|
| |
Alaska - Wilderness Waterways
9 days, 8 nights
|
|
|
|
An
Awesome Maze of Islands
This
weeklong voyage takes you far from the traveled mainstream of Alaska’s
Inside Passage. You will visit spectacular fjords inhabited only by
mountain goats, seals and black bears, and perhaps board a launch to
motor among icebergs in Tracy Arm Fjord. In addition to renowned Alaskan
highlights like Glacier Bay, you will often find yourself exploring
remote bays on Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof Islands. To drop anchor
in a cliff-walled fjord, with waterfalls burbling down the rocks and the
late afternoon sunlight playing on the mountaintops overhead, is to
experience an Alaskan vision of paradise.
On
several days, as time and tide permit, you will go “gunkholing” – a
delightful form of exploration by ship that lets curiosity be the guide.
What might be seen behind that island? Off you go, to see for yourself.
No two Wilderness Waterways cruises will be exactly alike. |
|
Cruise Highlights |
- In-depth 7-night wilderness
exploration round trip from Juneau
- Enjoy a full day in Glacier Bay
National Park
- Port calls at Kake, Sitka, and
perhaps Elfin Cove
|
- “Gunkholing” Admiralty, Baranof
and Chichagof Islands
- Exploration by inflatable
excursion craft
- Included overnight and full day
in Juneau
- Cruise West Exploration Leader
throughout
|
|
|
DAY 1 Arrive Juneau Transfer to the
Goldbelt Hotel on arrival. The hotel’s central waterfront location is
perfect for exploration of Juneau’s compact downtown.
DAY 2 Sail from Juneau You have all day
to enjoy the host of optional activities available in Juneau. Ride the
mountaintop tram, flightsee to the Juneau Ice Cap, or try salmon
fishing. This afternoon, board your ship to begin your Wilderness
Waterways adventure. Wave goodbye to civilization as you cruise down
Gastineau Channel. D
DAY 3 Tracy Arm Tracy Arm is a 22-mile
long fjord that many travelers consider the single most spectacular
spot in Alaska. Sheer cliffs soar for thousands of feet straight up to snowpacks that send waterfalls down the granite faces. Mountain goats
cling to precarious perches, bears forage on the beaches and seals
play in the water. You will cruise all the way to the head of the
fjord, where a fork splits off to two spectacular glaciers that pour
icebergs into the deep, cold waters. B L D
DAY 4 Kake and wilderness exploration
The tiny Tlingit village of Kake, population 700, receives very few
visitors. You are welcomed ashore with a performance by the Keex’
Kwaan Dancers, clad in traditional costume. The town derives its
livelihood from the forest and the sea, and you will visit the Kake
Fisheries Plant, and the Gunnuk Creek salmon hatchery. The world’s
tallest totem pole – 132 feet – stands on a bluff above town.
This afternoon, your
ship goes “gunkholing.” You may venture into any of numerous magical
bays and fjords along Baranof Island, each more spectacular than the
last. Narrow entrances will make you feel you can reach out and touch
the evergreens as you glide into seemingly invisible passages. The
Captain knows where to find sea lion colonies, where bears like to
feed along the beaches and where whale activity has recently been most
frequent. You will want to be out on deck with your binoculars, ready
to make your own discoveries. B L D
DAY 5 Wilderness exploration For an
entire delightful day, your ship explores the wilderness waterways of
Alaska’s Inside Passage. The only other people you’re likely to see
are on the occasional fishing boat or private yacht. Such leisurely
exploration is tailor-made for seekers of wildlife. Today you might
hope to spot orcas, humpbacks, bears, seals, sea otters, bald eagles
and more. B L D
DAY 6 Sitka Peril Strait and Sergius
Narrows, accessible only by small ship (and only at certain times of
the tide) lead to beautiful Sitka-by-the-Sea. Sitka was the site of a
Tlingit fortress before being colonized by Alexander Baranof in 1804
as the capital of Russian Alaska. From St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox
Church to local museums filled with native art, Sitka is a
treasurehouse of art both old and new. Shopping here is among the
finest in Alaska.
On an included tour,
you will come face-to-face with bald eagles at the Sitka Raptor
Rehabilitation Center, which cares for birds injured in the wild. On
the edge of town, the Sitka National Historical Park preserves a
number of finely carved totems. Don’t miss the adjacent forested
trail, where evocative totems are sprinkled along the verge of the old
growth cedar and hemlock forest, with a driftwood-strewn beach just
beyond. B L D
DAY 7 Icy Strait Today you are watching
for whales and endangered Steller sea lions as your ship navigates Icy
Strait. The tiny Inian Islands stand sentinel before the open waters
of the Gulf of Alaska, and the tide floods in and out strongly. This
is a major travel corridor for marine mammals such as humpback whales.
Depending on conditions, you may explore wilderness coves or visit the
tiny fishing village of Elfin Cove, which large ships never visit.
B L D
DAY 8 Glacier Bay cruising This morning
we tie up for a short visit to Glacier Bay Lodge at Bartlett Cove. A
well-groomed trail nearby leads to a small pond where moose may be
spotted. Then, a National Park Service Ranger joins you on board, as
you spend a full day cruising 65 miles into the awesome wonderland
that is Glacier Bay National Park. At the very northernmost point, you
will approach very close to Marjerie Glacier, as it pours from a
remote pocket of British Columbia mountains into Alaskan waters. Watch
for puffins and murres at the Marble Islands, mountain goats and bears
on the hillside, and harbor seals on the icebergs. To the north Mt.
Fairweather, though not always visible, is over 15,000 feet high, and
represents the steepest climb from sea level to that height in the
world. B L D
DAY 9 Arrive Juneau Transfer to the
airport on arrival. B
Promo
Code: CW-WW |
Sailing Dates:
- June 7, 11, 14 - 2004
- July 2, 9, 12, 16, 23, 29 - 2004
- August 13, 16, 23, 30 - 2004
|
|
Voyage to the Bering Sea
14 days, 13 nights
|
|
|
|
Rarities Every
Single Day
Do you seek the truly unusual? How about traveling by Zodiac to a
wilderness shore in Katmai National Park, hoping to see a grizzly bear
browsing along the beach. Or stepping ashore on a beach in the Shumagin
Islands littered with pieces of petrified wood. On the Voyage to the
Bering Sea, you will come into contact with people, places and cultures
that few other travelers will ever see.
From
the very first day, our Voyage to the Bering Sea introduces you to
destinations and experiences that are far from Alaska’s travel
mainstream. Almost no other cruise ships regularly sail from the port of
Anchorage, or make port calls at Homer. Then from Kodiak on, you’ll
explore the ocean passages and isolated native cultures with thousands
of miles of wilderness to yourself.
The remote islands of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge are
thinly settled by people – but they absolutely abound in wildlife. The
cliffs, pinnacles and rocky shorelines of the Pribilof Islands and St.
Matthew are home to walrus, fur seals, and literally millions of
seabirds. To the southeast, huge brown or Kodiak bears thrive in Katmai
National Park and on Kodiak Island.
Rare
seabirds floating above, gray whales frolicking in the sea, great heaps of
sea lions bellowing on the rocks – you will always want to keep your
camera close at hand. You might capture a masterpiece at any moment.
|
|
Cruise Highlights |
- Explore Homer, Kodiak and Dutch
Harbor
- Birdwatchers’ heaven in
National Wildlife Refuges
- Learn about Chukchi or Yu’pik
culture in the Russian Far North
|
- Watch for whales, sea lions and
fur seals
- Zodiacs allow access to
shorelines without docks
- On-board Exploration Leader
- Included flight between Nome
and Anchorage (or reverse)
|
|
|
DAY 1 Arrive Anchorage
Transfer to the Sheraton Hotel on arrival.
DAY 2 Sightseeing,
sail Learn about Alaska’s Athabascan, Aleut and Eskimo cultures
at the outstanding Native Heritage Center. This evening transfer to the
Spirit of Oceanus to begin your cruise.
B D
DAY 3 Homer
Dock at the tip of Homer Spit to explore this quirky community on the
Kenai Peninsula’s beautiful Kachemak Bay. B L D
DAY 4 Kodiak
Sightseeing cfm the Baranov Museum, the Alutiiq Museum and the Fishtec
Center. B L D
DAY 5 Katmai
National Park Watch for bears digging for clams on the beach as
you explore the rarely-visited shoreline of Geographic Harbor.
B L D
DAY 6 Shumagin
Islands Conditions permitting, enjoy Zodiac rides, possibly
including a “wet landing,” to explore tidal pools and the tundra. Watch
for views of the 8,200 foot Pavlov Volcano at these remote, rugged
islands south of the Alaska Peninsula. B L D
DAY 7 Dutch Harbor
Here on Unalaska Island in the Aleutians, sightseeing cfm the oldest
Russian Orthodox cruciform-style church in North America, the Museum of
the Aleutians, the War Museum and the Grand Aleutian Hotel.
B L D
DAY 8 Pribilof
Islands Today on St. Paul, local guides take you to premium
viewing sites for fur seals and seabirds. You may also land by Zodiac at
St. George Island. B L D
DAY 9 Wilderness
exploration Today the Spirit of Oceanus explores remote
islands and shores of the Yukon Delta or Alaska Maritime National
Wildlife Refuges at such places as St. Matthew Island, Hall Island or
Nunivak. B L D
DAYS 10-12 Exploring
the Bering Sea Clear customs into Russia at Provideniya, and
explore the rugged shoreline of Russia's Chukotka Peninsula. You may
also visit these villages:
- Novoye
Chaplino This Yu'pik village claims
ethnic kinship to Eskimos in Alaska.
-
Yanrakynnot Chukchi subsistent hunters
venture from this village in traditional sealskin kayaks to hunt
walrus, whales and other sea creatures.
-
Gambell The St. Lawrence Island Eskimos
travel around their treeless domain by all-terrain vehicles.
- Little
Diomede This tiny Alaskan village
across the strait from Russia's Big Diomede was formerly the closest
frontier of the Cold War. B L D
DAY 13 The
Arctic Circle The Spirit of Oceanus
cruises far north today, perhaps far enough to cross the Arctic Circle
and encounter ice floes.
B L D
DAY 14 Nome
to Anchorage On disembarkation, enjoy a
brief sightseeing tour of Gold Rush Nome before your included flight
to Anchorage. B L
Promo
Code: CW-BS |
Sailing Dates:
- June 11, 23 - 2004
- July 5, 17 - 2004
|
|
|
|
