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Alaskan Adventure Cruise Cruises for the Active Traveler by Dave Shultz
Orea Beach Nature Walk
(Ketchikan) A four hour boardwalk tour that wends it’s way through natural
unspoiled coastal forest. Sitka Historic and Nature Walks
(Sitka) This two and one half hour tour explores historic Sitka, the Sitka
National Historic Park and the Raptor Center’s open bird habitat. Rainforest Ecological Walk
(Wrangell) A two our tour of ferns, mosses, and old growth forest that
leads to a 500 foot elevation to view a spectacular 100 foot waterfall. Just for Kids
Some of the “kids only”
activities include special youth movies, visits to the ship’s bridge just
for Junior Cruisers, and Sport Deck activities including volleyball,
ping-pong and basketball. They also have a library of over 16,000
volumes with a special “Junior Collection” with an emphasis on the sea,
the sky and destinations the kids are experiencing first hand. Bike and Hike For those wishing to really become
immersed in the Alaskan destination, World Explorer Cruises and Active
Adventures Specialty Tours is offering “Bike and Hike.” Escorted
bike tours are offered in eight ports all summer long and can be catered to
beginners and advanced riders. Lightweight Trek hybrid 21 speed bikes
and helmets are furnished for each rider. Touring a destination by bike makes
it possible to experience sights and sounds that might go unnoticed
otherwise.
World Explorer Cruises, Inc. Photos courtesy of World Explorer Cruises |
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TM
If you think a vacation on a cruise
ship means moving from the deck chair to the dining room, World Explorer
Cruises is about to change your mind. Their Alaska destination now
included a series of nature walks and shore excursions that guarantee you
won’t need a new wardrobe to accommodate all those extravagant meals you
consumed on board.
World Explorer has long been known
for adventurous itineraries and educational programs both on board and
ashore. In fact, they offer more than 50 excursions including glacier
treks, river rafting, wildlife refuge tour, kayaking, sport fishing and gold
panning to name a few. The new nature walks augment this line up with
some great destinations.
Rainforest Nature Walk
(Juneau) A three hour tour that covers the towering stands of old-growth
spruce and hemlock and protected beaches home to shore birds and a variety
of marine life.
These trips are ideal for families
with kids because this vacation is a ‘real’, not a ‘virtual’
reality. They get to experience adventure, entertainment and learning
both at sea and ashore. Parents don’t have to worry about keeping
kids entertained. Everything overlaps seamlessly and the kids will
never know where the entertainment ends and learning begins.
There will be eight two-week cruises
to Alaska in 2001 aboard the 731 passenger American-built Universe Explorer.
All begin and end in Vancouver, BC.