My husband and I were fortunate to be able to visit Southeast Alaska recently. Our experience happened aboard a small cruise ship (60 guests) that was run by National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions. The entire focus of the trip was on "expeditions," which could take the form of hikes, kayaking trips, zodiac tours, walking around a town, being taken to specific sites, and more. We both loved it and I wanted to share a little bit about the experience just in case someone is considering doing something similar!
This cruise experience is not the typical big boat (we're the small boat in this photo)
that will stop at a port for part of the day for shopping and then go back to the ship for non-stop food, concerts, shows, pools, bars, etc. Many people love that experience, but if that's what you're looking for, this type of trip was not for you.
Our tour consisted, as most cruises, of yummy food and drink, wonderful staff, and massage and stretch classes, which is similar to most tours. But that's where the comparison ends. The days consisted of expeditions, classes, naturalist explanations of things we were experiencing, wrap-up presentations from the day. It was totally a learning (and fun) experience.
So where did we go?
We saw three Alaskan towns, Juneau (the capital), Haines and Sitka. Juneau is definitely a tourist spot in the summer, as huge cruise ships disembarked passengers on a regular basis and the streets were crowded. Haines was a quiet Alaska town with a grocery store, museum, a few art studios and a pub or two. And Sitka was somewhere in between the two. The interesting thing about Sitka was their businesses are all Alaska owned and they don't have nationwide chain businesses there. So that was an interesting place to explore.
And what did we do?
We went kayaking, watched bears run across a creek catching salmon, and watched salmon jumping out of the river.
We Zodiaked to a huge very blue glacier, and watched as chunks of ice fell into the sea. Then the "vikings" (crew members with crazy antler/horn hats) came out to offer us hot chocolate with our choice of "spice" materials.
We watched humpback whales play in the water, while our naturalist explained all about their lives.
We watched a few killer whales/orcas swim on their way to somewhere.
We hiked up to the summit of Mount Riley in Haines, where we could see 360º of mountains, waterways and more. We ate a ship-provided lunch at the top and then hiked back down.
We took a nature walk, learning about flora, and then spent some time on a rocky beach enjoying the beautiful weather.
We met people, and made some new friends.
The night before we embarked on our boat, we ate at a restaurant in Juneau that had the following on the liquor menu
- Cheap shit (pretty good stuff) - $7
- Regular Shit - $8
- Expensive Shit - $9
- Really Expensive Shit - $9.50
That was the entire liquor menu and when I ordered a glass of Cabernet, they wanted to know if I wanted regular shit or expensive shit. There was a country singer performing while we ate who was a hoot. It was a fun place for a meal.
We took a tram to the top of the mountain in Juneau, and then hiked on the ridge, saw a black bear, watching parajumpers, and enjoyed the 80º day (yes, 80!)
We toured another vessel that does the same thing as Nat Geo, but it's a wooden boat that has been in existence for 100 years and still has many of the original parts. They only take 8 guests out on their excursions. My maritime husband was thrilled that the captain/engineer invited us board and gave us a full tour including the engine room. That was a highlight!
Summary
Alaska is a beautiful place, full of wildlife and stunning vistas. We were thrilled we were able to experience it in the way we did, up front and personal. If you want a totally different type of vacation from the usual, something similar might be in your future. This particular shipping line goes to many other places including Antarctica, Mediterranean, Galapagos, and more. And I'd definitely recommend doing what we did, which is to get there a day early to explore the embarkation port, and then do the same on the other end. It certainly takes the airline stress out of the equation.
Bon voyage!
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