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Old 01-09-2013, 12:42 AM   #81
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When I look at a modern cruise ship I wonder why they need to be SO UGLY. I'm sure there are very good reasons.
I agree. Proportionately (very high superstructure in relation to length), cruise ships are looking more and more like your newer, typical recreational cruiser.

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Old 01-09-2013, 01:01 AM   #82
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OP here. It's cool that this thread kinda-sorta turned into a debate about the relative merits of cruise ship travel vs. self-directed cruising aboard one's own boat. In the end I think it comes down to personal preference, options, maybe skill level and what constitutes "fun" on the water.

Taking a cruise to Alaska can be a great way to see some of the sights this great state has to offer, while enjoying the creature comforts of a floating hotel and crowds of fellow travelers. But as others have pointed out, nothing compares to the pleasure of being out in the boonies with nobody else around, watching wildlife and enjoying the natural beauty of places where the big boats never venture!
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Old 01-09-2013, 01:22 AM   #83
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I agree with you, Seven. There's no reason to limit one's self to a single option unless one can't stand staying days in a small boat rather than a large ship or the other way around. Most people prefer large boats with all the amenities. Others have to be "captain." Cruise ships are much less expensive and more comfortable for the passenger, but piloting a small boat gives one direct control.
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Old 01-09-2013, 05:39 AM   #84
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Most people prefer large boats with all the amenities.
"Most people" have never experienced large or small.

http://www.cruising.org/sites/defaul...stryUpdate.pdf

CLIA comes up with some odd stats, they claim over 20 percent of the US population have taken a cruise but only 3 percent per year take cruises. I think they count repeats as new members of the herd and from what I have seen, cruise ship pax tend to get addicted to the experience.

To put that 20+ percent figure in perspective, according to another cruise ship industry site, Las Vegas gets more visitors in a year than the world's total cruise ship capacity in the same period. More than 93 percent of cruises don't go to Alaska.

At least the money spent in Vegas stays in the US. The money laundering enterprise known as the cruise industry ships it out tax free and depends on taxpayer supported facilities to help load it.
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Old 01-09-2013, 06:57 AM   #85
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Greetings,
Mr. Seven. Um..er...."In the end I think it comes down to personal preference, options, maybe skill level and what constitutes "fun" on the water." Shouldn't you have posted this statement in the "singles/twin" thread? Oh, maybe not...
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Old 01-09-2013, 05:47 PM   #86
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CLIA comes up with some odd stats, they claim over 20 percent of the US population have taken a cruise but only 3 percent per year take cruises. I think they count repeats as new members of the herd and from what I have seen, cruise ship pax tend to get addicted to the experience.
Must be Illinois bean counters... I'd buy 8 or 9% but not 24% and of the folks I know personally that have cruised they do tend to repeat frequently.

Hopping the ferry boats sounds vastly more interesting to me.
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Old 01-09-2013, 07:17 PM   #87
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Hopping the ferry boats sounds vastly more interesting to me.
One of the real plusses of the Alaska State Ferry system is that because their ships are relatively small they call at towns and communities that the monster boxes can't or won't visit.

Petersburg is a prime example of this. Of the larger communities we've visited (by floatplane) in SE Alaska, the Big Box Ships can't physically get into Petersburg because the Wrangell Narrows is to narrow, shallow, and twisting. The largest ship that I'm aware of that can manage to make it up the Narrows is the Columbia, the flagship of the Alaska State Ferry system.

So Petersburg, while it does get tourists from the ferries and the "pocket cruise ships" that call there, does not have the wall-to-wall, squirming Big Box crowds thronging the streets as they do in Ketchikan, for example. As a result Petersburg has managed to retain some of it's unique appearance and atmosphere.
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Old 01-10-2013, 07:00 AM   #88
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Beautiful vessel but looks like a full time job maintaining it. Too old for that!
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Old 01-10-2013, 10:30 AM   #89
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When I get older I may retire to a cruise ship.

Food, shelter, On board medical, maid service.

Cost about the same as most retirement homes.

And the big one. You are on a boat.

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Old 01-10-2013, 10:38 AM   #90
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When I get older I may retire to a cruise ship.

Food, shelter, On board medical, maid service.

Cost about the same as most retirement homes.

And the big one. You are on a boat.

SD
Hey good point, but they don't go to Main Bay for snagging reds. By that time you may also be #5 on the Whitgit waiting list for a slip!!!
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Old 01-10-2013, 10:47 AM   #91
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Greetings,
Mr SD. Be careful what you wish for....



The Vernon C. Bain on the East River NYC opposite Rikers Island and that ain't Will Riker from Star Trek.
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Old 01-10-2013, 11:07 AM   #92
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Hey good point, but they don't go to Main Bay for snagging reds. By that time you may also be #5 on the Whitgit waiting list for a slip!!!
No kidding. I asked the harbormaster where I was on the wait list.
she said she hadn't given out any slips for 2 years now.

They are supposed to start working on repairing the harbor this year.

I sure wish they would follow the rules that they have.

Sd
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Old 01-10-2013, 12:01 PM   #93
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No kidding. I asked the harbormaster where I was on the wait list.
she said she hadn't given out any slips for 2 years now.

They are supposed to start working on repairing the harbor this year.

I sure wish they would follow the rules that they have.

Sd
Yeah right! The Whigit harbor master follow the rules! Keep dreamimg.

For those that what to know, Whittier Alaska has a small boat harbor. It take an average of 10-15 years to get a slip. To be put on the list it costs you $40 a year. This is the only harbor that has road access to western Prince William Sound (PWS), which is just south of Alaska's largest city, Anchorage.
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Old 01-10-2013, 01:54 PM   #94
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Yeah right! The Whigit harbor master follow the rules! Keep dreamimg.

For those that what to know, Whittier Alaska has a small boat harbor. It take an average of 10-15 years to get a slip. To be put on the list it costs you $40 a year. This is the only harbor that has road access to western Prince William Sound (PWS), which is just south of Alaska's largest city, Anchorage.
In Whittier I waited six years to get a 28' slip, then used that slip for several years.

When I enquired about the wait list for a 50' slip, the time was measured in decades.

I signed up for a 50' slip in Seward in 2010 and am right now awaiting my permenant slip assignment. I am #2 on the list. I'm expecting the slip assignment any day now as I know there are something like 6 openings this year.

I was very concerned leaving Whittier. I knew many of the other berth holders, and all of the harbor staff. I "lived" in Whittier harbor when I worked full time in Whittier at the Fiber optic submarine landing station there for several years. I felt like and wwas regarded as a local. I was very happy in Whittier.

What I found with Seward is that I should have moved there years ago. Ther docks are nicer, and having real stores nearby is something that really makes the experience better. Its also very nice being able to fish for salmon right outside the harbor in late summer. It does take me an extra hour to get to my boat in Seward, but the drive is well worth it.
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