Approaching Glacier Bay aboard the Coral Princess, Pratheepan Selvaratnam -- a junior officer of the watch -- scans the mirror-smooth surface of the water and surmises that words fail to define Alaska because it is ever-changing.
"I was here four days ago and it's not the same. There's always something different to see," says Selvaratnam , who as a kid growing up in Don Mills dreamed about a life at sea. The former Toronto Sun delivery boy saved money from his paper route to help pay for a course in marine navigation at Georgian College and later landed a job with Princess Cruises.
We watch from the bridge as the ship continues to glide slowly through the narrow passage into the milky-turquoise bay. Fragments of blue-white ice -- which has "calved" off the glaciers that ring the bay -- float lazily past.
In these waters, officers on the bridge and at the stern "keep a constant watch," Selvaratnam says. "These glaciers are stable but the ice you see above the water is only one-tenth of the glacier's size. The rest is beneath the surface.
"The weather has been pretty good lately but conditions can change quickly. You can never let your guard down," Selvaratnam says. "It's Alaska, expect the unexpected."
I have been meeting the unexpected head on all week. Before boarding Coral Princess in Whittier, our small group of journalists had been touring the interior of Alaska, experiencing a lifetime worth of adventures in six days.
Our group has travelled many hundreds of kilometres -- by luxury coach and Princess railcars, on kayaks and dogsleds -- through mountain ranges, over canyons, braided rivers and lakes, past boreal forest, tundra and muskeg.
There has been flightseeing over impossibly high peaks and craggy glaciers, whitewater rafting on fast flowing rivers still frigid even in August, heli-hiking and sightings of bears, bald eagles and King Salmon.
The base for these adventures has been three of five Princess Lodges -- Fairbanks, Denali and Mt. McKinley. The land-based excursions are part of Princess' cruise tours.
Before flying to Fairbanks, I had imagined this part of the trip as a relaxed affair -- like a long weekend at a luxury cottage in the woods before the main event, the cruise from Whittier to Vancouver.
Instead, what I learned is the land tours are as thrilling as the cruise. And the lodges -- although as well appointed as any good hotel -- take a backseat to Alaska itself, serving as very comfortable staging points from which to embark on amazing wilderness adventures.
At the end of the day's exploration, the lodges are a place to swap stories, unwind over a fine meal and a few drinks, have a dip in the hot tub, and get a good night's sleep before the next day's discoveries.
Princess Cruises Tour Director Guy Glaeser says most people don't realize that the company's five lodges see almost 100,000 guests in a season that runs only from mid-May to mid-September.
There are many pre-and post-cruise options, each with its own merits, Glaeser says. He believes the escorted tours, which are only offered pre-cruise and include the services of a tour director, are a "tremendous value."
One of his favourites is an escorted package that includes most meals, eight nights' accommodation at Princess lodges in Fairbanks, Denali, Copper River and the Kenai Peninsula, a tundra tour, a Catamaran cruise and Princess Rail transporation followed by the seven-night Vogage of the Glaciers cruise from Whittier to Vancouver.
In general, Glaeser says, the land tours are the best way for visitors to come face to face with Alaskan culture,Gold Rush history, and remote wilderness areas "few people ever get to experience." These include Denali National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, which straddles the U.S.-Canada border, and Kenai Fjords National Park.
Glaeser says while deciding to take a tour before or after a cruise is a personal decision, he recommends pre-cruise tours. That way you can relax on the ship after -- in between shore excursions and shipboard diversions that is.
This is certainly true in our case. After almost a week of high adventure -- a jet-boat ride and wilderness hike along the Talkeetna River, a tour of Denali National Park, and flightseeing over glaciers and Denali -- aka Mt. McKinley, Alaska's highest mountain -- some of us are ready for some lower key activities.
These come in the form of soothing body treatments in the Balinese-inspired Lotus Spa. After our high-energy time on land, I pass on the fitness centre and go directly for a massage and a dip in the Lotus pool.
The next day some of us don plastic aprons and get our hands really dirty during the popular shipboard pottery class led by Russ McKeel. It isn't clear who has the most fun -- the students or McKeel.
The retired U.S. Air Force pilot obviously loves sharing his passion for pottery-making with passengers and makes it an enjoyable and productive experience -- even for complete beginners at the wheel.
In mere minutes he has us shaping clay into vessels that will later be fired and glazed.
McKeel says before joining the Air Force, he studied fine arts but couldn't earn a living as a potter so he also studied electrical engineering and later joined the Air Force.
But he didn't forget his first love. His career as a pilot often took him to major European cities and he seized the opportunity to visit some of the world's great museums and art galleries. Now that he's retired, McKeel can do what he loves year-round.
Another day, we take a galley tour and meet Paolo Merio, the ship's ebullient executive chef.
Merio shares his passion for his kitchen, food -- particularly Italian food -- and Princess Cruises. Like Selvaratnam, as a boy Merio also dreamed of a life at sea. His dreams were fuelled by reruns of The Love Boat, which was set aboard Princess ships. At 17, Merio joined Princess as a galley helper and worked his way up to executive chef.
"Now I spend more time here on the ship than at home in Como," Merio remarks.
As the Coral Princess nears Vancouver, I long for more time on board and start to daydream about my own life at sea. Of course, I don't want to work on board Coral Princess. I simply want to stow away and relive the nonstop adrenaline rush that is Alaska.
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BOTTOMLINE
CRUISE INFORMATION
Princess Cruises offers a wide variety of Alaska cruises and cruise tours. Prices vary depending on options selected such as length of cruise tour, type of stateroom on board, etc. For details, see princesscruises.com or visit a travel agent.
ALASKA MARKS THE BIG 5-0
Alaska celebrates 50 years of statehood in 2009, making this year a particularly good time to visit. Anniversary events take place throughout the year and commemorative stamps and coins will make great, easily transportable souvenirs. For more on the celebrations, see Alaska's 50th Year of Statehood Celebration website at gov.state.ak.us/ASCC.
2010 Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKT at Toronto Auto Show
Cruising on a budget
