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Of all our friends who have taken Alaskan cruises, the one on Cruise West sounds
like the best. The ship is small in comparison to the behemoth cruise ships, and the emphasis is on seeing and learning,
not the cruise ship experience. http://www.cruisewest.com
The only person advice I can offer on Alaska is a little off beat. Our son
spent a summer working for the National Park Service in Kotzebue, Alaska, during the summer of 2000. Believe it or not,
Alaska Airlines flies a 727 to this very remote place north of the Arctic Circle. On its return, it also stops in Nome.
You can use your American Airlines mile, if you like -- and not many of them, since this is a domestic US trip -- and do what
I did, fly to Kotzebue via a connecting flight in Anchorage. There is only one hotel in town. Through
it, you can arrange for a day-long tour of Inuit (Eskimo) life. The best time to be there is when the ice floes are
breaking from the river and heading out to the Bering Sea. There is a kind of raw beauty to the tundra, but it is too
far north for trees to grow, so the views are desolate.
Here is the hotel information from the 2002 Frommer's Guide:
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Address |
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Location |
Shore Ave. and Tundra Way (P.O. Box 336), Around Town |
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Phone |
907/442-3331, 907/442-3340 |
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Fax |
907/442-3340 |
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Room Information |
73 units |
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Prices |
High season $149 double. Low season $121 double |
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Credit Cards |
AE, DC, DISC, MC, V |
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In Room Amenities |
TV, telephone |
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 Nullagvik Hotel
The NANA-owned hotel is thoughtfully designed and comfortably furnished. The clean, up-to-date rooms have all the features
of a good chain hotel. Their windows angle out from the building so that all get at least some ocean view. It can be startling
to see Eskimo women wearing summer parkas called kuspuks cleaning in the halls; they certainly do a thorough job. By
booking with an Alaska Airlines Vacations package, you save considerable money on stays here.
The restaurant is clean and nicely decorated, with a good view and flowers on the table. Certainly it is the best
in town. Reindeer steak and Arctic salmon are on the menu for the tourists. Locals are more likely to come in for the popular
Sunday breakfast, or order the less expensive sandwiches and beef for lunch. It is closed October through mid-May.
Facilities:
Restaurant | |
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