Experience Alaska's Beauty without the Carbon Footprint

As discussed in a NY Times article from earlier this year, luxury cruise ships are detrimental to the environment, and when you're looking to spend your vacation enjoying the natural beauty of Alaska, that's a BIG no-no. There is an alternative: All Aboard Yacht Charters (vessel pictured), which caters to groups no larger than ten and promises to show travelers the real Alaska, "up close and personal." While Alaska's luxury cruise tourism has been suffering, here's hoping that a small business like this can hold its own.

Enjoy an excerpt from the NY Times article below:

According to environmentalists, carbon dioxide emissions are just a drop in the ocean when it comes to eco problems on luxury liners. Most ships run on so-called bunker fuel, the cheapest and dirtiest fuel oil, which not only powers the vessel, but also all the amenities on board: restaurants, swimming pools and nightclubs among them. Royal Caribbean will launch its largest ship yet this year, the Oasis of the Seas with a capacity of 5,400 passengers, and its amenities will include a microclimate-controlled Central Park, with irrigation and drainage systems, as well as trees that will tower more than two and a half decks high.

Then there is the issue of waste. A one-week voyage on a large ship is estimated to produce 210,000 gallons of sewage, a million gallons of gray water (runoff from sinks, baths, showers, laundry and galleys), 25,000 gallons of oily bilge water, 11,550 gallons of sewage sludge and more than 130 gallons of hazardous wastes, according to figures supplied by the environmental group Friends of the Earth.

Cruising Alaska

Cruises I am told can be a wondrous experience - full of music, people, sights, smells, activities, and of coarse GREAT food. I have yet to go on one, but my family and I have been discussing doing one to Alaska. Which cruise is the best pick though?? Looking around online I found this great article with some helpful suggestions on a trip to AK. I picked out some good tips from the Chicago Suns article "Alaska's Inside Passage: Wild coast":

Options aplenty

Now, as then, the basic coastal voyage remains the standard, the trip most travelers try first. Sailing between the ragged Pacific coastline and hundreds of outer islands, the route charts a path between Vancouver, Canada (or Seattle) and the Gulf of Alaska, skimming the highlights and calling at A-list ports like Ketchikan, Sitka, Skagway and Juneau.

Convenience vs. close-ups

To give them their due, mega-ships are a thrill a minute. More hotel than ship, these floating resorts have panoramic views and glam entertainment. Luxury dining, dance bands, spa treatments, nightclub acts, casinos, Internet access, a choice of restaurants and staterooms with picture windows are standard fare. Art collections, investment seminars and children's programs juke up the choices. And storm friendly? Most definitely. These goliaths are so stable, it's hard to tell when you're moving.

But that same giant will be too wide and sit too deep in the water ("draft" it's called) to sail close to shore. If there's a brown bear prowling that distant beach, he'll look like a dot. If the captain has his hand on the throttle and you're not standing in the stern holding your binoculars you'll miss the sea lions on the rocks.

Best compromise

For a combination of small ship convenience and large ship entertainment, check out the Empress of the North, Majestic America Line's 231-passenger sternwheeler. This riverboat look-alike sails seven-night loop cruises out of Juneau, reprising the bawdy days of the 1898 Gold Rush to the Yukon. You'd never guess that that Victorian silk upholstery, brass railings, gilt mirrors and silk pillows are new. So are the amenities, including TV, DVD player, telephone and minibar. Bathrooms come with showers and tubs. The onboard historian is a fount of Gold Rush anecdotes.

Finish this article and more at the Chicago Sun Times