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From: smh@mhuxl.UUCP (henning)
Newsgroups: net.travel
Subject: Re: info wanted on Alaska cruises
Message-ID: <314@mhuxl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 12-Nov-85 22:04:34 EST
Article-I.D.: mhuxl.314
Posted: Tue Nov 12 22:04:34 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 14-Nov-85 00:26:14 EST
References: <33040@lanl.ARPA>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 47

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From the keys of Steve Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA mhuxl!smh

> "Would appreciate any info or account of experiences on cruises to Alaska.
> Any recommended or non-recommended lines? ...."

My wife and I completed a 3 1/2 week tour of Alaska this summer.  We took
ships, planes, and rental cars and it was much cheaper than a tour and
we saw everything south of the Arctic Circle.
1) If you want to see grizzly bears, golden eagles, foxes, wolves,
moose, caribou, and other wild life, then Denali National Park is
a must.
2) If you want to see whales, seals, bald eagles, and tide water
glaciers, Glacier Bay National Park and the Columbia glacier are
musts.
3) If you want to sample Alaskan life, past and present, Fairbanks,
Juneau, Anchorage, Ketchikan, and Sitka are representative of just 
about every thing.
4) If you want sheer beauty, then a drive from Skagway, to Whitehorse,
Yukon, to Haines Junction, and then to Haines is probably your best bet.
5) If you want to spend some time in one place and make excursions,
then Anchorage is idealy situated with Portage Glacier, Columbia
Glacier, Cook Inlet, Alyeska Resort, Homer, Matanuska Valley and Glacier,
and a train trip to Denali National Park.
1) Denali Park is best reached by train and has a beautiful lodge, and
many wilderness lodges available by reservation.
2) Glacier Bay is best seen using Exploration Cruise Lines to arrange a
trip based out of Juneau.
3) The area from Skagway to Ketchikan is best toured by the Alaska State 
Marine Highway, the ferry system.  They have very reasonable cabins 
available by reservation and have a very good schedule.  They have a 
U S Forest Service naturalist on board every ferry to help in spotting 
whales and eagles and explaining the history etc.  The ferry takes about
3 days roundtrip and costs about $150/each plus $50 a night for a 2 berth
cabin. There are fine hotels and B&B's in Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka,
and Skagway or Haines.
4) To drive the loop from Skagway to the Yukon and back to Haines, you can
rent a National rental car in Haines and use the ferry from Haines
to Skagway to complete the trip (a 1 hour trip).
5) Anchorage and most other cities of Alaska are blessed with a fine 
system of Bed & Breakfasts which we found very hospitable and much 
friendlier than the big hotels.  The country road houses vary from super 
to gross.  Food was surprisingly varied and good most everywhere we went
except in the Yukon.   Somehow the Yukon is one of the peas, carrots, and
potatoes places which are so common in Canada.  You can find good food
there, but it takes more work than in Alaska.  My favorite chain
restraunt was Truman's, named after Harry Truman of Mt. St. Hellens.