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Cruise Review: Spirit of Discovery - Alaska

Alaska's Whales & Wilderness PLUS Denali - July 2008

Dear Linda,

It was just two weeks ago today that we got home from our two week Whales and Wilderness Tour and Cruise.  What a GLORIOUS two-week vacation we had.  it was unbelievably interesting, enlightening, beautiful, serene, primordial and unique.

The vacation began with a long day’s flights from Florida to Alaska.  Three flights and two layovers and not a single glitch, thanks to you.  The timing was just right and the flights were on time and comfortable.  The ground assistance we received in getting between gates for the different flights was terrific.  (Remember I have Parkinson’s Disease and Joel has bad arthritis, so walking from place to place would have been an ordeal).  Thank you for arranging with the airlines to provide that service for us.

We flew into Fairbanks and spent the day before and the first day of the tour there.  Now you could have booked a room at Pike’s Lodge for us, but you did not.  We loved the cabin you chose overlooking the river.  The flowers that were growing were amazing. The accommodations were superb.  The food we ate the whole trip was absolutely delicious. Thom E. from Cruise West was our Excursion Leader.  What a terrific guy he is.  Without creating a big to do about my Parkinson’s, he provided the utmost in care and service and made me feel perfectly “normal” the whole time we were with him.  Appreciation must be extended to all the Cruise West personnel on the land tour.  Friendly, helpful, generous with time and thoughts and willing to perform all possible miracles is a definition of them all. The included tour of the Museum of the North in Fairbanks gave enough time to get a quick tour and glimpse of its history and artifacts.  The riverboat cruise was fun.  I think the stop at Susan Butcher’s home was my favorite part of this excursion. She the place she lived and trained the dog teams for the Ididirod races was awesome.  I wish I had had the opportunity to meet her. Leukemia had taken her in 2005.  She is still an icon. Then we returned to Pike’s for some lunch.  Tasty and filling, there was more than enough to last until dinner.   We boarded the Cruise West bus and began our trip to Denali.

After a stop at the Alaska Pipeline, and some time to walk and stretch our legs, we were off to the highlight of land tour.  The highest point in North America is Mt. McKinley, a.k.a. Denali.  It would be another day before we saw the sights of the mountain though.  As we made our way from Fairbanks to Denali National Park on the bus (very comfortable by the way)  Thom told us the history of the areas we were traveling through. The bus driver added what she felt he might have missed.  They worked great together. 

DENALI NATIONAL PARK was. . .  What can I say.  No clouds, no rain, temperatures in the low 80’s, sunshine. AND WE SAW ALL THE MOUNTAIN IN HER GLORY ALL DAY LONG. Joel and I had elected to take the 13-hour excursion to Kantishna Roadhouse.  Our guide on this adventure was Kevin Hayes.  Excellent driver, very knowledgeable, thoughtful and a bit of a braggart.  He did keep saying to us “You don’t know how lucky you are.  This is the first day I have seen “HER” all year.  Not only did we see Mt. McKinley, but we saw a host of wildlife as well: red fox, gray fox, moose, caribou, grizzly, bald eagles, arctic ground squirrel.

We first glimpsed Mt. McKinley from 55 miles out. SPECTACULAR!  Next view was at 45 miles away.  AWESOME!   Finally…33 miles the closest you can get without a climbing permit.  The sight was breath taking.  Blue sky, a few wispy clouds and Denali in all her grandeur.  At the Kantishna Roadhouse we had a tasty lunch, some time to walk around and then the trip back to the Princess Lodge we stayed at while at the park.  The trip was longer than the 13 hours scheduled, but there were no complaints.  Oh, and by the way, the roads have been greatly improved to take away the washboard effects and the buses were much more comfortable than we anticipated.  The 13 hours just flew by.  We were tired, but had no regrets about the length of the trip or the comfort of the bus ride.

The Alaska Train Ride from Denali to Talent was sort of anticlimactic.  The sights and sounds of the time we had been at Denali eclipsed it.  Also, it was so-o-o-o-o slow moving.  But it was not miserable.  Just a bit boring. I will continue with the rest of my story.

The bus driver and Thom drove us on into Anchorage with dialog about the area and its history.  Napping was also an option taken by many on board.  On arrival in Anchorage, the hotel-based staff of Cruise West again did their magic.  In a very few minutes, room keys were distributed, dinner vouchers explained and passed out and we were off to clean up for dinner on the town.  The shuttle provided transportation to and from the restaurant of our choice.  The choices were difficult as they all sounded (and indeed were) top of the line.  The nicest part of this is that the voucher included Tip as well as dinner.  What a wonderful surprise when we discovered that!  After sleeping like babies that night, we were off to the airport for a flight to Juneau on Alaska Air.  They even served a light breakfast on the plane.

The Cruise West shuttle drivers were waiting for us when we landed at Juneau.  After collecting the luggage. They delivered us into the hands of the very capable Cruise West Staff at the Goldbelt Hotel.  We had dinner across the street at that big blue building and ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Then we were off to our extra excursion to the Mendenhall Glacier.  Beautiful and overwhelmingly different than expected. It was my first glacier and its blue color and creaky sounds were unexpected. Back at the hotel, we ate a quick lunch, then boarded the bus for our included tour of the city.  The city tour ended at the pier. We were whisked onto the Spirit of Discovery for the second half of out vacation.  Kate escorted us to our cabin and the luggage was there before the door shut.

This particular cruise was a photographic tour with reps from the Pentax Camera Company that were there to share their knowledge and equipment with the passengers.  They DO NOT sell or even try to sell you a thing.  They did share with everyone.  And boy were they good at answering questions and showing you how to do the stuff you wanted to do.  My 35-mm Pentax camera died the first day out.  Not to worry, a Pentax200K appeared in my hands along with a 2GB disc, a wide-angle lens, a zoom lens and a carrying case.  What  pictures I got:  kayakers, tales, whales, seals and otters. Eagles, puffins, big cruise ships, glaciers, seals, sea lions, gulls, ice bergs AND A LOT OF OTHER THINGS.

The people we met were fascinating;  passengers, excursion leaders, officers, crew, natives, guest speakers—every single one was a story unto him/herself. So very many things did we enjoy: the sights, the places, and the food. The service, the new knowledge.  This was the most fantabulous vacation I have ever been on.  Joel had traveled more widely than I. He was impressed by it all.    I don’t know when we will do it again, but you, Linda and Cruise West will be out Guiding Star then.  Thank you for the wonderful time.

Thanks for it all,
Elizabeth and Joel Dyckes

P.S.  Chelsea Levin, the EL on the Discovery grew up in our Ohio hometown.  We had lived not two miles from her and had never met until the Whales and Wilderness Cruise leaving Juneau, Alaska one Saturday in July 2008.