacs for close-up views of the icebergs, and transits Peril Strait and Surges Narrows, channels only accessible by small ships and so narrow that it seems like cruising through the forest.
Travelers spend a day in Sitka-by-the-Sea, Russia’s Alaskan headquarters from 1804 to 1867, and site of St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Church, the Raptor Rehabilitation Center, Sitka National Historical Monument, and local museums of Russian artifacts and native Alaskan art. A pre-cruise day and night of leisure in Juneau, Alaska’s capital city, can be spent visiting the many museums, galleries and public plazas or doing optional activities that include riding a mountaintop tram, ‘flightseeing’ to the Juneau Ice Cap, and salmon fishing.
The expeditionary vessel, Spirit of Alaska, has a comfortable forward lounge, private facilities in all cabins, plenty of outside deck space for viewing and photographing wildlife and scenery, a wheelhouse that is open to guests, and an open-seating dining room that accommodates all guests at a single sitting. Shipboard life is informal; dress is casual.
Double-occupancy cruise rates range from $2,699 to $4,599, port charges, taxes and fees included. Booking and paying in full by February 14 saves $150 per person. Single travelers can book a category “B” or “C” cabin for themselves at the twin rate with no supplemental charges. Reservations, additional information and brochures can be obtained from your travel agent .
An Alaska cruise can, in itself create a world of memories. But Alaska is vast, and the travel experiences it offers are incredibly diverse. We make it easy to extend your Alaska travels as widely as possible
Whether you are cruising a wilderness waterway, or exploring a tiny port village,
the focus is always on the real Alaska.
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