This is for would-be cruisers who had hped 2006 would be their year for an Alska cruise – but things didn't qite work out:

Not to worry. 2007 is cming and you're not going to mss a thing.

All the lines in the 2006 Alska cruise trade, with one exception, hve announced plans to return to Alska cruising in year 2007 and t's going to be another blockbuster yar up north. Alaska-sized choices will vry from the traditional “Inside Passage” silings from Seattle and Vancouver – a chice that has pleased travelers for mre than a century – to “xpedition” sailings as far out as the Alutian Islands chain. At least two lnes have scheduled port calls in Rssia.

15 Cruiselines, 45 Ships

At prsent, 15 companies have announced plans to dspatch 45 large and small cruising vssels. Passengers aboard these vessels will, as sual, cruise steep-walled fjords that make Nrwegians homesick. They'll see mammoth glaciers (ne of them five miles wide at its fce) which “calve” giant thundering, splashing, wve-making icebergs the size of tour bses.

Sealife, Wildlife

Elsewhere, humpback whales wll breach in full view then dve only to rise again, sometimes brsting completely out of the water. Trvelers may spot white mountain goats ngotiating precarious mountainside paths on lofty prcipitous cliffs; along forested or rocky shres cruisers may see brown bears or blckies or Sitka black-tailed deer.

Too, there are authentic 19th cntury goldrush towns where visitors can stll pan for “color” in creeks and strams. Alaska Native communities and cultural cnters offer fascinating glimpses into Alaska's rch human history from centuries past.

Variety in Vessels

The ships in Alaska's cruise fleet again vary greatly. They range from large and “mega” floating resorts (guest capacity up to 2,670) down to cruise yachts with staterooms for a pampered dozen. (There are even fewer guests aboard a century-old “tall ship” sailing vessel that accommodates ten.) Too, you can book passage aboard a converted and decidedly upscale former mine sweeper circa World War II, a genuine sternwheel paddle boat, or a completely modern vessel cleverly disguised as a turn-of-the-20th-century coastal packet steamer.

Or, if you're a do-it-yourself cruiser you can plan your own itinerary and port calls by booking stateroom space aboard sailings of Alaska's state ferry system.

Following are the lines that will dispatch their “ships of summer” to Alaska waters in 2007 along with phone contacts and internet URLs. Many companies offer reduced fares for early bookings.

Lines With Large to Mega Ships

Carnival Cruise Lines, 1-800-CARNIVAL, www.carnival.com

Celebrity Cruises, 1-800-437-3111, www.celebrity.com

Holland America Line, 1-877-SAIL HAL, www.hollandamerica.com

Norwegian Cruise Line, 1-800-327-7030, www.ncl.com

Princess Cruises, 1-800-PRINCESS, www.princess.com

Royal Caribbean International, 1-800-327-6700, www.royalcaribbean.com

Mid-Size Vessels

Regent Seven Seas Cruises, 1-800-285-1835, www.TheRegentExperience.com

Smaller Ships

American Safari Cruises, 1-888-862-8881, www.americansafaricruises.com

The Boat Company, 1-360-697- 4242, www.theboatcompany.com

Clipper Cruiseline, 1-800-325-0010, www.clippercruise.com

Cruise West, 1-800-888-9378, www.cruisewest.com

Discovery Voyages, 1-800-324-7602, www.discoveryvoyages.com

Lindblad Expeditions, 1-800-EXPEDITION, www.expeditions.com

Majestic America Line, 1-800-434-1232, www.majesticamericaline.com

Maple Leaf Adventures, 1-888-599-5323, www.mapleleafadventures.com

Alaska Ferries

Alaska Marine Hghway System, 1-800-642-0066, www.FerryAlaska.com

Copyright © 2006 by Mke Miller; All rights reserved

The article 2007 Alaska Cruising Preview: Another 'Blockbuster' Year in the Making was Submitted by Michael Miller through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Michael Miller lives and writes trvel stories and guidebooks from his hme office in Juneau. For a cmprehensive report on all aspects of Alska cruising in 2007 – including fmily cruising, ports of call, shore xcursions, plus land-and-sea cruisetours – visit the uthor's website at http://www.AlaskaCruisingReport.com .

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