March 30, 2006

Welcome Our New "Family" Members

I am very excited to announce the addition of two beautiful U.S. flagged ships to our fleet – the 102-guest Nantucket Clipper, and the 138-guest Yorktown Clipper – recently acquired from Clipper Cruise Line. These two vessels are sister ships to our Spirit of Endeavour, formerly the Newport Clipper, and together represent the most significant and strategic evolution in our company since acquiring the ocean-going Spirit of Oceanus five years ago. These boats represent the culmination of many years of planning and negotiation. This growth would not be possible without our wonderful family of associates and professionals and, of course, your continued support of our small-ship programs! We now have 10 small ships with operations extending from Maine to Japan – from Fiji and the South Pacific to the Arctic Ocean!

Adding these two modern, comfortable ships gives us some wonderful homogeneity in our small-ship fleet. In addition, through this acquisition, we have immediately added 11 new itineraries and destinations from Chicago and the Great Lakes, through the St. Lawrence Seaway, down the Atlantic seaboard to the Caribbean, as well as new capacity on the west coast and Alaska.

Clipper Cruise Line has a great reputation for providing excellent service, which we plan to continue and enhance. We look forward to welcoming you aboard our new “family members!” To encourage you to try some of these new itineraries on the Atlantic coast, we are offering special introductory pricing, along with special Quyana member shipboard credits, in addition to your standard 5% Quyana discount!

Come join us – help us welcome our new “family” members into the Cruise West fleet!

Posted by Dick West on March 30, 2006
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March 29, 2006

White Day in Japan

Submitted by Exploration Leader Melissa Smith, currently aboard the Spirit of Oceanus in Japan

March 14, 2006

A white blanket of snow drapes over everything today. Great big snowflakes fall from the sky. We have several children aboard this trip so the guests and I revel in watching them have snowball fights and try to catch snowflakes with their tongues.

This gift of white is very appropriate as today is White Day in Japan.

February the 14th is St. Valentine's Day in the United States as well as Japan. However on Valentines Day in Japan their gift giving tradition seems to vary a bit from ours. In Japan it is traditional for the females to give gifts of chocolate to the males. It is not considered proper for a woman to be overt with her feelings. The custom is that she is to give chocolate to the gentleman she’s sweet on and giddy choco (compulsory chocolate) to all the men surrounding him.

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Posted by Melissa Smith on March 29, 2006
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March 27, 2006

The Rhythm of Japan

Submitted by Exploration Leader Melissa Smith, currently aboard the Spirit of Oceanus in Japan

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The first thing you notice about Japan is how incredibly clean everything is. There is no evidence of dust at the Hotel Okura. Upon entering the hotel lobby you are greeted by a large cherry tree in full blossom. No petals rest upon the floor below. I had to touch the tree to determine if it was real because not one single blossom had begun to brown. Someone must take care to prune and nurture the tree but I never saw it done.

This tree represents all things at the Okura Hotel and all things about Japan really. Overall the tree, the hotel, the country is pristine, picturesque and well preserved.

The people are incredibly efficient but they do not move with a grand sense of urgency. Their steps are quiet, their movements are hushed and their words soft spoken. The hairdryer in my hotel room is nearly silent. The elevator that took me to my room was quiet as well.

I feel loud in Kobe. I haven’t spoken much but even my gestures seem too big. The way my arms swing when I walk seems too gregarious a movement.

Japan, like the Hotel Okura, is a very quiet land. Each place you travel to has its own rhythm. Shortly after you set foot in this country your internal metronome begins to reset itself. You, like the country, begin to tick more slowly. Your mind begins to quiet down and everything becomes still. In the stillness we learn, we learn . . .

Posted by Melissa Smith on March 27, 2006
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March 24, 2006

Suzie The Oyster Farmer

From time to time, we will be releasing stories submitted by our staff that recount their personal experiences while traveling aboard. 

Submitted by Jeff Krida, Cruise West President and COO.  This photo of Jeff was taken on our Voyage to the Bering Sea.

It was a crisp but sunny evening in July, 2001 when the “Spirit of Glacier Bay”, our smallest and our original overnight cruise vessel, carrying all 49 of our guests, sailed into Mueller Cove near the center of Prince William Sound. We were in the home stretch of a long and serenely beautiful summer day of watching humpback whales feed and rafts of sea otters happily frolic through their seemingly endless play and dining on shellfish. What a life! We were all feeling just about as calm, happy and privileged as they by this time and were getting ready to gather in the ship’s lounge for pre-dinner snacks, libations and a re-cap with each other and our Exploration Leader of what we had actually observed and experienced in this remote and pristine place today. We had no idea the surprise our Captain had in store for us.

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Posted by Jeff Krida on March 24, 2006
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March 22, 2006

Just Another Day at the Office

The next few weeks are exciting times for us here in Seattle office.  As our fleet prepares for the start of their 2006 season new & returning crewmembers report to their assigned vessel and orientation begins.  Our crews spend several weeks attending in-depth safety training with the final exam being a very rigoruous inspection by the Coast Guard.  Soon after, our guests begin joining us on our spring cruises in British Columbia & the Columbia/Snake Rivers. 

But, before the lines are cast off for the first cruise, the corporate employees in the Seattle office have to perform the arduous task of attending a training dinner.  We are the crew's first guests.  First, we participate in a mock boarding. Then, we are greeted by the crew, given a full tour of the ship and shown to our "assigned" cabin.  After that, we are invited down to the lounge for our mandatory safety briefing.  After this briefing, we are invited to the dining room for dinner. 

The menu was just posted for next Tuesday's dinner aboard the Spirit of Discovery.

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Posted by Leigh Strinsky on March 22, 2006
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March 20, 2006

Roll On Columbia

The Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of '98 are still several weeks away from the start of their Columbia/Snake River cruises, but, with spring here, my thoughts have turned to the awakening of this mighty river.   I spent three years cruising the river and developed a healthy respect for it's power and it's importance to the Northwest. But mostly, I fell in love with the folklore and stories of the people have been influenced by the Columbia River.

While doing research for another project, I stumbled across an interesting article, "Ten Songs for a Dollar" written by Robert C. Carriker for the Columbia Magazine.  The article is about Woody Guthrie and his commission to create a series of folk songs to promote the work of the Bonneville Power Adminstration (BPA).  Guthrie was paid $266.66 for 30 days of work and was expected to submit three songs each day.  In the end, he contributed 26 songs and created a persona for the Northwest. In fact, the State of Washington has designated "Roll-On Columbia" as the official folk song.

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Posted by Leigh Strinsky on March 20, 2006
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March 18, 2006

Congratulations to Iditarod Winner, Jeff King

We were thrilled to hear that Jeff King won the Iditarod this year.   Even though Jeff crossed the finish line on Wednesday, there are many other team still in the race.  Right now, the Nomecam is focused on the finishline, take a look- you might just witness another successful finisher of the "Last Great Race"

Official Iditarod Press Release

Jeff King Wins Iditarod XXXIV
The Denali Musher Claims his Fourth Iditarod Title
by Andy Moderow

Under a full moon, with festival lighting strung overhead, Jeff King stood on top of his sled, arms high in the air: And the crowd roared. Early Wednesday morning, revelers headed out onto Nome’s Front Street to welcome the previously three-time Iditarod Champion Jeff King. After 9 Days, 11 Hours, 11 Minutes and 36 Seconds, his team glided under the arch, looking just as strong as they did arriving in Unalakleet two days earlier. Upon arrival, King was reunited with two members of his family: Daughter Ellen and wife Donna were equally excited as he by his fourth Iditarod victory. His two other daughters, Cali and Tessa, couldn’t make it to Nome from the colleges that they are attending, but that didn’t stop Jeff from talking to them: “Guys, we did it!” he said through the camera. After completing one last ‘sled check’, Jeff’s time and win became official. He now joins the elite club of four-time winners, including Martin Buser, Susan Butcher, Doug Swingley and Rick Swenson (who has won 5 Iditarods). King also has the distinction of being the oldest musher to win the Last Great Race, at the age of 50.

With one musher in and seventy-one still on the trail, the Iditarod is far from over. Doug Swingley will arrive later this morning, and 6 other teams are currently completing the final run from White Mountain to Nome. Tonight, however, the streets of Nome belong to Jeff King and his team: Another chapter in Iditarod history has been written.

Gabriel Spitzer of the Alaska Public Radio Network submitted a very interesting story that featured Jeff several days before the event. Take a listen!

Jeff's victory is exciting to us here at Cruise West, because during the summer, guests on our Denali Land Tour have the opportunity to visit Goose Lake Kennels on our optional Husky Homestead Tour. Jeff, along with his wife & wildlife artist Donna, and three daughters are all part of this operation. The presentation at the kennels includes a visit with sled dog puppies, a training demonstration, displays of dog sleds, arctic survival gear and more.

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Posted by Leigh Strinsky on March 18, 2006
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March 16, 2006

Back to School?

We have two special cruises occuring this month that will reach out to the Embera Villagers that have touched so many of us.  We will be blogging about the events once they occur. 

Feed Your Soul- March 18th departure

Cruise West has developed a very special, exclusive relationship with a remote Embera Village in the Darien Jungle. School starts in late March and to get the school ready for the 60 children, who will be attending there, we plan to paint the building exterior and their classroom during our visit. We'll present the teacher will school supplies, like notepads, pencils and backpacks, and desks and chairs purchased with donations from our past guests. Join us on this cruise and help us as we get the children off to a great start for this school year. Bring your paint clothes. Paint and brushes will be provided.

Cruise West Guests Honored- March 27th departure

The Embera Village Chief will host a special dedication ceremony for three new Ranchos that were built in our honor. Ranchos are large, thatched-roofed gazebos used as shelter from the sun, wind or rain. The ranchos will be used especially to host Cruise West guests during the dance ceremonies that the Emberas delight in performing for us. You'll enjoy their friendly charm and may be wooed to join the dance.

Posted by Leigh Strinsky on March 16, 2006
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March 14, 2006

What's a blog?

As the world has embraced the Internet, and computers have begun showing up everywhere from our desks to dashboards in our cars (and the bridges of our ships!), we've all been hit with a deluge of acronyms and new "made-up" words that can make us feel out of touch. This blog is one of Cruise West's efforts to keep us in touch – but just to be sure we’re all on the same page, here are some answers to common questions.

What are blogs?

Blog is short for “Weblog” and really is just a Web page that is updated periodically.

What is RSS?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It’s the technology that allows headlines and content from blogs to appear in newsreaders and on personal home pages (like My AOL, My Yahoo, Google’s personalized home page and others.)

Why do I care?

Blogs are updated all the time. But how do you know? There are two typical approaches.

One is to visit the Web page of the blog – in our case http://www.cruisewest.com/blog/voyage/ - to see if there’s anything new.

The other is to subscribe in some way to the content, and have it “aggregated” or brought together in an application (of which there are approximately a zillion - I even get headlines via RSS on my home stereo!) Newsreaders have different ways to subscribe to feeds, but we've provided some buttons on the bottom right hand side of our blog page to make it easy to subscribe with a few of the common customized home pages.  The RSS button can be dragged into some application-style newsreaders to subscribe. Feel free to leave a comment to this post if you’re happy with the newsreader you’re using. Our guests will appreciate your experience!

Other uses 

Live bookmarks in the Firefox browser are a neat feature that makes it simple to see the latest headlines for a blog. Saving a “live bookmark” in Firefox is straightforward – just click the orange radio waves in the address bar and save it like a normal bookmark. You can then see the headlines of the latest articles in your bookmarks or on your links bar. Firefox is a great browser and will open doors to a better web browsing experience.

You're always welcome to get these posts the "old-fashioned" way  - sign up to receive them by email.  And by all means, please comment on the posts that interest you, by clicking the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.

Posted by Mark Belanger on March 14, 2006
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March 14, 2006

Alaska is for the BIRDS!

If you are like most people the first animals that come to mind when you think of Alaska are what naturalist coin "Charismatic Mega-fauna." You know these critters- breaching humpback whales, lumbering grizzly bears, or the daunting moose. A little known secret is that Alaska is a haven for little guys with wings. Even if you are not a "birder" you will not be able to avoid the up-close opportunities that will be afforded you on your trip through Alaska.

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Posted by Larry Johansen on March 14, 2006
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March 12, 2006

A Naturalist's View of Costa Rica- Part 2

This is the second of two reports, submitted by Sally Cannata, one of our Virtual Cruise presenters, following her cruise in Costa Rica aboard the Pacific Explorer.

Portobelo has amazing history and the expatriate guest speakers were very interesting. Tons of gold and silver passed through this tiny port in the 1500's and of course there is plenty of pirate lore. It is amazing that a place of such historic importance has not really been developed. The ruins are impressive, but tricky walking for some. The mangroves zodiac tour led by naturalists added to the variety of the day.

Panama Canal - I think a few folks were disappointed that we didn't pass through during the daylight, but I think most though it was fine. It was well lit and we had a great buffet on deck to enjoy the scenery during dinner. There was a wake-up list for the final set of locks and the Bridge of the America's which was beautifully lit at night.

Coiba National Park - the island Granito de Oro is named appropriately. It truly is like a golden nugget. Tiny island with a white sand beach, the perfect distance to kayak or snorkel all the way around. The current was pretty strong and a challenge for some. Alexandro not only a naturalist, but also an olympic hopeful in swimming, led a group around the island. I was impressed with the DIB operators/deck hands who circled the island and kept close watch on the snorkelers and kickers and had a ladder handy incase someone needed to get out. I should also mention that the zodiac operators were very safety conscious and were always there lending a hand every time we enter/exited the zodiacs. I have snorkeled in a lot of places and I really think that Granito de Oro is absolutely world class!

Golfo Dulce - Casa Orquideas was a beautiful lush tropical garden with amazing plants and I think Rudy could have spent all day with us talking about the plants & birds. The afternoon at Cana Blanca was just plain fun.

It is a rehabilitation center for tropical wildlife and we saw baby sloths and anteaters up-close as well as magnificent scarlet macaws, but I think the highlight was the mischievous monkeys who were friendly enough to hop into my lap. Everyone who wanted a hands-on experience got it.

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Posted by Sally Cannata on March 12, 2006
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March 10, 2006

Connections Across the Pacific

I subscribe to Google Alerts to stay in touch with news that is relevant to our cruises.  I normally get articles from mainstream newspapers, a few television stations and occasionally an obscure newletter.

I never expected to receive a notification that the Solomon Star Newspaper, Honiara, Solomon Islands  posted an article about the Spirit of Oceanus' visit on March 2nd.  Our Legends of Pacific itinerary calls on this small island and by all accounts, the visit was a highlight for the guests and the residents of Kia.

Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands is half way around the world from Seattle.  However, in that moment, through that article, I felt completely connected to the ship and our guests.   For those few minutes that I sat and read the post, I was standing on that beach in Kia, meeting those local residents and could hear the early morning birds that Mr. Herming mentions in his article. 

These little surprises are the good stuff... the unsolicited feedback that makes me look forward to coming to work everyday and that has kept me here for over 10 years.

Back in December, we cast off the lines and good-bye waved to the crew of The Spirit of Oceanus as they started their journey to South Pacific. Now, as I write this post, the crew is in the process of welcoming guests aboard in Japan- the South Pacific and people of Kia in their memory.  My job does not allow me the pleasure of  traveling on every cruise, but through the power of the internet, I remain connected and in touch with their experiences- even if they happen in Kia, Solomon Islands!

My Google Alerts are still watching for more posts, from the far-flung regions we visit & I'll be sure to share those with you.

Posted by Leigh Strinsky on March 10, 2006
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March 09, 2006

Costa Rica Through the Eyes of a Naturalist

This is the first of two reports, submitted by Sally Cannata, one of our Virtual Cruise presenters, following her cruise in Costa Rica aboard the Pacific Explorer.

I have to admit the weather was perfect.  Sunny & warm. The snorkeling was phenomenal: sea turtles, sharks, even octopus, and loads of colorful fish.

The nature walks were fantastic as well: monkeys, sloths, coatis, and fascinating trees, bromeliads, & orchids. The canal was interesting, particularly the history (the Columbia & Snake River locks are actually more impressive to me!). We passed through at night but could still see the locks well. The visit to the Embera tribe in the Darien Jungle was certainly a highlight of the trip. The men wore loin cloths and the women were barebreasted wearing sarongs, the kids loved getting their pictures taken and looking at the digital cameras - basically it was unspoiled and felt like stepping into the pages of National Geographic, I think it had a great impact on everyone not to mention the competitive soccer game between the crew and the locals in the afternoon.

The food was better than I had remembered with 4 course lunches and dinners, menu's with several choices for all meals, and top notch fresh fish. The ratio of 1 naturalist per 15 guests in Costa Rica was great and all 5 naturalist were knowledgeable and interesting. Most crew members had a good command of the english language. The vessel was spotless and well kept.

Very comfortable lounge & library not to mention the fabulous outdoor areas on the top deck and creative nightly drink specials.

Sally Cannata (formerly Wenning) was a Cruise Coordinator/Naturalist with Cruise West for many years and nows lives in Missoula, Montana.  We are thrilled that she continues to be involved with the company as one of our Virtual Cruise presenters.  On March 21st & 23rd, she will be hosting two Virtual Cruise Presentations that will focus on Costa Rica.  If you'd like to meet Sally online and hear more about her experience, be sure to sign-up.

Posted by Sally Cannata on March 09, 2006
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March 08, 2006

The New cruisewest.com

This is an exciting day here at Cruise West and a long time coming.  We have been working on the reconstuction of our website for months and today, we launched our new site.  Our goal was to create a site that is easy to navigate and to add an element of enrichment that has been missing in the past.

The site still a work in progress, but the nice thing about it is that we have the ability make changes instantly.  We'll be able to keep the site fresh by adding daily blog posts, updating itineraries with relevant and timely information and keeping our visitors informed about enhancements to our product.

The new cruisewest.com will be a source of information for our guests and also allow interaction through online forms, comments to our blog posts and eventually will even allow our Quyana members the ability to post their own comments about their cruise with us.

Check back often as we update and refresh the site - we'll be doing that often!  If you'd like to sign up for email notifications of new blog posts, news stories or just want to order a brochure,  that can all be accomplished through our brochure request form.

Enjoy the site- and by the way, feel free to comment!

Posted by Leigh Strinsky on March 08, 2006
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