Alaska fills you with awe

An inside passage sail offer more than glaciers

Author: By Robert F. Cutting, Globe Staff

Date: SUNDAY, September 20, 1998

Page: M1

Section: Travel

It's a rare day in Alaska when you can sail into Glacier Bay and not have a cloud in the sky and also have mild temperatures. (According to the US Park Service rangers in Glacier Bay, these perfect conditions exist about seven days a year.)

It's also a rare week when you can enjoy the splendor and spectacle of Alaska, with its soaring pinnacles and peaks and valleys and waterways, without having rain or showers. (A week in late May was the first in at least three weeks that it hadn't rained more than one day.)

We experienced these rarities on a cruise through Alaska's Inside Passage this past May on Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas. And to use a very-much overworked word -- but the only one that is really applicable to cruising in Alaska's waters -- it was, well, totally awesome!

Sailing on the Rhapsody is pretty cool, too. The 75,000-ton vessel, just a year old at the time of our cruise, offers the usual amenities of cruise ships, plus an expanded health and fitness area, an indoor solarium complete with sculptures of Pharaohs, lots of glass surrounding many of the public rooms, a five-deck atrium of lights, marble steps, and gold trim and accents, a well-organized design and traffic pattern throughout the ship, and larger passenger cabins (at least for Royal Caribbean).

The two-deck Edelweiss room, brightly lit, well-designed, airy, and open, with a good combination of large, medium, and smaller tables, provides a great place for dining. The Windjammer Cafe, open for breakfast, lunch, tea time, and supper (for those who prefer casual dress at dinner), is surrounded by glass, and is also well-designed for ease in carrying food trays and table arrangements that allow for good viewing of the outdoor scenery.

The main showroom -- the Broadway Melodies Theater -- has the latest state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems, as well as an orchestra pit for the musicians (but the house band performs on the stage for most of the cruise). This theater also takes a big step forward in passenger comfort. Gone are the rows of sofas and chairs, with small tables placed nearby -- a layout that never seemed to work on other ships we have cruised on over the years. Instead, the room on the Rhapsody is designed in a traditional theater arrangement, with additional space between rows to allow people to move in and out with ease (and also allows the wait staff to serve drinks). Each seat has a beverage holder on one arm, which makes it easier for both waiter and cruiser.

Likewise, the Shall We Dance lounge is one of the better-designed dance/performance rooms we've seen on ships: comfortable seating, good line-of-sight views, good dance floor, and wonderful views through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Being in the Land of the Midnight Sun, we had the opportunity to experience spectacular sunsets while dancing or being entertained at 11 p.m. in this lounge.

When you cruise to Alaska, it's more than the ship that counts. It's also more than the various stops and tours the ship makes. It's the breathtaking scenery you see from the deck of the ship or notice as you walk in any of the towns you visit during the cruise. It's not just one thing but the whole picture that makes a week in the Inside Passage so exceptional and memorable.

Upon arrival in Vancouver, British Columbia, on a cloudy, cool Saturday, and after being bused from the airport to the terminal at which the Rhapsody of the Seas is docked, we began the process of embarkation. Two other ships besides the Rhapsody were leaving this facility on this day, and the traffic getting in and out of the terminal was at a virtual standstill. It took our bus well over a half-hour to travel less than a mile. The line inside the terminal was just as bad, but it did move along at a reasonable pace. By midafternoon, we were on the ship, and having checked out our cabins, we headed to the Windjammer Cafe for a pre-cruise lunch, followed by a quick look at the ship's facilities.

Embarkation day on a ship means being rushed and confused, waiting for luggage to arrive at the cabin, getting shipboard credit approved, doing the lifeboat drill, finding your way around, locating your table in the dining room, checking out the casino, going to the showroom or one of the many lounges, all after an airplane trip of 5 1/2 hours and a three-hour time-zone change (and to complicate the time-zone changes, a fourth hour was added to the day as we reached Alaskan waters early on Monday morning).

Another detail is finding time to go through all the information on land tours and get your choices (the top two or three for each tour you want to take) into the ship's tour office by midnight. All of which is necessary because of the limited number of spaces available on some of the tours; my indecision on whether to take a helicopter or seaplane tour of glaciers cost me the chance to do so.

With all the first-day business finished, we went to bed looking forward to Sunday, a full day at sea.

When we cruise the Caribbean, a ``day at sea'' means exactly that; all we can see is water everywhere. Imagine our surprise, on Sunday morning, to wake up traveling through the Inside Passage and being able to see land; not at a distance, but close up. The view was spectacular: soaring snowcapped mountains amid plentiful forests, with low clouds adding an extra dimension of mystery to the scenery. At some points along the passage, the ship came real close to land, giving passengers an up-close glance at the scenery.

The Rhapsody, with its expansive use of glass windows in public areas, offered numerous places to sit back and relax and take in the splendor of the north country. Even the open decks are designed in such a way as to allow good viewing and at the same time offer some protection from the cooler air that surrounds the ship.

Of course, if we got bored looking at the world outside the ship, we could always run to the casino to try our luck gambling or go to the theater lounge to play Bingo, hear a shore talk, learn a line dance, or take part in a multitude of fitness activities. Grab a lunch from the buffet at the Windjammer Cafe or indulge in a more leisurely meal in the Edelweiss dining room. Perhaps a pizza would do the trick, or some sandwiches, light desserts, and drinks at teatime.

Sunday is a formal night on board, one of two nights on this particular cruise. In a sign of the changing times, all of the other nights are casual, with shorts and bathing suits the only clothes prohibited in most of the public areas of the ship. Sunday turned out to be special for us because the other two couples cruising with us had arranged for a special cake in honor of our recent 25th wedding anniversary. (And there's nothing quite like having a group of waiters sing ``Happy Anniversary'' to you in a dining room filled with close to 1,000 people.)

We arrived in Juneau, the capital of Alaska, on Monday morning. The choices of tours are varied, from helicopter rides to the Mendenhall Glacier field to a wildlife cruise to a bus tour. We decided to take the wildlife cruise while our friends took the highlights tour. We were bused to Auke Bay, where we boarded a large catamaran for our wildlife cruise. The outfit that operates this tour ``guarantees'' that guests will see various forms of wildlife or refund your money.

For us, that guarantee was met in the first half-hour of this three-hour adventure when we saw a pod of Orca (killer) whales; such pods are only in the area six or seven days a year. A little farther into the bay, we saw three humpback whales. Then we discovered sea lions resting on a buoy. We've seen eagles in Maine from a distance, but were totally unprepared for the eagle sitting at the end of a rock ledge on Auke Bay. The bird didn't even budge as this huge catamaran trolled nearby. In fact, there are so many eagles in this part of Alaska that it's easy to see them soaring through the skies.

Incidentally, the operator of this tour was very sensitive to the environment and to not disturbing the whales, sealife, and other wildlife we encountered. A naturalist was also on board to explain the various forms of wildlife we encountered.

Besides the wildlife, once again we were surrounded by magnificent vistas, snowcapped peaks, green valleys, and, at one point, a view of the Mendenhall Glacier.

Tuesday is a ``two-fer'' day: We were in Skagway during the day and at Haines during the night hours. Both are small towns, but very different in their appeal to tourists. Skagway (or S-k-a-a-a-g-w-a-ay, as some of the locals refer to it) was the starting point for the 1898 Gold Rush. The town retains a lot of the atmosphere of the gold rush days, with wooden sidewalks and restored storefronts.

Two popular tourist events in Skagway are the scenic White Pass Scenic Railway, which follows the route taken by the gold prospectors to the summit, allowing visitors not only breathtaking views but a sense of how difficult it was for the prospectors to actually reach the gold sites, and the Vintage Street Car Tour, which takes groups of people in antique touring limousines through the historical sites and byways of Skagway. This is a fun tour, with actors and actresses driving the street cars and telling tales of life in the 1890s and of the characters who made the town infamous during the Klondike days.

A short cruise down the waterway in the afternoon brought us to Haines. You can go to a salmon bake, watch the Chilkat Indians dance and explain their traditions, or ride along the coast and see the natural habitats of the bald eagles. For us, a walk to the town was sufficient, and we saw many eagles in flight. Most intriguing here was the sun, which didn't set until almost 11 p.m., so we could enjoy the panoramic mountain views at night (and also soak in the rare 80-degree temperatures on this particular night).

But nothing we had seen in the first three days of this cruise could prepare us for Wednesday's itinerary: sailing into Glacier Bay. And our luck with the good weather continued: There were no clouds in the sky, the sun was bright and the skies blue, and the temperatures still on the mild side. On board the Rhapsody of the Seas, passengers headed for the outside decks or for the inside areas that have a lot of glass. There was a lot of environmental concern shown by Royal Caribbean as the ship begansits passage into the bay. The ship traveled slowly, signs were posted warning passengers not to throw anything overboard or to feed any of the wildlife the ship may encounter, and items such as straws and plastic or paper coffee cups were not available during this part of the cruise.

Glacier Bay didn't exist 200 years ago; it was all ice. Glaciers are formed when snowfall in the high mountains exceeds the snowmelt. The snow turns into solid ice and then flows downhill, influenced by temperature, slope, and gravity. Glaciers are either advancing or retreating, and all those in Glacier Bay are retreating. The bay itself has been formed over the last 200 years as the glaciers have retreated. You get the sense of how this has happened as you begin entering the bay. Lush vegetation and rolling hills at the entrance slowly yield to rockier terrain, fewer trees, and less brush. The farther into the bay the ship goes, the starker the landscape becomes. Fields of ice and mountains of glaciers replace the green.

Before our cruise, we were told to bring heavy jackets, hats, and gloves; some friends who were in Alaska last year in late July told us it was really cold in Glacier Bay. As we began our day in Glacier Bay, the day felt warm under the bright sun. But as we moved farther into the bay, the glacier fields chilled the atmosphere. By the time we got to the farthest inside site, we were all wearing heavy clothes (jackets and sweatshirts, earmuffs, and, yes, winter gloves). But we never left the outside decks during the morning cruise.

The Rhapsody of the Seas headed for the Grand Pacific Glacier and the nearby Margerie Glacier, and when we arrived there, virtually at the Canadian border, the captain halted the ship for one hour. From time to time, he moved the ship around so people on both sides of the vessel could view each glacier. Grand Pacific Glacier appears to be dirty; this is the result of the glacier dragging up dirt and rocks as it slowly retreats farther into Glacier Bay. Margerie Glacier, on the other hand is pure white with hints of blue ice, caused by the continual compacting of the snow and ice (white glaciers have many trapped air bubbles; blue ones are more dense).

In the silence of the inlet, parts of the glaciers fall into the water, preceded by loud popping and cracking sounds. As the Rhapsody was about to depart, there was a thunderous roar, and a large section calved off and crashed into the sea, accompanied by the cheers and yells of the ship's passengers. A spectacular finish to an hour of up-close glacier watching (the ship had stayed within a few hundred feet of the glaciers).

As we made our way out of Glacier Bay, we saw more of the glacier fields. One, the Johns Hopkins Glacier, is a low-lying but expansive ice field of a blue hue that appears to flow out of the valley between two mountains. As we left the bay, another cruise ship began making its way in. The only major disappointment was that we didn't see any wildlife; usually people can see whales, bears, moose, and native birds as they traverse the bay. In early afternoon, we left the tidewater glaciers and headed for our last stop, Ketchikan.

The meals on the Rhapsody are generally very good. Breakfast is available in either the dining room (with complete waiter-kitchen service) or the Windjammer Cafe (with a full-service buffet line. The same is true for lunch meals, both offering a different variety of foods. Most people still prefer to eat in the dining room at night, even though the Windjammer offers full service but at a more casual dress and service level. Every night, there are five main choices of entrees available, and if there's nothing you like there, you can have a grilled steak, salmon, or chicken cooked for you. A variety of appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, and, of course, desserts adds to the dining experience. If you're up late at night, there is a buffet with a different theme each evening, served around the midnight hour.

One personal comment on the waitstaff: Although efficient and personable, the serving of the meals in the dining room had an obviously more businesslike approach. Our waiter (a female, something also new to our cruising experience) had little time for friendly chat. And we missed the nightly singing and entertainment by the entire waitstaff; only on the last night do they sing for the passengers.

The Rhapsody is alive at night, with the casino in full swing, entertainment in the Broadway Melodies Theater, and various forms of musical entertainment in the lounges throughout the ship. The professional entertainment in the main showroom is excellent and varied, as it is on all Royal Caribbean ships; there's a different entertainer on five of the nights, with the ship's own group of singers and dancers on the remaining nights. All of the performers were very good, but the Knudsen Brothers' show on Wednesday night stood out because of their vocal virtuosity in not only singing a cappella but in making their voices sound like a full orchestra.

The last stop on our cruise was Ketchikan. There is a variety of tours available, from seaplane flights through the Misty Fjords National Monument to tours of the town and the Totem Bight State Park. We opted for the park on this trip, and enjoyed seeing some of the restored totem poles and hearing some of the Indian legends and stories concerning those poles. Having taken the morning tour, all six of us now had a chance to shop and look around Ketchikan. One rather startling point is that at first glance, it looks like almost any port in the Caribbean; all of the familiar stores in the Caribbean also have outlets in Ketchikan.

Thursday night, we began our return to Vancouver, spending all Friday traversing the Inside Passage in Canadian waters. Again, the views were spectacular, and every hour or so would pass a little town, the only sign of civilization until we passed another one later on. Friday night was time to gather all our gifts and mementos and pack.

Saturday morning we arrived in Vancouver; this was one of the quickest disembarkations we've experienced. Within 20 minutes of starting the process we were off the ship and on the bus headed back for the airport. Of course, having to go through Canadian immigration and US Customs is a fairly lengthy process, but we still had plenty of time before we boarded our Canadian Pacific flight for Boston.

Leaving Vancouver, we passed over the Canadian Rockies; the peaks were snow-covered, and it was a fitting farewell to our week in Alaska and on board the Rhapsody of the Seas.

The brochure price for a week's cruise in Alaska runs from $1,600 per person for an inside cabin to $6,500 for the Royal Suite. There are various gradations in the price level as the Alaska season goes from spring to summer and then back to fall. However, early bookings and other promotional efforts can substantially reduce the price of the cruise. As in all cruises, almost everything on board the ship is included in the price, except for drinks, purchases, tours, and specialty items such as massages or hair treatments. Air fare from Boston is an added expense to the cruise package, but an air-sea package by Royal Caribbean will save you money.