This unique cruise guide offers concise, easy-to-read information on every vessel plying the popular Alaska region. Ship facts include stateroom size, dining options, passenger/crew ratio, crew nationality, ship registry and even when the last refurbishment was completed. Ship itineraries are analyzed, making you aware of the highlights and potential pitfalls of every one. The author tells how to find bargain rates, when to book and makes you aware of considerations for disabled travelers, solo cruisers and being aboard with young children. And it's not just the big boats. Cruising Alaska covers the smaller 'Explorer' boats, which can get into narrower, shallower inlets and enhance your Alaska visit. Walking tours at each port of call are supplemented by detailed port maps. Ports of call include: The Inside Passage (Misty Fjords, Tracy Arm), Ketchikan, Juneau, the Lynn Canal (Skagway, Haines), Glacier Bay National Park, Sitka, Wrangell, Yakutat Bay & Hubbard Glacier, Prince William Sound (College Fjord, Columbia Glacier), Valdez, Seward, Homer.