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An Inside Look

Richard Connor

ALASKA FINALLY HIT the top of our bucket list. A number of friends had made the trip and returned with glowing reports of the scenery, wildlife and fresh seafood. Vicky and I each had our own No. 1 reason for the trip: She wanted to see whales, and I wanted to see the Northern Lights.

Alaska’s Inside Passage is often the destination for travelers headed to the 49th state. There’s a wide variety of ships that ply those waters, from gigantic floating cities to small private yachts. We aren’t large cruise ship people. We’ve taken one Caribbean cruise, on our 15th wedding anniversary. It was fun, and we had some memorable excursions, like sailing and snorkeling off St. Thomas. But the party boat aspect, and the thousands of fellow passengers, wasn’t really our style.

Our 25th wedding anniversary roughly coincided with our 50th birthdays. Our sons gave us a trip on the Stephen Taber. The Taber is a wooden schooner originally launched in 1871. It sails the beautiful waters of Maine’s Penobscot Bay. That’s one of our favorite parts of the country. The trip was memorable for the crew, passengers, scenery, sailing and food. It was also a wine-themed cruise, which added to the fun. The Taber might be described as rustic, but if you’re adventurous, I highly recommend it.

Photo by Vicky Connor

There are certain places that you need to see by ship, and Alaska’s Inside Passage is among them. We chose to bypass the large ships offered by the major cruise lines, and instead booked a small-boat trip with Road Scholar. Road Scholar organizes trips around the world, with an emphasis on active learning. Its trips usually have experienced faculty, and attract interesting and adventurous passengers.

We planned the trip with Vicky’s two older brothers and their wives. They had each taken previous trips with Road Scholar, and enjoyed the combination of learning, casual comfort and interesting people. The group’s prices seemed expensive compared to other cruise companies, but its trips are all-inclusive. Many other trips had significant additional fees for airfare and desirable excursions.

For this trip, Road Scholar partners with Alaska Dream Cruises. The latter is a family-owned business based in Sitka, Alaska. It specializes in small-ship experiences. The crew was uniformly professional, friendly and caring. Road Scholar provided two group leaders, Carole and Lee. Their love and knowledge of all things Alaska were infectious. Lee’s background and cultural experience as a native Tlingit was especially poignant.

The ship was the Admiralty Dream. Our three couples splurged on deluxe cabins on the upper deck. Each room was 134 square feet with a comfortable king bed, sink and a “schoilet”—a wet room containing both shower and toilet. The schoilets were adequate, if not exactly luxurious.

Excursions included trips on inflatable Zodiac boats through glacial ice fields, hiking, kayaking, visiting small villages and wildlife viewing. The first morning we woke up early and went on deck to catch the rising sun. Within minutes, we spotted our first humpback whale. We were soon in the middle of a pod of feeding humpbacks. Later in the trip, we saw orcas, harbor seals, sea lions, black and brown bears, salmon, puffins, eagles, ravens and mountain goats. We hiked a dramatic hillside cascade, and to the base of the Mendenhall Glacier.

There were 43 passengers, ranging in age from 52 to 87. I estimate the average age was around 70. The passengers were uniformly well-educated and well-traveled. It was impressive and a bit humbling to hear of their many adventures around the world.

About a quarter of the passengers were unmarried women. This was a bit of a surprise. Among the women, there were mothers and daughters, friends and cousins. There were no single men.

Our trip cost a combined $21,198. This included round trip airfare from Philadelphia on Alaska Airlines, as well as comfortable hotel rooms for the first and last nights in Sitka and Juneau, respectively. It also included airport transfers, daily excursions and the majority of meals. There was an open cash bar, but wine was included with dinner. Our bar bill for the eight nights was $145. The highlight was sipping bourbon poured over 250-year-old glacial ice harvested from the South Seward glacier.

Tipping the crew on cruise ships is customary. Road Scholar includes an “industry standard” tip in its fees. You could tip above that sum if you felt you’d received exceptional service. It appeared that many passengers, including us, chose to do so.

Mark Twain is credited with many quotes about travel. Many of them speak to the value of opening ourselves to different cultures, peoples and ways of life. This can be challenging and occasionally uncomfortable, but we think it’s worth the effort. A common theme on HumbleDollar is spending our money on experiences. For us, this trip fit the bill perfectly. The scenery, wildlife and excursions more than met the mark. But the convivial nature of the crew, passengers and Road Scholar group leaders were the real highlight.

Richard Connor is a semi-retired aerospace engineer with a keen interest in finance. He enjoys a wide variety of other interests, including chasing grandkids, space, sports, travel, winemaking and reading. Follow Rick on Twitter @RConnor609 and check out his earlier articles.

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Susan Rohleder
1 year ago

Howard and I have had many good experiences with Road Scholar, and we have been thinking of using them for an Alaska trip. What month was your trip?

Rick Connor
1 year ago
Reply to  Susan Rohleder

September 1 to 10. It was a great time for wildlife with the salmon running and before the whales migrate. The RS leaders on the Inside Passage trip are fantastic.

Susan Rohleder
1 year ago
Reply to  Rick Connor

Thanks. It sounds like it was a wonderful trip!

Mike Gaynes
1 year ago

Having a far smaller budget, my wife and I opted for one of the large cruise ships, and it was overall a delightful and scenic experience, especially the Zodiac expeditions to the glaciers. Calving icebergs are awesome.

The only downside was that my vegetarian wife hated the food. I had confirmed that there would be plenty of vegan choices for her, but many passengers were Indian or South Asian, and all the best veggie dishes were curry-infused or spicy, which is a hard pass for her. Poor girl lived on mashed potatoes. (She brings that up every once in a while.)

Rick Connor
1 year ago
Reply to  Mike Gaynes

I empathize with travelers with dietary restrictions. Our cruise handled that part quite well.

Michael Northrup
1 year ago

After I retired, my wife and I travelled the inside passage from the north end of Vancouver Island via the Canadian ferry system to Prince Rupert, BC. From there we hopped on the Alaskan Ferry System and traveled throughout SE Alaska. We carried everything we needed on our backs. We either slept on the lounge chairs in the upper atrium at night or in our tent which was set up on the upper deck. (The ferries do have small state rooms if you are looking for something a little more luxurious.) It was an awesome experience to wake up in the middle of the night and watch SE Alaska pass by us. The ferry system enables you to travel with the locals who use the ferries to travel from one town to the next. The ferry’s have a shower, cafeteria and movie lounge. We departed the ferries at various ports and went kayaking, salmon fishing and backpacking on our own schedule.

Rick Connor
1 year ago

Sounds like an amazing adventure. Thanks for sharing.

Boomerst3
1 year ago

Just curious. Was the trip cost of $21,000 for the 3 couples, or just your cost?

Rick Connor
1 year ago
Reply to  Boomerst3

that was the cost per couple.

Boomerst3
1 year ago
Reply to  Rick Connor

Thanks

Jerry Granderson
1 year ago

Thanks Rick, what a great trip! Road Scholar has been on my radar for a number of years but we’ve never tried them. As we age, we are gradually shifting from independent self-planned travels to the use of tour groups. I need to check them out.

Rick Connor
1 year ago

We were impressed with Road Scholar and would use them again, especially as we age.

Edmund Marsh
1 year ago

Rick, your joy from the trip is reflected in your writing. I take it that your new knee performed well?

Rick Connor
1 year ago
Reply to  Edmund Marsh

Edmund, thanks for the kind words. My new knee did great. My wife’s even newer knee did fine also! Lots of waking and up and down the ship’s ladder (steep staircase).

David Lancaster
1 year ago

Hi Rick,

From what you have written in the past this trip sounds like a just reward for having worked so hard to improve your health. Congratulations!

Rick Connor
1 year ago

David, thanks for the kind words.

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