Open Writing

If you have ever thought of taking a cruise to Alaska try and avoid the last cruise of the season. My husband and I recently made this mistake and as a result the low-lying cloud and wet, miserable weather, obscured much of the beautiful scenery we had heard so much about.

On the up side, the shops, trying to quit as much seasonal stock as possible, were in full-on sale mode and there were great bargains to be had.

The return cruise of 10 days from San Francisco to Skagway , at the fartherest point of the Alaska’s Inside Passage, covered only a tiny part of America’s largest state.

On the morning of our third day at sea we reached Ketchican. Located on an island Ketchican is known as Alaska’s “First City” because it is the first port of call for all north bound shipping.

With Ketchican holding the record for being the wettest town in Alaska (over 160 inches annually) there was never much chance of us striking a fine day. What we didn’t reckon on was how cold it would be. Having taken the advice of the shipping company, to dress in layers and to pack a waterproof jacket, we thought we were adequately prepared. New Zealand clothing, however, was no match for the cold north wind of Alaska and we were each forced to buy a fleecy lined jacket.

In Ketchican, as in the other ports we visited, we had the opportunity to select from a wide variety of shore tours. Not being ‘outdoorsy folk’ activities such fishing excursions, kayaking, back country safaris, and cycling didn’t appeal. Instead, we took advantage of the fact our ship was docked directly across from the main shopping area. Wrapped in our wet weather gear and clutching our umbrellas, we went for a stroll downtown. It didn’t take us long to realize the stores in Ketchican were out of our league. Although much of the merchandise was selling at greatly reduced prices, we were not in the market for diamonds, tanzanite, gold and other precious jewels. After purchasing some cheap souvenirs we scurried back to the warmth of our floating hotel.

Our next port of call was Juneau. Accessible only by sea and air, due to an icefield blocking off any chance of access from the interior, with little flat land and a climate where it rains two out of three days, there couldn’t be a less practical place for a capital city. Neither have these factors stopped Juneau becoming one of the busiest cruise ship ports in the region. Even though it was the end of the season there were 4 other ships docked on the day we were there.

We opted to spend our time here on whale watching expedition. Following a short motor coach ride to Auke Bay, we boarded a jet-powered catamaran specially designed for wildlife viewing. So confident were the proprietors of this tour we would see a whale, they promised us our money back if we didn’t.

As we peered through the rain and gray murky cloud it was difficult to see anything, much less a whale. As time passed we were shown Stellar sea lions, harbour seals, porpoises and bald eagles, but no whale. It looked very much as though we would be receiving a refund. Suddenly, there was great excitement on the starboard bow; somebody had spotted a waterspout from a whale. Bang, went any hope of a refund.

I rushed to that side of the vessel, but even with my binoculars I couldn’t see anything. I felt thoroughly disillusioned. Several minutes later, the onboard naturalist drew our attention to two humpback whales feeding. All that was visible was their water spouts, followed by a slight rippling of the surface of the water as they came up for air. Then came the piece de resistance. Up came their massive tails as they quickly dived below the water again. They carried on like this in six minutes cycles. It wasn’t exactly what I thought I was going to see, but I was satisfied nonetheless.

Our final Alaskan port was Skagway, one of the best preserved gold rush towns in the United States. Many of the locals continue to dress in the costumes of the 1890s and drive vintage cars. Once known as the ‘Gateway to the Klondike, at the height of the gold rush it had a population of 20,000. Today, there are less than 1000 permanent residents. During the summer this number is boosted by 7000 cruise ship passengers each day.

In the language of the native Indians, Skagway means ‘Home of the North Wind.’ The wind can be fierce with its chill factor significantly lowering temperatures. We were told in the winter it can blow ceaselessly for weeks on end. The day we were there was fine, but a cold zephyr breeze made conditions uncomfortable.

Uncertain as to what to do during our day here, we decided to take the recommendation of past passengers who voted Skagway's Original Street Car as the best tour in Alaska. The streetcar turned out to be a yellow 1920s sightseeing bus which provided us with a two hour city tour and commentary; enjoyable, but hardly memorable.

The most memorable experience of the cruise came the next day, when we cruised the 30 mile long Tracey Arm Fjord to view the twin Sawyer glaciers. Although it was raining and bitterly cold, the majesty of the huge vertical walls of the fjord was truly awe inspiring. Along with many other passengers we braved the cold to watch our journey to the glacier from what seemed to be an inappropriately named sun deck.

As the ship made its way up the iceberg strewn waters of the fjord we marvelled at the tremendous steep glacially polished cliffs, hanging valleys and tumbling waterfalls. Just when we thought we couldn’t stand the cold any longer, we arrived at the foot of the glacier. Unfortunately, because of the size of our ship (70000 tons) and the ice flows we were unable to get as close as smaller vessels can. Nevertheless, the captain skillfully managed to manoeuver the ship 360 degrees to enable all passengers to get a good view.

The following day was spent at sea en route to Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada. We had been there twice before and loved it just as much this time. It is impeccably clean, with a beautiful harbour, wonderful old buildings and magnificent manicured gardens. This time we were delighted with the myriad of window boxes and hanging baskets from which cascaded a colourful array of flowers.

On leaving Vancouver Island we started our journey back to San Francisco. Despite the weather, we enjoyed cruising the waters of Alaska as it was such a refreshing difference from cruising around the islands of the South Pacific which are more readily accessible from our home in New Zealand.