The Frommer's Cruise Spotlight gives you the lowdown on the industry's best cruise lines, from ultra-luxe to ultra-adventurous and everything between, along with special deals just for Frommer's readers. This month, we'll take a look at Glacier Bay Cruiseline, one of the most active, outdoors-oriented lines in the Alaska market and beyond.
March 25, 2004 -- With three small, expedition-oriented ships and a philosophy that emphasizes intimate contact with the great outdoors, Glacier Bay Cruiseline is the absolute top choice in Alaska for real adventure cruising. Most itineraries focus on kayaking, hiking, and wildlife-watching, naturalists are aboard to help you experience Alaska at ground-level, and on some itineraries you can go a full week and hardly see another human besides your shipmates.
My personal favorite Glacier Bay moment occurred one morning in 1998. Waking to an icy early-season rain, I fortified myself with coffee, suited up in Gore-Tex, and launched my sea kayak off the ship's stern into the cold waters of Dundas Bay. I had mixed feelings at first. It was cold. It was wet. On the other hand, I was surrounded by pristine wilderness, with loons hooting in the trees and Dungeness crabs that looked a meter wide scuttling right below my keel. That was exciting enough in itself, but then we paddled around a bend, out of sight of the ship, and came face to face with two black bears ambling along the shore, maybe fifteen yards away. We put up our oars and drifted, the bears eying us nonchalantly, and after a few minutes they disappeared into the bush and we continued paddling the bay for another hour, elated as the rain gave way to cold sun. It was the first full day of our cruise. Could we have wished for a better welcome wagon?
Everything's ultra-casual on Glacier Bay, with passengers and crew hobnobbing from day one. Passengers are typically active individualists, overwhelmingly interested in nature and wildlife and completely uninterested in the usual sightseeing-and-shopping cruise experience. All want a casual, dress-down, no-pretense vacation, and enjoy the fact that Glacier Bay's captains have the freedom to sail wherever passengers will get the best Alaska experience that day, taking into account factors such as weather and wildlife sightings. Passengers tend to be on the youngish side, with as many couples in their 40s and 50s as in their 60s and 70s, and a scattering of 30-, 80-, and 90-somethings filling out the list. When I last sailed with the line in Alaska, there was a couple in their late 80s who were out kayaking every day, and loving every minute of it.
People who book these ships couldn't give two hoots about luxury, and that's a good thing, since the line's small, 31- to 86-passenger vessels are more like base camps than normal cruise ships, with very basic cabins and public areas. Like most small ships, each has a single lounge and a single dining room able to accommodate all passengers, and cabins are tiny and spartan, with bathrooms that are, to put it kindly, a miracle of space-saving engineering. During the day, when not off on excursions, most passengers spend their time on the outside decks, scanning for wildlife, and when weather permits the ship's chef will prepare barbecued seafood (prawns, crab, etc.) out in the open air. Other meals are pretty standard middle-American, with lots of Alaska salmon, and pre-dinner snacks of the chicken-wing and nacho variety are served daily in each ship's lounge/bar. In the evening, naturalists give presentations discussing wildlife, geology, and other aspects of the natural landscape, plus occasional talks on Alaska Native culture. Guest lecturers sometimes sail as well, or come aboard to give readings of Alaskan stories or presentations on glaciers, whales, and other natural topics. On a few summer family sailings, children's activities and special rates are offered for kids 18 and under.
Formerly known as Alaska's Glacier Bay Tours & Cruises, Glacier Bay has been around for almost four three decades under several owners, including the Alaska Native corporation Goldbelt. In January 2004 it changed hands again, purchased by three partners including Alaska tourism veteran Bob Brennan, formerly of Holland America and Princess Tours. When I talked with Brennan soon after the purchase, he expressed his commitment not only to maintaining Glacier Bay's active-adventure orientation but to expanding it, deploying a ship to Oregon's Columbia River for 2004 and considering future itineraries in Central America and Baja.
For this year, the line's smallest ship, the 31-passenger Explorer, continues to offer the most active cruise experience available in Alaska, basically driving right into wilderness of Glacier Bay National Park and Icy Strait and staying there for six days. Cruises are structured so passengers are out hiking and sea kayaking most of each day, with the ship used only as a place to eat, sleep, and get from place to place. Only one day in the middle of each cruise is spent mostly aboard ship, with a brief stop at Glacier Bay Lodge.
The 76-passenger Wilderness Adventurer, the ship I sailed in Alaska, blends that kind of outdoor focus with visits to tiny fishing communities like Elfin Cove (pop. 32), for a glimpse of how Alaskans live outside the big port towns. It's a great, great cruise, exploring Glacier Bay, Icy Strait, Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm, and Chichagoff, Baranoff, and Admiralty Islands. The slightly larger, 86-passenger Wilderness Discoverer mixes visits to popular ports like Skagway and Haines with days spent exploring Frederick Sound, Tracy Arm, and Glacier Bay, with kayaking and outdoor activities mixed in. All three vessels carry a fleet of professional, two-person sea kayaks, and all active excursions are included in the cruise price. Wilderness Discoverer's itineraries also offer extra-cost excursions in Skagway and Haines.
Exclusive Offer for Frommer's Readers
Like all small-ship lines, Glacier Bay's prices are quite a bit higher than what you'd pay for a mainstream cruise experience. Wilderness Explorer'ssix-night cruises run from $1,390 in the shoulder season to $2,190 for the best cabin in high season. Wilderness Adventurer's 7-night cruises start at $2,890 and run up to $4,200, with prices for Wilderness Discoverer running $100 to $200 less. The fact that all activities are included on most of the line's cruises makes these prices more reasonable than they might first appear, of course, since passengers can easily spend another thousand dollars on excursions and other activities on regular Alaska cruises. And just to sweeten the pot, Glacier Bay is offering Frommer's readers 10% off the brochure price for any of Wilderness Adventurer's 400- or 700-series cruises in 2004, including north- and southbound repositioning cruises 400 and 460. Just mention promo code 4016 when booking your cruise. This offer is not combinable with any other offers. It's also capacity-controlled and may be withdrawn at any time, so call soon to assure you get in under the wire.
Glacier Bay Cruiseline: 2101 4th Ave, Suite 2200, Seattle, WA 98121; tel. 800/451-5952 or 206/623-7110; fax 206/623-7809; www.glacierbaycruiseline.com.
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