UNIQUE ALASKA CRUISE OPPORTUNITY

The picture taken on an Alaskan Cruise.
By Carol Watts, Alaska Expert

Perhaps you’ve had the pleasure of cruising to Alaska before. But I’ll bet there are still some ports of call that you haven’t experienced. I’m thinking of the ports of Kodiak, Homer, Anchorage, and Sitka. Holland America is now the only cruise line visiting these ports on a 14 day round trip sailing from Seattle. That means no long air flights to Anchorage, and less expensive flights, especially if you fly Southwest.

Of course this cruise also visit’s the main Inside Passage ports of call, Ketchikan and Juneau, as well as cruising in Tracy Arm Fjord and Hubbard Glacier. There is a full day stop in Victoria as well.

Sailings start on May 13, 2011 and continue through Sept. 2, 2011. Cruise Port Travel has arranged a group sailing on June 10 - June 24, 2011. Not only can you expect a reduced group rate on cabin fares (up to $360 on an ocean view cabin), but you will also benefit from the following group amenities: $100 on board credit and a dinner in Holland’s specialty restaurant, the Pinnacle Grill. A category E ocean view cabin fare is $2299.00 per person based on double occupancy. (Cabin fares for 3rd and 4th passengers in a room are substantially less, however the amenities apply only to the 1st and 2nd passenger in a room.) Additional charges are $157.27 government taxes and fees and $56.00 airport to pier transfers. Deposit is $600 per person. Not included in the above prices are air transportation to Seattle, gratuities, shore excursions, alcoholic and carbonated beverages, and travel insurance.

Now that all the boring stuff is out of the way, lets look at the fun stuff, i.e. what can you see and do in these unique ports of call. Alaska offers opportunities for adventure, nature, cultural, historical, and wildlife excursions in every port of call. Kodiak Island shore excursions range from deep sea to river fishing, marine wildlife cruises, nature hikes, historical and city tours. Kodiak Island was the site of a Russian settlement in the late 1700‘s, and a city tour offers visits to the Baranov Museum, with its Russian exhibits, the Alutiiq Museum with its Native American exhibits, Fort Abercrombie State Park, a World War II historical site, and a cultural performance of the Kodiak Island Drummers. The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge offers a protected habitat for Kodiak brown bears, and can be easily reached by boat. Kodiak’s Russian Orthodox Church is the oldest Alaska parish.

Sitka, once called New Archangel, was the Russian capital of Alaska from 1808 - 1867. The waters surrounding Sitka teem with sea birds, and wildlife viewing opportunities for humpback whales, sea otters, eagles, harbor seals, and sea lions abound. Shore excursions offer salmon and halibut fishing, rainforest hikes, Russian history and native cultural tours. Sitka is the site of two wildlife rescue centers. The Alaska Raptor Center is a rehab facility for bald eagles and other raptors. Fortress of the Bear rescue facility is a created habitat for bears caught in conflict with humans, and it offers up-close bear viewing. If you crave adventure, you can explore a volcano by 4x4 and ocean raft, or go ocean kayaking. Russian history abounds, with St. Michael’s Cathedral, the first Russian church built in America; the Russian Bishop’s House, once the residence of the Bishop with refurbished living quarters and Chapel of the Annunciation with its lavish icons; and Castle Hill, where the Russian flag was lowered and the American flag raised in 1867. The Sheldon Jackson Museum is the largest collection of Native artifacts in the state. The New Archangel Dancers, an all-female troupe, perform throughout the summer.

Homer is known as the halibut fishing capital of the world, and is a unique combination of location, commerce, natural resources and wilderness. Located on Kachemak Bay on the southwestern tip of the Kenai Peninsula, Homer’s most notable landmark is the Homer Spit, a 4.5 mile long gravel bar that can be seen from space. The natural beauty of the area has inspired many artists to make Homer an arts center for painters, potters, jewelers, weavers and woodcarvers. A must see attraction is the Pratt Museum with its varied exhibits and artwork. One exhibit called “Darkened Waters’’ is a pictorial of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and its effects on the environment. Native artifacts as well as those from 1930’s and 40’s homesteaders are on display. Many species of Alaskan birds and mammals, including several full skeletons, are on display. Visitors can stroll through the botanical garden featuring over 150 native plants. The museum also houses one of the finest quilt collections in Alaska. A little ways from town is the Norman Lowell Gallery with its impressive collection of paintings done over the artist’s 50 years of Alaska residence. The Islands and Oceans Visitors Center offers the Alaska Maritime Wildlife Refuge exhibit.

Ketchikan and Juneau have already been discussed in this column, and those articles can be found in “the blog spot” on our website, www.travelpayson.com. Attractions in Anchorage will be featured in a future article. It’s not too early to plan your Alaskan vacation, whether it be a cruise, combination cruise and land tour, or independent travel. Brochures are arriving daily at Cruise Port Travel, 900 W. Driftwood Dr. in Payson. Contact us at 472-7878 to set up a consultation. We are your certified Alaska experts.

Holland America Cruise Line

By Carol Watts, Alaska Expert.

We recently returned from our first Holland America cruise. Celebrity had always been our favorite cruise line, but Holland is threatening to take over first place. We have many clients who won’t sail anything but Holland. So we decided to see for ourselves what they were all about.

Holland America, like Celebrity, is a premium cruise line. What does that mean? Sometimes it’s the little things that make the difference. For example, Holland still had china dishes in the buffet area. (Even our beloved Celebrity has switched to plastic.) There is plenty of room between tables in the buffet area. One Princess cruise ship I was on barely left enough room between tables for you to push your chair back to leave the table. In the evening, the buffet tables have table cloths, candles, and fresh flowers. Even the staff uniforms are nicer, slacks and a tunic, rather than the shorts and tropical shirts you find on Royal and Princess. The food was excellent, with a definite leaning toward gourmet dining. Sometimes we found the food a little too rich.

There was one thing Holland offers that we appreciated, since we do not bring formal clothes to wear in the dining room on formal nights. The buffet dinner menu had several dishes that were the same as those served in the dining room. You could have the same meal in the buffet that formal diners were enjoying in the dining room, you just had to bring it to the table yourself, a concession we were glad to make. There was another dining option for those of us who want to avoid dressing up, and that was the Canaletto restaurant on the lido deck. We enjoyed their Italian fare twice on this last cruise. This is the training ground for waiters aspiring to positions in the main dining room. Celebrity used to do the same thing with their “casual dining”, but alas they have discontinued this dining option. So we had excellent service from waiters eager to please the ever present maitre d’ and excellent cuisine, while still in our comfortable “day” clothes.

The ship’s décor can be classified as ‘understated elegance” as opposed to the glitz and glamour of 10 story atriums. I chuckled while listening to one fellow traveler commenting on the ride to the airport after the cruise. She was telling someone that she liked Royal Caribbean better because they had this big street of shops and lounges, obviously referring to the Mariner, whereas Holland only had a few shops. And there wasn’t as much to do. No rock climbing walls, no miniature golf, no water slides, no ice skating rink and show, etc. I thought to myself, she obviously booked her own cruise online, because if she had spoken with a reputable travel agent, they would have advised her of the difference between Royal Caribbean and Holland. Young families might not enjoy a Holland cruise, but for those of us over 55, we don’t participate in many of those other activities anyway.

Not that there was a lack of things to do. The enrichment program on Holland is outstanding. The daily activity sheet had the many offerings of their 4 different enrichment programs prominently displayed. The travel expert gave presentations on the ports of call, Mexican history and culture, available shore excursions, and even a few courses in basic Spanish. The technology expert had 6 - 7 daily hands-on presentations on computers, digital cameras, uploading and sharing photography, Windows 7, and more. The health and wellness experts had many daily activities from tai chi, yoga, water aerobics, back pain management, sleep seminars, make-up tips, dance lessons, as well as trivia. But by far my favorite were the food and entertainment presentations, held in the culinary arts center. There we observed the master chef from the specialty restaurant prepare several dishes for us to sample. Other offerings were bar mixology, wine tasting, edible bouquets, kitchen tours, and even the daily high tea featured teas and baked goods from different world regions. Much more interesting than the same old scones and finger sandwiches offered on other cruise lines.

Our ocean view stateroom had a bath tub, and therefore the largest shower we have seen at sea. Larger than normal bath towels and robes were thoroughly enjoyed. The room service menu had many more items than the usual salads and sandwiches we have seen on other lines. Every stateroom had a DVD player, and there was a vast DVD library where you could request movies that were delivered to your room. I thought that this would be very nice if one were confined to their stateroom because of a norovirus. It must be noted that in an effort to prevent a norovirus outbreak, the first 2 days you are served everything in the buffet, thus eliminating cross contamination of serving utensils.

On this particular Mexican itinerary, there were over 2,000 guests on board, over 1,100 of whom were repeat cruisers with Holland. I now understand why Holland enjoys the largest number of repeat cruisers in the cruise industry. While onboard, we took advantage of the future cruise deposit program. A reduced deposit of $100 per person can be used on any future cruise and will get us a $100 per cabin onboard credit for an ocean view cabin, more for a balcony. This can be combined with any group reduced rates and group amenities. What a great way to get extra benefits on a cruise that we were planning to take anyway, namely the 14 day Alaska round trip Seattle cruise that includes ports of call in Homer, Kodiak, and Sitka.

Cruise counseling is available at Cruise Port Travel at no extra charge. Bring us your best online price, and we will try to match it. Many times we can do better, by taking advantage of the many group benefits available to us through our affiliation with Americas Vacation Center, or by looking at a different sail date. We will gladly share our first hand knowledge of cruise lines, different ships, and itineraries.