ALASKA CRUISE ITINERARY:
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON --
JUNEAU, ALASKA --
SKAGWAY, ALASKA --
SAWYER GLACIER, ALASKA --
KETCHIKAN, ALASKA --
VICTORIA, B.C., CANADA --
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON



SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

The official webpage for Seattle is at City of Seattle. This site has a comprehensive Tourism and Sightseeing page at http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/html/visitor/tourism.htm. Also there is Seattle.com, an excellent website with information on Seattle.

Seattle Monorail
Space Needle

ALASKA

Any exceptionally good site for Alaskan information is at North to Alaska site. Check it out!



JUNEAU, ALASKA

Capital of Alaska with a population of 30,000. The official webpage for Juneau is at City of Juneau. This site has a comprehensive Tourism and Sightseeing page at Travel Juneau.

Juneau


Adventures for everyone wait in Juneau. For those seeking wildlife, Juneau has some of the most spectacular wildlife viewing in the world. Come to Juneau and viewing of whales, brown bear and eagles can be just minutes away. A variety of wildlife tours can get you up close to black bear, Dall porpoise, sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, mountain goats and Sitka Black Tail Deer.








For visitors seeking the grandeur of Alaska's glaciers, there is no finer place to view them than Juneau. Giant bergs and flowing rivers of ice are found in and around Juneau. Our region boasts some of the most incredible glacier activity in the world. Juneau is home to magnificent Mendenhall Glacier located just 13 miles from downtown. Juneau is also the sending off point to Glacier Bay National Park and Tracy Arm Fjord.

For outdoor adventure Juneau can't be topped. Juneau is home to over 100 miles of groomed hiking trail that brings the temperate rainforest up close to hikers. The protected waterways in Southeast Alaska provide excellent sea kayaking into areas rich with wildlife. Rafting the Mendenhall River also provides adventurer for of any age. To get off the beaten path, try a mountain bike or horseback riding trip.





Experience the flight of a lifetime in a small plane or helicopter. Fixed wing aircraft offer spectacular views from above and landings at remote lodges. Helicopters offer glacier landings where visitors can actually walk on a glacier, go dog sledding on the Juneau Icefield or after being outfitted with crampons and ice axes, hike the glaciers.

Our adventures keep visitors fascinated year round. Winter in Juneau is magic. The climate is similar to Seattle, WA in the winter, so visitors can expect milder temperatures than is found in other parts of the state. Snowcapped mountains outline Juneau each winter. Winter enthusiasts can downhill ski, heli-ski, cross-country ski and snowboard. Winter visitors should also plan on attending a performance at Juneau's nationally acclaimed Perseverance Theatre.

May 22, 2000 Inside Passage -- Well, maybe it wasn't quite midnight, but it was after 11:00 PM, and we were still waiting for the sun to go down while cruising the Inside Passage. This was just the first of many never-ending sunsets to come. (From Honeymoon Album)



SKAGWAY, ALASKA

Estimated 1998 population: 749. Go to Skagway.com to find a map of the city.

The name Skagway (originally spelled Skaguay) is said to mean "home of the north wind in the local Tlinget dialect. It is the oldest incorporated city in Alaska (incorporated in 1900.) Skagway is also a year-round port and 1 of the 2 gateway cities to the Alaska Highway in Southeast Alaska: Klondike Highway 2 connects Skagway with the Alaska Highway. (The other gateway city is Haines, connected to the Alaska Highway via the Haines Highway.)

Skagway, often called the "Gateway to the Klondike" lies at the most northern end of the inside passage in South Eastern Alaska. A waterway stretching for more than 1000 miles. Connections to the outside world includes a paved highway into the Yukon Territory, Whitehorse being 110 miles north. Rail service along with Air and Sea transportation are available. Juneau being 90 air miles/145km away to the South.

May 25, 2000 Skagway, Alaska -- Our first port in Alaska was the town of Skagway, which became a boomtown when gold was discovered in the Yukon in 1898. The town became an important port, especially as the White Pass and Yukon River (WP&YR) railroad became the best way for prospectors to cross the mountains. Here at the docks a steep rock wall rises across from the ship while old-fashioned cabs wait to take early risers to their first Alaskan adventures. The WP&YR railroad can also be seen right on the dock. The large orange object in the upper left is a part of one of the Norwegian Wind's lifeboats. . (From Honeymoon Album)

May 25, 2000 Skagway, Alaska -- From the train we can see the "hi-line" tracks ahead. In the center is Slippery Rock, which took quite some time to get the tracks in place. I can understand why. On either side are two of the various wood trestles that carry us over several thousand feet of empty space. The WP&YR train is a narrow gauge train, which means that it's tracks are only three feet apart instead of the normal 4+ feet spacing of most other trains (From Honeymoon Album)



SAWYER GLACIER, ALASKA



May 24, 2000 Sawyer Glacier -- Getting to Sawyer Glacier was a bit hair-raising...we kept wondering when the boat would turn a corner and find a sheer rock face ahead of it. Taken at the back of the boat, you can see our wake back the way we came, twisting and turning our way deeper into Tracy Arm. (From Honeymoon Album)
May 24, 2000 Sawyer Glacier -- At some points along Tracy Arm, the ship was longer than the channel was wide. We were amazed the water was as deep as it was! And all along the way we were treated to glimpses of incredible valleys and mountain ranges off to our sides. The mountain in the back is probably close to 10,000 feet high. (From Honeymoon Album)

May 24, 2000 Sawyer Glacier -- You couldn't have a more dramatic entrance than when we first saw the glacier...steering through the steady course of icebergs, the passage widens. The glacier, in icy blue, appears around a corner as seen here. Framed by enormous mountains on all sides, we were quite humbled by the glacier, which stands several hundred feet out of the ocean. While we shot pictures and video, a chunk suddenly slid off and out of sight. The chunk was probably the size of a house. (From Honeymoon Album)

May 24, 2000 Sawyer Glacier The icebergs thickened into a sheet of ice until we could come no closer. In the center of this picture you can see two of the many basking seals taking advantage of the sunshine. (From Honeymoon Album)



KETCHIKAN, ALASKA

The official webpage for Ketchikan is at City of Ketchikan. Ketchikan is below Juneau, Alaska along the coast.

May 27, 2000 Ketchikan, Alaska This 40-foot totem pole in the park dwarfed us, but the man with the camera did an excellent job of getting everything in the picture! It turned out he was traveling on the Sea Princess, which we saw dockside at every port. (From Honeymoon Album)

Ketchikan (From Ketchikan.net)

Ketchikan (From City of Ketchikan)



VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

The official webpage for Victoria, B.C. is at City of Victoria. Welcome to Victoria - the "City of Gardens". This intimate, sophisticated seaside City is the vacation capital of Canada and the premiere tourist spot in the Pacific Northwest. Victoria is situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island and sparkles in one of Canada's mildest climates. This area is the sunniest spot in the province and the gentlest in the country in terms of climate, environment, and lifestyle. Victoria's unique character is deeply rooted in its 150-year history -- a history full of colourful people and fascinating tales. The city's British colonial heritage is still very much in evidence, but contemporary Victoria has a distinctly Pacific northwest flavour. Today, Victoria is best known as the capital city of British Columbia, and as a world-renowned tourism destination. One of the most visitor-friendly cities anywhere, Victoria is also one of Canada's favourite places to call home. Greater Victoria and its outlying areas now have a population of 300,000, and the one-time colonial outpost is alive with cosmopolitan dining, superb shopping, a colourful nightlife and a full complement of cultural offerings.

Travel to Vancouver Island is fast, convenient and relaxing. Scheduled air and ferry service connect the Island with both Canadian and US mainland cities. BC Ferries provides fast, frequent service between the BC Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Any time of year, the spacious, comfortable vessels of the BC Ferries fleet carry passengers and every class of vehicle to ports servicing Victoria, Nanaimo, Comox, and Port Hardy. Ferries also connect Seattle, Port Angeles, Bellingham and Anacortes in Washington with Vancouver Island. Several vessels take the adventurous traveler through pristine inlets to ports of call along the west coast, sailing from Port Alberni and Gold River.

Major airlines have frequent scheduled flights from Seattle and Vancouver directly to Victoria International Airport or Victoria's Inner Harbour and have the capacity to connect with major cities to other Island communities like Nanaimo, Courtenay, Comox, Campbell River and Port Hardy, while charter flights reach even the most remote fishing camp.

Fishing and golfing are two of Vancouver Island's most popular activities and almost every community offers charter boats with guides for hire, as well as challenging golf courses. Magnificent marine adventures include scuba diving, canoeing, kayaking, windsurfing and, of course, sailing and cruising.

The history of the Island, both First Nations and immigrant, is chronicled in a variety of museums and cultural centers, and the natural history is highlighted in forest tours, caving expeditions and whale watching cruises. Alpine enthusiasts head to several mountains for sensational winter skiing and summer hiking. Don't forget the beaches, where you can find crashing surf or sheltered waters.

Victoria Inner Harbour

Empress Hotel. One of the world's truly grand hotels. Now, with a magnificent $45 million restoration, all the grandeur and elegance of a bygone era have returned to The Empress. Located on the Inner Harbour, The Empress is in the heart of Victoria. The full service, 4 diamond hotel is surrounded by quaint shops, double decker buses, manicured gardens and sailboats bobbing gently on the water.

Beacon Hill Park, Victoria. A well-loved green space, with a Petting Zoo, formal rose gardens, and a band shell for outdoor summer concerts. Scottish-born John Blair, considered one of the best landscape architects in North America, won the 1889 competition to design Beacon Hill Park. The hybrid rhododendrons he planted around Fountain Lake are still glorious more than 100 years later. For a dose of peaceful elegance, take a stroll among the beautifully cultivated gardens.

The Butchart Gardens - Fifty acres of floral finery offering spectacular views as you stroll along meandering paths and expansive lawns. In 1904, the concept of The Butchart Gardens began with an effort to beautify a worked-out quarry site on the 130-acre estate of Mr. and Mrs. R.P. Butchart, pioneers in the manufacture of Portland Cement in Canada. Their endeavour became a family commitment to horticulture and hospitality spanning more than 90 years and delighting visitors from all over the world. From the exquisite Sunken Garden to the charming Rose Garden, this 50-acre show-place still maintains the gracious traditions of the past, in one of the loveliest corners in the world.

HomeAbout MeCruiseGalleryCustomer
HomeAbout MeCruise SpecialsGalleryCustomer Comments

Return to Top
You are listening to
Lovin'