An Alaskan Vacation

Cruises to Alaska have become more popular in the last few years. Alaska is the virgin frontier of northern America and the demand to explore this frontier is growing day by day. An Alaskan vacation cruise will bring you sights of snowy peaks, majestic fjords and glaciers. You can also see wildlife with seals, brown bears, black bears, whales and bald eagles. You will come across gold rush towns and Native American culture. You will also get a glimpse of the Russian heritage in Alaska. On account of the surge in the popularity of cruises to Alaska, the fares have started rising and are among the highest in the cruising tariff schedules. There are two kinds of cruises that are available into Alaska. There are Inside Passage cruises and there are Gulf of Alaska cruises. The Inside Passage cruise is the conventional method to cruise the Alaskan region. Most of the ships sail with a round trip from either Seattle or Vancouver. They traverse the glaciers right up to Juneau. Meanwhile, the Gulf of Alaska cruises make you see more regions as they cruise from Seattle or Vancouver through the Inside Passage up to Anchorage. Cruises to Alaska are of twelve days in duration and the season starts from May and lasts till September. The off-peak periods are in the months of May and September. Most of the tourists also opt for an additional land excursion so that they can visit the Denali National Park, the Yukon gold rush region and the Canadian Rockies. You can experience very long hours of daylight in Alaska. Close to the summer solstice, a day may last up to almost twenty three hours. In addition to the land excursion, your vacation will also include salmon fishing and sea kayaking. The prominent cruise lines operating to Alaska are the Celebrity Cruise Lines, Princess Cruise Lines, Disney Cruise Lines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Holland America Line and Royal Caribbean International. Sometimes, the brochures for the Alaskan cruise will come out a year ahead and you can save up to fifty per cent on the brochure rates with the early bird savings. The small ship companies like the Alaskan Dream, American Safari and Inner Sea Discoveries offer niche oriented cruise vacations. Most cruises will spend majority of their days in the southeast of Alaska. It rains here at random and it is better to equip yourself with a sufficiently warm jacket and a rain coat. Mostly, the elderly couples tend to take an Alaskan vacation. When you are planning a cruise to Alaska, you have to make sure that you are packing adequately so that the cruise can be a comfortable one. You may need long pants and long-sleeved shirts for most part of the cruise. You can deal with the chill by layering up and can again layer down when it gets a little warmer in the cities. Every day is not going to be an icy cold one. When the weather gets mild, a few sets of shorts or skirts for the ladies would be alright. You can carry your bathing suit and most Alaskan cruise ships have indoor pools located within them. You can pack dress suits for dinners, dress shoes and hiking or trekking shoes. On the additional land excursions, the Kenai Fjords National Park is considered as Alaska’s playground. This peninsula which is situated in South Central Alaska is teeming with native fauna and flora. It is well known for its river rafting and fishing. The Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is the largest national park in North America. It has spectacular mountains and magnificent sights. There are glaciers and you can see miles of forest in this park. When you take a cruise to Alaska, you are going to be thoroughly inspired by what you see ranging from the Hubbard Glacier to the Ketchikan Creek. The scenery will stun you. At the Ketchikan Creek Falls, you may spot a nesting eagle or a salmon under the surface of the crystal clear water while going up the stream. There is a whale spotting region at the Icy Strait Point. You may be able to see the humpback whale also. You can explore the waterfront and the streets of Juneau and Anchorage. Close by to Juneau is the Glacier Bay National Park and the Admiralty Island National Monument. Your Alaskan vacation is going to be unlike any other vacation as this region offers diverse sights of snow capped mountains and glaciers. The virgin wildlife of Alaska is an experience to remember when you see the grizzly bears fishing in the streams or the humpback whales near the Hubbard Glacier. Here, you will find one of the richest landscapes in the world.