My husband and I are thinking about a week in Alaska in August with 17 year old son and 19 year old daughter. I hate large cruise ships, but don't mind smaller, more intimate boat with day time excursions/adventure/hiking but nighttime comforts.

Any suggestions?

Hi afields,
Try Cruise West, they have a web site of the same name...they specialize in small vessels and more casual, adventure type trips, and some trips you stay the night on land and sail during the day, check them out ! Have fun !

In 2000 I went on an 8-day cruise with Glacier Bay Cruises at 1-800-451-5952 or www.glacierbaytours.com on the boat Wilderness Adventurer. The max # of passengers was about 70. I thought it was lovely with superb food and would offer the nighttime comforts. Each day were at least two activities that were nature-based--either hiking (such as on Admiralty Island) or kayaking. No kayak experience was necessary. No city/town visits, just nature outings. Plenty to see from the boat too. Many whales, a few brown bears, a black bear, otters, puffins, bald eagles, habor seals. Of course breathtaking scenery and calving glaciers. And waterfalls so close that you could get a shower from them if you wished. Leaves from Juneau and did include time in Glacier Bay (company namesake) as a higlight, but also Icy Strait, Mendenhall Glacier, Tracy Arm Fjord, etc. This company also does some trips with a little more and activity and less. Havea good trip.

Lynn

We are planning a trip from "Coast to Coast" by Alaska Tour & Travel in late August which goes to Prudhoe Bay and ends up in back in Anchorage. We would like to pick up a mid to small ship cruise southbound from Anchorage to Vancouver. Any suggestions?

There are no "small" ships sailing Anchorage-Vancouver. Mid ships would probably be HAL from Seward. Be advised that these stop sailing mid Sept. and not an ideal time to do this sailing. Research all you can about Prudhoe Bay- and strongly consider flying to Coldfoot or north as they do not call it the "Haul Road" for nothing. I would never do the drive again, quite boring and little wildlife overall since you are only on the road. Barrow offers far more.

Elena,

Just called up the Coast-to-Coast package and can't recommend it.

Too much time in the Interior (Fairbanks). Unless you're very interested in the oil industry, a trip to Barrow or Nome would be more interesting and scenic.

Not enough time in Southcentral AK.

My suggestion: If you want us Alaska Tours, do the eight-day Alaska Parks self-guided (or just use it as a guide and go independently) and add on a side trip to Barrow.

IMHO, buses -- other than the ones on specific tours, i.e. into Denali -- are a waste of time in AK unless you have physical limitations.

Try the Alaska Marine Highway. We sailed from Washington State up to AK (Ketchican, Juneau, Sitka, etc.) and thoroughly enjoyed the ferries. We weren't interested in large cruise ships with all those people nor the small ships (which can be quite expensive). It's a great alternative to cruises.

Check Clipper Cruise Line. I think the 138 passenger Yorktown Clipper will be there in August.
M

The Alaska Marine Highway is a great way to travel. You can sleep in a tent, on a lounge chair or in a berth.
You meet lots of folks from all over and see some amazing sites. I took it from Bellingham, WA to Juneau and then Juneau to Sitka. It's a wonderful adventure.

A cruise on Intrav's Clipper line would be a wonderful experience for you and your husband, but your kids would be bored silly. We did their 12 day repositioning cruise up the Inside Passage two years ago in May and were the youngsters on the ship at age 55. The passenger numbers are wonderful, the young American crew was great, and the food to die for....... but everybody was in bed by 11 p.m. Organized nightime activities would be limited to a movie or a speaker unless members of the crew 'adopted' your kids.

I highly recommend Glacier Bay cruises. My husband and I traveled on one of their early cruises this year and had a wonderful experience with the boat, the crew, the nature and the other passengers. You can click on my screen name and see my trip review and answers to questions that others have had about it. Enjoy planning your trip!

I can't recommend specific operators, but you really need to make 2 decisions with respect to cruises:
1. small boat vs big boat
2. Inside Passage route vs Gulf of Alaska

These choices are discussed in more detail on the following page: http://www.alaska.org/alaskachannel/...R04.jsp#More02

It sounds like you're disinclined towards large ships. I took a cruise on Celebrity last summer. It would qualify as a large ship, but it was a great experience. Also, the large ships have lots of activities for kids.

Please let me know if the link I referred you to is helpful.

Thanks