Small Ship in the Great Land
By Rebecca Antioco

Cruise ships nowadays are destinations unto themselves. If you’re consumed with the casinos and nightclubs, rock-climbing walls and surf lessons, it hardly matters where the ship is headed. Try to take advantage of all there is to do, and you may just need a vacation to unwind after you get home.

What if you do care about the destination? What if you want the ship to be merely a convenient conveyance to get where you are going, and once you’re there, to leave for the “entertainment” offered in the local environment? A big ship can be that, if you want it to, but will you be tempted to cut short your exploration because you couldn’t resist the half-price massage at the onboard spa? And if you do leave the ship for some adventuring, will you really be in the mood to come back and have to get “dressed” for dinner? Maybe. Maybe not.

If you fall into the “not” camp, or prefer to do the rock climbing and surfing onshore rather than at sea, and have shied away from cruising for some of the aforementioned reasons, there is an alternative.

A friend and I recently took an eight-day cruise of Alaska’s Inside Passage on Cruise West’s 138-passenger Spirit of Yorktown. Starting in Juneau and ending in Ketchikan, we hit all of the standard Inside Passage locales, including Skagway, Sitka and Glacier Bay National Park. I had cruised Alaska before, on a ship with more than 10 times the passenger capacity, and was interested in finding out if smaller really is better.

According to the Alaska Visitor Statistics program, 1.63 million out-of-state tourists visited Alaska last year between May and September. Of those, 59 percent were cruise-ship passengers. Cruising is an efficient and convenient way to see Alaska, with the ship carrying you from port to port and serving as your sightseeing vessel through must-see spots like Glacier Bay and Frederick Sound. Alaska is often a once-in-a-lifetime destination, that you’ll want to see and explore in as in-depth a fashion as you possibly can. That’s why it’s important to choose wisely when deciding how to get there. 

We arrived in Juneau via Seattle the night before we were to depart in order to take advantage of some of the optional activities available there, and stayed at the functional Goldbelt Hotel. The Spirit of Yorktown wouldn’t leave port until the following afternoon, so we signed up for two pre-cruise excursions: the Helicopter Glacier Walkabout and the Rainforest Canopy and Zip Line Adventure.

A short bus ride took us to our departure point. Before boarding the helicopter, we were outfitted with winter jackets, snow pants, boots, gloves and harnesses. The half-hour flight to the glacier took us over rainforests and icefields, showcasing the diverse Alaskan landscape. Guides were waiting for us on the glacier, and affixed crampons to our boots and ice axes (which functioned as trekking poles) to our harnesses. For the next hour, we marched over the icefield, peering into crevasses, tasting crisp, pure glacier water, crossing glacial streams and learning the proper technique for maintaining balance on ice while climbing up, down and sideways. We learned why ice looks blue (it’s because the light refracts off of it) and why it’s not a good idea to get too close to a crevasse (if you fall in, you’re body heat melts the ice and you slip further and further down until you end up, basically, underneath the glacier. The deeper the crevasse, the more likely this is to happen before you can be rescued).

This is a moderately strenuous activity, but people in our group varied widely in age (the oldest was well into her 70s), experience and fitness level, and no one experienced difficulty or extreme discomfort. Guides move at a reasonable pace, sometimes splitting the group in two to accommodate both fast and slow movers.

Once back on terra firma, we whisked off to our zip line adventure. Having just relinquished our jackets and harnesses to the helicopter tour company, we were strapped in anew by Alaska Canopy Adventures in preparation for our expedition 135 feet above the forest floor via 6000 feet of zip line and suspension bridge. This is not an adventure for the acrophobic, once you start out, you’re committed – there’s no going back once you’ve zipped to a platform and are tethered to a tree 135 feet above the rainforest. The good news is, the excellent guides give you ample instruction on getting started, correct body positions and, most important, stopping. They can’t help you overcome a fear of heights, however.

You start out slowly, zipping a short 175 feet the first time out. The eight lines get increasingly longer, and by the time you’re going about 30 miles per hour across the heart-pumping 800-foot grand finale, you’re ready for more. The final adventure is rappelling from the platform on a rope. Don’t worry, it’s nothing like those horrific high-school gym class rope climbs; this time you have the assistance of pulley and a harness and smoothly float to the ground where you get a medal for your effort, along with a light snack and a bottle of water.

A full day of excitement behind us, we were more than ready to board the ship for a relaxing night at sea. The rooms on the Spirit of Yorktown are small, to be sure, but efficient. Twin beds have ample storage space for suitcases underneath, and our clothes fit nicely into three closets with hanging space and drawers. Obviously, after a day of physical activity, there was some freshening up to do before dinner. But, here’s the first advantage of casual cruising – after a brief shower, we didn’t have to pull out the hose, skirts and dress shoes. Of course, we didn’t go to dinner in our pajamas, but a clean pair of jeans or khakis, a nice shirt and a comfortable pair of shoes were sufficient, just as they would be every night.

Dinner that night consisted of a grilled black bean cake appetizer, mushroom tarragon soup, wild greens or house salad and, as an entrée, a choice of prime rib, salmon, chicken fettuccini, or Portobello mushroom and risotto. On the nights that followed, there was always a fresh baked bread, soup and salad and choice of a pasta, fish, meat or vegetarian entrée. If none of the choices tempted your palate, sirloin, chicken breast and baked potato were always available. The food was generally very good, but don’t expect a midnight buffet or towers of dessert on the lido deck. Meals are served on a schedule: breakfast at 7 a.m., with the standard eggs, pancakes, omelets available along with a daily chef’s special and an early bird continental breakfast from 6 to 9 a.m. in the lounge. Lunch was served at 12:30 in the dining room with a sandwich bar available in the lounge.

The evening routine that first night dictated how things would go for the rest of the cruise: social hour and light appetizers in the lounge at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m., followed by a presentation on the following day’s activities. All of this ended at about 10 p.m., when most passengers shuffled off to their cabins for the night. Exhausted after a full-day of activity, I was asleep about five minutes after my head hit the pillow at around 10:30.

How lively the ship is at night after the presentation really depends on the composition of the travelers. The passengers on our departure tended to be older, so as a rule, if you’ll excuse the stereotyping for a moment, they chose to retire shortly after dinner. According to the bartender, the trip before ours was more lively, with passengers staying at the lounge until the wee hours, arranging some impromptu karaoke. In short, the nightlife is as you make it.

The second day brought us to Skagway and Haines. As on any cruise, in each port, shore excursions are available at additional cost. These can be arranged in advance or you can sign up onboard. The quality and variety of the Cruise West options were comparable with those I found on the large ship; many of the activities were similar in scope and price. There’s some good news, bad news here. Good news: there are fewer passengers onboard, with about the same number of available options. This makes your odds of getting on the excursion you want very favorable. Bad news: sometimes, there are minimum participant requirements. If not enough people sign up, the trip is cancelled. At that point, there may not be enough time to rebook something else or availability on your second choice. Unfortunately, this was the case for us in Skagway – and in Haines. Maybe we just have lousy taste in sightseeing.

The cancellation of the Jewell Gardens and glass-blowing experience in Skagway was particularly disappointing since, if you don’t have an interest in souvenir shops, there’s not enough to occupy the five or so hours spent there before embarkation. The included 20-minute streetcar orientation tour gives you an overview and exploring on your own can take an hour or so – if you browse all of the stores. There are two railroad excursions available here – the White Pass Railroad excursion or the Klondike “Trail of ’98 Rail and Highway tour – both of which won high praise from passengers. Two helicopter tours take off, too, one of which includes a glacier dogsled ride.

In Haines, I was looking forward to checking out the Hammer Museum, Extreme Dreams Art Studio and Dalton City, which was created for the movie White Fang , but ended up pleased with the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve Float Trip. Our guide, CP, amused us with anecdotes about Haines – none of which included what his initials stand for. On the way back to the Yorktown, he quizzed us: “How many students graduated from the high school this year?” “Nine boys!” we’d all shout. “How much is a gallon of milk?” “Eight dollars!” “How many stores in the commercial district?” “Three!” And so on. On the tour itself, he did all the work, paddling the raft down the slow moving river while we wiled away the hour spotting bald eagles. Back on board, it was social hour, dinner, presentation and, for most, bed.

The next day, cruising Glacier Bay was on the agenda. The typical 7 a.m. wake-up call applied, and we paused at Bartlett Cove to pick up two rangers who would narrate our cruise through the national park. After breakfast, the highlight of the day came when we were lucky enough to witness some extraordinary glacier calving in the bay. That afternoon, because of our ship’s small size, we were able to cruise some inlets that are largely inaccessible to the other lines. That night: social hour, dinner, presentation and, for most, bed.

On day four in Sitka, I was careful to choose a “good” excursion, one that I felt wouldn’t be cancelled for lack of interest, and monitored it closely to be sure the minimum was met. I chose sea kayaking, while my traveling companion opted to visit the very popular Alaska Raptor Center, a rehabilitation facility for birds of prey.

While we both enjoyed our excursions, if there’s a day that you want to spend exploring on your own, without additional expense, Sitka is a good choice. The former Russian capital is rife with historical buildings, including St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral, museums and shops. Sport fishing is another popular Sitka activity. After social hour, dinner and a presentation on “The Whales of Southeast Alaska,” for most - you get the idea.

Our second full day at sea, to me, was the real test of the small-ship experience. Cruising Tracy Arm and Frederick Sound, we were, once again, able to get “up close and personal” into some inlets and waterways. Having had our fill of the scenery, as spectacular as it is, after a few hours, we retired to the lounge for an impromptu game of Scattergories with some of the teens and kids, whose restlessness was becoming evident by the minute. Used to a multi-media world of television, computers, cell phones and video games, the lack of these diversions began to take a toll. Save for portable DVD players brought from home, electronic forms of entertainment are nowhere to be found on the Yorktown. For some, this is a welcome break from the hectic nature of everyday life. For others – not so much.

The remaining two days were essentially more of the same. On day six, we made a brief stop at Annette Island to visit Metlakatla for a native dance performance and a stroll through a community center where t-shirts and beadwork were for sale. The afternoon was spent cruising Misty Fjords. Day seven took us to Petersburg. Without a doubt, you should go on an excursion here. I had planned to jet boat to LeConte Glacier, but was thwarted by the sudden unavailability of one of the vessels. The included Norwegian folk dance performance by local children was entertaining, but not long enough to occupy the time here. And downtown Petersburg makes Skagway look downright cosmopolitan. Several passengers who didn’t book excursions spent time waiting in line at the local library to check their e-mail. We hit the local market for snacks and headed back to the Yorktown to enjoy them outside on the top deck. That night was the captain’s dinner. Many chose to stray from the super-casual dress code to don a button-up shirt and maybe even a casual jacket. Phone numbers and e-mails were exchanged and an after-dinner slideshow brought back fond memories of experiences shared, excursions taken and friendships made.

We ended up the next morning in Ketchikan, where many chose to stay an extra night to get their final fill of the Great Land. 

Passengers get to know each other well on small ships and, often, fast friendships form. The intimacy of the group and the shared experience bonds people together, if only for a week. Even if those relationships fade after time, the memories created in moments of adventure and wonder remain. That, to me, is ultimately why some people choose to forgo the luxuries and grandeur of a mega-ship in favor of a more basic, and often more expensive, small-ship experience. We 138 passengers cruised places others can’t, saw a bear, some whales and eagles galore. That we saw them with each other is what matters most.

Photos courtesy of Kathleen Drey