I am back from an Alaska Cruise and am finally done with my summer travel this year. My family and I had a blast but it was so crowded. Both our departing and returning flights (SJC - SEA) were fully booked. The 3600-passenger cruise was also fully booked. Discounts on travel were basically non-existent and lines were everywhere. It truly feels like a boom time. My kids were totally addicted to the free room service on the cruise and ate an exorbitant amount of chocolate chip cookies, hot dogs and potato chips. They were so shocked that the soft serve ice cream on the cruise was free. (Note: it’s not free. It was included in the cruise fare.) I am a buffet person so I thoroughly enjoyed the all-you-can-eat food and managed to only gain 1.5 pounds for the trip. Anyway, the trip was fun and I don’t see any sign of economic distress.
The glacier national park we cruised through was a lot greener than what we experienced 11 years ago in a similar voyage and the glaciers have become so much smaller. Global warming is really concerning but on the other hand, the weather in the Alaskan cities have been glorious with temperatures ranging from high 50s to high 70s. We won’t be back to Alaska for a while but chances are in another decade, most of the glaciers the inside passage cruise could get to will be gone and the sea level is set to rise in the next few decades.