Alaska is one of the top cruise destinations in the world, and when you're sailing through the calm waters of the Inside Passage or across the Gulf, it's easy to see why. The scenery, in what is one of the nation's few remaining frontiers, is simply breathtaking.
Much of the coastline is wilderness, with snowcapped mountain peaks, immense glaciers that create a thunderous noise as they calve into the sea, emerald rain forests, fjords, icebergs, soaring eagles, lumbering bears, and majestic whales all easily viewed from the comfort of your ship.
Visit the towns and you'll find people who retain the spirit of frontier independence that brought them here in the first place. Add Alaska's colorful history and heritage, with its European influences, its gold rush spirit of discovery, and its rich Native culture, and you have a destination that is utterly and endlessly fascinating.
The fact that approximately 750,000 cruise passengers arrive annually in this last great frontier has had its impact, of course, turning some towns in summer into tourist malls populated by seasonal vendors and imported souvenirs. However, the port towns you'll visit--from Juneau, the most remote state capital in the country, to Sitka, with its proud reminders of Native and Russian culture--retain much of their rustic charm and historical allure. Sure, you may have to jostle for a seat in Juneau's popular Red Dog Saloon (a must-do beer stop) or ask other visitors to step out of the way as you try and snap a picture of Skagway's historic gold rush buildings, but these are minor hassles for cruise-ship passengers.
Unfortunately, the hordes of visitors and the environmental impact of so many cruise ships are beginning to take their toll on the psyches of some Alaska residents. Haines, for instance, has put a limit on the amount of cruisetour traffic it will tolerate, and Juneau, the state's beautiful capital, imposed a $5 per passenger head tax last year, ostensibly to pay for the essential services (police, sewage, roadways, and so on) used by the estimated 630,000 cruisers who visit there annually.
The cruise lines were angered by this money grab and took steps that clearly made their feelings known, leading to a contentious relationship between the two sides. The two giants in the Alaska cruise market, Holland America and Princess, were among the more obvious with their anger: HAL withdrew its support of several Juneau charities, while in 2000 Princess drastically cut the time its ships spent in Juneau (in effect scheduling its visits so passengers had time for an organized shore excursion but precious little for shopping), though at press time the line had reached some agreements with the city that may signify a better relationship between Princess and Alaska's capital in the future.
The vexing question of cruise-ship taxation in Alaska--at both local and state levels--is one that is not likely to go away in a hurry. In 2000, one energetic state legislator went so far as to introduce a bill that would have imposed a $50 per-person head tax on all cruise passengers. Half of the money collected was to have been given to the first five ports on any itinerary, at the rate of $5 per passenger; the remaining $25 was to have gone into the general exchequer. That tax would have superseded all local cruise passenger fees, of course. The bill never got out of committee and so never came to a vote of the legislature, but the cruise industry believes that it may well be reintroduced in this year's session.
Nor is taxation the only challenge. At the same time as all this taxing is going on, the state legislature has enacted a series of pollution-mitigating restrictions on cruise lines, increasing reporting requirements, for example, and restricting the number and size of the areas in which they may legally discard treated waste. Further restrictions are likely to be proposed to the legislature in 2001.
The fact that Alaska faces an enormous budget deficit because of falling prices for North Slope oil has more than a little to do with the rush to tax. And it may be that the environmental concerns, serious though they are, are yet being overplayed by way of creating an "excuse" to make cruise lines and their passengers pay to reduce the budget shortfall. Be that as it may, Alaska's (and Alaskans') perception of cruising and efforts to make cruise passengers pay more are matters that concern ship operators greatly. It all adds up to an uneasy situation, which both Alaska and the cruise lines are eager to resolve. To this end, Princess announced plans in September 2000 to shut down its ships' engines while at dock in Juneau, drawing electrical power instead from the city grid and thus reducing the pollution coming from their smokestacks. This is an entirely new innovation in cruising, and perhaps signifies a willingness in the cruise industry to help preserve their most valuable asset: The pristine destinations that people are coming to see.
Word to the wise: Don't let all this legal wrangling frighten you off. On the whole, you'll find the residents of Alaska remain warm to visitors, whether they come from cruise ships or travel independently.
A variety of ships exists in the Alaska market. On the small ones you can get closer to the natural sights and wildlife, visit out-of-the-way ports, and really get to know your fellow passengers. On the big ships, you can enjoy all the amenities of a resort--spas, gyms, casinos, show lounges, swimming pools--and tour the state at the same time.
Back in the early 1970s, there was a mere handful of ships, virtually all of them in 7-day round-trip Inside Passage rotation out of Vancouver. The route along the Inside Passage (through the part of Alaska known as Southeast or the Panhandle) continues to be a big seller. But this summer, with nearly three dozen vessels serving the state, more variations on the theme are being heard. There are Alaska cruises in 2001 out of San Francisco and Seattle, one-way cruises across the Gulf of Alaska between Vancouver and Anchorage (although disembarkation may be in Seward or Whittier, both ports for Anchorage), all-Alaska cruises beginning and ending in Juneau, and a number of other variations. And, by signing up for the cruise lines' pre- or post-cruise land tour packages (known as "cruisetours"), you can also visit such inland destinations as Denali National Park, Fairbanks, the Yukon Territory, or the Canadian Rockies.
Even before you cruise, we can predict you'll want to visit again. Jerry first visited almost 30 years ago and claims he's never been the same--the place put such a spell on him that he's gone back every year since, sometimes two or three times. Fran's first visit to the state wasn't quite that long ago, but she also noticed her view of the world was forever changed, and she quickly put the state at the top of her list of cruise destinations. Alaska is like that. It grabs you by the scruff of the neck and won't let you go.