anniemoll

We are planning our first trip to Alaska in late May or early June. While Cruise West is very appealing, my husband is leaning toward Glacier Bay Cruiseline, in part because they seem to offer a little more variety in their off ship activities, kayak launched from the rear of the ship, large rubber raft trips and opportunity for many walks, in other words, you could have a choice of 3 different activities at one time. I would appreciate if anyone could tell me the structure of Cruise West. From what I am reading it appears that everyone does the off ship activities as a group and at the same time. Any information would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

pollyvw

I have only cruised with Cruise West once so...that one experience is what I can report on. When we did excursions, whether they were the included excursions or the ones we paid for in addition to the cruise, everyone left at the same time. There seemed to be a choice of at least 6 activities in each port...some of which (because of time constraints) eliminated other choices. Basically, you arrive in port and each group is called and directed to board the appropriate bus (so everyone is not necessarily together, just leaving at the same time to go in different directions). Some added excursions can be enjoyed in addition to the included excursion, but some require forfeiting the included excursion. For instance, we were in Sitka for about 4-5 hours. My husband went fishing (with 7 other passengers) but I took the included excursion (with about 35 other passengers; other people did other activities in small groups.) I also spent time wandering around the little town and arrived back at the ship at least an hour before he did. When he (and the kayakers and the float plane people) arrived back, it was time to leave port. In other ports, everyone was taken on the included excursion and upon returning to the ship, announcements were made directing people to their added excursions. Hope this helps. I can also add that I chose Cruise West for the exact reason your husband is leaning toward Glacier Bay...my husband and I do not do extended hiking and I can only imagine turning a kayak over and drowning...lol! We wanted a more tame "adventure." Activities offered included but were not limited to helicopter flights and/or float plane trips to walk around on glaciers; kayaking; helicopter flights to participate in dogsledding; native dancer presentations; salmon fishing (not available at the time you will travel); eagle viewing trips via raft, passenger coach and ??? I can't remember the other mode. I dont remember hikes, but I hope I have helped you see the great variety. Call them and explain your situation. They should be able to direct you to a webpage (usually reserved for registered passengers) where you can see a list of potential activities.

anniemoll

Thank you so much for all this wonderful information. My husband is a lot more adventurous than I and we consider this a trip of a lifetime for him, which I am happy to make it so. I retired last year and he will work at least another 10 years so I am more than happy to make his two weeks vacation away from the workplace a dream come true. I really think the spur of the moment kayak/raft trips is what is most appealing to him as they can be launched from the ship very quickly at any given place. I will try to do the kyak trips although I am not crazy about being confined in that environment, but I may be over reacting. Again, thank you for providing me with all this wonderful information.

pollyvw

I fear I gave you not quite correct information. We just received the Cruise West 2005 Alaska Catalog and they DO have cruises with impromptu off-ship activities such as raft launchings. It is just in a different category from the cruise I was looking for when I booked. I believe those are in their 'wilderness cruise' section. Again, check their website.

SB_Travlr

I recently read a day-by-day report about a Cruise West Alaska trip on cruisecritic.com. Don't have the link, but I think there was a link on their home page -- maybe called a "virtual cruise"? Lots of good info there.

Happy travels!