April 14, 2006
More cruise articles than you want to read
I guess it's cruise day over at Newsday (yes, I apologize for the terrible rhyme). For native New Yorkers like myself this article on cruise ships using the Brooklyn port (instead of Manhattan) is an interesting read.
If you like the blog entry on cruising the Panama Canal a while back, then this is the Newsday article for you. It makes the mechanical processes of the canal sound pretty cool:
When you're sitting in a canal lock, marveling that your 780-foot cruise ship has just been lifted 28 feet in only 8 minutes, you get a new perspective -- and admiration.
And then there's a great article on cruise ship dining. I really like the focus on making friends at your assigned dinner table. I'm not a parent, but anyone with a 13-year-old should appreciate cruising with a teen. How to choose a cruise is another good read. I'm not sure, but maybe this one from page 2 is for me:
IF YOU: Think that "creature comforts" refers to whales, otters and seals ...Don't worry, last one: saving money with inside cabins. Posted by James Trotta at April 14, 2006 11:50 PM
THEN CHOOSE: Lindblad Expeditions. Passengers don't just view flora and fauna, they learn about it from experts and actively protect it.
SHIPS: Endeavour, Islander, Polaris, Sea Bird, Sea Lion and Sea Voyager visit nature lovers' locales such as the Galapagos Islands, Patagonia, Alaska and Baja California.
Last summer I travelled on the M/V Catalyst up the Inside Passage from Friday Harbor, WA to Ketchikan and then on to Petersburg, AK. Later that summer I joined the boat for their SE Alaska Natural History cruise from Juneau to Petersburg. What a way to see the Inside Passage and Alaska. Kayaking up into Ford's Terror, a glacier carved fjord, surrounded by waterfalls flowing down the high walls. Coming up to the head of a tidewater glacier in a skiff (safely) and moving back as we watched it calf. Blue ice floating by and capturing small pieces to grace our dinnertable in its candlelight reflections. Humpbacks singing and diving and breathing in the distance as we sat on a beach surrounded by the old growth rainforest watching the sun set. Then surprised in the dark by biluminescence sparkling everwhere in the water or again thrilled in the morning by a perfect blue sky and then a humpback mom and calf swimming by in the lagoon in front of us as we paddled along. The food was delicious, the company superb. The naturalist aboard explained and described the surroundings as we either hiked or paddled into the estuaries that the bears fed in. Seeing the salmon cycle of life up close and personal, but viewing the giant Grizzlies of Admiralty Island from a safe distance. At the entrance of a receding glacier, viewing a love lorn moose as he came down the hill to check us out. We retreated to our skiff. This summer I'm headed north to Alaska again to explore Glacier Bay with Cloudridge Naturalists aboard and then back twice more to take the SE Alaska Natural History cruise again. Each trip unique, different, with its own awakenings and adventure. Pacific Catalyst II, Inc. is the operator of the Catalyst. The Catalyst was built in 1932 by the University of Washington to be their first oceanographic research vessel for the Friday Harbor labs. It is a 75ft. long wooden vessel, rebuilt over the years, to house up to 12 guests, and four crew comfortably and with great style. The boat retains its original Washington Diesel that moves her along at a gentle comfortable speed to see the Inside Passage and to travel in the magnificent waterways of SE Alaska. This fall I'll be aboard to explore my home waterways aboard her in the San Juan Islands. In Juneau and in Ketchikan, I watched the big cruise liners disgorge their many passengers to shop in stores for souvenirs. My souvenirs from my trip weren't bought in a store, owned by the cruise lines. My souvenirs are memories of that perfect day, surrounded by humpback whales, listening to their song via the hydrophone and the sound system on the Catalyst. And yes a rounded rock from the front of a retreating glacier.
Sure sounds great. Do you have to be an experienced kayaker? I have only gone kayaking a few times in my life...
Posted by: James Trotta at April 15, 2006 11:22 PMIt's a shame people habitually travel in automobiles,trains,or airplanes to motels and hotels.
Once you have been on a modern cruise ship,you begin to wonder why these other modes of exist at all.
People on board are trained to be polite,trained to listen to you,trained to live without cell phones,trained to ask you what you want.Getting off a cruise ship shocks the individual back to reality.You have to put up with the expensive and unrewarding land "help" who do not know what the word means.
The food is exceptional,the modest cabins comfortable. The crew and the passengers remain remarkable and diverse, eager and happy.They have planned for this for years,and finally overcame their fear of WW II troop ships.
This is the major reason the hotel and motel industry keep publishing reports about crimes on cruise ships. Eventually,the cruise ships will release crime data from hotels,motels,and inns.
No you don't have to be an experienced kayaker. Last summer was the first time I every kayaked. There is a naturalist/kayak guide aboard who gives training. The kayaks are sturdy and not tippy. I'm looking forward to kayaking again this summer.
Shannon
Posted by: Shannon at April 16, 2006 12:22 PMI am about to go on a cruise this September. Does Mr. Cormeny have any suggestions about cabin locations?
Posted by: Mike at June 3, 2007 2:50 PM