Cool

Author: By Richard P. Carpenter, Globe Staff

Date: SUNDAY, March 16, 1997

Page: M1

Section: Travel

My wife and I had just spent a week exploring Alaska -- a land so vast, beautiful, and teeming with wildlife that it caused me to exclaim: ``I'm in love again!''

We were on a Princess Cruises' ``cruisetour,'' and were just finishing the land portion of the trip, which took us from Fairbanks to Denali to Anchorage to Kenai to Seward. Along the way, we had explored a gold mine, rode a riverboat, dwelled in majestic Denali National Park, viewed magical Mount McKinley, taken a long and scenic trip on Princess's Midnight Sun Express rail cars, and admired a glacier on a Kenai Fjords excursion. And we had seen creatures ranging from moose to a grizzly bear to whales to puffins.

As much fun as that land trip was -- and it was a lot of fun -- we nonetheless looked forward to going aboard the Crown Princess, our home for the next week. There would be no more packing or forwarding of luggage every day or two; there would be ample activities and leisure time; and cruise-ship dining is legendary.

But on this, the seventh day of our early June trip, we weren't yet ready to rest. Before settling in, we had a chance to see Seward on foot and by shuttle. It's a colorful town, with a bustling waterfront, wildlife, and -- surprise! -- souvenir shops galore. It also has Mount Marathon, where every July 4 a foot race is run to the top -- 3,000 feet up. And in Seward, I discovered Deadman's Reach coffee, whose slogan is, ``Served in bed, it raises the dead.'' Coffee in all its forms seems to be as much of an obsession in Alaska as it is in Seattle.

It was time to board the Crown Princess. And during our first two full days at sea, stopping only to view dramatic glaciers, we would get to know the ship well.

The Crown Princess, launched in 1990 and remodeled just two years later, creates a fine first impression with its sleek, curved exterior. Within, muted colors predominate: corals, blue and aqua tones, light woods, granite, and polished metal. The neutral colors of the stairways and passageways are broken up by splashes of color from a million-dollar collection of contemporary art.

There are 795 passenger cabins, all of which have phones, color TV, music channels, a walk-in closet, a separate dressing area, a refrigerator and a safe. Outside cabins have picture windows, which is especially nice in glacier-viewing areas. But even nicer are the private verandas -- a total of 184 on suites, mini-suites, and outside cabins. Our cabin gave us more than sufficient space; the only thing I could quibble about was a shower that was difficult to adjust to my preferred temperature. (And I so love to quibble).

A striking feature is The Dome, situated forward at the top of the ship and including several areas under one roof, among them a casino, dance floor, bar, and observation area. The Dome itself is 19 feet high in the center, with curved glass windows providing excellent viewing.

Also impressive is the three-story Plaza atrium, highlighted by a grand staircase. On its various levels are the lobby and reception area; ``La Patisserie,'' which serves pastry and specialty coffees; and Galleria, a duty-free shopping arcade offering jewelry, perfumes, clothing and some very nice Alaskan souvenirs (my wife, Linda, launched a collection of exquisite Lladro figurines from a ship shop). There is also a wine and champagne bar, serving six kinds of caviar.

Sprinkled throughout the ship are bars and lounges, large and small. The International Show Lounge, scene of the nightly entertainment and other public gatherings, has state-of-the-art lighting and sound. There are two pools, one with a waterfall and in-pool bar, plus two whirlpool hot spas. (And, yes, even in Alaska, passengers used the pools. Temperatures outside were mostly in the 50s and 60s.)

The ship's Images area combines beauty and health, with an aerobics floor, weight machines and exercise bikes, a sauna, massage area, steam room, and beauty and barber facilities. Add to that features such as a library, card room, jogging area, and a cinema/conference center, and you've got a lot to do (but only if you want to).

And, ahhh, the dining. Having sailed on Princess before, I was looking forward to renewing acquaintances with the cuisine. The Crown Court dining room, with its two-level terracing and constant hum of conversation, provided more than adequate ambience. The less formal Cafe Cabana is the place for indoor/ outdoor breakfast and luncheon buffets. And for a quick snack, the Presto Pizzeria features -- what else? -- freshly baked pizza.

Meal choices are plentiful, as one night's choice of dinner entrees illustrates: mahi mahi with asparagus tips, seafood turnover with lobster sauce, chicken cacciatore, smoked Virgina ham with cranberry gravy, and New York steak with corn on the cob. There is always a healthy choice menu as well (and its selections, like broiled lobster tail with rice pilaf, ensure that the healthy eaters do not suffer). Available any night are a vegeterian plate, Alaskan salmon, grilled chicken breast, and sirloin steak, along with an abundance of appetizers, salads and desserts.

And this being an Italian kitchen, there is always a pasta dish. I love Princess pasta, which is imported from Italy and served in almost limitless ways -- linguine alle vongone, fettucine alfredo, ravioli con salsa di funghi porcini and on and on. My wife and I like Princess pasta so much, in fact, that at the luncheon buffet we would head right for the pasta station and make the day's choice our entire lunch.

The ship sailed, we dined well, and we passengers were introduced to cruise director Mark Iannazzo (who seemed born for the job) and his staff during the evening's entertainment, highlighted by the jokes of comedian Dick Gold. It was going to be a week to look forward to.

Magnificence of another kind was experienced at the night's show: ``Mystique,'' billed as ``a mysterious undersea circus'' that explores the creatues and legends of the sea and features acrobats, dancers and singers in dazzling, multicolored costumes. Any resemblance to ``Cirque du Soleil'' is purely wonderful. It was unlike any show we'd seen on a cruise ship before.

It was also the night of the Captain's Welcome Party, where passengers met Capt. Cesare Ditel, a native of the island of Elba who comes from a seafaring family and who himself has spent more than 35 years on the seas. It was also the first of the week's two dinners that require formal dress, and after a week of ``roughing it'' on the road, we enjoyed wearing our spiffy clothing.

Our second day at sea gave us plenty of time to participate in the ship's activities, which are almost continuous. During the week, there were health and fitness programs, trivia quizzes, movies at the ship's theater and on the cabin TVs, talks about Alaska, even appearances by a mind reader and handwriting analyst.

The performers that evening were the Zuniga Brothers, international juggling champions whose skills and jokes made me take back all the cracks I had made before the show about going to see jugglers. But the real entertainment was put on by the passengers themselves, first with wooden-moose races and then with ``Pub Night at the Klondike.'' If you like your shows silly and zany, they don't get much sillier or zanier than this, with the hosts wearing moose hats and the audience participating in skits, games, and dancing. Was that really my wife on stage line-dancing to ``Achy Breaky Heart''? My goodness!

When gold fever reached its peak in 1898, Skagway was the gateway to the Chilkoot Pass -- what author James A. Michener called a ``steep, upward climb to hell'' -- that in turn led to the gold fields. Today, the downtown has been restored to the style of a century ago, with Broadway, its main street, lined by wooden boardwalks and false-fronted buildings.

Places such as The House of Negotiable Affection, where Skagway's ``soiled doves'' plied their trade, now are gift shops, selling everything from jewelry to moose hats to hand-painted Russian Santas (remember, Alaska belonged to Russia before being sold to the United States for $7.2 million in 1867). Dee's restaurant, meanwhile, was crowded with passengers of the four or five visiting ships who had been told by their cruise directors to try the tasty specialty, the halibut-burger. The waitresses' constant call to the kitchen of ``halibut-burger . . . halibut-burger . . . halibut-burger'' sounded like a mantra.

A popular Skagway attraction is the Trail of '98 Museum with history inside and 20,000 pieces of driftwood outside, making up the building front. Beyond town, there is the Lookout, offering panoramic views, as well as the Gold Rush Cemetery, where lies legendary con man Soapy Smith. And, as at most of the cruise-ship stops, nearly a dozen optional tours were offered -- including a ride through town in a 1920s' taxi by an appropriately costumed driver, heli-hiking, glacial flightseeing, fishing expeditions, and a steeply climbing ride aboard a narrow-gauge railroad to the White Pass Summit, bordering Canada.

But my wife and I experienced one of the biggest thrills of the trip aboard an excursion boat that journeyed into Taku Inlet. Along with the sea birds and sea lions, we encountered several whales -- one of whom breached, or leaped straight up -- three times just a few feet from the boat, offering an incredible view of an incredible creature. As the skipper judiciously backed up the boat, he told us such breaching is highly unusual in Alaskan waters, and that this whale was still a baby. What a baby!

To commemorate our last land day, we hopped aboard a seaplane for a flight to the 2.2-million acre Misty Fjords National Monument. With the mists and mountains, lakes and waterfalls, it was like visiting Shangri-La. And after the plane touched down on the water, we were able to stand on its pontoons for a spectacular sea-level view.

Before going home, we had time to tour this classy Canadian city, with its mountains, forests, seascapes, distinctive architecture, large Chinatown, historic Gastown section and, of course, its 1,000-acre Stanley Park, filled with beaches, trees, and totem poles. Our flight home was long, but reminiscing about the trip passed the time.

And now I have a confession: As a lover of warm places with palm trees, I really didn't want to go to Alaska. My wife convinced me to take the trip, however, and I am very glad she did. So is she, even if the journey did bring me a new love.

Princess offers 41 Alaska and Alaska/Canadian Rockies cruisetours, lasting from 12 to 18 days and with base brochure prices listing from $2,689 to $4,079 a person, double occupancy, depending upon the length of trip, choice of ship, whether you want to upgrade your ship stateroom and other factors.

There are also port charges/government fees/hotel fees, with totals ranging from $125 to $280. Add-on air fares, under the Princess Seabird Air Program, would cost $499 to $659 from Boston.

Princess seven-day cruise-only fares are listed as beginning at $1,299 and can go up to $5,899 per person depending upon the ship chosen, the time of the sailing and the choice of cabin. (The top figure is for an outside suite with a private balcony on the Sky Princess.)

With Princess, the rule of thumb is that the earlier you book, the better the deal. If you're looking ahead to 1998, book by next Feb. 14 to get the best discounts of all.

Optional tours, on both the land and cruise portions, are many and varied -- and so are the methods of transportation. Between the regular transportation and the excursions, you could find yourself at various times traveling by jet, cruise ship, dome train, narrow-gauge railroad, helicopter, float plane, six-seat fixed-wing aircraft, DC-3, bus, catamaran, kayak, horse, wagon, excursion boat, and riverboat.

Optional trips at cruise ports can range from $15.95 for a tramway ride in Juneau to $29 for city tours to $258 for a heli-hiking expedition to $329 for a fly-in fishing expedition in the Tongass National Forest. While the options do add to the cost, they also add to the enjoyment. The views from helicopters or small planes are stunning, and nature excursions in the final days of our cruise allowed us to see eagles galore.

The wise way to pack for Alaska in summer is to bring layers of clothing -- sweatshirts, sweaters, jackets, coats, raincoats. Although temperatures were moderate during my trip, the weather can be changeable, and also can be different at each destination. It might also be wise to bring mosquito repellent. We had very few problems with mosquitoes in June, but the state does have 27 known species, and the mosquito is sometimes jokingly called Alaska's state bird.

There are several good Alaska guidebooks, but to get a vivid look at the state, problems and all, turn to a fictional work called ``A Cold Day for Murder'' by Dana Stabenow, or any of the succeeding novels in this mystery series.

For more information, and to get an exact picture of the prices, see a travel agent. For brochures, call (800) PRINCESS.