by John Parker
Alaska is a destination that conjures up images of glaciers, mountains, wildlife, blue ice waters-but photos don't do this cruise destination justice. It has to be experienced. Over the years, the number of cruise lines offering Alaska cruises has grown, with most now offering land tour extensions as well. For the 2007 Alaskan season, even more options exist to explore this incredible destination, with cruise departures now readily available out of Seattle, Vancouver, Seward and Whittier.
The first lines to pioneer the destination, offering both cruises and cruise tours, were Holland America Lines and Princess Cruises. Holland America actually deployed its first ship, the MS Prinsendam, to Alaska in 1975. Royal Caribbean International began offering their first Alaskan cruises in 1990 aboard the Viking Serenade, and Celebrity Cruises followed in 1996. Carnival Cruise Lines also began sailing in Alaska in 1996 with their ship, the Tropicale, roughly half the size of the ship they now have sailing in Alaska.
This trend continues with other cruise lines as well. Ships placed in the Alaska market include special features that embrace this destination. These are new ships, not aging tonnage, that cruise lines are using to increase their presence. As Noel DeChambeau, Director of Marketing and Sales for Holland America Lines, Inc. notes, "Holland America Lines has steadily increased its presence to 159 sailings on 8 five-star ships, including three Vista-class vessels - MS Oosterdam, MS Westerdam, and MS Zuiderdam."
For the first time in 2007, Princess Cruises is including the more intimate Pacific Princess on its Gulf of Alaska cruises, so guests will have the option of selecting a ship that ranges in size from just 670 to 2,670 passengers. Princess Cruises notes they offer the most voyages of any cruise line across the Gulf of Alaska, and in 2007 they will deploy a record five vessels on this route, with a total of 85 Gulf of Alaska departures on two different seven-night www.leisuregrouptravel.com LEISURE GROUP TRAVEL December 2006 n 47 itineraries.
Traditionally, there have always been two basic types of Alaskan cruises-the Inside Passage and a Glacier Route (sometimes called the voyage of the glaciers) each offering two variations, either a northbound or southbound sailing. For years, Inside Passage cruises would depart and return to the Port of Vancouver with stops at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway as well as including a glacier area. Glacier Route cruises would either depart from Vancouver and sail up the coast to Seward (where passengers would then be transferred to Anchorage for a return flight back) or do a southbound reversal, with cruise guests boarding the ship in Seward and sailing south down the coast with an arrival in Vancouver.
Today, more variations exist. The Port of Seattle has now gained a foothold, offering a nice alternative with good airlift-and it's only a few hours south of Vancouver, which lies across the Canadian border. These advantages were part of Norwegian Cruise Lines? decision to homeport their first ship, the MS Norwegian Sky in Seattle back in 2000. According to Heather Bryant, Public Relations Manager for the Seattle Convention and Visitor's Bureau, the reinterest in cruise lines using the Port of Seattle developed after 9/11, in their quest to offer more homeport departures. Heather notes, "In 1999, we hosted six cruise ship visits; in 2006, we hosted more than 200." According to additional statistics compiled by the Port of Seattle, Heather further says, "The 200 sailings in 2006 more than doubles the number of vessels that departed from Seattle in 2003."
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