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Alaska Update
CRUISE
WEST OFFERS EARLY-BOOKING SAVINGS OF
UP TO $1,800.00 PER
PERSON FOR ALASKA CRUISES;
Cruise West is offering early-booking savings of $100 to $1,800 per person for travelers booking Alaska cruises by early December and half that amount by booking before the end of February for the following summer season in Alaska. The exact amount of savings depends on the length of the cruise, if payment is made in full by the deadline and if the departure takes place on or before June 15 or after. The savings are highest for the earlier deadline, longer cruises and for sailings departing through June 15. Cruise West is also guaranteeing the lowest prices of the season for early-bookers -- any subsequent offers to consumers exceeding the value of savings enjoyed by those booking early will be made retroactive, even if the trip has already been completed, and travelers will be refunded any difference. The Seattle-based company offers a choice of ten Alaska small-ship itineraries of three to 13 nights duration.
There are two booking deadlines that entail savings -- the earlier one offers the greatest savings, up to $1,800 if the trip is paid in full by that date; the second deadline offers savings of up to $500 per person. Please check the Early Booking page for the exact amount and dates.
Seven of Cruise West’s ten Alaska itineraries sail entirely within Alaska waters, beginning and ending at Alaska ports. With a fleet of seven 78- to 114-passenger ships in Alaska, almost all American-owned and -operated, Seattle-based Cruise West specializes in small-ship voyages emphasizing up-close, casual and personal cruising. Cruise West itineraries focus on the destinations, and are highlighted by the expertise of on-board exploration leaders who share a true insider’s knowledge of each area and sailing in regions inaccessible to larger ships. Sailing schedules allow time for vessels to slow down, turn around or drift when whales or other wildlife is spotted. All fares include shore excursions and activities that offer the best of each region.
Each of the ships has forward lounges and plenty of outside deck space for viewing and photographing wildlife and scenery. Casual dress and open seating in the dining room are Cruise West hallmarks which contribute to the relaxed atmosphere on board.
Cruise
West is celebrated its 20th year in 2003 and was recently named
“Best Cruise Line-Small Ship" by travel agents voting in
Recommend Magazine's Sixth Annual Readers' Choice Awards.
Background Information:
Cruise West is a family-owned small-ship cruise line based in Seattle and headed by Richard G. West, chairman and CEO. The company was founded in 1973 by Charles B. (Chuck) West, founder and former owner of Westours.
Destinations served: Alaska and the Bering Sea, British Columbia and Islands of the Pacific Northwest, Columbia and Snake Rivers, California Wine Country, Costa Rica and Baja Mexico's Sea of Cortés.
The emphasis for all Cruise West destinations is outward on scenery, wildlife, history, local cultures, and shoreside attractions--rather than inward on shipboard activities such as gambling and nightclubs. Each ship features a Cruise West certified Naturalist Guide who is trained in the natural history and lore of the destination.
Ships: The company owns and operates eight small ships--seven cruise ships, with capacities ranging from 52 to 114 guests, and a 90-foot touring yacht. Each of the overnight vessels has a comfortable forward lounge, substantial outside deck space, private facilities in all cabins, and a dining room that seats a full complement of guests at a single sitting. Open seating in dining rooms helps travelers meet and come to know one another. Dining is more sophisticated than is typically associated with small-ship expedition cruising. The motor yacht Sheltered Seas has two carpeted lounges and a beverage bar. The lower-deck lounge converts into a dining room. All ships have bow thrusters for maneuvering close to shore. Passengers are welcome on the bridge. Ships are American-built and registered and are crewed by Americans, except for the line's new flagship (May 2001), the Bahamas-registered Spirit of Oceanus.
Cruise West Launches an Alaska Program with more Sailings Entirely Within Alaskan Waters, New Excursion to Hyder for Close-Up Bear Observation, Expanded Zodiac Fleet and Several Itinerary Enhancements
Seattle-based Cruise West has made several exciting changes to its small-ship Alaska cruising program for 2004, including an expanded roster of Inside Passage sailings entirely within Alaskan waters and a new excursion to the picturesque town of Hyder for optimum bear-viewing opportunities during peak salmon-spawning season. Zodiacs or other inflatable excursion craft will now be used on five of eight ships, a substantial increase over 2003; a two-night stay at Glacier Bay National Park has been added to the Daylight Yacht Tour portfolio; and the Bering Sea itinerary features several additional ports and highlights. The complete Alaskan program is detailed in Cruise West’s new 116-page 2004 “Alaska Experience” brochure.
Cruise West's Alaska series calls at 24 Alaskan and Russian ports -- more than all other cruise lines in Alaska combined -- ranging in size from Anchorage, population of 260,000, to Elfin Cove, home to just 32 residents. Cruises of three to 13 nights explore wilderness regions extending from the southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle to the Arctic ice in the Bering Strait, including Southwest and Southeast Alaska, Prince William Sound and the Bering Sea. Small-ship capacities of 78 to 114 passengers never overwhelm Alaska’s smaller, eco-sensitive communities, and the emphasis is always on the destination -- wildlife, fjords, glaciers, natural and pioneer history, and native cultures.
For travelers wishing to maximize time spent in Alaska and minimize time sailing to or from the state, the frequency of the eight-night “Alaska’s Inside Passage” itinerary -- sailing between the Alaskan ports of Ketchikan and Juneau -- was increased with the addition of a third ship on the route. The Spirit of ’98 joins the Spirit of Endeavour and Spirit of Discovery to offer 37 departures, a 20 percent boost from 2003. The ships visit Metlakatla, Petersburg, Sitka, Skagway and Haines, plus Glacier Bay, Misty Fjords and Tracy Arm with fares ranging from $3,449 to $5,349.
Cruise West is pioneering a special full-day excursion to Hyder, known as the friendliest ghost town in Alaska, on five “Alaska’s Inside Passage” sailings departing in late July and early August, replacing visits to Metlakatla and Misty Fjords. After a journey up Portland Canal, a fjord cutting 70 miles through alpine mountains and forest, passengers will be able to watch as brown and black bears assemble in packs to feast at a chum salmon run at nearby Fish Creek. Prices for these special departures are $3,649 to $5,349.
Cruise West has expanded its fleet of Zodiacs and launches, equipping five ships in 2004 -- the Spirit of Endeavour, Spirit of ’98, Spirit of Columbia, Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Oceanus -- compared with two vessels in 2003. In addition to “Coastal Odyssey,” “Voyage to the Bering Sea,” and “Wilderness Waterways,” “Alaska’s Inside Passage” will be the fourth itinerary to offer inflatable excursion craft, which allow up-close views of beachcombing bears in search of salmon, waterfalls, sea lion colonies, diving humpback whales and icebergs as well as island landings where possible.
For 2004, a Glacier Bay National Park option has been added to shoulder season departures of the "Daylight Yacht Tour" program, in which passengers cruise by day aboard the Sheltered Seas yacht and overnight on land. Travelers, spending two nights at rustic Glacier Bay Lodge within the park, experience in-depth cruise exploration of Glacier Bay, accompanied for a full day by a Park Service Ranger, who helps to identify the region’s diverse wildlife and interpret its Ice Age history. The option adds two nights to the original six-night itinerary and is priced at $2,849; the regular six-night sailings are $1,499 to $2,199.
The 13-night "Voyage to the Bering Sea," offered aboard the all-suite flagship Spirit of Oceanus, has been expanded to include visits to Kenai Fjords National Park on the Kenai Peninsula, Nunivak National Wildlife Refuge in the Bering Sea and the Native village of Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island. Fares are $7,199 to $10,499.
The 2004 Alaska Experience brochure fully describes the line’s Alaska itineraries of three to 13 nights' duration. Eight sail entirely within Alaskan waters, while two continue to cruise the full 1,000-mile-length of the Inside Passage: the 12-night "Coastal Odyssey" and 10-night "Gold Rush Voyage." The brochure also features nine- to 17-night land-sea packages combining cruising with land packages to Anchorage, Denali National Park, Fairbanks, Nome, Kotzebue and the High Arctic.
Cruise fares range from $1,099 for a Category C Spirit of Alaska cabin on a three-night shoulder season “Glacier Wonderland” sailing to $10,499 for a Grand Titan suite aboard the Spirit of Oceanus on a 13-night midseason “Voyage to the Bering Sea” departure. Early-booking and early final payment savings range from $100 to $1,000 per person for bookings made by December 5 and $50 to $500 for bookings made by February 27.
Cruise
West is celebrating its 20th year in 2003 and was recently named
“Best Cruise Line-Small Ship" by travel agents voting in
Recommend Magazine's Sixth Annual Readers' Choice Awards.
Cruise West’s Comprehensive Land-Sea Package Combines Small-Ship Sea of Cortés Cruise with Rail Tour of Mexico’s Copper Canyon
Mexico’s legendary Copper Canyon railroad, which climbs from sea level to almost 8,000 feet in the remote Sierra Madre Occidental, is the centerpiece of a comprehensive 11-night land-sea package that combines a week-long Cruise West sailing in the Sea of Cortés and exploration of the Copper Canyon, which is deeper and narrower than the Grand Canyon. Departures begin with the Christmas holiday season and run through March 2004.
The cruise-tour features seven nights aboard Cruise West’s 102-passenger Spirit of Endeavour, exploring and viewing the beaches, mountains, exotic deserts, whales and wildlife and colonial towns, two nights at the Hotel Posada Mirador Barrancas on the rim of Copper Canyon, a night in the 16th-century town of El Fuerte and a night in Chihuahua, principal city of Mexico’s northern interior. The all-inclusive rates, which include all meals, flights from La Paz to El Fuerte, the jumping off point for the canyon, airport transfers, daily excursions and tours and first-class seating on the Copper Canyon train, range from $3,749 to $5,398 per person, double.
Conceived in 1880 and not fully completed until 1961, the Chihuahua al Pacifico railroad remains one of the extraordinary engineering achievements of the Western Hemisphere, with 89 tunnels, some negotiating a complete 360-degree circle entirely underground in order to adjust elevations to the intricate network of intersecting gorges that comprise the Copper Canyon. The original inhabitants of this stunning landscape, the Tarahumara Indians, represent one of Mexico’s best-preserved traditional cultures and lifestyles. Tours include visits to a Tarahumara village and guided walks along canyon rim trails. In El Fuerte, a walking tour takes in the colonial-era City Hall, the Main Plaza and the town’s oldest church. In Chihuahua, travelers see Pancho Villa’s house and the city’s magnificent baroque Cathedral.
The cruise portion of this Mexico adventure explores 200 miles of Baja California peninsula coastline and the Sea of Cortés, once described by Jacques Cousteau as “the aquarium of the world” because of its more than 800 marine vertebrates species. Highlights include viewing the area’s whales, dolphins, sea lions and other sea creatures, landings on several uninhabited islands -- Espiritu Santo, San Jose, San Francisco and Partida -- for swimming, snorkeling, kayaking and guided nature walks to see the great variety of cacti, succulents and other desert flora, viewing colonies of blue-footed boobies and swimming with sea lions at the seamount Los Islotes; sightseeing and shopping in the centuries-old communities of La Paz and Loreto; and attending a private Mexican fiesta at the Governor’s mansion in La Paz with music, traditional dancers and piñatas.
More deluxe than most small cruise ships, the 217-foot Spirit of Endeavour has a large forward viewing lounge, teak decks, and all outside cabins with picture window, tiled bath, telephone and TV/VCR. The dining room serves Mexican and international cuisines. Dining room seating is open, and the intimacy of the ship lends itself to meeting and getting to know the other passengers.
Cruise
West is celebrating its 20th year in 2003 and was recently named
“Best Cruise Line-Small Ship" by travel agents voting in
Recommend Magazine's Sixth Annual Readers' Choice Awards.
SINGLE SHARE PROGRAM
Book a single-share cabin in an eligible category and be guaranteed travel in that category or higher - at a share price.
- You receive a confirmed reservation, but a specific cabin may not be assigned until you board the ship.
- There is a chance that you will receive a complimentary upgrade, in order to be matched with another single traveler. However, the only way to guarantee a higher category room or suite is to book in that category.
- In booking a single-share cabin, you client may end up alone in a cabin – but could, and most likely will, be rooming with another single traveler.
- Single-shares are always of the same sex, in a stateroom or suite with two beds. However, no additional personal information will be available in advance.
- Single-share pricing applies to the cruise only. Single supplement will continue to apply to the land tour portions (i.e. Alaska B, C and D tours).
ELIGIBLE STATEROOM CATEGORIES
- Spirit of Oceanus – Majestic, Premium, and Classic suites
- Spirit of Endeavour – AA and AAA (except 206, 209, 210*)
- Spirit of ’98 – AA (except 212, 311), AAA
- Spirit of Discovery – AA, AAA
- Spirit of Columbia – A, AA (except 301, 302), AAA (except Walla Walla)
- Spirit of Alaska – A
- Pacific Explorer – AA (except 211, 212, 203, 204), AAA (except 315, 316, 311, 312, 303, 304)
*
The exceptions are cabins that only have one double or queen bed,
and are thus not suited to the single-share program.
The Single Share Program may be combined with B.E.A.R. and Group Programs.
Web site by Tom Trowbridge
Win Win Solutions
winwins.com
