Our Alaskan Cruise

SEATTLE, Aug. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Holland America Line recently launched a contest on Facebook that will award one fan a seven-day Alaska cruise for four including two verandah staterooms. The sweepstakes runs through Nov. 30, 2011 and the winner will be selected in December 2011.

To enter the contest, new visitors to Holland America Line’s Facebook page must become fans and answer a few questions to be entered. Existing Holland America Line fans simply fill out the form for their chance to win the cruise. (The sweepstakes is limited to legal residents 18 years of age or older from the United States, District of Columbia, Canada — except Quebec — and the United Kingdom.)

“With a rapidly growing fan base, Holland America Line’s Facebook page has become an engaging way for cruise enthusiasts to interact with the company,” said Richard Meadows, executive vice president, marketing, sales and guest programs. “Fans are able to connect with each other, explore our worldwide cruise offerings, and enter to win a fantastic Alaska cruise.”

The contest is just one of the cruise line’s latest Facebook initiatives. To further enhance its interactivity, three new Facebook tabs, Connect, Plan a CruiseandRoll Call, enable Holland America Facebook fans to access the line’s other social media platforms, plan a cruise vacation and find fellow guests sailing on the same cruise.

Using the Connect tab, fans can view Holland America Line videos on YouTube, check the latest Twitter and Holland America Blog posts, and flip through numerous photo albums — all without leaving Facebook. The Connect tab also lets fans create a pre-cruise message to post on their wall, while the Roll Call tab enables fellow travelers on the same upcoming cruise to connect with each other.

The Plan a Cruise tab has all the tools to plan a Holland America vacation, including a cruise finder, featured destinations and shore excursions, and the ability to sign up to receive special offers. Fans can also post reviews of shore excursions and cruises.

For more information on Holland America Line’s cruises and cruisetours, consult a professional travel seller, call 1-877-SAIL-HAL (1-877-724-5425) or visit www.hollandamerica.com.

Find Holland America Line on Twitter, Facebook and the Holland America Blog.  Access all social media outlets via the Online Communities quick link on the home page at www.hollandamerica.com.

We were fortunate enough to get exceptionally close to the face of Hubbard Glacier and take this video. The Hubbard Glacier is a tidewater glacier in Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada. From here (Disenchantment Bay) it extends 76 miles to its source in the Yukon!

The sounds of the calving and cracking of the glacier can be heard in the video.

Landsat image of Hubbard Glacier

Here’s a short video of us landing on the Norris Glacier via Era Flightseeing Helicopter. The other helicopter landing nearby really helps put the glacier’s scale into perspective. This was one of my favorite excursions on our Alaskan cruise. I had never flown in a helicopter before and was impressed with how smooth and exciting the flight was. The weather wasn’t perfect but it certainly made it memorable.

I would highly recommend a helicopter excursion on your Alaska cruise!

Rising from the defunct Cruise West line, Allen Marine launches Alaskan Dream Cruises, promising to deliver True Alaska with True Alaskans on an intimate cruise in Southeast Alaska focused on wildlife, culture and sustainable travel.

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Confluence of Snowmelt and Glacial Runoff in Toklat

The wide gravel bars of the Toklat River are braided with ribbons of crystal clear snowmelt mixing with the murky sediment-laced runoff from a faraway glacier in the Toklat River. This is a wonderful place with so much to feast the eyes on from near to far: huge mountain ranges capped with snow, tumultuous clouds riding the peaks and valleys, melting glaciers miles away washing silt and gravel from eons ago to mingle with the melting of last years winter snows.

With so much area to observe, the sun and clouds above cast huge and amazing patterns out over the tundra and up the mountainsides. We highly recommend capping your Alaska cruise with a trip into Denali and taking the shuttle bus into the real wilderness of Alaska.

Denali Park Bus Crossing the Toklat River

Just don’t miss the last bus out of the park or you’ll be spending the night with the bears.

In Denali National Park, all glaciers monitored are retreating, with an average retreat of 20 m (66 ft) per year. The terminus of the Toklat Glacier has been retreating 26 m (85 ft) per year and the Muldrow Glacier has thinned 20 m (66 ft) since 1979.

We had thought we’d seen an Alaska teeming with wildlife during our Alaskan cruise. Yes you can cover a lot of distance on a cruise and see much of the inside passage and the animals that tolerate these few ports of call along the way… but you will not be prepared for the vast expanse, magnificent beauty and amazing creatures that inhabit the park of the “The Great One.”

This young Brown Bear (or Grizzly) deftly hauled himself from the open tundra up the few hundred feet of rubble/scree to the side of the road where our bus was parked. He climbed with such speed he was upon us before we or the driver knew it. Although typically we would avoid such close encounters this juvenile got the jump on us and I was able to photograph about a dozen frames of his golden September coat backlit by the setting sun.

These pictures were all shot at 200 mm, 1/250th, f/2.8 or f/3.2

The National Park Service gives the following guidelines for bear encounters:

Denali National Park and Preserve is home to both black bears and grizzly bears. Black bears inhabit the forested areas of the park, while grizzly bears mainly live on the open tundra. Almost all bears seen by visitors along the Park Road are grizzlies. The bears of Denali are wild creatures, free to behave as they wish. If annoyed, these solitary animals can be very dangerous to intruders. For your own protection, and to keep Denali bears healthy and wild, please carefully read and abide by these rules.

If You Encounter a Bear

• Running may elicit a chase response. Bears can run faster than 30 mph (50 km/hr). You cannot outrun them. If the bear is unaware of you, detour quickly and quietly away. Give the bear plenty of room, allowing it to continue its activities undisturbed. BACK AWAY SLOWLY IF THE BEAR IS AWARE OF YOU! Speak in a low, calm voice while waving your arms slowly above your head. Bears that stand up on their hind legs are not threatening you, but merely trying to identify you.
• SHOULD A BEAR APPROACH OR CHARGE YOU—DO NOT RUN, DO NOT DROP YOUR PACK! Bears sometimes charge, coming within ten feet of a person before stopping or veering off. Dropping a pack may encourage the bear to approach people for food. STAND STILL until the bear moves away, then slowly back off.
• IF A GRIZZLY MAKES CONTACT WITH YOU, PLAY DEAD. Curl up into a ball with your knees tucked into your stomach and your hands laced around the back of your neck. Leave your pack on to protect your back. If the attack is prolonged, fight back vigorously.
• IF A BLACK BEAR MAKES CONTACT WITH YOU, FIGHT BACK.

Report all bear incidents and encounters to a ranger! Park rangers and biologists need this information to document bear behavior for research and management purposes.