Explorations Alaska!
Gold Rush Inside Passage Cruise
May 27th, through June 6th, 2010
With optional extension to Denali, Fairbanks and Barrow at the Top of the World

Announcing a frequently requested destination for an NHA Exploration:
Gold Rush Inside Passage Cruise

Explore one of the world’s most spectacular destinations imaginable with Cruise West, a small family-owned, small-ship cruise line voted among the world’s top lines by readers of Condé Nast Traveler, and consistent award winner for Best Small Ship and Expedition Cruising.  The 138-guest Spirit of Yorktown, staffed by exploration leaders with many years of experience as naturalists and educators, will be your home for this exciting 11-day/ 10 night-adventure.

 

Itinerary:

Boarding in Seattle, the ship follows the route of the original stampeders of the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, encountering along the way the culture and whaling heritage of the Northwest Native American tribes. From dense, forested shores to stunning fjords, immense glaciers, and unspoiled waterways, the inside passage is a world of spectacular beauty. Our small ship allows entry into waterways inaccessible to larger vessels.

 

We will cruise the pristine waters of the San Juan Islands visiting the Whale Museum at Friday Harbor, once an important whaling center and now a center for whale research.
Continuing on to the Strait of Georgia, home to orcas, bald eagles, and seals. The Strait of Georgia lies between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, and is part of a huge estuary system.
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, a World Heritage Site. Bears, goats, moose, whales, sea otters, and all the creatures of the water and forest flourish here, completely protected from man. Reportedly the most sought after park to visit in the United States.
Frederick Sound Abundant krill (small, shrimp-like crustaceans), zooplankton and herring thrive in the glacially fed waters of Frederick Sound, making it one of the premier places in Alaska to observe feeding humpback whales.
Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier. This fantastic fjord rivals if not surpasses the fjords of Norway and New Zealand. Twisting and turning, not being able to see what is around the next corner, you will be presented with a continual flow of scenery with waterfalls and “u”-shaped valleys, carved out by ice in the not-so-distant past.
Sitka was the Russian Capitol of Alaska before it was sold to the United States in 1867. The remnants of its architecture, also known as the “Paris of the Pacific,” are all still apparent, especially with St. Michael's Russian Orthodox Cathedral, which dominates the town’s skyline. In the middle of town, the Tlingit ceremonial long house will also capture your attention.
The Norwegian-heritage fishing village of Petersburg. This tiny town, with a population of about 3,300, makes its living off salmon and halibut fishing, and still holds much of the Old World charm and character of a small European town.
Skagway, where we can relive the Gold Rush of 1898, where over 20,000 men and women with dreams of hiking either the Chilkoot Trail or White Pass to reach their final destination, the gold fields of the Klondike.  An optional excursion on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad will be available here.
More information about Cruise West's Gold Rush Inside Passage Cruise is available on their Web site.

Your Onboard Experience:

Nina and Bob Hellman of Nantucket will be your hosts on this adventure, throughout which you will enjoy the services of the cruise line’s accommodating staff and Exploration Leaders as well as Park Service Rangers and Native Cultural interpreters.  Believing that smaller, up-close, and casual, is better, Cruise West passengers are the recipients of friendly, personal attention. Each day offers the opportunity for a shore excursion at no additional cost.  Bob Hellman will offer a special onboard lecture about the relationship between Alaska and the Far North and Nantucket and New England, during the era of American whaling.   

You can leave your formal attire at home, forego the artificial entertainment and assigned-seating dining of the large impersonal cruise ships, and trade them for a wonderful encounter with history and nature with fellow passengers who share a passion for travel, adventure, and learning.  

Registration:

Pricing starts at $4,998 per person, based on a minimum of sixteen people. Price includes ten breakfasts, nine lunches, and ten dinners. Airfare to Seattle and from Juneau is not included. Single supplements and cabin upgrades are available.

Don’t miss your chance to experience Alaska. Small-ship cruises book quickly, so to save your place, call Sheila O'Brien Egan at Swain's Travel (508) 228-3201 ( ), or Julie Kever at 508-228-1894, ext. 0, or

Optional trip extension: Travel to the Top of the World:

For those who want even more adventure, Swain’s Travel is offering a seven-day extension trip into the heart of Alaska, June 6 – 13, 2010. 

Disembarking in Juneau, you will fly to Anchorage and after a night at the Hotel Captain Cook you will travel by the McKinley Explorer luxury dome train to Denali Park for a 2-night stay at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge.  You will travel into the wilderness of the park and into the heart of bear country, and weather permitting; you’ll see Mount McKinley up close.  En route you may see moose, caribou, Dall sheep, and other magnificent wildlife.  

Departing the park, the train brings us to Fairbanks for a two-night stay at the River’s Edge Resort, a resort facility on the Chena River. While here, we will have a tour of Fairbanks, which will include the University of Alaska Museum of the North with wonderful exhibits of Native art, recollections of the gold rush days and an aurora borealis show.  We will visit the home of the first woman to finish the famous Iditarod Sled-Dog Race. 

After our second night in Fairbanks, we will fly to Barrow, 500 miles above the Arctic Circle and the northernmost settlement in the United States, where we will have an overnight stay at the Top of the World Hotel. We will get a glimpse into the lifestyle of the Inupiaq people as we tour the Inupiaq Heritage Center where the Hellmans are arranging for a “behind the scenes” visit to the museum.  May and June are the best times to see polar bears, and while in Barrow, there is a possibility of an optional excursion to see them.  We depart Barrow for Anchorage for our return home.         

The excursion includes all transportation, including flights from Juneau and back to Anchorage, sightseeing, museum admissions, as well as seven breakfasts, one lunch, and one dinner. 

The price of this extension is $3,899, based on a minimum of sixteen travelers. A single supplement is available; for more information, or call Sheila O’Brien Egan at Swain’s Travel at 508-228-3201.