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All At Sea In Alaska

From wonderful wildlife to walls of ice, RICHARD HOLMES steps aboard Norwegian Spirit for an unforgettable week discovering Alaska at sea.

I’M NOT SURE what I expected to find in Alaska. Craggy mountains carpeted in spruce and snow, I reckoned. Bears, hopefully. Whales, almost certainly. Swarthy men in lumberjack shirts and large beards? Undoubtedly.

But what I wasn’t expecting was the simple pleasure of days unfurling into unfiltered beauty. Nor the mercurial seas, awash with vermilion colours of sunset as Norwegian Spirit sailed the Lynn Canal south of Skagway.

Definitely not the curious sea otters, ducking and diving as we sailed past, or the narrow fjords dotted with quirky lighthouses, like scenes left over from a Wes Anderson movie.

I certainly wasn’t hoping to find odd little microbreweries with hipsters behind the bar, or craft distilleries tapping into wild flora. A deep, restorative connection to the region’s First Nations tribes? I found that too, along with a widely held passion for conserving the landscape, culture and community. It sounds like a lot to cram into just a week, but then that’s the beauty of seeing Alaska by sea. Alaska has long been defined by its coastline, from the traders who plied sea routes to remote communities to those who travelled by steamship to seek their fortune – or meet their fate – on the Klondyke trail. My journey was a little more comfortable, sailing north out of Vancouver for a week aboard Norwegian Spirit.

The cable car at Icy Strait Point whisks you to a dramatic lookout nearly 500m above sea level, for wonderful views across the Inside Passage.

Norwegian Spirit is a mid-sized cruise ship that plies a regular route through Alaska’s famed Inside Passage during the milder summer months. She’s the oldest ship in the Norwegian fleet, but a bow-to-stern overhaul in 2020, at a cost of nearly R2 billion, has transformed her into a modern cruise ship with contemporary cabins, stylish public spaces and revamped outdoor spaces.

An Alaskan cruise, though, should really be about what’s beyond the ship, and I was excited to step ashore as we passed the eastern coastline of Chichagof Island for a stop at Icy Strait Point. As I watched the crew tie up at the quayside, a pair of bald eagles circled above, wheeling through flurries of early-summer snow.

Swimming pools, hot tubs and plenty of sun loungers make al fresco sight­ seeing a breeze aboard the Norwegian Spirit.

Set just a few miles from the village of Hoonah, Icy Strait Point is a purpose-built hub for all manner of outdoor adventures. It is most famous for hosting the world’s largest zip line: six parallel cables each more than a mile long and falling 400m from the summit to sea level. It’s also the hopping-off point for myriad nature-based experiences from wandering forest trails – come in June to pick wild salmonberries – to excursions in search of brown bears.

And you’ve a good chance of spotting one here, as Chichagof is home to the world’s largest concentration of bears per square kilometre. But they’re not the only predator you might spot. Orcas are common in these waters and often seen on the whale-watching trips that head out from the small pier.

Well­marked walking trails offer wonderful views of the Mendenhall Glacier. Just one kilometre wide, but more than 600m to the bottom, the Lynn Canal is the deepest fjord in North America.

For half a century it would have been salmon boats that tied up  on  this  coast, and the former canning factory has today been turned into an engaging museum and cultural centre that explores the long history of the region. I delved deeper into that cultural history at the Alaska State Museum the next day, as Spirit tied up in Juneau, the capital of Alaska. Juneau holds the curious title as the only US state capital that cannot be reached by road, with only air and sea links to the outside world.

Many travellers hop on pre-arranged excursions to salmon bakes or the impressive Mendenhall Glacier – worth a visit for both the glacier and a walk in the surrounding forests – but I also spent some time exploring the nooks and crannies of the city.

Juneau, to my surprise, is home to a thriving collection of craft breweries. It began with Alaskan Brewing Co. back in 1986, but has picked up steam over the past decade as a crop of adventurous new brewers tap into local herbs and traditions for inspiration.

The elegant Champagne bar aboard the Norwegian Spirit is perfect for pre­dinner cocktails.

At Barnaby Brewing Company I met owner- brewer Matt Barnaby, who takes time away from his job in search-and-rescue to craft an especially delicious choice of ales, including the McSteamy, a California Common ‘steam beer’ popular on the West Coast. Around the corner, the Devil’s Club Brewing Company’s festive taproom has built up something of a cult following for its changing roster of beers.

As I sipped on my ale infused with local spruce tips, it had me thinking. In a world of over-tourism, cruises are often criticised for their impact on these small coastal towns, where the daily population swells with the arrival of each cruise ship. But, looking across the busy tables at Devil’s Club, the positive impact easily outweighed the negative.

Tourism is a crucial cog in the Alaskan economy, contributing some $2 billion to the state each year, and close on half of that is thanks to travellers on cruise ships; travellers who stop in and spend their dollars with Barnaby and Devil’s Club.

The environmental impact of cruise ships is also tightly monitored in the region, with strict rules on speed, waste disposal and navigation routes in the sensitive coastal ecosystem. In some  regions,  the  number of ships is restricted  to  limit  the  impact on the environment.

But on board Norwegian Spirit we were the lucky ones, with a sought-after permit to sail into the icy waters of the Hubbard Glacier at dawn a day later. It was a bright cold morning on the waters of Disenchantment Bay, with bitter winds blowing off North America’s largest tidewater glacier.

The snow-capped spires of the ranges beyond punctured a low line of sea mist, as the Spirit nosed gently closer to this wall of ice. It’s a remarkable sight, and one only accessible by sea, but after four hours on the observation deck, marvelling at the hues of glacial ice and the wilderness beyond, the cold got the better of me and I dived indoors. Happily the Mandara Spa was open, and my spa pass allowed me access to the new thermal suites.

Soak away the Alaskan chill in the sauna and steam room of Spirit’s Mandara Spa.

In the  2020  reinvention,  the  Mandara Spa was doubled in  size,  a  bellwether  of the importance of onboard wellness   for the cruise industry. Across from the spa a well-equipped fitness centre offers modern treadmills, gym equipment and a daily roster of exercise classes.

Which is just as well because, true to the cliché, you’ll never go hungry on board.

As the cruise market becomes ever more competitive, lines are increasingly looking for a point of difference. And while some add climbing walls and water parks and racing tracks, on mid-sized ships like Norwegian Spirit, cuisine is key.

Although the formal dining room remains a staple of the cruise experience – I loved having breakfast in the stern-facing Windows, watching the wake behind us – it’s now simply part of a wider menu of dining options aboard.

During sea days I preferred to avoid the crowds at The Garden Café buffet and instead found a quiet table at pub-style eatery, The Local. Most days in port I ate lunch ashore, but for dinner it’s well worth splashing out on the speciality dining restaurants.

While the teppanyaki restaurant was disappointing, the onboard steakhouse, Cagney’s, dished up a rib-eye and béarnaise as good as any I’ve had ashore, while Onda by Scarpetta brings the New York restaurant’s Italian fare to the high seas.

And after dinner each night, with the long twilight of summer in the high latitudes, I’d make my way to the bow-facing Spinnaker Lounge for a nightcap and an outside chance of the Northern Lights.

It wasn’t on my list, but I was beginning to learn. On a cruise through the high seas of Alaska, you never know what to expect. V

HOW TO DO IT

WHEN TO GO: The Alaska cruise season runs from May to September.
GETTING THERE: United Airlines and Delta fly direct from Cape Town (and Johannesburg) to New York, Washington and Atlanta, with easy connections to the West Coast. united.com; delta.com
VISAS: Alaskan cruises call at ports in the United States and Canada, and South African passport holders require a visa for both countries.
za.usembassy.gov/visas; canada.ca
BOOK YOUR CRUISE: To book an Alaska cruise on the Norwegian Spirit, visit your travel agent or book direct via ncl.com.