Guest
Comments
Hi Raye.
"Wanted to thank you for your help in
our Alaska trip. Can't tell you how much
we enjoyed going back to my home for 2
years. The cabin worked out very nicely.
The window was more than adequate. In
fact we noticed that very few travelers
were using their balcony so the money
saved was a good decision. Your advice
on the White Pass Railway was really
appreciated. It'll be difficult to take
another cruise that would be as
rewarding as this one was. But we may
try again next Summer or the year after,
Any really really great bargains show up
let me know. Thanks Again."
Bob
Snyder
Diamond Princess
July 2011
EXCLUSIVE
Mini-Group Rates
For as little as 6 guests, (3 cabins).
Did you know the most overlooked way to
stretch your dollar is to form your own
Alaska cruise group. Traveling with
family or friends, can lower costs
enough so you can travel even when the
economy is not that good.
Every company needs that small
advantage, something to set you apart
from your competitor. Through our
mini-group program, we are able to offer
even first-time cruisers discounts,
cabin upgrades, onboard credits and
amenities that help you save money and
give us a competitive edge.
Call us and find out how. 800.365.1445
Guest Comments
" Raye, still unpacking and catching up
on sleep but we wanted to thank you for
all your help in planning our Alaska
trip. We all had a wonderful time. The
weather was more than ideal. Landscapes,
day trips, wild life and the cabin were
perfect. If only we had more time to
take full advantage of everything.
Thanks for all your suggestion and
expert advice. We could not of done it
without you (or if we did, not nearly as
well). So many places to see in
the world, but if we head out by ship
again, we'll definitely be in touch. "
Pat and Eileen Gallagher
Island Princess
July 2011
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Raye & Marty
Trencher's Alaska Cruise
Tips:
What's The Best Time To
Visit Alaska?
Having worked in, around,
and for Alaska for over 20
years now, one of the
questions that I am
inevitably asked about the
Great Land is “ When is the
best time to travel?” The
inquirer is really asking a
couple of questions at the
same time, though he or she
may not know this.
First off, by “best time”
the visitor means; “when is
it the best time of during
the summer season to
travel?” They assume summer
because that is the only
time year they would image
any one could travel through
what they perceived is a
land that is locked tight
with ice and snow. Visions
of visitors completely
frozen the minute they step
off of an aircraft play out
wildly in their minds.
This is of course not true,
particularly for places like
Southeast Alaska where the
climate is more akin to the
Pacific Northwest than to
the Arctic. However, I know
what they mean. Fairbanks is
the only place I have ever
lived that the local grocery
chain held frozen vegetable
sidewalk
sales.
The second part of their
unasked question is one that
is a little harder to
explain. They want to know
what month is the best time
to travel to Alaska to
ensure the best weather.
This is because they have
made the mistaken assumption
that the Great Land is as
homogenous a place as say a
Florida or New England.
It isn’t.
|
 Raye
& Marty
Trencher's
ALASKA GUIDES |
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Seasons In Alaska
Alaska is about 1/5 the size
of the rest of the United
States. It has more
coastline than the lower 48,
more lakes than Minnesota,
more heartland than Kansas
and more big sky than
Montana. In another words,
because of the size of
Alaska, there are as many
diverse weather conditions
as there is in the rest of
the United States.
Case in point. It doesn’t
matter if you travel to
Ketchikan, Alaska’s “First
City” in May, June, July,
August or September…you will
be rained on. Guaranteed.
Sunshine is so rare in this
gateway to the rest of
Alaska that the schools will
actually let children out
for a “Sun” day. Ketchikan
sits next to the Tongass
National Forest, the United
States largest National
Forest and one of the
world’s largest rain
forests. Ketchikan will have
as much as sixteen feet of
rain in any given year.
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Learn about the four
Princess-owned Wilderness
Lodges featured on Princess
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On the other
hand, there
is Fort
Yukon in the
Interior of
Alaska.
Average
rainfall in
this bush
community
less than an
hour’s
flight north
of Fairbanks
is somewhere
below 29
inches a
year.
Average
summer
temperatures
hover in the
80’s. The
record for
the State
was set here
at 100 F.
Because of
the Midnight
Sun (Fort
Yukon is
north of the
Arctic
Circle) it
is normal to
have summer
days that
are
blistering
hot well
past 11:00
at night.
So given
that the
State is
huge and
that weather
is as
diverse as
it can be,
what is the
answer to
the
question?
Well…it
depends.
Before you
throw this
piece of
paper away
in
frustration
let me
explain.
Lets assume
that you are
going to
travel
Southeast
Alaska by
cruise ship
and the
Southcentral
and the
Interior by
dome
railcars and
motorcoaches.
Southeast
Alaska
incorporates
the ports of
Ketchikan,
Juneau,
Skagway,
Haines, Icy
Point and so
on.
Southcentral
Alaska is
where
Anchorage,
Alyeska and
the Kenai
Peninsula
are located.
The Interior
encompasses
Fairbanks,
Tok, and
just over
the boarder…
Dawson,
Beaver Creek
and
Whitehorse.
For
Southeast
Alaska, the
month you
travel in
the summer
matters very
little. The
temperature
will be
mild, not
unlike a
early fall
in New
England. It
can get hot
in
mid-summer
but that is
unusual. The
thing you
notice more
is the
length of
time the sun
is up. In
May, June
and July,
the sun is
hanging in
the sky well
past 10:00
pm.
In
Southcentral
Alaska you
start to
notice
differences
in the
months. This
is very much
more
pronounced
in the
Interior.
April is
known as
“breakup”.
This is when
the rivers
melt, the
snow recedes
back into
the
mountains
and the
leaves pop
open on the
willows and
birch. What
is amazing
is how fast
this all
happens. I
remember one
day it was
snowing in
Fairbanks
and the next
we had
daffodils
coming up in
our garden.
Why?
Midnight
Sun. Summer
Solstice is
June 21. But
by May there
is almost
continuous
daylight.
So…flowers
literally
bloom
overnight.
A thing
called Sun
Light
minutes
measures the
growing
season in
the
Interior. It
turns out
that because
of the
continuous
sunlight,
Alaska’s
interior has
a longer
growing
season than
the rest of
the US.
Image having
a spring day
in your part
of the
country that
is twice as
long as you
normally
experience.
That is a
May day in
Alaska. I
was told not
to fertilize
my lawn by
wise
Fairbanks
residents. I
didn’t
listen.
During May
and June my
first year I
had to mow
my lawn
every other
day. June is
the height
of this
daylight.
About
mid-June
most of the
wildflowers
throughout
the Great
Land have
reached
their
maturity and
are starting
to seed.
However, the
leaves on
all of the
trees are a
wonderful
emerald
green. It is
the green of
a new time.
I am not
sure how
else to
describe it.
July, the
most popular
time to
travel in
Alaska
ensures one
that you
will have
fair skies
and hot
days. It has
never been
my personal
favorite
time to
travel
through the
Great Land.
Though the
weather will
certainly be
clear, it
will also be
hot. The
chances of
smoke from
distant
forest fires
are greatly
increased. A
couple of
million
acres of
bush burn
every year
in the
state,
usually
started by
lightening.
There is
nothing bad
about this.
It is Mother
Nature’s way
of
refreshing
the land.
Nor are any
visitors
ever in
danger.
.jpg) However,
the smoke
can be
irritating.
Coupled with
hot days
this may be
the reason
for my less
than
enthusiastic
endorsement
of traveling
in July.
August
really holds
two seasons.
There are
the “dog
days of
summer” that
most of the
rest of the
nation
experiences;
hot, at
times muggy.
Then, around
the middle
of the
month,
Mother
Nature
decides to
redecorate.
It begins
with the
Fireweed.
These long
red stocks
of flowers
are one of
the only
blossoms
that stay
through out
the summer.
The blossoms
travel from
the bottom
of the stock
up to the
very top by
late August.
Then the low
brush
cranberry
and heather
begin to
turn from a
dull green
to a rusty
red. You
glance early
signs of
this in
Denali
National
Park, where
the alpine
tundra
sitting at a
higher
elevation
turns the
soonest. By
late August
Alaska is
magical. The
night has
returned in
the
Interior. By
9:00 pm
there is
darkness,
giving the
guests the
opportunity
to see the
Aurora
Borealis;
the Northern
Lights. Most
guests need
it pointed
out to them.
Though the
Northern
Lights are
present most
evenings
throughout
the year,
light
pollution
and the
Midnight Sun
blind one to
the very
delicate,
wispy cloud
looking
aurora. Then
the leaves
turn. I know
that New
England has
amazing fall
colors.
Alaska’s
“fall” can’t
compete in
the
diversity
that sugar
maples and
other
species
bring to the
canopy. But
no other
region can
beat Alaska
in the last
weeks of
August and
the first
couple weeks
of September
for the
sheer
magnitude of
golden
color. Miles
and miles of
birch,
alder, maple
and willow
change to a
gold that is
breathtaking.
If Alaska
was explored
for the gold
in its soil,
it is loved
for the gold
in its hills
and valleys
during this
special time
of year.
Snow begins
to fall in
the higher
elevations.
We Alaskans
call it
“Termination
Dust”
because it
marks the
beginning of
the end of
summer. The
animals that
were often
hidden in
the middle
of the
summer to
escape the
heat of the
day can now
be seen with
their lush
winter
coats.
October
marks the
end. The
first big
storm is
usually
around the
middle of
the month.
It is then
that the
land is
covered and
hidden. I am
sure that it
is no
surprised to
the reader
that I favor
the end of
the season
to travel to
Alaska.
After all
these years
I try never
to miss the
colors. The
days are
warm but not
too much so.
The death
grip of
winter is a
long way
off. Yet the
nights are
crisp with
open skies,
dancing
northern
lights and
thousands of
stars.
The majority
of the
State’s
visitors
have gone
home and the
land feels
open and
some how
more
personal.
Robert
Service the
famous poet
wrote these
words about
the North in
his poem
“The Spell
of the
Yukon”
“There’s
gold, and
it’s
haunting and
haunting;
It’s luring
me on as of
old: Yet it
isn’t the
gold that
I’m wanting
So much as
just finding
the gold.
It’s the
great, big
broad land
‘way up
yonder, It’s
the forest
where
silence has
lease; It’s
the beauty
that thrills
me with
wonder, It’s
the
stillness
that fills
me with
peace.” And
that is how
I feel.
Noel
Dechambeau
Former
Alaska
Marketing
Director for
Holland
America Line
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These deluxe
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There remain few places
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space is measured not in
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endless horizons. A
place where nature is so
powerful, so dramatic, a
personal encounter can
change you forever. This
is Alaska.
Princess Cruises Named
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Alaska" by Travel Weekly
"We're
delighted
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honored
that
the
true
travel
experts
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travel
agents
--
continue
to
recognize
our
Alaska
cruise
program
each
year,"
said
Jan
Swartz,
Princess
Cruises
executive
vice
president.
"We're
passionate
about
the
Great
Land
and
sharing
it
with
visitors,
and
this
award
acknowledges
that
we
offer
the
best
Alaska
vacation
experience
in
the
industry."
Drawing
upon
more
than
40
years
of
experience
cruising
the
49th
state,
Princess
Cruises
offers
Gulf
of
Alaska
and
Inside
Passage
sailings
and
an
extensive
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cruisetours,
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accommodations
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Princess-owned
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operated,
scenic
wilderness
lodges.
The
company's
immersive
Alaska
experience
is
created
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combining
a
seven-day
Gulf
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Alaska
cruise,
including
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glacier
viewing
opportunities,
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land
tour
ranging
from
three
to
nine
nights,
along
with
travel
by
glass-domed
railcars.
In
addition
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state's
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port
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Princess
ship,
passengers
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vacation
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Alaska's
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including
at
least
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night
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the
wilderness
of
Denali
National
Park,
one
of
the
state's
top
attractions.
And
only
Princess
offers
Direct-to-the-Wilderness
rail
travel
to
give
visitors
more
time
in
the
Denali
area.
Princess'
2012
Alaska
cruise
season
features
seven
ships,
including
a
fourth
ship
added
to
the
Gulf
of
Alaska
route,
and
three
ships
sailing
the
Inside
Passage.
They
will
depart
on
122
voyages,
and
travelers
can
choose
from
more
than
20
different
cruisetour
options.
Additional
information
about
cruises
to
Alaska
and
Princess
Cruises
is
available
through
Alaska
Cruisetour
Experts,
a
professional
travel
planner,
and
Princess
Certified
Alaska
Expert
by
calling
800.365.1445,
or
by
visiting
the
company's
website
at
www.alaskacruisetourexperts.com
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See
all
the
best
of
Alaska
by
land
and
by
sea,
as
we
bring
you
to
towering
glaciers,
unspoiled
wilderness,
spectacular
wildlife
and
charming
ports. |
Voted
“Best Cruise
Line in
Alaska,”
Princess
Cruises
takes more
passengers
to Alaska
than any
other cruise
line -- and
here's why: |
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Certified
Alaska
Cruisetour
Experts
Raye
&
Marty
Trencher are
part
of an
exclusive
group
of
travel
agents
who
are
recognized
by
Princess as
Alaska
Cruise
Experts,
earning
that distinction
for
their
unique
qualifications
and
knowledge
as
Alaska cruise
planning
professionals.
Call
us
at
800.365.1445.
More
About
Us
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• Dazzling glacier and wildlife viewing opportunities on spectacular ships.
• Princess brings National Park Rangers and Alaska experts aboard to enhance your experience.
• Princess land-and-sea cruise tours give you the best of Alaska by ship, rail and lodge.
• Every cruise tour visits Glacier Bay and Denali National Parks. |
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• Exclusive Direct-to-the-Wilderness rail service provides more time at Denali. 
• Comfortable Princess Wilderness Lodges at the doorstep of grand national parks.
• A wide variety of optional shore excursions and land excursions, from river rafting to nature hikes and much more.
• Warm, welcoming Princess service throughout your Alaska vacation. |
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Direct-to-the-Wilderness ®
Experience even more of
Alaska’s natural wonders and
enjoy a complete escape —
with the exclusive
Direct-to-the-Wilderness®
rail service. From your
ship, step onto waiting
luxury railcars, bound north
for Denali. Enjoy Alaska’s
natural wonders en route,
and arrive in time for
dinner at one of our
wilderness lodges — a full
day earlier than on other
cruisetours.
a brochure about the Direct
To The Wilderness rail
service.
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Princess rail cars are
rated as Alaska's number
one rail experience.
-
360-degree-view
double-decker dome cars
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Large open-air
observation platforms.
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Full
service dining salon.
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Meals
prepared to order.
-
GPS-triggered narration.
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"I
just wanted to let you know that we
just got back from our Alaska
trip....... It was Great! Took lots
of pictures (which we haven't had
time to look at yet), ate and ate
and ate on the ship. I think it can
be summed up by quoting the tour
director..... "This is NOT a
vacation, it IS an adventure" Thanks
so much for the wonderful dinner at
the Pinnacle Grill. The food and
service was superb! All of us really
enjoyed it! Thanks again, for all
your help in coordinating our trip"
-- mini-group party of 8.
Learn
about Exclusive Mini-Group Rates for
3 Couples or More!
THE
CRUISE ALASKA PLANNING GUIDE
Alaska Cruise Vacations
Explore the rugged Inside Passage
and breathtaking Gulf of Alaska, and
marvel at spectacular marine life
and dazzling glaciers from the
vantage of a magnificent Princess
cruise ship. Park rangers and Alaska
experts come onboard to give you a
deeper understanding of this special
place.
Alaska Cruisetours
See even more on an Alaska land and
sea vacation. Stay at Princess
wilderness lodges and enjoy the
benefits of our exclusive
Direct-to-the-Wilderness rail
service, giving you more time in the
heart of Alaska. Best of all,
Glacier Bay and Denali National
Parks are on every cruise tour.
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2 Couples or
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Denali National Park
See Denali National Park,
Mt. McKinley
and the wildlife of
Alaska.
Travel via scenic domed
railcars; deluxe,
restroom-equipped motor
coaches; Overnight at deluxe
“rustic” lodges; great
wildlife and scenery only on
an Alaska cruise tour can
you experience all that
Alaska has to offer.
Denali National Park
is located 240 miles north
of Anchorage, and
encompasses 6 million acres
of forests, tundra, glaciers
and mountains - that's
larger than the entire state
of Massachusetts. Yet only
90 miles of main road
traverses the park, leaving
the moose, caribou, sheep
and bears free to roam a
wide area of land untouched
by man. Denali National Park
has long been a place of
refuge for those with the
will to survive its rugged
terrain. Indeed, only the
strongest plants flourish in
this world of sub-arctic
wilderness. Species of
mosses, lichens, fungi,
algae, and others spangle
the slopes and valleys of
Denali. Deep pools of frost
collect just beneath the
park's surfaces, and only
the thinnest sheen of
topsoil thaws enough each
year to stimulate new life.
But the fragile nature of
the region leads to
continuous rebirth. New
rivers can spurt up in days
and flowers bloom just in
time to serve as supper for
hungry wildlife.
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© 2012 Alaska Cruisetour
Experts - A Travel
Direct Company
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED -
Fla. Seller of Travel
Reg. No. ST-31254
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Strategically located at Alaska’s legendary national parks, our wilderness lodges offer excellent rooms, authentic Alaskan dining experiences, and the same warm, welcoming service that you’ve come to expect on every Princess Cruises vacation.
Nestled in a prime location near the entrance to Denali National Park, this gorgeous lodge is the perfect starting point for your wilderness adventure.
On a bluff overlooking the largest national park, this lodge has a wall of windows featuring dramatic views of Wrangell-St. Elias.
North America's tallest mountain provides a stunning backdrop to the picture-perfect setting for this wilderness retreat just south of Denali National Park.
Top-notch salmon fishing is only steps away from this well-appointed lodge set in the mountains overlooking the beautiful Kenai River.
Princess Alaska Lodges
and Direct to the Wilderness Rail Service Brochure
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"Thrill to white thunder in Glacier Bay, marvel at sunlight at midnight and close-ups of whales, eagles and caribou. Delight in Mt. McKinley's majesty and meadows carpeted with wildflowers. Amid unsurpassed grandeur and serenity, the true wilderness of Denali is calling." Catch sight of a humpback whale or wolf pups frolicking in the snow. Alaska is as rustic and romantic as one could ever imagine. Whales, Wonders and Wilderness...
This is Alaska!
Denali National Park
When you plan your Alaskan vacation, do you plan to encounter a striking landscape, a place so expansive that it shelters more than six hundred-fifty species of flowering plants and thirty-seven mammal species?
Do you envision your Alaskan tour to include a dizzying six million acres filled with large caribou, moose, and grizzly bears, and offset with startlingly small flowers, miniaturized to suit Alaska's short growth season?
Of course we're talking about...
Denali National Park
The national parks of Alaska and the Yukon protect wilderness and wildlife habitats. Here are some of our favorites: :
Denali National Park
Glacier Bay National Park
Gates Of The Arctic
Kenai Fjords National Park
Wrangell-St.Elias
Free...
141 Page Alaska Cruise Traveler Report
Discover important travel savings advice and get ALASKA Ports-of-Call Information, Destination Overview, Alaskan History, What to See and Do in Alaska, Dining, Hotels, Cruises, Alaska Fun Facts, Local Events. Get your FREE copy of Raye & Marty Trencher's "Alaska Cruise Traveler Report Get it Right Here..
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