This article originally
appeared in the March issue of AGENTatHOME magazine. Subscribe here to receive your free copy each month.
Alaska has long been a popular destination for fans of
small-ship cruising. Beginning in the early 1980s and continuing into the
1990s, companies such as Lindblad Expeditions and UnCruise Adventures, along
with now-defunct lines like Alaska Sightseeing/Cruise West and Glacier Bay
Cruiseline, helped to popularize the niche. Today, a number of different brands
serve this burgeoning market, each offering a distinct small-ship experience
and a range of itineraries.
The traditional appeal of small ships is their ability to go
where the big ships can’t. Small ships get closer to shore, maximizing
wildlife-viewing opportunities. They also are more intimate and immersive, said
UnCruise
Adventures. “Fewer passengers result in a more close-knit community on
board, allowing for personalized service and attention from the crew,” the line
explained, adding, “Small ships tend to have a smaller ecological footprint,
which is crucial in preserving the pristine nature of Alaska.”
Altogether, there are some 17 vessels spread mainly over
four small-ship cruise lines. Many are in expansion mode, offering new
itineraries and new destinations for Alaska-bound travelers.
Alaskan Dream Cruises
The line is introducing a nine-day “Ice of the Inside
Passage” itinerary for 2024 aboard the 49-passenger Baranof Dream visiting
seven different Southeast Alaska glaciers up close, with the chance to see five
more glaciers from a distance. The cruise will sail from Sitka to Glacier Bay
National Park and Juneau, and then visit the Haida community of Kasaan, before
concluding in Ketchikan.
The company is Alaska’s only Indigenous-owned cruise line,
run by the Allen family of Sitka, who are of Tlingit descent. Five itineraries
of six to nine days are available for 2024 aboard four ships carrying 40 to 80
passengers. One additional vessel – the 12-passenger Kruzof Explorer, a former
Bering Sea crab-fishing boat converted for expedition cruising – is available
for smallgroup charters. ADC’s trips focus on kayaking and hiking in secluded
wilderness areas with an emphasis on cultural immersion.
American Cruise Lines
The company is adding new national parks cruise-tours to its
Alaska offerings in 2024, which combine guided explorations in Denali National
Park and Kenai Fjords National Park along with smallship cruising in Glacier
Bay National Park. The seven-day land portion of these 16- or 19-day
itineraries travels from Fairbanks to Juneau, where passengers board their ship
for nine or 12 days of cruising the Inside Passage with stops in Skagway,
Sitka, Petersburg and Wrangell.
American’s sole ship in Alaska is the 170-passenger American
Constellation, which will sail on three different 2024 itineraries: a nineday
“Southeast Alaska” cruise roundtrip from Juneau; a 12-day “Alaska Explorer
Cruise,” also roundtrip from Juneau; and a 16-day “Alaska Inside Passage”
cruise one-way between Seattle and Juneau. The line focuses on traditional
port-to-port cruises, which makes it somewhat unique among Alaska’s smallship
operators, and includes complimentary hotel stays, port charges and gratuities
in its fares.
Lindblad Expeditions
Demand for its smallship cruises is so strong, Lindblad
has added departures on its 2024 Southeast Alaska itineraries. These include a
mix of longer itineraries that cover the entire length of the Inside Passage
and shorter cruises that explore the hidden channels and uninhabited corners of
the Alaska panhandle. Of special note is “A Remarkable Journey” to Alaska,
British Columbia and Haida Gwaii,” a 15-day itinerary that spends four days in
Haida Gwaii – the ancestral territory of the Haida Nation. Lindblad has secured
special access to this UNESCO World Heritage Site, where passengers learn from
Haida interpreters about their Native culture and have the opportunity to
explore these remote islands.
Lindblad offers a wide variety of port-to-port itineraries
combined with wilderness activities led by a team of naturalists and other
experts. In addition to its four coastal-type vessels carrying 62 to 100
passengers, Lindblad operates expedition ships in the Arctic.
UnCruise Adventures
The line is plying new waters in 2024 and 2025. In May, it
will launch its inaugural cruises of Prince William Sound. The eight-day
“Prince William Sound Explorer” itinerary sails roundtrip from Whittier aboard
the 36-passenger Safari Explorer. One highlight of this cruise is the chance to
call at Cordova, a remote fishing village on the eastern side of the sound that
has caught the attention of cruise ships lately. The itinerary will be repeated
next year, along with the company’s first-ever cruises to the Aleutian Islands,
sailing for 11 days between Whittier and Dutch Harbor via Kodiak Island.
UnCruise fields Alaska’s largest smallship fleet with seven
vessels carrying 22 to 88 passengers. As its name suggests, it focuses on
outdoor activities in hidden coves and secluded bays for a different kind of
cruise experience. Eleven itineraries are scheduled for this year and next;
some departures are sold as adult-only or family-only cruises.
Expedition Options
Besides Alaska’s U.S.-flagged coastal-style ships, several
foreign-flagged expedition vessels visit the 49th state during the cruise
season.
While they are somewhat larger than their coastal
counterparts, they still can be considered small – especially when compared
with the 4,000-passenger megaships sailing in the region.
Such choices for this upcoming Alaska season include HX’s
530-passenger Roald Amundsen (the only hybrid-powered cruise ship operating in
coastal Alaskan waters), Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ 230-passenger HANSEATIC spirit,
Lindblad Expeditions 238-passenger National Geographic Resolution and PONANT’s
yachtlike, 264-passenger Le Soleal.
Although they are often built for polar exploration, these
vessels also cruise the more temperate waters of the Gulf of Alaska and Inside
Passage with naturalists and other scientists aboard.
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