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Seward is one of the port cities for Anchorage.
Founded in 1903, it was named for William H. Seward, who fought public opinion over
the purchase of Alaska in 1867.
As with many Alaskan cities, you can find evidence of early Russian influence, as well
as the native Eskimos and Dinina Indians.
You'll also see good old pioneer spirit, with a dash of frontier fun thrown in for good
measure.
Seward is also the hometown of Benny Benson, the schoolboy who designed Alaska's state
flag.
A large part of Seward's appeal is its scenic surroundings.
Its temperate maritime climate makes it ideal for hunting, fishing, and logging.
Resurrection Bay, which is rarely blocked by ice, made Seward a successful deep-water port
until the devastating earthquake in 1964.
Today, tourism joins the fishing and logging industries as the city's economic base.
One beautiful stop while visiting Seward is Portage Glacier.
It presents an opportunity to see a spectacular example of a glacier at close range.
Seward's charming harbor and gold rush-era buildings hug the shoreline of Resurrection
Bay.
As you departed, the beauty of the bay provided a scenic bon voyage for the magic of your
Alaskan cruise.
Fjords are a legacy of glacial movement.
When glaciers melt, deep valleys are left behind.
Ocean water fills these gorges, creating the spectacular beauty of fjords.
College Fjord is unique in the number of glaciers which empty into it.
This example of Alaskan wilderness is unforgettable stunning.
As you explore the regal princess, you quickly discover the grand scale of her design.
Centerpiece of your home away from home is the atrium lobby.
You are welcomed on board at reception.
Across the way is La Patisserie, where espresso, cappuccino, pastries, and desserts provide
a day-long temptation.
Shopping ops from sapphires to souvenirs are found in the atrium, as is the princess theater.
And on promenade deck, the atrium provides a variety of lounges for everything from daytime
activities to an evening rendezvous.
From coffee at La Patisserie to caviar at Bacchus, from window shopping to people watching,
the atrium is the heart of the regal princess.
As you quickly discovered, there's a very special way of saying, welcome aboard the
regal princess.
Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome aboard.
I wish you a very, very happy cruise and a wonderful time on board with us.
Thank you.
The splendor of Alaska's scenery is the highlight of a cruise to our 49th state.
Glacier Bay National Park was established in 1925.
More than 40 glaciers descend from two mountain ranges, St. Elias and Fairweather.
Because the bay has such fragile ecological balance, no more than two ships are allowed
in at one time.
This allows all visitors the full pleasure of this natural beauty.
It's Hawk Island's first time on board a cruise.
The elegant style, fine cuisine, and shipboard fun you would
experience on the Regal Princess were seemingly effortless.
Behind the scenes, officers and staff
work to ensure your comfort, your safety,
and the pleasures of your cruise.
The bridge is the command center of your ship.
Officers have the finest technology available.
Coupled with their expertise and experience,
you're guaranteed smooth sailing.
Officers on the bridge are in contact with the control room
to keep the 70,000 ton Regal Princess on course.
Her top speed is 22.5 knots, while average cruising speed
is 19 knots.
From this power center, all systems
are monitored and regulated.
The temperature of your cabin and the temperature
of your caviar are climate controlled.
Water purification and worldwide communication
are all part of the technological capabilities.
And all of this is harnessed to ensure you the most
pleasurable cruise possible.
Mountains seem to dominate many of Alaska's cities.
And Skagway is another settlement
nestled in the protective arms of majestic peaks.
Skagway's charm is linked to its raucous past.
When the original Indian fishing village
was overrun with prospectors, idyllic calm
gave way to rowdy saloons and lawless abandon.
Today, you can hear the echoes of those gold rush
days in the tinkle of a player piano
or the whistle of the white pass train.
Take a carriage ride or stroll along Main Street.
With a little imagination, you can transport yourself back
to the days of 98.
The treasure seekers who came to Skagway had a hard decision.
They could try to get to the gold fields via Chilkoot Trail
or over the white pass.
The Chilkoot was an easier route, but it took longer.
The white pass was more direct, but the treacherous mountain
route claimed hundreds of lives.
When the white pass railroad was completed,
it eased the way over the mountains.
But the supply of gold soon dwindled,
making the whole enterprise of questionable value.
What no one can deny is the beauty of the scenic panoramas
that modern travelers enjoy as they follow
the route of the white pass through the mountains.
This tourist road adds a unique touch to the Orange Car controlling
Skagway's history is a colorful one.
It's peopled with the likes of the notorious bandit, Soapy Smith, and brave Molly Walsh,
who ran a grub tent for gold-crazed prospectors.
The city was founded by William Moore, who foolishly thought he could control the rush
of gold seekers and profit from their arrival.
The flood of settlers not only overwhelmed his plans, but also added insult to injury
by changing the name of the town from Mooresville to Skagway.
The name Skagway derives from an Indian word meaning home of the North Wind.
Visitors who brave the location year-round can attest to the accuracy of the name.
But in the summer, they welcome visitors to their town to enjoy the flavor of Skagway's
raucous past.
While visitors can participate in a reenactment of gold rush days, local residents often find
themselves living the lifestyles of the past.
Homesteaders who don't mind the challenge of the outdoors can live surrounded by the
beauty of Alaska's scenery.
The
picturesque charm of this town and countryside are unmatched anywhere in Alaska.
Dining on board the regal princess is an endless array of mouth-watering cuisine.
A small army of chefs is constantly at work to create the fabulous food you can sample
from sunup to midnight.
Casual fare can be enjoyed at Cafe Del Sol or Bravo Pizzeria.
And the award-winning cuisine presented in the Palm Corps dining room is nothing short
of superb.
Hours of preparation go into the Gallagrande Buffet.
The result is as much a delight to the eyes as to the palate.
Cheery.
Welcome to Alaska's capital.
You utter Juno by one of only two means, sea or air.
There are no roads which connect Juno with the rest of the world.
Alaska's capital also has the distinction of being the largest city in North or South America.
Despite being sparsely populated, it claims 3,108 square miles of land.
From the historical district to the state government buildings, you can trace Juno's growth from mining boomtown to seat of Alaska's state government.
The state fish of Alaska is the king salmon.
The state bird is the willow ptarmigan.
The state mineral is gold.
And the state tree is the beautiful Sitka spruce.
Anyone exploring Juno quickly discovers it has a personality all its own.
There's no doubt the pioneer spirit is alive and well.
For some, adventure can be found rafting down an icy cold Alaskan river.
For others, the frontier spirit comes alive as they pan for gold.
It was gold, after all, that really got things going in these parts.
In 1880, Dick Harris and Joe Juno staked a claim here in what would be the beginning of the great Alaska Gold Rush.
After an exhaustive search for treasure, some prospectors enjoy the pleasures of an outdoor salmon bake.
A trip to Taku Lodge combines the exhilaration of a float plane flight with the sizzling taste of fresh salmon.
For an unforgettable look at nature's power, a journey to Mendenhall Glacier is unmatched.
You land on the sparkling ice for a close look at this awesome beauty.
Mendenhall, along with Herbert, Taku, and Eagle glaciers, forms the Juno Icefield.
The city is protected from this enormous flow of ice by Mt. Juno, Mt. Roberts, and the Gastineau Channel.
This shelter is responsible for the relatively mild climate enjoyed by the citizens of the capital city.
This is actually caused by erosion. In fact, if you were guys who were just here about the first week of June,
you would not be standing where you are right now. In fact, all of you would be standing about here or up farther,
because this ice extended out for six more feet.
These glaciers you see above us are called hanging glaciers. They hang on the side of the mountain.
We're also moving down the valley right now to about two feet a day.
Big rocks will fall into cracks like this. When these cracks close up, anything in it is ground up into a powder.
This looks like sand over here. You can see on the top we've been working on. It's actually ground up boulders.
Just rocks that have been ground up by the action of the glacier.
Some people choose to visit Mendenhall Glacier without going airborne.
A visitor's center provides information and a lofty observation point.
Juno might have faded into obscurity when the mining concerns played out, were it not for its being named territorial capital of Alaska.
Today, both mining and government remain as the cornerstones of Juno's heritage.
Evenings on the Regal Princess are full of fun and excitement.
Did you dance till dawn at the stage door?
Was Lady Luck your companion at the casino?
Were you a pub night participant?
Did she do it? Is Acapulco Watering cleaning to it?
Oh, bring back my body to me.
Perhaps a quiet drink at Bengal was the prelude to the world-class entertainment for which Princess is famous.
Set the stage, light the lights, you're the star of the love boat tonight.
Starting here dreams come true, you may find you're the next love boat.
When the dance is tonight, fill with sense the epitome of good light, and blow a kiss and take a bow.
Could it be you're the next love boat legend?
It's your evening, let the world know your name.
There it's many, that'll be just the beginning.
Turn the light, light the lights, we can soar with the stars here tonight.
They'll be grand, they'll be great, we can tell just to wait.
That lucky star's been waiting here for you.
Here's the love boat is sailing to help make all your dreams come true.
Although Alaska was the next to the last state to enter the Union, it ranks first in many ways.
First in size, first in natural resources, first in national parks, and the next stop on your cruise, Ketchikan, the first city of Alaska.
Its other nickname is Rain Capital of North America.
Locals will tell you the rainfall is measured in feet, not inches, and it surprises most visitors to find that there's a rainforest so close to the Arctic Circle.
In Ketchikan, you find water, water everywhere.
One of the city's most charming areas is Creek Street.
Once these buildings were home to the Red Light District, now they house shops and restaurants.
The name Ketchikan is from the Tlingit language.
Depending on the interpreter, it means thundering wings of eagles, or salmon creek that flows through town.
Because Tlingit is not a written language, variations in English translations are rampant.
Everything about Ketchikan reinforces the importance of the ocean in daily life here.
Blue and gold ferries, part of the Alaska Marine Highway System, are a vital means of transportation.
Even the local airplanes have watery landing strips.
Ketchikan has the world's largest collection of totems.
These fascinating Native American sculptures are preserved and restored at Totem Bight State Park.
A bite is a small cove or bay.
Totem Bight on the Tongass Narrows was once a Tlingit Indian summer campsite.
Just as you might associate rainforests with the tropics, you probably think of fjords as Scandinavian.
But Ketchikan has a surprise here too, as experienced in an aerial visit to the fjords.
The beauty and splendor of Alaska unfold beneath you from the exciting perspective of a seaplane.
Misty Fjord is a national monument.
Its 2.2 million acres were set aside for protection in 1978.
The deep fjords and sheer cliffs are accessible only by floatplane or by boat.
If the water shapes the lives of those who live in Ketchikan, it also provides a range of vacation fun for those who visit here.
Canoeing can take you gliding through the still waters of an icy lake.
For more strenuous fun, kayaking is a way to get around town and get some exercise.
To enjoy the watery beauty of Ketchikan without having to exert oneself, a cruise along the scenic waterfront is unbeatable.
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This first city of Alaska is a most appealing waterfront community.
The elegant regal princess was your floating home away from home.
On a ship this size, there are innumerable nooks and crannies to find and enjoy.
Here's your chance to remember the comfortable lounges, sweeping atrium, and spacious decks for sun-washed days and starlit nights with a backdrop for fun.
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Vancouver is a beautiful study in sophistication.
This economic hub of British Columbia has in recent years become a magnet for film production, for Asian trade, and of course, for cruise ships.
A tram ride to the top of Grouse Mountain offers spectacular views of Vancouver and its surroundings from a vantage point of 3,600 feet.
The Capilano Suspension Bridge provides another kind of aerial adventure.
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The lush heart of Vancouver is Stanley Park.
Its tree-lined streets and paths encompass gardens, the zoo, an aquarium, a totem display, and a terrific perspective of downtown.
Some people enjoy the park on foot, while others take in the beauty from the seat of a bicycle.
Everywhere in Vancouver, you'll see tradition side by side with modern living.
Contemporary landmarks stand guard over the city's historical heritage.
Here in Gastown, which was rescued from decades of neglect, there stands a statue in honor of Gassy Jack Dayton.
It was Gassy Jack who saw that money could be made from prospectors and started the community that would grow to become Vancouver, Canada's third largest city.
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Any visitor to Vancouver is sure to appreciate the scenic beauty that surrounds this exciting city.
Gold Rush towns, spectacular natural beauty, majestic wildlife, and the charm of the regal princess.
These are your memories to enjoy. Until we see you again.
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Ten thousand years ago, the huge ice masses which covered North America began to recede northward.
As they withdrew, mountains were carved, rivers formed, and lakes left behind.
Today, 10% of Earth's land mass is covered by glacial ice.
Antarctica is the largest glacier mass, comprising 4,900,000 square miles.
Alaska ranks seventh with 20,000 square miles, and the continental United States is 15th with 200 square miles.
Creation of a glacier begins with the delicate form of a snowflake.
When snow falls to Earth, flakes join together into grains of ice with bubbles of air trapped inside.
As the weight of snow increases, the icy clumps form large, solid fields of ice.
An increase in pressure from the weight of the ice forces out the trapped air bubbles, turning airy white snow into airless blue ice.
An ice field continues to grow, with additional snowfall turning to ice crystals.
When it gets to a depth of approximately 60 feet, the ice mass begins to move.
A glacier is an ice field in motion.
As it moves, it crushes everything in its path, pebbles to boulders.
As rocks are carried along, they're ground finer and finer until they're the consistency of flour.
This rock flour is carried away by meltwater and turns seawater a gray-brown color.
When two glaciers meet and form a larger flow, the rocks carried along their connected sides become a medial moraine,
a line of crushed earth down the center of the newly enlarged glacier.
Rocks and boulders left at the glacier's edge, or snout, are also called moraines.
Worthington Glacier provides an excellent illustration of this rocky debris.
Even in the flows which break from the edge of an ice shelf, you'll see evidence of the glacier's power to literally move mountains.
There are three types of glaciers, mountain, ice cap, and ice sheet.
The Moraine glaciers start in snowfields located, appropriately enough, atop mountains.
The heated snowfall and freezing temperatures allow the snow and ice to reach the depths necessary to start the flow of the ice fields.
The glaciers move downward, through valleys, until reaching the snow line where they melt during summer months.
Mountain glaciers can be miles long and are subject to avalanches.
The largest glacier in Alaska is Malaspina Glacier, located between Glacier Bay and Valdez. It is 60 miles long.
If the weather is cold enough, the glacier doesn't melt, but instead flows out over level ground.
Such a flow is called a Piedmont Glacier.
Larger than mountain glaciers are ice caps, the most famous example of which is Iceland.
These ice fields are so thick they completely bury mountains.
Ice sheets are the largest of the three glacial types.
Antarctica is an ice sheet and covers more land than the United States, Mexico, and Central America combined.
Where a glacier meets the sea, it forms an ice shelf.
At Mendenhall Glacier, you can experience being at close range to such a formation.
When sections of the shelf break off, the glacier is said to be calving, and the floating sections are icebergs.
In Glacier Bay and at Columbia Glacier, it's possible to lower a tender to collect an icy remnant of a nearby glacier.
The human must be alert to the danger of large ice flows, as well as to the many tidal waves caused when a glacier calves.
Winter, with its cold temperatures, is a slow time for glaciers to form.
But with warm winds and summer sunshine, icy activity speeds up.
Some northern Alaskan glaciers can move as little as six inches per year,
but others, with the advent of summer heat, race along at up to 100 feet per day.
The thicker the glacier, the faster it moves.
Increased weight means increased pressure, which in turn means increased temperatures at the bottom of the glacier.
As meltwater forms, the glacier slides along on a layer of liquid.
A glacier moves quickest in the center, more slowly towards its sides.
As the ice moves, it bends and cracks, causing crevices.
Some of these are small enough to step over.
Others form deadly traps for unsuspecting mountain climbers.
Glaciers create magnificent landscapes as they flow over the terrain.
From their beginnings on mountaintops, they shape the earth as they make their way toward the sea.
Sharp peaks indicate that most of a mountain has been carried away by ice.
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Seen at the top right of the screen, a cirque is a hollow formed when a glacier scrapes away the surrounding rocks.
Waterfalls cascade where crevices once scarred the mountainside.
Smooth, round valley floors show where a glacier flowed out over more level terrain.
And another landscape legacy are hanging glaciers.
As their name suggests, they hang on the side of a mountain.
They're formed when ice retreats from a main glacier, leaving its tributaries stranded on a mountainside.
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It comes as a surprise to some people to learn that there are fjords in Alaska.
The most popular fjord in the world is the Kenai fjords, named for the peninsula on which they're found.
And just outside of Ketchikan, an excursion in a float plane takes you to see the Misty fjords.
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Fjords are prehistoric relics of glacial activity.
They were formed when glaciers gouged out a valley, which at one time was below sea level.
Later, when the ice melted, the glacier receded and sea level rose.
The valleys were flooded.
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The lakes which were formed are beautiful blue, crystal clear remnants of the Ice Age.
The shelf across the mouth of a fjord marks the end moraine of the original glacier.
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Approaching the sea, the original path of a glacier is marked by a widening valley path.
Flying over fjords is only one way to enjoy the spectacular natural beauty of Alaska.
There are several ways to experience the grandeur of the glaciers.
A helicopter flight allows you to land on the surface of a glacier and learn about the ice formation from a knowledgeable guide.
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There are trips which combine glacier flight seeing with a fascinating introduction to Alaska's Indian heritage.
Or you can combine the cozy comfort of a remote mountain lodge, a roaring fire, fresh grilled salmon, and a glacier view as the scenic backdrop.
Portage Glacier provides an informative visitor's center and the chance to walk along a glacier's edge.
And of course, you can marvel at the beauty of glaciers as you cruise alongside them.
Columbia, La Perouse, and Bear Glaciers, as well as Spectacular Glacier Bay, are visited by ship.
100 miles northwest of Juneau is Glacier Bay National Park.
Established in 1925, it has an area of 4,375 square miles. Post-glacial forests have taken root where once there were only rocky moraines.
More than 40 glaciers descend from two parallel mountain ranges, St. Elias on the east and Fairweather on the west.
Muir Glacier, approximately two miles wide, is one of the most active.
Because the bay has a fragile ecological balance, no more than two ships are ever allowed in at one time.
This ruling provides the calm serenity which marks a visit to Glacier Bay.
The southeastern part of Glacier Bay is home to spruce and hemlock forests,
Alaska brown bears, grizzlies, seals, whales, and is a spawning ground for salmon.
The Glacier Bear, a bluish-gray subspecies, is also found in southern Alaska.
Knowing where to find a wildlife viewing area comes from years of patient observation.
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From the comfort of your cruise ship, from an up close and personal vantage point, or
from cloud strewn heights, Alaska's glaciers are ice age reminders of nature's glory.