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Alaska Cruise Activities in Various Ports of Call

Brigitte — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:12:17 +0000

Activities in Various Ports of Call

Nome: One of the few larger northern ports, Nome is a popular destination – but only in the summer months! You’re likely to stop there only if you’re on a longer cruise.

Museums to Visit: the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum

Cultural Activities: the Historical Walking Tour, the Nome National “Forest”

Parks and Zoos: the East End Park

Other Activities: the Northern Lights

Seward: Although Seward is just a small city on the coast, but is a popular destination for cruises, as there are a number of natural activities and sports, like fishing, that visitors can do here.

Museums to Visit: the Alaska SeaLife Center

Cultural Activities: the Grand View Train Station

Parks and Zoos: Bear Lake, Mount Marathon, Kenai Fjords National Park, Chugah National Forest

Sitka: Sitka may be small, but there is something here for everyone! Longer cruises are likely to stop here, and some shorter cruises do as well.

Museums to Visit: the Sheldon Jackson Museum, the Isabel Miller Museum

Cultural Activities: St. Michael’s Cathedral, Anb Hall, Sitka Pioneers Home, Sitka Summer Music Festical

Parks and Zoos: the Alaska Raptor Center, Whale Park, Sitka National Historic Park, Swan Lake

Other Activities: the Archangel Dancers

Valdez: Valdez is a relatively small city, but it is one of the most important ports in the state, and many cruises start or stop there.

Museums to Visit: the Maxine and Jessie Whitney Museum, the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive

Cultural Activities: Valdez Civic and Convention Center

Parks and Zoos: Worthington Glacier, the Keystone Canyon Pack Trail, Solomon Gulch

Other Activities: the Last Frontier Theatre Conference

Alaska Cruise Ports of Call Excursions- Bear Viewing

Brigitte — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 04:00:02 +0000

Alaska has one of the highest concentrations of bears in the world, and are a major attraction for many visitors. The state is home to black bears, brown bears and polar bears, and there are viewing opportunites throughout the state. Below are some basic facts about the bears, and the best viewing areas (listed generally from the best to not-so-good going down). A large number of tour operators offer tours to most of these viewing locations, by air, boat and/or bus. To find the tour operators, have a look at our guide to the community that services the particular viewing location.

Brown bears (Ursus arctos) occur throughout Alaska except on a few islands. Although brown and grizzly bears used to be thought of as separate species, they are now considered to all be Ursus arctos. They are commonly known as brown bears along the coasts, and as grizzlies inland. There are 35,000-45,000 brown bears and grizzlies in the state.
Kodiak bears (Ursus arctos middendorffi) are a subspecies of the brown bear, larger than the average brown bear. There about about 3,000 Kodiak bears, living exclusively on the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago.
Black bears (Ursus americanus) occur in most forested areas of Alaska, though they are occasionally seen beyond treeline. Although they are usually black in colour, they may be any colour from black through shades of brown to a creamy white (known as the Kermode bear). There are over 50,000 black bears in Alaska.
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) occur along the coastlines of northern Alaska. there are 4,000-6,000 polar bears in Alaska.

Juneau, Sitka, and Skagway Ports of Call On An Alaskan Cruise

Brigitte — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:36:55 +0000

Juneau: Alaska’s state capital, Juneau offers many unique attractions for visitors, including Mendenhall Glacier just outside of town, the most visited glacier in the world, as well as cultural landmarks and attractions devoted to Alaska’s history and economic industries.

Sitka: Just south of Juneau, Sitka is a quintessential Alaskan town, complete with a rich local history and multiple cultural venues for interested visitors. Because the town lacks a large dock, fewer megaships visit this port of call and it is generally less crowded than other Alaskan destinations.

Skagway: North of Juneau along the Lynn Canal, Skagway was a pivotal departure point for thousands of 1890s prospectors in search of fortune. Today, it is a treasure for cruise passengers, with a wide variety of attractions, from a genuine ghost town to modern golf courses.

Skagway, Alaska

loybond — Sat, 09 May 2009 18:44:56 +0000

You may never have heard of Skagway, but I’ll bet you have heard of the gold rush. Skagway is where the gold rush was formerly centered, so it’s easy to see how the population has dropped from 20,000 residents to less than 1000 today.

Skagway is a great place to check out it’s wacky history, which resembled a town in the old west, with saloons, brothels – the whole nine yards. One of the best things though, is that there is still a lot of gold there! A lot of tourists will actually come try their luck at finding gold, and it’s not impossible to find some. While some people walk away with nuggets worth $20,000, others will find small pebbles that they keep as a souvenir, so this is a worthwhile excursion if you can try it.

Juneau, Alaska

loybond — Sat, 09 May 2009 18:42:46 +0000

Juneau is Alaska’s capital city, and is a fairly small city by most American standards with only 30,000 people. It’s also the only state in the United States that is not accessible by road vehicles. However, you don’t come to Juneau to go to the top of a tall building or check out the entertainment industry, you come here to see nature and even natural history. That’s possible because Juneau is close to the Mendenhall Glacier, the kind of thing that Alaska is famous for. Remember that glaciers are the things that helped shape North American landscape, so it’s a great experience to be able to see them today.