ALASAKAN CRUISE ONBOARD SILVERSEA'S NOVA
By Clinton Sangster
Clinton & Vicki were lucky enough to travel on Silversea, Silver Nova in May, on a 7-night Alaska cruise from Seward, 4 hours south of Anchorage, to Vancouver. Nova has been built to bring the outside in, with glass everywhere and a light contemporary feel. The ship is very quiet and smooth, and we actually missed toasting our departure at a couple of ports as we didn’t realise, we had already departed!
After taking the stunning 4-hour Alaska Railroad train journey through the snowy mountains between Anchorage and Seward we boarded the ship early afternoon. We fully unpacked, but not before having a glass of champagne from the bottle awaiting us in our room. Despite having winter gear, we had plenty of room in the cabin for everything, and still had spare drawers and cupboards.
The service on Silver Nova really is outstanding. Take a seat in one of the eight bars and a waiter is ready to take your order, and canapes arrive with the drinks. The light and bright Arts Café in the middle of the ship has become the hub and a wonderful place for a casual breakfast before heading out, or a mid morning coffee with others if you aren’t.
On our first day we visited the Hubbard Glacier, which is the largest glacier in North America. We sailed close enough to see and hear the ice calving off the front. We had an expert guide give us a commentary as we stood on the outside deck taking in the stunning view and landscape – with hot or cold drink in hand of course. Then onto the Alaska State Capital of Juneau, where we took the cable car up to the Mendenhall Glacier for a ½ day hike along the trail beside the glacier. This was reminiscent of New Zealand, although the glacier is massive and very impressive. The next day in Skagway we visited a summer camp for sled dogs. They run these camps over summer to keep the dogs fit for winter. Our guides had done the famous Iditarod 1000-mile race with their dogs, and it was fascinating to hear some stories from the trail. They mostly run at night as it is colder for the dogs who are of course working hard. The trail is marked but if a snowstorm blows in, they must figure it out as they go! Most of the dogs aren’t actually huskies as they have been interbred over the years, so they look a lot like farm dogs. In Sitka we got off the ship and into kayaks for a beautiful paddle around nearby islands. We were lucky enough to see otters and several bald eagles. Ketchikan is the salmon capital of the world, and everything here revolves around the salmon. We ventured back out to sea on the Aleutian Ballad fishing boat, which has featured on TV’s Deadliest Catch programme from Discovery Channel. Seeing eagles swoop down close to the boat to take the catch as it is hauled aboard was incredible. The cruise ends on a tamer note with a cruise through Canada’s famous Inside Passage on the final day, before disembarking in Vancouver.
After an exhausting day of sightseeing, we would get back to our cabin and order some afternoon tea and a drink. Each cabin is served by a butler who will deliver whatever you order. A butler may sound over the top, but it’s really nice as you see them all the time and develop a friendship over the course of the cruise, and of course they get to know what you like, and things start appearing before you even ask! It’s a very nice way to travel, you really feel like you are being looked after. Silversea have one of the best crew to passenger ratios, and just as importantly they have a very generous space to passenger ratio. The only place we found that was full was the gym – perhaps not surprisingly with the ten restaurants on offer.
For those cruising in warmer climes, the pool deck is absolutely stunning. It has been designed so that everyone faces out to sea, in one direction. So, if you are in port and on deck, you are looking at the city rather than the pool. The pool did actually get some use in Alaska, but not by Vicki or me.
