This year, a record number of cruise ships are operating in Alaska, but the MS Roald Amundsen takes a different approach. HX Expeditions’ new 10-day itinerary, Alaska’s Inside Passage: Fjords of the Great Land, steers clear of the busiest ports. Instead, the ship visits small communities and remote wilderness areas that larger vessels cannot reach.
The vessel left Vancouver two days earlier, sailing through the Inside Passage before reaching Misty Fjords near the Canadian border. There, low clouds hung over forested mountains, and waterfalls fed into deep, still waters. Passengers disembarked in small groups to explore by sea-kayak, Zodiac, and the science boat.
Small towns, deep roots
Off the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, the ship anchored near Klawock, a settlement of 719 people known as a significant center of Tlingit culture. HX offered five excursions, or passengers could explore independently. The Totem Park and Heenya carving shed were a short walk from the welcome center.
One tour, Coastal Flavours, led guests through the forest to a spot beside the Klawock River. There, under transparent bubble tents, they sampled oysters and seafood dishes paired with local wines. The Native Alaskan guide, Kathy, spoke with each guest about her heritage and sang in Tlingit.
Later, a community group from Kake came aboard wearing traditional regalia to perform dances and songs. Kake, on Kupreanof Island, is home to a few hundred people, mostly Tlingit. One of the dancers, 17-year-old Brooklyn, teaches Tlingit language and culture to children while studying for university.
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Travelers who want more than a crowded dock and a gift shop can find it in these small communities. The experience depends on local people who open their homes, their schools, and their stories to visitors. The ship provides the structure, but the real content comes from the people who live there year-round.
Wildlife and glaciers
Toward the end of the voyage, the ship spent a day at Valdez, a town rebuilt after the 1964 earthquake and later known for the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. The ecosystem in Prince William Sound has largely recovered from the 41 million-litre spill, though the orca population still struggles.
The day before disembarkation, the vessel reached College Fjord. Bright sunshine reflected on the water, highlighting a tidewater glacier named after Yale University. Its face rose as high as a 15-story building. The Zodiac driver steered through a mass of icebergs — growlers and larger, blue-tinged bergy bits — until the group could see cracks in the glacier’s face. As they turned back, they heard the thunder of the glacier calving.
The next morning, rain drenched passengers in Whittier as they left the MS Roald Amundsen.
