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If you have been considering a cruise, you need to consider Alaskan Cruises.

Alaska is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and the best place to see it is from the sea.

It is also the only cruise you will see the breathtaking wildlife that is in Alaska.

One of our favorite vacations is an Alaska cruise, so in June of 2013 we took our fourth! They just never get old. There is so much to do in every port that we've not taken a single excursion twice in our four cruises. Alaska is a place of magnificence, with the tallest mountains, the highest concentration of glaciers, the longest stretch of coastline in the U.S., and some of the most incredible scenery to be found in the United States.

We began our trip with a United Airlines flight into Vancouver, Canada. We had arranged for transportation to the dock, so we boarded a bus and enjoyed a one-hour tour of the eclectic and fashionable city as our bus driver drove the scenic route from the airport to Canada Place, where the cruise ships dock. The City of Vancouver, population about 600,000, is consistently named as one of the top five worldwide cities for livability and quality of life.

We couldn't help but feel the beauty and natural majesty of the city as we sailed at 4 p.m. from Canada Place, to underneath the Lion's Gate Bridge, past Stanley
Glacier BayGlacier Bay
Glacier Bay
Park, and out into the Burrard Inlet as our seven-day cruise got underway. Our five-star ship was Holland America's Amsterdam, which has a capacity of 1,380.

After the mandatory lifeboat drill, we enjoyed a delicious dinner in the La Fontaine dining room. Along with newer amenities, the Amsterdam has a certain regal note, and passengers on Holland America still have the option for set-seat dining (which we prefer). As we strolled the decks after dinner, we admired the ship's multi-million-dollar art and antiques collection, then enjoyed a show in the main theater, danced to the Neptunes, and took a turn at the casino's blackjack tables.

Porpoises and whales cavorting alongside and behind the ship entertained us during the first full day of cruising, which was spent at sea as the ship made its way north along the breathtaking beauty of the British Columbia coast and the Alaska panhandle on one side and thousands of islands on the other. We began the day in the main dining room with a traditional Dutch breakfast called Uitsmitjer, which consisted of an open-faced muffin laden with ham, Gouda cheese, and fried eggs. We were seated by
Glacier BayGlacier Bay
Glacier Bay
the windows with the perfect view to watch three whales that seemed to swim alongside the ship, at a safe distance, of cour se.

We tore ourselves away from wildlife watching to listen to a naturalist's informative lecture called "Feathers, Fins, and Fun," which prepared visitors for the rich wildlife of the region with info such as

??? bald eagles are no longer endangered; there are no grizzly bears in Alaska;
??? brown bears fatten up on salmon, mate in the sprint, but delay implantation of the zygote until just before hibernation;
??? black bears can also be brown or white, and they feed on grasses and berries.

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