Aboard An Alaskan Dream Cruise

By Tim Trudell

Freelance Travel Writer

Glaciers, wildlife and Alaska Native culture are the highlights of a small boat experience with Alaskan Dream Cruises. Exploring Southeast Alaska’s nooks and crannies, the Indigenous-owned cruise line goes where the bigger ships can’t even dream of visiting.

With five vessels carrying 4080 passengers, tours travel the Inside Passage between Ketchikan and Sitka. With tours focusing on wilderness exploration to glacier and wildlife watching, cruises range from five to nine days. Don’t call them ships, as the small boat adventures take place aboard Alaskan Dream vessels 143-209 feet long, dwarfed by the much larger cruise lines.

Nature hikes, kayak tours, skiff rides for shoreline bear watching and even a polar plunge highlight some of the activities people experience during trips. History and cultural tours are hosted at Indigenous villages such as Metlakatla, Kasaan and Wrangell, homes to the Tshimshian (Sim she in), Haida (Hi Da) and Tlingit (Klink it) tribes, respectfully. Other cities included on an Alaskan Dream cruise include Juneau and Skagway.

Soaking in Southeast Alaska’s Inside Passage - a series of straits and channels connecting islands, fjords, coves and bays - is the mission of Alaskan Dream’s Inside Passage Sojourn. The eightnight, nine-day adventure encompasses the company’s goal, bringing passengers up-close to glaciers and forest-carpeted mountains as the 143-foot-long Baranof Dream travels between Ketchikan and Sitka.

Along the way, passengers learn the history and culture of totems and clan houses, as well as traditional Alaska Native songs and dances, including the significance of the eagle, killer whale and raven to clans.

Quickly assuaging the misnomer about “low man on the totem pole,” a totem’s story is told from bottom to top, with the bottom figure actually being the most important. A totem’s story is owned by its creator, and only they can tell the story, while others need permission to share it.

Alaskan Dream is one of a handful of small boat cruises that takes passengers through Misty Fjords National Monument. Sand Humpback whales highlight a float through Tracy and Endicott Arms, a pristine area once referred to as a “wild, unfinished Yosemite,” by naturalist John Muir.

Glacier viewing showcases a visit to Glacier Bay National Park, with Margerie and John Hopkins Glaciers the stars. Booming like dynamite blowing a hole into the side of a mountain, the John Hopkins Glacier calves, sending chunks of itself falling into the water, creating icebergs that will float for miles, often acting as resting spots for seals and sea lions.

Anchoring at the national park’s visitors center, passengers go ashore, spending three hours exploring the park’s trails, which run deep into the forest, or enjoying a drink at the park’s lounge.

Before departing for its final leg of the journey, some passengers participated in the Alaskan Dream Cruises’ infamous Polar Plunge. Dozens of people, donned in swimwear and life jackets, stand at the edge of the park’s dock and dive into 35-degree water.

While aboard the Baranof Dream, passengers also learn about the region’s geological past and Alaska Native history and culture. And the food is amazing, with daily specials.

Whether your tour begins in Ketchikan or Sitka, it’s recommended to arrive a few days before the cruise, so you can enjoy the flavor of each community. You’ll want to spend a few days after disembarking for the same reason.

In Ketchikan, grab a spot aboard the Bering Sea Crab Fishing Tour aboard the Aleutian Ballard, once a star crabbing ship on the television series “Deadliest Catch.” Or maybe go kayaking in scenic Orca Cove. Learn more about totems at the Totem Heritage Center. Catch a lumberjack competition featuring four of the best in the country.

Travel back in time, walking the Married Man’s Trail to the Creek Street boardwalk, home to quaint shops and art galleries. Creek Street was once a haven for saloons and brothels, with its history told at Dolly’s House museum, the most-famous of the houses of ill repute.

In Sitka, walk the waterfront trail, taking you from Castle Hill - the spot overlooking the town and site of Russia turning over possession of Alaska to the United Statesalong the waterfront to Sitka

National Historical Park, home to Totem replicas.

Nature enthusiasts will enjoy exploring Sitka’s trails, as well as visiting the Raptor Center and Fortress of the Bears, which provide sanctuary to animals unable to survive in the wild.

Whether you prefer kayaking near glaciers, hiking mountainside trails or learning about Indigenous culture, Alaskan Dream Cruises has a tour for you.