Studying up for Alaska Cruise

Given the nature of my first cruise fifteen years ago, I've got a hankering to "study up" for our upcoming SE Alaska cruise (in a manner I was not motivated to do so for our intervening cruises).

 

I'm sure it is far too early to seriously dig into any relevant reading material, but I've made the requisite changes to our DVR so that it alerts me to any Alaska-related programming. Of course, Alaska seems to be the capital of ridiculous "reality" programming these days, so it takes a bit to separate the wheat from the chaff. Watching the "wheat" as part of our typical mindless unwinding after work will be a feature of the next year or so I'm sure. (It is worth noting that what's left after filtering out the reality programming is mostly streaming content from Amazon Prime video, including some rather amusing 25 year old Alaska-cruise specific programming.)

 

Having said that, I'm wondering if anyone else has taken on the personal challenge of making their SE Alaska cruise a richer experience by grounding themselves before the cruise with a greater understanding of the place.

 

My spouse's and my interests are, first and foremost, in the natural beauty (i.e., glaciers, mountains, flora). I'm just nerdy enough to appreciate the ability, upon reaching a certain portion of the Inside Passage (for example), recognizing some specific formation, recalling what I've learned about how it came about, etc. Just as much, we're interested in the wildlife. So being able to visually tell the difference between humpbacks and orcas would be great, and understanding something about the differences between them beyond their appearance (behavior, typical life cycle, etc.) even better.

 

We will almost surely spend our entire time on land in SE Alaska devoted to pursuing those interests, with one exception: We'll choose an excursion in Skagway that combines the White Pass Rail with something, perhaps something that allows us to experience the culture of the native peoples of SE Alaska. And even though we will therefore totally overlook the history of Europeans in SE Alaska during our cruise, there's so much time between now and the cruise that I would like to consider digging into that as well. Again, it'll let me recognize something as we're driving by on a motor coach to some other excursion and acknowledge what I'm driving by in the context of the human history that has gone on there.

 

So my questions for you are: (1) Is there anyone else who has used an upcoming cruise as a context for personal "study"? (2) What books or other educational resources have you most enjoyed with regard to these topics:

• The natural beauty of SE Alaska, the geology, climatology, biology and ecology;
  
• The wildlife of SE Alaska and the waters of the Inside Passage;
  
• The history and culture of the native peoples of SE Alaska; and
  
• The history of Europeans in SE Alaska.
  

Edited November 26, 2016 by bicker

Thoughts....

• Humpbacks vs Orcas.... color, size, and speed are the main differences. You will find mainly Humpbacks in Alaska, Cascadia will offer more Orcas.
  
• History? Liarsville, Red Onion, and White Pass Train were educational for me
  
• Geology.... White Pass train will take you through the micro climates. A Yukon Extension to Tormented Valley. A visit to Mendenhall will allow you to get close to the glacier. Glacier Bay was important to me. For most.... Diamonds International does not count as a geology experience.
  

These vids may give you some inspiration.

 

[YOUTUBE]LyOFAKRjcpo[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]RiaOlvSRMAk[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]cF1l3vfKWAM[/YOUTUBE]

Edited November 26, 2016 by xlxo

I'm not trying to be sarcastic: I think you are *WAY* over thinking the trip. :eek: By what you said it seems more like a burden than something to enjoy. You can never truly predict what you will or won't see (wildlife and weather) so why not just plan the excursions you want to take and then just basically sit back and enjoy whatever comes your way?

 

Good luck!

If you are into dog mushing - look into borrowing/buying this book:

 

http://www.libbyriddles.com/books-and-gifts.html

 

Libby Riddles does go on every Princess cruise at the end of day in Juneau.

Thoughts....

• Humpbacks vs Orcas.... color, size, and speed are the main differences. You will find mainly Humpbacks in Alaska, Cascadia will offer more Orcas.
  
• History? Liarsville, Red Onion, and White Pass Train were educational for me
  
• Geology.... White Pass train will take you through the micro climates. A Yukon Extension to Tormented Valley. A visit to Mendenhall will allow you to get close to the glacier. Glacier Bay was important to me. For most.... Diamonds International does not count as a geology experience.
  

No question about any of that, but I was actually asking about educational materials folks enjoyed prior to the cruise.

 

I'm not trying to be sarcastic: I think you are *WAY* over thinking the trip. :eek: By what you said it seems more like a burden than something to enjoy.

For many folks (like myself) learning something new is quite enjoyable. Diff'rent strokes.

 

You can never truly predict what you will or won't see (wildlife and weather) so why not just plan the excursions you want to take and then just basically sit back and enjoy whatever comes your way?

No question about that, but it doesn't preclude what I was referring to, eh?

 

If you are into dog mushing - look into borrowing/buying this book:

 

http://www.libbyriddles.com/books-and-gifts.html

 

Libby Riddles does go on every Princess cruise at the end of day in Juneau.

Thanks! I'll look into it.

Edited November 26, 2016 by bicker

For your Skagway portion this is a link to a milepost guide for the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway that includes a historical geographic look along the rails. You’ll get a brochure with this information in it as you board although it’s nice to bone up on things before you board so you’re not trying to read about areas as you pass by them.

http://www.wpyrmediakit.com/mediakit/milepostguide.html

 

A book published in 1908 gives some very candid details of building the railway. “On The White Pass Pay-roll” by Graves.

Super! Thanks.

If you make it to Glacier Bay National Park, my old shop teacher did a bunch of the carving for the new Huna Tribal House:

If you make it to Glacier Bay National Park, my old shop teacher did a bunch of the carving for the new Huna Tribal House:

 

Impressive. I hope one day to make it there!

I'm admittedly an overthinker/overplanner sometimes. I bought something like 4 different guidebooks. They all have sections that tell about the different historical information, tidbits, etc. I actually think that might be why I have so many. :)

 

My suggestion is to go to a local bookstore and peruse and see if one or more strike your fancy. Milepost is a great comprehensive choice and has a particularly nice map I enjoy. But the Fodor's has a map as well and is also good as is the Lonely Planet book. You get the picture? Enjoy and happy reading. Also, there is a post somewhere from about a year ago when someone asked about Alaska based books. I think they were searching for novels, but you might find some suggestions there as well.

I'm admittedly an overthinker/overplanner sometimes. I bought something like 4 different guidebooks. They all have sections that tell about the different historical information, tidbits, etc. I actually think that might be why I have so many. :)

 

My suggestion is to go to a local bookstore and peruse and see if one or more strike your fancy. Milepost is a great comprehensive choice and has a particularly nice map I enjoy. But the Fodor's has a map as well and is also good as is the Lonely Planet book. You get the picture? Enjoy and happy reading. Also, there is a post somewhere from about a year ago when someone asked about Alaska based books. I think they were searching for novels, but you might find some suggestions there as well.

 

Alaska Cruise Companion by Rachel Cartwright is also pretty good. I also like Alaska by Cruise ship by Anne Vipond.

 

Milepost is great if you are doing a land trip.

 

I overplan also!

Edited November 27, 2016 by Coral

I'm admittedly an overthinker/overplanner sometimes. I bought something like 4 different guidebooks. They all have sections that tell about the different historical information, tidbits, etc. I actually think that might be why I have so many. :)

 

My suggestion is to go to a local bookstore and peruse and see if one or more strike your fancy. Milepost is a great comprehensive choice and has a particularly nice map I enjoy. But the Fodor's has a map as well and is also good as is the Lonely Planet book. You get the picture? Enjoy and happy reading. Also, there is a post somewhere from about a year ago when someone asked about Alaska based books. I think they were searching for novels, but you might find some suggestions there as well.

Thanks, I've already gotten some great references from other sources. The most promising appears to be the guide book that Princess offers, The Alaska Cruise Companion: A Naturalist's Guide to Alaska's Inside Passage by Rachel Cartwright. I've actually already received it and started reading it, and between the content and the high-quality photos it is fantastic. There's information on the land, the animals and the people. It seems really well-done. It also seems to be designed to work with any SE Alaska itinerary, giving you the opportunity to follow your journey through the pages of the book in whatever order is appropriate based on the chosen itinerary.

 

I also have picked up Alaska's Inside Passage Wildlife Viewing Guide, even though I didn't get a specific recommendation for it. It was cheap, and looked pretty. :)

 

Alaska Cruise Companion by Rachel Cartwright is also pretty good. I also like Alaska by Cruise ship by Anne Vipond.

As indicated above, I've got the first one, but thanks for the confirmation that's it was a good acquisition. The Vipond book is available, in color, on Kindle, which is attractive to me. However, I think I want to flip through the pages of it before I buy, since it seems that over half the book is for trips beyond where we'll be going.

 

I overplan also!

Howdy, Kindred soul. Edited November 27, 2016 by bicker

...We will almost surely spend our entire time on land in SE Alaska devoted to pursuing those interests, with one exception: We'll choose an excursion in Skagway that combines the White Pass Rail with something, perhaps something that allows us to experience the culture of the native peoples of SE Alaska. And even though we will therefore totally overlook the history of Europeans in SE Alaska during our cruise, there's so much time between now and the cruise that I would like to consider digging into that as well. Again, it'll let me recognize something as we're driving by on a motor coach to some other excursion and acknowledge what I'm driving by in the context of the human history that has gone on there.

 

So my questions for you are: (1) Is there anyone else who has used an upcoming cruise as a context for personal "study"? (2) What books or other educational resources have you most enjoyed with regard to these topics:

• The natural beauty of SE Alaska, the geology, climatology, biology and ecology;
  
• The wildlife of SE Alaska and the waters of the Inside Passage;
  
• The history and culture of the native peoples of SE Alaska; and
  
• The history of Europeans in SE Alaska.
  

First, I commend your effort in learning about the places you'll be visiting.

 

Second, Skagway isn't the place to learn anything about the native cultures of the region; while Tlingits were present before the Europeans arrived for the gold rush, it was a pretty insignificant place compared to others. Frankly, in Skagway I'd rent a car and travel up into the Yukon, visiting the Carcross Desert, stop for a gander at Emerald Lake, and visit the Robinson Roadhouse ghost town. This could be a threefer - interesting climate and geology, European settlement, and plenty of great scenery. Plus it probably would be cheaper than the train.

 

For SE Alaska native culture, Ketchikan is your spot. Visit Totem Bight State Park and/or the Tlingit village of Saxman, both easily accessed from the ship.

 

Seeing wildlife in SE Alaska is more problematic, unless you go on an expensive bear search, or go whale chasing at one port or another. You'll probably see some marine mammals during the cruise or in port calls, but terrestrial animals tend to be hidden away in the woods, and luck becomes a much more important factor.

 

Actually, although it doesn't involve SE Alaska except in passing, one "reality" TV show I'd watch (a couple of episodes, anyway) is "Gold Rush" on the Discovery Channel (in the US.) It's set mostly in the Yukon, in and around the Klondike and Dawson, and vividly portrays the gold mining that's still in full swing in the area. Your cruise won't put you anywhere near the Klondike, but it's interesting (to me, anyway) to see the links from the gold rush days to the present, and realizing that much of the present mining activity has its roots right where you're standing.

 

Here's a picture I took of the Klondike Valley some years ago; the mounds of tailings are still being added to today, over a century after they were begun.

 

Second, Skagway isn't the place to learn anything about the native cultures of the region; while Tlingits were present before the Europeans arrived for the gold rush, it was a pretty insignificant place compared to others. Frankly, in Skagway I'd rent a car and travel up into the Yukon, visiting the Carcross Desert, stop for a gander at Emerald Lake, and visit the Robinson Roadhouse ghost town. This could be a threefer - interesting climate and geology, European settlement, and plenty of great scenery. Plus it probably would be cheaper than the train.

Hmmm. Carcross is included in some of the Skagway excursions, including two that include the train, one of those being the one I used for my budget estimate (i.e., the one we'd select now if we were selecting now). It is the only excursion that I included in the budget estimate that had much of any native peoples elements to it. Just how much is there to see at the native village there?

 

For SE Alaska native culture, Ketchikan is your spot. Visit Totem Bight State Park and/or the Tlingit village of Saxman, both easily accessed from the ship.

Thanks. The ability to fit that together with my intention to stick with ship excursions raises the question I have had whether the ship will let me book a 4 hour excursion starting at 10:30 am and another excursion starting at 2:30 pm, with some level of assurance that they will make sure I get from "A" to "B". Edited November 27, 2016 by bicker

Hmmm. Carcross is included in some of the Skagway excursions, including two that include the train, one of those being the one I used for my budget estimate (i.e., the one we'd select now if we were selecting now). It is the only excursion that I included in the budget estimate that had much of any native peoples elements to it. Just how much is there to see at the native village there?

 

My understanding is that the "native" experiences in Carcross are mainly arranged for the tourists; it's not a traditional native village. Frankly, IMO Carcross is a ten-minute stop; not as breathtakingly touristy as Skagway but not all that much to cause one to linger.

 

No, I was talking about the Carcross Desert, a subarctic sand dune area a couple of miles from the village. (These are very interesting places; the granddaddy of them is way up in the arctic at Kobuk National Park east of Kotzebue.) I don't know of any cruise excursions that go to the "desert;" I'd be surprised since there aren't any facilities and there's nothing to sell once you get there. Like the Robinson Roadhouse, this is an area for individual "do it yourself" exploration, for which the car is really the only option.

 

Thanks. The ability to fit that together with my intention to stick with ship excursions raises the question I have had whether the ship will let me book a 4 hour excursion starting at 10:30 am and another excursion starting at 2:30 pm, with some level of assurance that they will make sure I get from "A" to "B".

The excursion desk on the ship should be able to tell you that. Depends on the excursions I suppose.

 

I'm probably not the best one to ask; I much prefer DIY "excursions" to the (IMO overpriced) ones offered by the cruise lines.) To me, a rental car in Ketchikan (or ride the city bus for a buck) to Totem Bight or down to Saxman is a better (and much cheaper) way to see things than riding on a bus with 40 other people. Just me, though.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Gardyloo

The ability to fit that together with my intention to stick with ship excursions raises the question I have had whether the ship will let me book a 4 hour excursion starting at 10:30 am and another excursion starting at 2:30 pm, with some level of assurance that they will make sure I get from "A" to "B".

 

I have been booking my excursions for my May 2017 cruisetour and using primarily Princess excursions. They will not let you book anything that overlaps. I have two that are basically back to back and had my TA call Princess just to make sure it was okay, and they confirmed if they let you book it, then it will be okay. Otherwise, they will block you from booking conflicting excursions. I'm not certain how it works on other lines.

Alaska Cruise Companion by Rachel Cartwright is also pretty good. I also like Alaska by Cruise ship by Anne Vipond.

 

Milepost is great if you are doing a land trip.

 

I overplan also!

Rachel Cartwright's book sounds like an update of Joe Upton's Alaska Cruise Companion. I have two of Joe Upton's Alaska cruise books, as well as Anne Vipond's book. My favorite is Frommer's Alaska by Charles Wohlforth, but the last edition he authored was in 2011. I prefer a general Alaska guide book to Frommer's and Fodor's "ports of call" books.

 

I attempted to read Michener's Alaska before our first Alaska cruise in 2007, but never got past the ice age in the first chapter or so. I may give it another try before I return to Alaska in May.

 

I don't think it's possible to learn too much about a new destination before one visits it. On the other hand, it amazes me how many people put so little effort into learning something about where they are going.

 

P.S. I love The Milepost, too - even if you aren't doing a land trip. :)

Edited November 28, 2016 by NancyIL

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Edited November 28, 2016 by donaldsc

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Good, because I was just about to disagree with you! ;)

I too like to learn before I go (to an extent), as part of my "Oh my gosh we really are going on another AK cruise vs. scholarly research" I watch you tube videos posted by other cruisers - some are far better than others.

 

As with everything else & some people are ok with music instead of talking, while I'm sure some others are ok with a montage of photos instead of video...

 

You comment about European AK history made me think that you may be interested in a cruise that stops in Sitka.

 

Do what makes you happy, not what people on CC say you should or shouldn't do.

I too like to learn before I go (to an extent), as part of my "Oh my gosh we really are going on another AK cruise vs. scholarly research" I watch you tube videos posted by other cruisers - some are far better than others.

Indeed. For scholarly research, how pretty the pictures are wouldn't matter. :)

 

You comment about European AK history made me think that you may be interested in a cruise that stops in Sitka.

Our interest the history of Europeans in SE Alaska is a very distant fourth priority - I only mentioned it to draw the distinction between those things we were most interested in (the natural beauty, and the wildlife, and the culture of native peoples) and those things that we were not (the history of Europeans in SE Alaska). Also, limiting cruises to those that stop at Sitka or offer Sitka excursions breaks a lot of our other imperatives.

 

Do what makes you happy, not what people on CC say you should or shouldn't do.

Always. :)

Edited November 28, 2016 by bicker

 

Also, limiting cruises to those that stop at Sitka or offer Sitka excursions breaks a lot of our other imperatives.

 

 

 

Makes sense, luckily for us, since we are on a 14-night cruise we can include Sitka without breaking our "we want to see bears" imperative.:)

No, I was talking about the Carcross Desert, a subarctic sand dune area a couple of miles from the village. (These are very interesting places; the granddaddy of them is way up in the arctic at Kobuk National Park east of Kotzebue.) I don't know of any cruise excursions that go to the "desert;" I'd be surprised since there aren't any facilities and there's nothing to sell once you get there. Like the Robinson Roadhouse, this is an area for individual "do it yourself" exploration, for which the car is really the only option.

 

Some tours do stop at the Carcross Desert, but they don't stay for long. When we did the Yukon tour through Chilkoot, we stopped there for about 15 minutes, long enough to take a few photos. It was plenty of time for us.

Some tours do stop at the Carcross Desert, but they don't stay for long. When we did the Yukon tour through Chilkoot, we stopped there for about 15 minutes, long enough to take a few photos. It was plenty of time for us.

From the description of the excursion to which I was referring earlier:

... explore the rustic town of Caribou Crossing (Carcross). Snap a quick photo of the world's smallest desert, and enjoy the tales of the Klondike Gold rush provided by your guide throughout your journey.

Someone in another thread raised a related issue... that the cruise lines have pretty much eliminated naturalists on board the seven day cruises (other than on Glacier Bay day) so the reward from "studying up" had become even more significant.