Ships Plan New Itineraries and Routes to Alaska

For years the classic Alaska cruise sailed from the West Coast or Vancouver up the Inside Passage to Juneau, Sitka, Skagway and around Glacier Bay, then back to home.

But with stringent environmental regulations limiting the number of ships permitted to cruise Glacier Bay National Park, and more and more ships heading north to Alaska for the summer, it was essential for cruise ships to plan other itineraries.

In 1983 only the Cunard Princess, World Explorer’s Universe and the Sagafjord (then with Norwegian American Cruises) sailed as far north as the Gulf of Alaska and Anchorage or Whittier.

Every year since, however, more and more ships have been sailing to Prince William Sound and spectacular Columbia Glacier.

On the Otter Side

Fresh itineraries and new ports of call on the Gulf of Alaska might even entice some veterans of the Inside Passage cruise to return to sample Prince William Sound, where it’s possible to see whales, porpoises, seals, otters, sea lions and eagles, and Columbia Glacier, which, at 400 square miles, is as big as Los Angeles.

Besides calling at Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and/or Sitka, some ships stop at Valdez, home of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Terminal, set in the center of craggy, snowcapped mountains. Also at Whittier, an alternate port for Anchorage, which consists of two large, undistinguished buildings, both World War II Army relics.

If you sail around the Seward Peninsula into Anchorage you’ll pass Seward, which was severely damaged during the 1964 earthquake, and Homer, an offbeat artists’ colony that one resident describes as “the only place in the world you can stand in mud up to your knees and have dust blow in your face.”

Anchorage boasts a beautiful new art museum (free admission) and some surprisingly sophisticated hotels and restaurants.

Scenic Rail Trip

By adding on two to seven extra days in Anchorage before or after the cruise, it’s possible to take a scenic rail trip to Denali National Park and Fairbanks in Westours’ or Princess Tours’ luxurious dome cars, complete with bar, dining room and uniformed guide; a flight-seeing journey above the Arctic Circle to Kotzebue, Nome or Barrow, or an overland tour along the pipeline to remote Prudhoe Bay on the Beaufort Sea arm of the Arctic Ocean. Many of the cruise lines offer easy add-on packages.

Ships scheduled to cruise the Gulf of Alaska this summer include Princess’ Royal Princess, Island Princess and Sea Princess; Cunard’s Sagafjord and Cunard Princess; Regency’s Regent Sea, which sailed previously in Alaska as the Rhapsody; Royal’s Golden Odyssey; Royal Viking’s Royal Viking Sky; Exploration’s Explorer Starship, and World Explorer’s Universe.

Cruises vary from 7 to 14 days. Lowest prices include a seven-day cruise on the Regent Star, where $1,065 buys a bottom deck, inside double, and a 14-day sailing on the Universe for $1,695 per person, double, in an inside cabin with upper and lower berths--for the May 22 sailing only. The cost on Universe increases to $2,095 for subsequent voyages.

The classic, seven-day round-trip itineraries set out from Vancouver and other Inside Passage ports, while longer sailings may begin in San Francisco (Sitmar’s Fairsky and some Royal Viking Sky departures) or Seattle (Sitmar’s Fairsea).

Range of Ships

Other ships on the route include Holland America Westours’ Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam and Rotterdam; Admiral’s Stardancer; Catamaran’s little Executive Explorer; Costa’s Daphne; Exploration’s Great Rivers Explorer, Pacific Northwest Explorer and North Star; Princess’ Sun Princess, and some departures of the Royal Viking Sky.

Ship sizes range from the 49-passenger Executive Explorer to the Fairsky, which can carry 1,400. Lowest prices are aboard Admiral’s sparkling Stardancer at $945 per person, double, for seven days in an inside double, and Executive Explorer, $379.50 for three days out of Juneau.

The Explorer Starship, Universe, Royal Princess, Island Princess, Sea Princess and some Royal Viking Sky sailings cruise both Glacier Bay and Columbia Glacier.

Southern Californians can get three free days aboard the Royal Princess by boarding in Los Angeles on May 28, sailing along the coast to Vancouver and then staying on for the Alaska 10-day sailing.

Prices start at $2,100 per person, double occupancy, for outside cabins, and include free air transportation back to Southern California.

If you’re looking for something still more exotic, check Society Expeditions’ Society Explorer, which will be cruising the Aleutians, the Pribilofs, the Queen Charlottes and the Bering Sea, as well as attempting a west-to-east transit of the Northwest Passage.

Check with your travel agent or the cruise lines for details.