Stunning natural beauty, adventure, ease and a thirst for knowledge about the region await travelers on a fully equipped vessel cruising Alaska.
Stepping out on the deck an hour or so after departing from Seward, twilight disappearing in the summer sky, we heard a small commotion. Approaching a group of people looking over the railing, we saw what they saw: first one, then two, then five or six flashes appeared in the water, and we observed what looked like a school of small killer whales darting about, right below the surface! Not to be alarmed, a fellow passenger explained that they were probably Dall Porpoises, often confused with their larger cousins due to their similar black and white coloring. They performed in the bow wave of the ship for quite a while before disappearing into the vast ocean.
What a thrilling beginning to our Holland America cruise! This was surely one of the many reasons we came to Alaska and we soon discovered that more wildlife sightings and other adventures were awaiting us.
Alaska’s Waterways
Alaska is vast, about 3½ times the size of California, and most of it is inaccessible by road. For us, the challenge was how to experience as much as possible of the state’s beauty while enjoying some well-deserved relaxation and family time.
My husband and I and our 14-year-old son, none of whom had cruised before, decided to join Holland America’s (877/SAIL-HAL) seven-day “Glacier Discovery Cruise” departing from Seward, Alaska and sailing through Prince William Sound, Glacier Bay National Park, and the Inside Passage to Vancouver. Because we were anxious to see wildlife, explore Alaska’s waterways by kayak and canoe, and learn about the native people of the area, we also planned several shore excursions. Catching a glimpse of The Northern Lights from the deck would be the extra bonus that we were hoping for.
Relaxation for the Whole Family
The navy blue and white ms Statendam is a stately vessel which hosts 1,258 passengers very comfortably. The Veendam and Ryndam, also used for Glacier Discovery Cruises, offer similar space and comfort. On-board activities are focused around the two swimming pools and jacuzzis, health spa, casino, movie theatre, disco, library/gameroom, upper decks and spacious indoor sightseeing lounges. Club HAL is the children’s program, entertaining kids in groups from ages 5-8, 9-12 and 13-17 years in the mornings, after lunch, and after dinner when sailing, giving families time apart and together. (Private babysitting for the under 5s can be arranged.)
All meals were available in the Rotterdam Dining Room where formal dress was required on two evenings. The food, mostly traditional meat and fish entrees, was delicious and plentiful. We were especially impressed with the four course vegetarian menu that was presented to our son each evening!
Round-the-clock casual dining was also available at buffets. Especially for parents, cruising allows for relaxation– no car battles, airport stress or packing and unpacking every few days, and the entire HAL staff seemed truly interested in making sure everyone was having a great time. All passengers seemed to have left their cares behind, and settled in to relax and enjoy the journey.
Late August is a slower travel time for families, but I was told by son Jesse’s counselor that in June and July, Club Hal hosts up to 150 children a week. Jesse did meet a few kids to hang with, in and out of the planned activities, and we all felt totally comfortable with his coming and going on his own.
HAL’s ships offer many costly distractions, but thankfully, he didn’t want to spend too much time in the video arcade and, somehow, we avoided the pricey Internet area completely. Jesse and his dad were fascinated by a guided tour of the bridge (the ship’s control tower), where they observed the Statendam’s navigation, operation and propulsion systems.
I particularly liked the on-board naturalist’s talk about whales we might sight during the Park Ranger-narrated cruise through Glacier Bay. Viewing even a small part of this 3.5 million-acre National Park and Preserve, brimming with snow, glacier ice, mountains, fresh and sea water was a definite highlight of the time spent onboard. Observing the glittering blue Grand Pacific Glacier, two miles wide from side to side with peaks of up to 200 feet, and watching and listening as pieces of ice broke off, or “calved,” something we could only see by ship, was a very moving experience.
All Ashore
As much as a ship has to offer, to really experience Alaska you should definitely go ashore while in port to explore more closely. Due to their remote location, it is unlikely that we would have ever visited the three ports of call (Sitka, Juneau and Ketchikan), but the shore excursions allowed us this opportunity, and as the trips range in activity level, there is something for everyone.
You need an adventurous spirit (and a generous budget), but do not need to be an experienced outdoorsman, to participate in most of the programs. When will you have a chance to fly over a glacier, ride in a dogsled or see a school of Orcas breaching again? If sport fishing is your passion, try your hand in Ketchikan, “the Salmon Capital of the World,” where your catch can be frozen or smoked and shipped home. You can also bike through a rain forest, kayak in protected bays and inlets or watch a totem pole being carved.
HAL’s onboard Shore Excursion Department presents lectures, and there are informative videos on the stateroom TVs, however, we highly recommend that families request excursions before boarding as many trips do sell out.
One of the unique features offered by Holland America is the “Just for Kids and Teens Shore Excursions” offering younger cruisers a chance to explore with their friends in guided tours tailored to their interests. We were very disappointed that, due to minimum requirements to operate these tours, the two teen adventures that Jesse had booked did not take place. However, the Shore Excursion staff was able to arrange alternate tours for him either with us, or on other adult trips.
Alaska is a land of splendor and great diversity and we are delighted that we were able to experience it with our son. On this cruise, our family barely scratched the surface, but Jesse was surely inspired to go back. In the meantime, we will all dream of seeing The Northern Lights over Alaska the next time.
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I poured my heart and soul into this!!! Hope you people enjoy! =)
Wow, this is wonderful! You are so lucky to have gotten this opportunity. You looked absolutely gorgeous at the show and the red carpet. Thanks for sharing this, it really made me smile. I used to have the biggest crush on Joe Jonas.. hahah!
Amazing trip!
I hope that my story will inspire and enrich your lives; even if it doesn’t touch you as much as it has touched me. I hope that this will be passed on and that people will take a few minutes just to read what I had to say and try to be in the mind of these children. Try to change your day and see your house, your possessions, your income, and those many great things that you possess and find a way to share them with others. We all need a wakeup call sometimes, a message to straighten us out and look at the life we were given. I hope to go back next year to repeat the experience all over again and try to change myself even more, I love those children and I love their compassion and selflessness. Words can’t fully express what I felt or what I witnessed but my words are clear, these people see the world much differently than us, they treat possessions differently and they know how to work as a community.
This is about when my family and I took a trip down to Central Florida for our Family Vacation.
Hope you enjoy!
This was a vacation that taught me a lot about how my religion is organzied and gave me more appreciation for it.
I will never forget the time I spent in Germany.
I hope you guys enjoyed my story!
Best luck.
South Africa is this amazing country that not only is beautiful for its animals and scenery but for its people and for its ability to overcome the greatest oppression: apartheid, the discrimination of the majority. I am so glad I was given the gift of traveling to South Africa. It is an experience I will never forget!
It was a great trip!
I hope everyone who takes the time to read The Awakening enjoys learning about my bus ride to reality.
My typed essay about my vacation in Vietnam. It seem poorly written or should I say typed :\
Bryan Gray Europe Tour.
My vacation to Panama became suprisingly meaningful, contrary to what I had initially expected.
Thank you
This was a fun and yet difficult project i truely have enjoyed sharing my vaction with you.
Mahalo,
Have you ever been to Maine? What did you like best?
This is such an amazing story and essay!!
Their were many more memories from this trip that impacted me as much as the ones that were included, but I just didnt have enough room. So, I shortened it and tried to write the best description of the trip without exceeding the word limit. But the trip was, indeed, as remarkable as I said it was.
Washington is a really nice place. It has many museums and historical places. it also has very delicious foods. Chinatown was my favorite place to eat.
Thank you for this scholarship opportunity!
IB York was a great experience, and a great opportunity to explore new ideas and innovations
So now I head to college without my classmates but i will always have this wonderful experience.
🙂
This is one of my many travel adventure stories from my trip to Europe in the beginning of the summer. Besides Prague, I traveled to Berlin, Munuch, and Nuremberg in Germany, Innsbruck in Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and France. My favorite place was Switzerland, but my favorite story was the one I shared. I hope you enoy reading it as much as i enjoyed experiencing it!
I want everyone to be able to expericence something like I did.:) Everyone desevers happines!
I hope you enjoyed my travel blog and I hope you plan to take your mom to the Peaks of Otter Lodge for the best brunch you will ever eat. For more information click on this link:
http://www.peaksofotter.com/
Finished product. I love PERU!
This eye-opening opportunity has shaped my conviction toward making change and developing the community. It is a great pleasure to meet all those Leadership Award Honorees and other49 ANNpower fellows from 24 states in the U.S. I will continue to make change and build a dynamic community, excursively to ethnic, social, political gender aspects of advantage, as my milestone to become a great leader!
This eye-opening opportunity marks the culmination of my junior year. I am so glad to meet all those wonderful women leaders from all around the world and 49 other ANNpower fellows from other 24 states. I will continue to explore the world and make change with eagerness and confident, and overcoming disadvantage exclusively toward the milestone of a great leader!
I hope everyone enjoys my trip to Catalina and Ensenada!
This trip was the best trip regarding family time. It is unforgettable.
To see more photography from the trip, check out my photojournal: http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Photojournal-of-My-Grecian-Travels/213497035367351.
What a testimony!! Thanks for posting. You don't know how impactful this is. Let Jesus keep using you for His glory. 😉
I was saved in August of 2009. I was in my parents's room and we all prayed for m, becuase I was tired of not having a desire for God. There I gave my life to Him and let Him be my Lord. I already excepted Him as Savior, but though it was a license to sin. Thatt day, though I wanted to repent of my sin and let God lead me. Lord and Savior go hand-in-hand. My life is changed. Now I have convictions and am learning so much about seeking God, because He is seeking me. It's awesome to live in the security and hope of knowing I will see Him one day in heaven. I am so glad He lives in me, because my goodness outside of Him is nothing. I don't know what I would do without Him.
Jesus used that park to bring you and your dad back together. How beautiful 🙂
Each place I go, I leave a peice of myself. And everyplace I go leaves a peice of itself in me. The people I have met along the way have changed me in the deepest way. Their lives have touched mine and I can never return to life as was usual. Likewise, my life has touched many along the way. It is my hope that nobody I meet along the way may return to life as was their usual. This is how each thead pulls coth and fabric together as we the people of the world cover it like a quilt. We must double stitch each peice so not to fall apart or leave holes. We need one another.
To whoever reading this, I am the person wearing blue shirt and white shorts, sligtly leaning on the panda bear statue.
My essay that talks about my experience traveling to Lima, Peru aims toward encouraging others who are not too familiar with it to visit and appreciate the fun life changing experience they're gauranteed to get.
What a great contest! Hope to see lots of terrific teen travel stories here!
It was difficult for me to type a 600 word blog about an amazing experience I had in the month of July. It was also difficult for me to choose certain pictures from the ones that I have chosen, so I uploaded the pictures of my time at NeiHu elementary school. I really wished that I could have used more sightseeing photos, but unfortunately, those were too big to upload.
This trip was amazing and it also tested who I am becoming as a person. Seeing the woman in Central Park living out her dream, to the woman selling fruit throughout the day; New York is made of dreamers and hardworking people. I loved it. Hope I get the chance to go back.
This was an amazing experience! I am so grateful for everything it taught me!!
From research, I believe the ice cream shop was called Eisdiele Eddy. More information about the exchange program can be found at http://www.aatg.org/study-trip-faq as well as at the bottom of the page at http://www.aatg.org/NGE-awards.
These Picutures are both of my own creation (one being an acrylic painting). When I took this picture at the western wall in Israel, the man in the photo was crying his heart out wearing a tattered down bath robe, I thought it would make for an intersting picture. So it did, it also inspired to me to create a painting in which I showed the world what I believe he really is. A man who is down on his luck but seems to still find peace in his life.
My sophomore year of high school I went to Donner Pass in California with a group called The Woods Project (www.thewoodsproject.org) . I had to apply to go , I was really anxious and scared that I wasn’t going to get. When I got my acceptance letter I was excited. I was also nervous because I had never been away from home for more than a week and The Woods project was going to last for two weeks. I had chosen to go to Donner Pass because I wanted to experience something new. I was going to go backpacking for one week and hiking the other. I had never gone backpacking before. When I told my friends that I was going backpacking they started to laugh because I am the smallest girl in my whole school and they didn’t think I was going to make it. Getting that response from my friends made me super scared of going to the trip. I thought I was going to die while backpacking!
My dad went to go drop me off at the airport and then he left. I was already scared and freaking out at the fact that he had just left me there and I did not know anybody! . I got in the plane to California and I was already regretting going on the trip. I was going to be with complete strangers for two weeks! When we got to California we all got split .There were three groups going to different places, one to Yosemite, another to Marine Headlines and then mine, to Donner Pass. I got in a van and that’s where I met the people who I was going to spend two weeks with. We were in that van for hours! When we finally got to our cabin we had to go up a hill to get to the door.
The first cabin we stayed in was named Clair Tappan Lodge. It was really nice . It was made out of wood, had a pool table, personal chef, jacuzzi and hot water in the showers. I loved it there! Too bad it only lasted for two days then it was time to go backpacking. They gave us our backpacking materials. I tried on the backpack and almost fell over. My backpacking week had started. We went up and down mountains, through rivers and lakes, and I thought we were never going to set up our tents. When it started to get dark we finally started cooking. The food we had was not good at all. We couldn’t bring a lot of food because of the bears and other animals. My second day of backpacking went better than the first. Everybody in my group started to know each other better and soon we became really close. We would sing while backpacking to make time pass faster and at night we didn’t want to sleep because we would play games. While backpacking I got to experience many things I hadn’t before. Even though I was the smallest girl going backpacking I was always the leader of the line because of my stamina.
When our backpacking week ended it was time to hike. I had gotten the hardest part of the trip over with so I knew hiking was going to be a piece of cake. We would hike in the morning and hanged out at night. It was the best experience I had ever had! When it was time to go back home I didn’t want to because I knew I would miss my friends.
To watch my video go to : http://youtu.be/FLd7W71EnyU
My experience as a first time camper.
i hope i win