 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
New! Empress of the North in Alaska's Inside Passage
Cruise from $2149.00 NEW LOWER FARES! Please consider joining Rail Travel Center’s Vice-President/General Manager Carl Fowler on a grand new cruise round-trip from Juneau, Alaska on the incredibly comfortable sternwheeler vessel EMPRESS OF THE NORTH. This seven-night itinerary includes visits to Skagway, Glacier Bay and Point Adolphus, Sitka, Petersburg and the LeConte Glacier , Wrangell and the Stikine River, and Dawes and Sawyer Glaciers. The EMPRESS OF THE NORTH is a small boat with a passenger capacity of 223 on a four-deck vessel 360 feet in length. She is equipped with elevators, and cabins include televisions, DVD players, and telephones. Her small size allows for very close viewing of the majesty of Alaska’s scenery and wildlife and a flexible itinerary. The EMPRESS OF THE NORTH can reach fascinating ports like Wrangell and Petersburg which large ships can not even approach! Whale watching is a particular specialty; and sea lions, sea otters and porpoises also abound. The price of the cruise includes enrichment programs with a Majestic America Line Discovery Guide on board throughout the cruise; and 24-hour complimentary snacks, soft drinks and specialty coffees. The décor of the EMPRESS is 19th century Russian; and all cabins are outside, with over 90% of the cabins having a private verandah. Public space includes the Calliope Bar and Grill, the Paddlewheel Lounge, the Romanov Dining Room, and the Gold Nugget Showroom. Although low-key entertainment will be provided during the cruise, the real show is what we can see from the decks and windows of this elegant sternwheeler. This cruise can be booked by itself or can be combined with a new Alaska by Rail Tour (August 30-September 6, 2008) which immediately precedes this cruise, for a spectacular tour/cruise experience! Those booking the Alaska by Rail tour plus this cruise will receive our Multiple Booking Discount of $75.00 per person for booking two programs with us!
Day One, Saturday, September 6 (D) Cruise departs Juneau, Alaska. Independent arrivals into Juneau today. Majestic America will provide airport to dock transfers for all passengers, included in your fare. Juneau, the capital of Alaska, was named for gold prospector Joe Juneau. It is a land-locked city, fronted by the Pacific Ocean (the Gastineau Channel) and surrounded by mountains to the north, east and south. It is accessible only by air and sea. We depart from Juneau at 5:00 p.m. this evening, sailing north for Skagway. Dinner is included on board in our magnificent dining room. Day Two, Sunday, September 7 (All) Port call in Skagway; White Pass and Yukon Railroad.
Skagway "Streetcar Company" historic touring bus In 1896, gold was found in the Klondike area of the Canadian Yukon (the famous “Klondike Gold Rush”). By summer 1897, thousands of prospectors had flooded into Skagway to climb the 21-mile Chilkoot Trail over White Pass to enter the Yukon. Skagway, Alaska was home to a den of thieves led by the notorious “Soapy” Smith. If prospectors escaped being fleeced by Soapy and his men, they still had to carry a ton of gear per person up the infamous Trail to the Canadian border (it took several trips)! Horses and mules died, goods were stolen, and many could not complete the crossing. On our optional shore excursion today, we fare better than those prospectors did, riding the White Pass and Yukon Railroad from Skagway up the steep grades to the summit of the White Pass. The narrow-gauge trains of the WP&Y are dwarfed by the magnificent peaks that soar above, yet the railway climbs over 2,400 feet in just the first twenty miles of the summit ride! Upon our return we have time to explore the false-front buildings, shops and relics of the Gold Rush era lining the boardwalks. We depart Skagway this evening, passing through the beautiful Lynn Canal. We have a special shore excursion unique to RAIL TRAVEL CENTER passengers available during our port-call in Skagway. This trip will not be available for on-board booking. We've arranged to offer a 135 mile round-trip from Skagway to Carcross in the Yukon Territory, going from Skagway to Carcross by motorcoach and returning over the full-length of operable line on the WP&Y Ry. This trip will include views of magnificent Lake Bennett, lunch at historic Bennett Station, the crossing of the White Pass and the incomparable descent from the Summit to Skagway. By contrast normal ship excursions on the WP&Y cover only the first 27 miles of the line! Our tour rides the narrow gauge rails for 67 miles. 40 miles of the train trip from Carcross to Fraser are in a completely roadless wilderness, passing the headwaters of the Yukon River. This special trip is only $229 per person, and includes bus, and rail travel, luncheon and escort services/narration by Rail Travel Center General Manager Carl Fowler. This excursion must be booked and paid by June 15, 2008.
Day Three, Monday, September 8 (All) Cruising; Point Adolphus; Glacier Bay. Glacier Bay National Park is a World Heritage Site. The ice face was once up to 4000 feet thick, 20 miles across its face, and extended 100 miles to the St. Elias Mountain Range. Since its formation, the Grand Pacific Glacier has receded 65 miles to form a beautiful fjord, which we enter today. At the head of the fjord mighty glaciers still calve icebergs into the sea! This is an area of whale watching (at Point Adolphus), eagle watching and glacier viewing. Day Four, Tuesday, September 9 (All) Cruising; port call in Sitka.
Rising early, we can experience the narrow, winding passages of Peril, Neva and Olga Straits leading to the dramatic entrance to Sitka. Sitka was designated the capital of Russian America in 1808; and both the Tlingit Native American and Russian cultures are preserved here, as demonstrated on our optional shore excursions. Today we can visit the Sheldon Jackson Museum and the Sitka National Historic Park and see wildlife rehabilitation at the Alaska Raptor Center. Other optional shore activities include sea kayaking or sport fishing, or we can just explore the onion-domed buildings of Sitka on our own. Day Five, Wednesday, September 10 (All) Port call in Petersburg; LeConte Glacier; cruising. Entering Petersburg (“Alaska’s Little Norway”), the Leikarring Norwegian Folk Dancers board our boat, bringing Norwegian pastries and demonstrating Norwegian folk dancing before we go ashore. There is an opportunity to explore Petersburg and the Clausen Memorial Museum before we cruise to LeConte Glacier. Here we’ll get a close-up view of the glacier as it plunges into the fjord. Later, we cruise with the whales off Frederick Sound. Day Six, Thursday, September 11 (All) Stikine River; port call in Wrangell. We cruise the Stikine River through some of North America’s most pristine habitat, seeing bear, Sitka black-tailed deer, salmon runs and migratory birds on a “Stikine Safari”. Then we continue to Wrangell. In the 19th century, the Russians began fur trading with the Tlingit on the site of what is now Wrangell. Later, the settlement was taken over by the British, and still later by the Americans during the Gold Rush. Optional activities here include hiking, fishing, golfing or shopping before we end with an Alaska seafood feast. Day Seven, Friday, September 12 (All) Dawes Glacier, North and South Sawyer Glaciers. This is a full day of glacier viewing, beginning with breakfast at Dawes Glacier, which frequently calves ice chunks as large as houses. Later, we cruise down Endicott and Tracy Arms, viewing waterfalls and the Sawyer Glaciers. The Captain’s Gala Farewell Dinner is this evening, featuring Alaska specialties.
Cruise ends. We are back in Juneau this morning, where following breakfast, we disembark at 8:00 a.m. for our included transfers back to the airport and home.
CRUISE PRICES include accommodations in the cabin category chosen, all on-board meals and activities, and round-trip transfers between the boat and airport in Juneau. Not included are travel connections between your home and Juneau, optional shore excursions, fuel charge, port taxes and fees of $278.50 per person, alcoholic beverages, souvenirs and items of a personal nature. NOTE: Those who previously have sailed on any of the Majestic America Line boats (as listed in paragraph 4 of this article) can deduct $100 per person from the prices listed below. Per person, Cabin category double occupancy Single occupancy D Deluxe Outside Stateroom with private bath with shower, small $2149.00 $3545.00 sitting area, two windows. DD Verandah Stateroom with small sitting area, private bath with $2349.00 $3875.85 shower, private verandah, window. CC Deluxe Verandah Stateroom with large view windows, sitting area, private bath with shower, mini-refri- $2349.00 $3875.85 gerator. BB Superior Verandah Stateroom with extra window, more space, small sitting area, mini-refrigerator, private $2599.00 $5298.00 bath with shower. AA Vista Verandah Suite is richly furnished with sitting area, larger- screen TV with DVD player, mini refrigerator, private bath with $2899.00 $5898.00 shower, larger verandah.
Conditions and Booking Information (the fine print)
|
||
|
[Tours]
[Photos]
[Links]
[Contact
Us] [Home] Call Toll-Free: 800-458-5394 |
||
| Website created and maintained by Glenn Spiegel, Effective Websites. |
||
|
Last modified: April 24, 2008 |
||
September
6-13, 2008 
If you previously have cruised on any of the Majestic America
vessels: American Queen, Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen, Queen of the
West, Columbia Queen, Empress of the North, Contessa, or the vessels of
Windstar, you will receive an additional $100 per person discount from the extremely
low prices listed here. Please call us quickly to request a deck plan for
this great sternwheeler and to choose your cabin category. All aboard!
Day
Eight, Saturday, September 13 (B) 
