Cruising Alaska's Inside Passage

We took a 7 day cruise from Seward to Vancouver and spent much time along the Inside Passage. Although rain is likely at any time in Alaska, we were blessed with lots of sun on all but one of the seven days. The scenery is the big draw - snow capped mountains, abundant forests with waterfalls that looked like white ribbons amid all the green trees. We saw lots of wild life - eagles, seals & orca and humpback whales. The towns are all geared to tourists and were fun to explore. The towns are small so even 1 day in each allowed us to see much. The bus ride from Anchorage to Seward where the ship was docked, took about 3 hours along a well paved highway with stunning scenery.

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The towns are easily travelled on foot. Some of the towns are only accessible by plane or boat (eg. Juneau & Ketchikan). A bus driver told us that Alaska has two seasons - winter and road construction so if you're driving, make sure to allow extra time to reach your destination.

Located in Prince Williams Sound, College Fjord is a popular stop for many cruise ships. It is about 20 miles long and contains sixteen impressive glaciers with names like Harvard, Smith and Wellsley. The names are as a result of a late 1800s expedition which was funded by these Eastern colleges and universities.

From a distance, it looked rather 'ho hum' but as we got closer and saw the magnitude, we were blown away. For me, this was the ultimate Alaskan imagery - masses of ice and snow that made our ship look like a matchbox toy.

As we approached the glaciers, we heard loud booms but couldn’t figure out what they were. The naturalist on the ship explained that this was the sound caused when parts of the glacier break away and fall into the water. Called calving, the ice initially pops like firecrackers as it starts to break away and then finishes with a loud roar as it hits the water. Near the glacier, the water is filled with many different sized icebergs, some created as a result of the calving.

Skagway is the northernmost stop on the Inside Passage and was my favorite destination on the cruise. The town isn't big but its wooden boardwalks and false fronted turn of the century buildings surrounded by majestic mountains make it a very pretty spot. Its history is tied to the Klondike gold rush of 1898 and the town plays it up big for tourists. Now part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park, it is filled with costumed interpreters who detail life in Skagway during the gold rush era. As well as walking tours, there are horse drawn carriages and vintage yellow touring cars that provide a fun filled account of Skagway’s colorful history.

This year (2000) marks the 100th anniversary of the completion of the White Pass & Yukon rail line that runs between Skagway & the Yukon. I took a 3 hour return train trip in a vintage railroad car to the White Pass summit, past points of interest like Dead Horse Gulch, Bridal Veil Falls and Black Cross Rock. The scenery was spectacular - deep gorges, sheer granite mountains and a long trestle bridge that was much sturdier than it looked. At the conclusion of the ride, I browsed in the train station gift shop which was loaded with souvenirs - clothes, food (salmon, of course), pins, magnets, etc. and I found both price and quality to be excellent.

Just a few blocks away, the main tourist area had lots of little shops, bars & restaurants that were fun to check out. Not far from town, the Gold Rush Cemetery was the final resting place for many gold rush era residents, including prospectors as well as local hero Frank Reid and local bad boy, Soapy Smith.

If your ship stops in Skagway, grab the opportunity to check it out. The town is flat so shouldn’t be an issue for those with mobility problems and kids of all ages will enjoy reliving the days of "gold in them thar hills".

Ketchikan is actually an island and accessible only by boat or plane. Creek Street was the red light district in the early 1900s and now has little shops and cafes connected by a wooden boardwalk and makes for a fun stroll. There is a small museum called Dolly's House and it is located in the house of a famous madam from that era. The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) are visible in Ketchikan throughout the year. If you're lucky, you'll be able to see the salmon jumping and swimming upstream as the try to get away from the many people that fish near the bridge downtown.

Sitka is smaller than any of the other ports of call on this cruise and has a more rugged type of atmosphere. The ship was too big to dock at the harbour so we had to tender in on small boats and this took about 5 minutes. The entrance to Sitka is through a small harbour dotted with tiny little islands and it's very scenic. There were many sail boats and fishing boats moored there. In town, Castle Hill provides a nice view of the harbour. It was built to commemorate the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States and there were guides available for tours of the town. The town itself is rather rough and there isn't a lot to do but St. Michael's Orthodox church with its onion domes makes a nice photo and the inside is decorated with gold leaf and lots of Russian icons. Most shops sell souvenirs with a wild life or Russian theme but I didn't find the quality as good as in Skagway or Juneau. As mentioned, the scenery was great but I don't think there is much to do here unless you are into fishing or hunting.