Cruising Alaska's Inside Passage
Greetings, all! After a wonderful week on land in Alaska, we boarded the Celebrity Millennium to set sail on a Southern Glacier Cruise, beginning in Seward and following a route that takes you to Hubbard Glacier before continuing through the Inside Passage -- a network of waterways that snake through some of the most beautiful wilderness in the world -- and on to Vancouver. The breathtaking scenery included beautiful bays and harbors, old-growth forest, snow-capped mountains and glaciers. Read on to learn more about each port of call, as well as my thoughts on our first cruise experience.
CELEBRITY MILLENNIUM
I took this photo of our cruise ship from the air during our flightseeing tour of Glacier Bay National Park. More on the park below.
With a little over 2,000 passengers, the Celebrity Millennium is considered a large ship and, as such, has all the amenities associated with a ship in this category -- multiple restaurants and bars, a shopping emporium, multi-level theater, pools, fitness center, spa, kids' clubs and an adult nightclub, to name a few. As someone who wanted to appreciate the full cruise experience, I tried to be as open as possible, attending a few shows -- comedy (funny), musical performance (campy) and a game show, combined with a dance performance (amusing) -- but drew the line at gambling and shopping. The girls also participated in the ship's offerings, attending several themed activities at their respective kids' clubs -- they loved it! The ship recently underwent an extensive makeover, so the public spaces were nice. That said, our designated restaurant could use an upgrade, as the food was inconsistent, but the food at the specialty restaurants (available for an additional fee) was creative and tasty. We especially enjoyed the sushi. Our room was small, no surprise, but we were happy to have a private verandah to take in the breathtaking views. Service was outstanding and safety was a top priority, with all passengers required to attend a mandatory safety briefing before departure and younger kids (Peytin) having to wear bracelets identifying their name and corresponding muster station (a designated gathering area in the event of an emergency). Other top priorities included (1) health, with hand sanitizer stations placed in numerous locations throughout the ship, a note in each public bathroom to open the door with a "tissue or hand towel", and a welcome person ready with a dollop of hand sanitizer at the entrance to the ship when we first embarked and following a return to ship at each port of call, and (2) security, with personnel onboard and a security screening at every port. Passenger demographics skewed older, but there were a number of families with kids.
HUBBARD GLACIER
We spent our first day at sea with a prolonged stop at Hubbard Glacier, where we were able to take in the glacier from the ship's decks. Named in 1890 for Gardiner Hubbard, the first president of the National Geographic Society, Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidewater glacier in North America. It extends 76 miles from its source on Mt. Logan in the Yukon Territory of Canada, and it's massive -- over 7 miles wide and 600 feet tall (350 feet exposed above the waterline and 250 feet below the waterline). The glacier is also active, routinely calving icebergs the size of 10-story buildings, sending massive blocks of ice into the sea. The thunderous sound of ice crashing into the water, combined with the vastness of the glacier, made this a top adventure for us. Our cruise was off to a great start!
JUNEAU
Our first port of call was Juneau. Bounded by steep mountains and water, with no road access, it is the only state capital in the United States that can only be reached by airplane or boat. This tidbit seems ripe for Jeopardy or a similar quiz show, no?! We had the option to explore Juneau on our own or book a shore excursion, but we decided to go with the latter as I had read about a tour in which a naturalist photography guide would take us on a hike, followed by whale watching. During the first leg of our excursion, our photography guide led us on a hike along the Trail of Time en route to the Mendenhall Glacier, a river of ice measuring 1.5 miles in width and over 6 miles in length, and fed by the massive Juneau Icefield. Along the way, our guide provided great tips on capturing nature photography. Following the hike, we made our way to a tour boat and set sail for an afternoon of whale watching. Although we have gone whale watching on two previous Metz Girls adventures -- Bar Harbor, Maine and San Juan Island -- we all agreed that this was by far the best, as we viewed an orca and several humpback whales bubble net feeding. Even better, a few humpback whales breached within a few feet of our boat. AWESOME!
Here are the photos. And, by the way, while all photos on this website were taken by me, I have to give my first photo credit to Peytin, a budding photographer who was eager to put many of the photo guide's tips into practice. The result is the below photo (center, left) depicting the moss-covered landscape of the Trail of Time. So proud of her!
SKAGWAY
Our next port of call was Skagway. The town sprang up during the Yukon gold rush in the late 1800’s, but tourism now dominates with a preserved downtown area featuring historic false-front shops and restaurants, wooden sidewalks and restored buildings, many of which are part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. We enjoyed exploring the area, but decided to skip the main tourist attraction -- a ride on the White Pass & Yukon Railway, a narrow-gauge line built during the gold rush as a means of reaching the goldfields — and instead booked a flightseeing adventure to Glacier Bay National Park. Covering 3.3 million acres of rugged mountains, dynamic glaciers, temperate rainforest, wild coastlines and deep sheltered fjords, Glacier Bay National Park is a highlight of Alaska's Inside Passage and, therefore, was at the top of our must-see list. We met our pilot, Paul, at the single runway airport and boarded our plane, a DeHavilland Beaver (aka a bush plane). Any butterflies quickly melted away as we flew over the breathtaking sight of Glacier Bay National Park, past Mount Fairweather and Mount Crillion and out to the Pacific Ocean on the Gulf of Alaska, where we landed on the beach in view of LaPerouse Glacier. IT WAS SPECTACULAR and one of the highlights of our entire trip!! A special thanks to Mountain Flying Services for an unforgettable and safe experience.
ICY STRAIT
Our next port of call was Icy Strait. Located near the city of Hoonah and home to a historic cannery, Icy Strait Point is a privately owned cruise destination that opened in 2004. The port is centered on a restored salmon cannery, which now houses a museum, local arts and crafts shops, and restaurants, and has as its main attraction the world's largest and highest zip line, as well as various wildlife excursions, but we were happy to skip the big attractions and simply take in a bit of the area and sample the much-hyped Alaskan king and dungeness crab at the Crab Station. It was indeed delicious!
KETCHIKAN
We next visited Ketchikan, famous for its rainy skies, steep–as–San Francisco streets, plentiful salmon, lush island setting and rich Alaska Native culture. Ketchikan is located at the southernmost entrance to Alaska's Inside Passage in the midst of the Tongass National Forest which, at 17 million acres, is the largest temperate rainforest in the world and home to a majestic array of islands, mountains, forests, glaciers, salmon streams, bays and fjords. We had hoped to take a flightseeing tour of one of the most celebrated fjords, Misty Fjords National Monument, but sadly, this was not to be as our pilot informed us that the fog at Misty Fjords did not make for great viewing conditions. So, we were given the option to cancel our trip or reroute to explore the Tongass National Forest. As we were excited to experience riding in a seaplane (how cool to takeoff and land on water?!), we agreed to the revised itinerary. It was yet another breathtaking experience, with miles and miles of lush green rainforest, breaching and spy hopping whales and a water landing on Prince of Wales Island, the third largest island in the U.S. (only the Big Island of Hawaii and Kodiak Island are larger). Another first for us and a truly unforgettable experience! A special thanks to Randy at Island Wings Air Service for a wonderful and safe trip!
VANCOUVER
Our final port of call was Vancouver but, since the last leg of our Metz Girls adventure will be the exploration of British Columbia and the Canadian Rockies, I will save our experience in this city for my next and final blog post, but first a few closing thoughts.
A Word About Shore Excursions -- If you are on a cruise, avoid the push to book an excursion at every port of call, especially through the cruise ship as there is almost always a markup. Research each port in advance and narrow your sights or activities of interest, being sure to read reviews and speak with each tour operator directly. As an example, I had my heart set on visiting Glacier Bay National Park, but my cruise ship did not offer an excursion, so I would have missed our unforgettable flightseeing adventure had I not done my own research!
Cruise Experience -- I could write several more pages about our cruise experience, and in fact, if you ever visit one of the many cruise review websites you will find endless pages of commentary, but here's my verdict -- the girls loved it and I liked it. They loved the kids' clubs geared to each age group, making new friends and the independence of being able to explore (within limits) the ship on their own. As for me, I think a cruise ship is a great way to initially see Alaska; however, now that I have my bearings, I could just as easily book a trip to any one of the ports of call, with Ketchikan, at a little less than a 2 hour flight from Seattle, at the top of my list. In this way, I would have the ability to set my own travel schedule -- a little longer here, skip this place altogether, etc. -- which is how I prefer to travel. That said, it was an overall positive experience. Box checked!
Weather & Packing -- Given daytime temperatures ranging from 60-80ºF, nighttime lows dipping into the 40's-50's, a slightly rainier summer season, and diverse terrain, I had to plan for all seasons! We also had the added complexity of packing clothes for up to two "Evening Chic" nights on our cruise which was described as "a cocktail dress, skirt, pants, or designer jeans with an elegant top." I was happy to go with the more casual end of this description, but we certainly saw a number of passengers in evening gowns, sequins and heels a la "The Love Boat" (yes, I just dated myself)! As long and varied as our packing list was, I am happy to report that we avoided overpacking, with each of us bringing one checked bag and backpack (and a carrying case for my camera equipment). My only regret is not following my own travel advice (booking a hotel with a laundry room), as none of our hotels had one, so I had to make a quick stop at a laundromat in Anchorage (not so bad) and pay $35 to wash 15 items in our current hotel (rookie move, especially when I had to make some tough calls on the composition of those 15 items)!
Okay, that's all for now. As always, thanks for taking this journey with us!