Check it Out

. http://www.cruisewest.com/alaska-cruises

So far, so good. We've had excellent contact with Cruise West throughout this process. Tom regularly read the comments made by previous passengers. We've even discovered other people who have made the Alaskan voyage on CruiseWest and everyone raves about the trip.

Some decisions we have had to make in advance, such as hotels and side-excursions.  Half of the trip is in the wilderness area surrounding Denali Park and half is on board the ship follwing the Inland Passage. We opted to stay at the Kantishna Roadhouse, as that appeared to be more rustic of the choices. The two hotels offered are both inside Denali.  We also were able to select from a large list of day trips.  When Tom wanted to fly to the Artic Circle, I questioned the price just to get a certificate or a souvenier T-shirt but then realized that if this is truly to be our trip of a lifetime,each one of us should be able to take whatever trips we desire and not compromise the adventure.  So far we have both hesitated to sign up for the zip line above the rainforest in Juneau; the mention of heights and suspension bridges conjures visions from Raiders of the Lost Ark!  A friend of mine assured me that some other "old people" on a South American trip they were on tried the zip line and did just fine, but I remain unconvinced.