A Cruise is the Best Way to See Alaska

This clip begins at the Tracy Arm Fiord near Juneau, Alaska and it was captured from one of the cabin balconies at the back of the ship.

When you are sailing through calm waters, admiring the majesty of nature’s wilderness and such jaw-dropping sights as the giant ice walls of a massive glacier, you’ll understand why cruising is the best way to see Alaska.

The scene in America’s Last Frontier is breathtaking from the water. As you cruise Alaska, past vast forests, fjords, and rugged coastline, you may spot eagles flying overhead, whales and sea lions in the water, and bears on the beach.

Your ship also brings you to extraordinary coastal towns where frontier life and Alaska Native culture are on display, and wilderness exploration is just steps away. Here are some of the reasons a cruise is the best way to see Alaska.

Get up Close to Glaciers

Of all the amazing sights you’ll see from the sea, the most fascinating is Alaska’s glaciers. Your ship’s captain will navigate slowly and carefully past floating icebergs to bring you a front-row seat to a startlingly blue and giant wall of active, advancing ice. A cruise is the best way to see Alaska’s magnificent natural phenomenon.

You’ll have the opportunity to admire glaciers from your veranda or one of your ship’s open decks as the glacier sheds massive chunks of ice—some as large as a five-story building—into the sea, a process known as calving. This is one of the many reasons why Alaska is one of the best places to cruise to in the world.

Calving can be a surprisingly visceral experience. You hear the glacier crack and then a sound like thunder. As the ice crashes, you may feel cool air on your cheeks and perhaps the ripples of a wave passing under your ship.

Hubbard Glacier, in Wrangell-St Elias National Park and Preserve, is North America’s largest tidewater glacier. The view here is a massive blue wall of ice as tall as a 30-story building above the waterline (and 250 feet below), stretching seven miles wide. Named for Gardiner Hubbard, the first president of the National Geographic Society, the glacier originates some 76 miles away.

When the ice comes to its dramatic end here, you are watching a process that began with mountain snowfall some 500 years ago. Admiring this natural treasure is a once-in-a-lifetime experience of Mother Nature in all her glory.

Hubbard is not alone on the dramatic glacier list. Some ships visit Endicott Arm, the southern edge of Tracy Arm, in a massive wilderness area near Juneau. Here, Dawes Glacier is a sight to behold, more than 600 feet tall (or equivalent to a 55-story building) and a half-mile wide.

Dawes is known for its spectacular and frequent calving. Endicott Arm is also one of the largest breeding grounds for harbor seals. You may spot moms and their pups on the floating ice.

See Amazing Wildlife From the Sea

Much of the coastline in the Inside Passage and Gulf of Alaska is a wilderness comprised of snow-capped mountain peaks, glaciers, green rainforests, and stunning fjords. A cruise is the best way to see Alaska because you’ll have a viewing advantage where wildlife roams in their natural habitat. You may even wake up to views of eagles or whales outside your cabin window.

Look for harbor seals lounging in drifting icebergs and Stellar sea lions hanging out in groups on craggy outcrops. Look to the sky to spot soaring eagles. Use your binoculars to check mountainsides for Dahl sheep and mountain goats with big black horns. Scan isolated beaches to search for lumbering bears. Always be on the lookout for whales—their blows are often the first thing you see.

On your ship, a naturalist will be looking for wildlife. Announcements from the bridge will let you know when whales are sighted in the distance.

Alaska attracts 16 species of whales. Small white beluga whales hang out in the Kenai Peninsula near Seward. Humpback whales, which may grow to 53 feet, may be spotted near Icy Strait Point and in Sitka Sound. Orcas (killer whales), the ocean’s top predator, tend to like the Inside Passage.

Article excerpts from Celebrity Cruises.