We initially chose Cruise West since they specialize in small ship cruising that gets close to nature. They delivered in every respect.I seriously underestimated the film I
would need for the cruise. The natural splendor of Prince William Sound is truly amazing. The first day out we saw a Kittiwake Gull colony, several bear cubs playing in tall grass, bald eagles feeding and in
flight, and a black bear sow pulling salmon out of a waterfall to feed her cub. We had a wonderful time.
The next morning we awoke in College Fiord, where we cruised up to the face of Harvard Glacier. We saw
huge chunks of ice fall into the water and finally a 120 foot tower of ice fell away from the face of the glacier in an explosive crash of water and ice. The whole week went like that.
Our on-board naturalist and
cruise director would call us out on deck every time there was some new natural wonder to observe, and she would explain what we were seeing.
When we weren't on deck, we would hang out in the ship's lounge, our
floating living room. Three excellent meals were served every day in the dining room. For those who wanted to eat breakfast early or late (or both), continental breakfast was served in the lounge from
6-9 AM. Excellent snacks were served every afternoon in the lounge.
I thought I would enjoy the cruise but it wouldn't be nearly as interesting at Denali. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. I had a great time on the
cruise and hated to see it end!
If you want to get close to nature, on a small ship with a casual atmosphere, we highly recommend Cruise West. There is more at this site at the
