Breaking up is hard to do in Anchorage. Sure, the snow is melting. But it reveals the unfinished business from last fall that’s been buried for months: rain-soaked matted leaves covering deck furniture or half-finished projects that we tried to forget.
Still, the days are lighter, the sunsets are longer and everyone is looking forward to another Great Alaska Summer.
Boost your breakup spirits with an early-season getaway right here in Alaska.
Make plans to visit Valdez this spring. Take 30% off the cost of a cruise with Stan Stephens Cruises. Use the discount code “AK30” on either the Columbia Glacier cruise, which starts on May 16, or the longer Meares Glacier trip, which starts on June 1.
The six-hour Columbia Glacier cruise offers an up-close view of all the critters in the area, including whales, sea lions, bald eagles and sea otters on the way to Columbia Bay. But you’ll also sail by the Alyeska Pipeline terminal across from Valdez Harbor and learn about how the oil business has shaped Alaska — and Prince William Sound. Normally the cost is $182 for adults. The discounted price is $121. The Columbia Glacier cruise operates daily, starting May 16.
The longer 7.5-hour Meares Glacier cruise offers travelers the chance to cruise deeper into Prince William Sound. Sail past Glacier Island and up Unakwik Inlet to the face of Meares Glacier.
Break up the journey to Valdez with a side trip to Kennicott, in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. From the Richardson Highway, near Copper Center, take the Edgerton Highway back to Chitina. From there, it’s another 60 miles on the McCarthy Road to McCarthy. The speed limit is 35 miles per hour, since it’s mostly a gravel road over the old railbed that used to connect Kennicott to the port at Cordova.
Park the car and walk across the footbridge at the end of the road. The Kennicott Glacier Lodge will pick you up to stay in the middle of the Kennicott Historic District, several mile uphill from McCarthy. The lodge offers a 20% discount, in the “main lodge,” for visits between May 23 and June 21.
Most visitors to Valdez will end up driving up the Matanuska Valley to Glennallen, then head south on the Richardson Highway to Valdez. But if your schedule permits, you can catch one of the three weekly departures on the Alaska Marine Highway System between Whittier and Valdez to shave a couple hundred miles off your itinerary.
Closer to home, the Alaska Collection by Pursuit offers a 20% early-season discount at three hotels: Denali Cabins near the park entrance, Seward Windsong Lodge and the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. The discount is reserved for Alaska residents who travel through July 4.
The Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge already is open, on a bluff overlooking the town with a perfect view of Denali, but the Denali Cabins don’t open until May 18. The Seward Windsong Lodge, located on Exit Glacier Road outside of Seward, opens May 14.
If you’re up for a big adventure, make plans to fly down one-way to Seattle and drive a truck camper back up the Alaska Highway to Anchorage or Fairbanks.
GoNorth RV Rentals wants to get their rigs up here to rent out during the summer.
Road trippers pay $99 per day for a new four-wheel-drive truck, 0-2 years old, with a cab-over truck camper on top. The package includes all the basics: bathroom, fridge, freezer and a stove/oven.
Various essential come with each truck: a spare tire, propane tanks, power cord, special dissolvable toilet paper, leveling pads and a water hose. There’s also a mattress pad for the queen-size bed.
The drive-away promotion includes a couple of “convenience kits,” which include utensils, dishes, pots and pans and a corkscrew.
Gas is not included. But a 2,500 mileage allowance is part of the package. GoNorth gives road trippers 10 days to make it to Anchorage or Fairbanks before regular rates, $230 per day, kick in. Also included in the package is the collision damage waiver. The four-wheel-drive trucks are OK to drive on any gravel roads, including the Top of the World Highway between Dawson City and Tok, the Denali Highway, the Dalton Highway and even the Dempster Highway north of Dawson City.
Also not included: your passport. All travelers must have a passport to travel through Canada.
If a road trip is not your idea of a vacation, consider an early-season cruise from Seward to Vancouver, British Columbia, or reverse.
Nate Vallier of Alaska Travel Desk loves to cruise. Based in Juneau, he noted that this year’s cruise season already has started. Some of the early-season specials are designed just for Alaskans, while others are just discounted because it’s before the big rush in July.
Cruises are marketed a little differently, since all mandatory taxes and fees are included in the top-line price.
One of the best early-season deals is on Royal Caribbean’s “Ovation of the Seas” departing from Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 15. Air Canada offers nonstop flights from Anchorage to Vancouver, British Columbia, but not on the day before the cruise, May 14. And the flight on the 15th gets in too late. Fly instead via Seattle on Delta or Alaska.
The Ovation of the Seas features many room categories. Vallier does not recommend the interior cabins, but they are definitely the cheapest, starting at $567 round-trip per person, with two people sharing a cabin.
According to Vallier, the real value is getting a balcony cabin for $878 per person, double.
The return trip on the Ovation, departing Seward on May 22, has balcony cabins for a little more: $971 per person. Oceanview cabins, with a window instead of a balcony, cost $875 per person, double. Ports of call include Juneau, Skagway and Icy Strait — Hoonah.
The Celebrity “Summit” also offers great bargains for cruises next month. On May 22, departing Vancouver, British Columbia, an interior cabin costs $564 per person, double. The price for a balcony cabin on the Summit is a little more later in the month: $1,078 per person, double on the May 29 sailing.
Cruisers who want to sail in June can get about the same price on June 12 or June 26: $1,071 per person, double for a balcony cabin.
Do you want to sail with Princess Cruise Lines? Leave from Whittier on May 16 aboard the Discovery Princess. An interior cabin is $599 per person, double. A balcony cabin costs $1,142 per person, double.
Ports on the Princess cruise include Juneau and Ketchikan, plus scenic cruising near Hubbard Glacier and in Glacier Bay.
There are lots of moving parts with a cruise booking, including drink packages, Wi-Fi packages, specialty dining options and cabin categories. But May and September typically are less expensive. Just be prepared for a little colder weather — which is not a problem for Alaskans after surviving this winter.
Watch for more discounts around the state as summer approaches.
Less certain are prospective bargains on airline tickets. The CEOs of both Alaska and Delta have spoken publicly that higher prices are here to stay, even if oil prices return to Earth in the coming days, weeks or months.
Fuel costs are important. But competition is more important in regulating the cost of air travel. The ongoing war between Delta and Alaska has kept a lid on prices between Alaska and the Lower 48. Should the airlines make peace or declare a truce in their fight for market share, prices could rise further.
Scott McMurren is an Anchorage-based marketing consultant, serving clients in the transportation, hospitality, media and specialty destination sectors, among others. Contact him by email at zoom907@me.com. Subscribe to his e-newsletter at alaskatravelgram.com. For more information, visit alaskatravelgram.com/about.
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Anchorage Daily News
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