An Alaska cruise consists of a cruise up the Inside Passage along part of Vancouver Island, the Quee

It's possible to cruise nearly anywhere there's significant water on the planet.   You can visit Antarctica in January, or the Aleutian Islands in the Fall.   River cruises do Europe, China, America and even Australia.   Exploration cruises might visit the Galapagos Islands, or Spitzbergen or Glacier Bay.   The choices are endless, but we'll touch upon a few of the most popular destinations.
When Chuck West returned from World War II he dreamed of starting a tour company to take people to Alaska and he did so.   His firm, Westours was purchased by Holland America Line and today is the largest Alaska cruise/tour company (unless you're talking with Princess Tours which also claims that title).   Mr. West started modern cruising to Alaska by chartering old and not so luxurious ships and offering a few June, July and August departures from Vancouver.   Mr. West had to use Vancouver because an obscure law known as the Passenger Service Act of 1886 required departure from a foreign port for passenger traffic on non-U.S. flagged cruise discount cheap airline tickets ships (only NCL America is US-flagged as a large passenger cruise vessel) who might wish to disembark in Alaska for a land tour (still true today).
Holland America was joined by Princess (which gained its fame as "The Love Boat," still in cable syndication) as the primary providers of Alaska cruises and tours.   The destination took a big leap after Vancouver's Expo 86 when Canada Place, the world's most striking cruise terminal was complete.   It wasn't long before all major cruise lines were offering some form of Alaska cruises.   Today, joining Holland America and Princess are Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Crystal, Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival as the big cruise lines sailing up the Inside discount cheap airline tickets Passage to Alaska.   Other smaller cruise lines such as Cruise West, Safari Cruises and Regent Seven Seas also offer ways to visit one of the world's more interesting destinations.
In 2000, Norwegian Cruise Line, finding a loophole (offering only round-trip cruises and no extended Alaska land tours) began to offer Seattle round-trip Alaska discount cheap airline tickets cruises from the city's new Pier 66 Cruise Terminal and was immediately successful.   Within three years Seattle developed a second discount cheap airline tickets cruise terminal at Pier 90 and Holland America Line, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity added Seattle-Alaska cruise ships, offering a nice alternative discount cheap airline tickets to Vancouver.   In 2009 Seattle moved from Pier 30 to a new passenger cruise terminal at Pier 90, slightly north of downtown.
An Alaska cruise consists of a cruise up the Inside Passage along part of Vancouver Island, the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia discount cheap airline tickets and the State or Alaska.   Most ships visit the state Capitol of Juneau, Ketchikan and combinations of Sitka, Skagway discount cheap airline tickets or new ports like Hoonah.   Some vessels do one-way Gulf of Alaska discount cheap airline tickets cruises and end up in either Seward or Whittier, Alaska.   A glacier cruise experience is always part of an Alaska vacation, and Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier and Misty Fjords are the three main glacier discount cheap airline tickets stops in Southeast Alaska. discount cheap airline tickets   What separates Alaska from most other cruises is the stunning land scenery often on both sides of the ship showing wonderful wilderness and open spaces.   The wildlife is also a highlight with the sighting of whales, orcas and eagles as regular events.
Because Alaska's cruise season only runs from May-September, the prices for an Alaska cruise are usually higher than their Caribbean counterparts, especially in the peak season months of July and August.   Early booking discounts done prior to the end of January usually offer the best prices, and cruise/tours usually fill by April on the peak season dates.   Holland America, Princess and Royal Caribbean/Celebrity offer the best choices of cruise and tour combinations.
This is the birthplace of the modern cruise vacation era.   Miami was quick to become the leading departure port from the U.S., but was followed by Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Port Canaveral.   Lately, New Orleans, Galveston, Mobile, Jacksonville, Norfolk and New York have also become home ports for Caribbean cruise vacations.   All three of the largest cruise lines, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line have their corporate headquarters discount cheap airline tickets in the Miami area and much of their "bread and butter" cruise product revolves around the Caribbean market.   Newer entrants in Caribbean cruising include Regent Seven Seas, Oceania Cruises and MSC Italian Cruises.
Caribbean discount cheap airline tickets cruises are offered year-round, with peak season being Christmas/New discount cheap airline tickets Year's, and January through April, although the summer months have become very popular for family cruise travel to the Caribbean.   Three, four and seven-day cruises make up the bulk of Caribbean cruises, but 10-day and longer options can be found as well.
The two most popular itineraries are the Eastern and Western Caribbean routes. discount cheap airline tickets   In the east, St. Thomas (the shopper's paradise); San Juan, Puerto Rico; St.Maarten and Nassau, Bahamas are most likely to be visited.   While the West involves port calls in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and sometimes Key West, Florida.   Often, divers and snorkelers prefer the western routes while shoppers lean to the east.
One of the major development in Caribbean cruises over the past 20 years has been the development of private islands leased by specific discount cheap airline tickets cruise lines.   Half Moon Cay (Holland America), Coco Cay (Princess) and Labadee (Royal Caribbean) are extremely well received as private ports for those cruise lines.   The private island always features a great sandy beach, water sports, a major beach barbecue and musical entertainment either discount cheap airline tickets rock or island music.   Holland America has added surf horseback riding, a new water park with slides and a "walk with the stingrays" nature attraction.
The fall is usually the lowest priced time for Caribbean cruises, but great values can be found year-round.   Holiday cruises for Christmas, New Years, Easter/Spring Break are usually more expensive and usually fill to capacity. discount cheap airline tickets   The Caribbean is also the scene for many special interest cruises, discount cheap airline tickets offering extras from rock and roll revivals, to wine and gourmet food festivals to doll collectors or soap opera cast cruises.
discount cheap airline tickets For those looking for at something discount cheap airline tickets a little discount cheap airline tickets different, several cruise lines also offer southern Caribbean itineraries.   These cruises sometimes start in San Juan, Puerto Rico, or if they are more than seven-days in length, from Florida ports as well.   These cruises might visit, Barbados, Grenada, discount cheap airline tickets Martinique, Antiqua, St. Kitts, Aruba, Curacao, discount cheap airline tickets Trinidad or other deep Caribbean islands.   Another option is a cruise that makes a partial transit of the Panama Canal, going up the locks from the Caribbean, cruising in Gatun Lake, and then re-transiting the locks back down to the Caribbean.   These partial Canal cruise often will visit the San Blas Islands, or Cartagena, Columbia or other ports in Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras.
Some of the latest trends in the Caribbean are to places like Belize, Roatan, Honduras and Costa Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula.   Other cruises might visit Progresso, Mexico (port for Merida in the Yucatan), or Vera Cruz, Mexico.   Divers, fishermen, discount cheap airline tickets cultural explorers are some of the folks who have been targeted for these itineraries.   Windstar's Wind Surf has an innovative new itinerary departing from Cozumel, visiting ports in Belize, Guatemala and Honduras usually not included by most cruise ships
Cruising was originally derived from the passenger shipping business bringing immigrants to the new world or taking colonial administrators to far-flung destinations throughout various European empires.   With the development of cruise discount cheap airline tickets vacations also came a huge growth discount cheap airline tickets in European cruise options. discount cheap airline tickets   And, while the primary season for Europe cruise travel is during the summer months, it's possible to cruise in the Mediterranean year-round on Costa Cruise Line (Europe's largest cruise company and part of the Carnival family of companies), or Royal Caribbean and MSC cruises.
The big rush in Europe cruising starts in May.   While seven-day itineraries do exist in this market, discount cheap airline tickets many of these cruises are ten-days discount cheap airline tickets long and longer.   Excellent bargains can be found in repositioning voyages leaving from North America discount cheap airline tickets and heading for their Summer homeports in Europe.   Usually these "shoulder season" cruises (April/May/September/October) offer inducements such as free air or significant discounts as incentives for booking.
The Mediterranean and the Baltic are the two most popular locations for Europe.   Key homeports for Europe include Rome, Venice, Barcelona, Athens, discount cheap airline tickets Istanbul, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and London (Southampton, Dover).
Quite a few cruises will start from one homeport and conclude in another, such as Venice to Istanbul, or Rome to Barcelona.   A trend has been for cruise lines to offer the first night of the cruise docked at the departure city so that it can be the first destination for exploration while on the cruise.   With the high cost of hotels in Europe, having a five-star hotel included in the cruise fare is a definite plus for European cruisers.
A few cruise lines such as Costa (Europe's largest) have year-round schedules but often take their best and newest ships to the Caribbean for the winter season.   North American cruisers using European cruise lines must understand that multi-language announcements, different discount cheap airline tickets entertainment and food and smoking conditions (much more on the part of Europeans) will be part of their cruise experience.   However, cruising is a great way to meet Europeans as they enjoy the attractions of Europe.
The Eastern Mediterranean has been primarily restricted to Eastern Italy, Croatia, Greece and its islands, and Turkey.   A few cruises will venture into the Black Sea, but most stop at Istanbul.   A small number of cruise companies have enlarged their offerings and include visits discount cheap airline tickets to Crete, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt.   Venice, Athens and Istanbul