Scroll down below the special to learn more about Alaska cruises.
Welcome to the Alaska Cruise Page
The first thing we would like to tell you about is our special rate on the Sapphire Princess sailing northbound from Vancouver British Columbia on July 1, 2006 and sailing to Whittier Alaska.
Gulf of Alaska - Voyage of the Glaciers: This cruise includes 7-day Voyage of the Glaciers cruise sailing from Vancouver, B.C. via Inside Passage, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay and College Fjord to Whittier. Highlights include Full time onboard Naturalist, Park Ranger program in Glacier Bay, Signature Alaskan Cuisine, onboard Junior Ranger and Teen Explorer Program for kids.
VOYAGE OF THE GLACIER CRUISE is a spectacular seven-night cruise along Alaska's famed coastline, where you'll experience all of the top attractions, including Glacier Bay, the Inside Passage and College Fjord – a destination rarely visited by other cruise lines. .......... Add a land package at the end of your journey to create an extensive cruisetour vacation. No one knows this territory better than Princess, who not only pioneered the Gulf of Alaska cruise but set the standard for excellence in Alaska cruises and tours. Rail journeys are a popular addition to a Gulf of Alaska cruise.
Starting prices for this prime summer date are $949.00 per person inside category JJ, $1499.00 per person outside category FF and $1849.00 per person balcony category BB. These prices do not include airfare, transfers and government taxes of approximately $50.00. Add on land tours are additional also.
Contact one of our agents and get your deposit in early, these are very attractive cruise rates and we can help with low cost airfare from your home city.
Alaska is a seasonal destination with cruises starting about mid May and sailing until about mid September. Naturally it is cooler in the early and late parts of the season and the cruise prices mirror the temperature of the season.
To give you an idea of pricing, inside cabins can be as low as $500.00 per person, based on double occupancy, in the very early and very late parts of season and $1,000.00 per person during the prime July and August parts of season.
There are basically two kinds of Alaska cruise. The first is the Inside Passage. If you refer to the map above you will see that there is a panhandle of land belonging to Alaska that runs down the West of Canada, from Glacier Bay to Ketchikan. This is known as the Inside Passage because a ship can traverse the protected waters, inside, between the mainland and the outer islands. Cruises to this area mostly originate in Vancouver, Canada but increasingly originate in Seattle and San Francisco. They travel up to Glacier Bay or Skagway and return to the point of departure in a 7-day fashion.
The second major Alaska cruise is the Bay of Alaska cruise that not only goes through the Inside Passage but shoots across the Gulf of Alaska over to Prince William Sound and the Whittier / Anchorage area. This is a one way trip and can be sailed North or South in 7-days. Using this cruise you can add on many optional land tours and view much of Alaska, the most popular involves the Alaska Railroad.
Princess pioneered the Alaska cruise and was quickly followed by Holland America Line. These two held most of the permits for Glacier Bay and duked it out as to who was better during a 90's advertising campaign. Princess built it's own railcars for the Alaska Railroad and Holland America came right behind them with their own cars. Royal Caribbean has since joined this league by building it's own private railcars.
Princess also pioneered building and owning it's land based lodges at Kenai, Copper River, Denali, McKinley and Fairbanks, in a fashion reminiscent of the grand lodges of the National Park System. Holland America solved that problem by purchasing the Westmark Hotel chain, already established throughout Alaska. Royal Caribbean uses a small selection of premier, independent hotels, including the Talkeetna Alaskan.
Carnival, Norwegian, Celebrity and several other cruise lines offer Alaska cruises usually through the Inside Passage. Celebrity now does Bay of Alaska cruises and has teamed up with it's partner Royal Caribbean for land tours. Carnival now has Bay of Alaska cruises combined with land tours provided by other vendors.
Smaller luxury cruise lines to Alaska include Radisson and Crystal. What you won't find in Alaska are the mega ships, if it's over 105 feet wide, it won't fit through the Panama Canal.