Alaska's Inside Passage Offers Smooth Sailing

Q: Greetings, Peter. We are about to book a cruise from Alaska to Vancouver on the Carnival Cruise Lines. I was speaking to friends who took this cruise last summer, and they said it was really rough on the sea for two nights. They said the Inside Passage is a smoother ride. What can you expect on this type of cruise? Can you recommend a cruise blog that is associated with a cruise line?

–Albert, Yonkers, N.Y.

A: The Inside Passage, which hugs Alaska's coastline, is indeed smoother sailing than the open ocean, since the offshore islands provide protection from the Pacific's swells and unpredictable weather.

Also, much of Alaska's heritage lies within the Inside Passage, including the only Indian reservation in the state, many national parks, and popular outdoor activities such as kayaking, glacier-watching, and wildlife viewing. The Carnival Spirit offers trips between Anchorage and Vancouver, British Columbia, via the Inside Passage. And of course the AARP Travel Center Powered by Expedia offers numerous cruise discounts for Alaska and many other wonderful destinations.

If you want to read other people's reviews of this and other cruises, you have many options. CruiseCritic has an extensive series of reviews, blogs, and message boards where the seafaring public can learn about particular cruises, as does CruiseMates.