Cruisin’ to Alaska – research and planning

Fort Rouge

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/07/2024 (752 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With the world at our fingertips digitally, we can research anything, any place, in a matter of moments to figure out how a travel destination will appear and to explore experiences that any area of the world has to offer.

We can hear the sounds of a bustling city or the serenity of nature. We can virtually feel the heat of hot Hawaiian sand and strategize plans for travelling anywhere in the world.

Alaska, the final frontier? Wilderness wonderland? I doubt I’ll get the same feel for it as Chris McCandless (the young man from Into the Wild, R.I.P.) from my cruise ship stops, but once we jump off the boat, it seems from our research that nature will be waiting. This column is dedicated to our planning, while my next column will tell you about the experience.

We’re on a seven-day cruise, departing and returning to Vancouver, with three days at different ports – Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan.

When booking a cruise be sure to double check your departure and return ports as there are several different combinations. There are several excursions offered (through the cruise line and independent tourism companies) at each port, and each destination has its own specialty/highlights.

For example, in Juneau, there are many glacier and whale watching tours. Skagway has train tours from three to eight-hour excursions that take you gold panning in the Yukon, while Ketchikan offers a variety of nature tours. These excursions can be costly (especially for a group of four ranging in age from 17 to 72) but will most likely allow you and yours to enjoy a unique experience and possibly one of a lifetime.

Researching Juneau brought me to the Mendenhall glacier and, more specifically, the ice caves that glow blue within the glacier itself. It seems like there’s a YouTube video for everything these days and there are several that give you a good idea of the hike into the glacier (which looks challenging but doable hike for us four). As the cruise ship tour options only take you up to the Mendenhall glacier (by bus or kayak), we have decided to rent a vehicle and have the liberty to our own exploring offering more freedom of time and place.

In Skagway, we are looking forward to a three-hour train ride towards the Yukon that stops in an old, abandoned town to explore while Ketchikan looks like a great hiking place and we will go with the flow, exploring the town and the surroundings.

So that’s the plan. Stay tuned for part two to see how this adventure turns out…