EVERYTHING
FOR YOUR FAMILY
KID
QUIPS
“One night, my 3-year-old asked me if she could sleep in my bed. I told her no. She said, “That’s not fair! Why does Daddy get to sleep in your bed?” READ MORE
Travel
|
||||
|
The Carnival Cruises’ “fun host” who ran some of the deck games had the annoyance factor of fingernails to a chalkboard; voicemail and wireless Internet were down the entire cruise despite promises they would be fixed; the shore excursion director needed an attitude adjustment; and because one of the ship’s six engines went kaphlooey before we set sail, our arrivals and departures were off schedule the entire voyage. OK, so it wasn’t a perfect seven-day Alaskan cruise. But it was darn close, just like the calving glaciers of College Fjord right outside our private balcony the first morning. Even though frustrations followed us from start (Whittier, Alaska) to finish (Vancouver, B.C.), nothing prevented us from having the best family vacation ever. As sure as glaciers are cold, Carnival is a wise choice for the Alaska-minded family. For one thing, it’s the only line with what I believe is the optimum mix of passengers: roughly 1/3 families, 1/3 young couples and 1/3 seniors. Plus, the price is middle-of-the-road as today’s never-cheap megaships go, falling somewhere between economical Norwegian and steep Radisson Seven Seas. Others selling points: 80% of the ship’s staterooms have balconies (as ours did) and the children’s program was a good fit for our 10- and 8-year-olds. Camp Carnival was a major hit with our boys, who enjoyed being grouped with children their own age as much as their parents appreciated the first-rate counselors and all the fun and well-organized activities. While it is possible to stay onboard the entire time and have an absolutely fabulous trip, I believe that God invented gangplanks to be used. So whenever the crew opened the gangway, the family took advantage, though I will say that the original schedule for doing so was thrown overboard due to the mechanical snafu. Hiccups aside, if I’ve awakened your sense of adventure and you’ve got a week free during the prime Alaska cruising season of late May through September, have we got a vacation for you. Sitka If you want proof that Czarist Russia ruled Alaska for the 126 years between the Tlingit Indians getting unwelcome visitors from the West and U.S. Secretary of State William Seward from the East buying it in 1867, look no further than this hamlet that serves as a popular stop on the cruise circuit. Once the hub of Russian America and the capital of the Alaska Territory until it moved to Juneau in 1906, Sitka offers plenty for the shore excursionist. The “Historical Sitka and Russian Dancers Tour” is a terrific way to get acclimated and cultured. The 2 ?-hour bus tour begins in the historical district, going past St. Michael’s Cathedral, Sitka’s centerpiece. The tour continues at a cultural center where volunteers of the all-women New Archangel Dancers perform authentic Russian folk steps. The production we saw was hokey and unpolished, but the ladies sure knew how to Troika. And who doesn’t love a good Troika? The Wilderness Sea Kayaking Adventure run by Alaska Travel Adventures is a perfect choice for those who want medium adventure, like us. After a motorized raft whisked us across Sitka Sound to the operation’s floating base camp, a short lesson on kayak techniques was all we needed before venturing out to the protected waterways in two-person boats with our experienced and friendly guide. The water was like glass, simply magnificent. Juneau The Alaska state capitol here is a boring flat-roofed, six-story converted federal building. The structure’s unimpressiveness isn’t surprising because the same can be said of the city if you’re hoping to find much more than souvenir and jewelry stores within walking distance of the dock. The Juneau Shirt Company seemed to get the most business during our stroll down Franklin Street, but for my money I’d pass on buying souvenirs until the final port of Ketchikan and take a breathtaking ride on the Mount Roberts Tramway. The 1,800-foot ascent up the mountain takes six minutes, but a lifetime for the acrophobic. Hence the reason my wife stayed behind to shop at where else? the Juneau Shirt Company. The clear skies over Gastineau Channel added to the grandeur of the panoramic view from the observatory. The opportunity to shoot a dramatic aerial shot of our ship was worth the price of admission alone, but the ticket also gets you access to a looped alpine trail for guided and unguided walks, a nature center, a caged (and non-releasable) American Bald Eagle plus a theater that shows “Seeing Daylight,” a 25-minute film on the Tlingit. The pair of shore excursions we chose for this stopover was our opportunity to escape from the monotonous shops and other tourist trappings of Juneau. Or so we thought. The Gold Creek Salmon Bake was atrocious from the moment we boarded an old school bus that took us a few minutes out of town to an outdoor camp setting behind an unsightly industrial area. To give up a pre-paid gourmet lunch on the Spirit for a costly meal on land, the grub had better be incredible. The fixins at the salmon bake were nothing of the sort, and worse, the experience was flat-out dull. Fortunately, we were still on a high from the morning’s Mendenhall Glacier Float Trip, which provided us a view of Juneau’s No. 1 attraction that you can’t get by taking a tour bus there. Alaska Travel Adventures provides the rain gear, life jacket, boots, guide, raft and Class II and III rapids. You provide muscles if you care to row; the guide sends you down a section of genuine white water. Other ways to experience a glacier include by helicopter, floatplane and a four-hour hike and climb, but for a family these can be too strenuous on the budget and body. Skagway Situated at the top of the Inside Passage, Skagway was the ideal starting point for prospectors heading to Canada and the Klondike during the Gold Rush of the 1890s. The two shore excursions we chose for this port taught us about the fortunes of few, failures of most and how the heck a narrow gauge railroad built through some of the continent’s most ruggedly beautiful terrain can climb 2,865 feet in just 20 miles. The three-hour, round-trip aboard the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad is the most popular shore excursion in town. This engineering marvel constructed during the Gold Rush and finished when it had all but petered out goes through two tunnels, harrowingly high trestles, cascading waterfalls and, yes, Canada, albeit just for a few minutes so the train engine can turn around to take us back to the Skagway station. The railroad excursion delivers as promised and is quite memorable, but if you’re not a train enthusiast and feel like breaking away from the pack, I suggest Gray Line’s “Klondike Summit & Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp Tour.” Klondike Highway and a luxury motorcoach get you to the top, and along the way you stop at scenic spots for quality picture-taking, a treat you don’t get on the train. A fun bonus is the visit to Liarsville, a Gold Rush trail camp recreated on the very spot where it stood over a century ago. The place had the look and smell of a tourist trap, but the well-humored cast of characters made sure it wasn’t. What a pleasant surprise. Ketchikan Long before cruise passengers began spending money in Ketchikan on plastic totem pole letter openers made in China, the Tlingit spent their summers there fishing for salmon. A line of faceless shops can cater to all your souvenir needs in Ketchikan, and the other three Carnival ports for that matter, but if you want to learn about the people who shutter at the thought of die-cast totems, you can’t do better than the family-friendly Saxman Native Village tour. A short van ride takes visitors to a village that is home to hundreds of Tlingit, Tsimshian and Haida Indians and the world’s largest collection of authentic totems. Before a short film was shown, a native host on our tour taught us how to say “thank you very much” in Tlingit. Then it was off to a grand cedar tribal house to watch a native dance group perform. If you feel like getting jiggy, volunteer to dance as this big ham did. Not only is this a great photo opp, but you can exit the stage Elvis style by saying, “Gunalchéesh. Gunalchéesh ho ho.” Learning about each of the massive totem poles outside was cut short since we were running late for the final Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show back in town. (Yes, another headache due to the Spirit getting late into port). The 90-minute show has something for everybody: slapstick comedy for children, powersawing for the guys and rugged lumberjacks for the ladies. Not being sexist, folks - this is based on real audience reaction. The battle between Alaskan and Canadian loggers adds to the fun and excitement because the audience is divided in rooting sections. Think Medieval Times with Pendletons and axes. Anchorage For the southbound passenger who doesn’t want to chance things with the airline industry, I strongly recommend getting in at least a day before the cruise instead of flying in the day of. Just don’t stay at the Millennium Alaskan Hotel in Anchorage. Trust me on this. Our only full day in Anchorage was as full a day as you’d ever want to have. A guided horseback ride along forested trails on the south side of the city made for a perfect start. Horse Trekkin Alaska is well-run with fabulous animals, patient with the inexperienced and gratifying to the skilled. Have a child as young as 8? No problem for this family-friendly operation. The infamous road construction of the snow-free Alaskan summer turned our 60-minute drive to Alyeska Resort into a two-hour stress test that resulted in a low return on investment. The tram ride there is surprisingly unspectacular (complete with the rudest ticket seller I’ve ever dealt with), and the Crow Creek Mine in nearby Girdwood, though beautiful and quaint, isn’t worth the 20-minute, unpaved detour off Seward Highway. Our mistake was not hitting these two attractions the following day when we would take the same drive to the ship in Whittier. Actually, the tram would have still been a waste of time. Next was the Alaska Zoo, a so-so family attraction on 30 wooded acres just a few gallops away from Horse Trekkin. Young children will enjoy seeing the zoo’s 100-plus species of Alaskan wildlife, including Siberian tigers and polar bears, but many of the animals were MIA during our visit. Still can’t believe we never saw a single moose on the trip not even in the zoo’s large moose habitat. Taking advantage of an 11 p.m. sunset, the boys and I dropped mom off at the hotel and drove an hour north of Anchorage to the town of Houston, population 1,200, and year-round fireworks stands that sell what California can’t. Gorilla Fireworks and Jerry’s Discount Fireworks have a Hatfield and McCoy thing going, being right across from each other at the Mile 52 marker of Highway 1. Use this to your advantage when you load up on the good stuff that can be discharged in a number of open spaces around town. Since cruise companies no longer throw launch ceremonies with confetti and fireworks, this was the next best thing. Nothing like ending a full day of adventure with a bang, and on the eve of what would be the best vacation this family had ever taken. No wonder the official state flower is the forgot-me-not. David Dickstein, the father of two boys, 10 and 8, and husband to a schoolteacher, is a regular contributor. |
||||
RSS Subscribe
Digg This ArticleSEARCH THE SITE
