The most interesting sights on an Inside Passage cruise is the wilderness shoreline--in all its myriad forms. A favorite pastime of voyagers is simply standing at the rail or sitting in a lounge chair and watching the panorama slide by. The magical blend of calm waters, serene beauty and pristine wilderness is peerless. Ship travelers are never out of sight of land. Channels are so narrow that passengers sometimes hear bird song from nearby forests.

America's Northwest Coast is often compared to the coast of Norway. Both have similar geologic histories. Both are mountainous, rugged, glaciated, and deeply indented by fjords and inlets. Both have offshore islands. However, the island fringe of North America is more extensive, a lacework of waterways, protected for hundreds of miles against the open sea. So intricate is the coast of British Columbia that within 500 point-to-point miles between Vancouver and the southern tip of Alaska there are 16,000 miles of saltwater shoreline. In the Alexander Archipelago of Southeast Alaska are more than 1,000 named islands, rocks and reefs.

The unremitting visual grandeur on either side of the vessel transports the traveler into a timeless world, far removed from the hurry of city life.

Special Places

Several channels and areas are particularly noteworthy. Not all are visited by any single cruise ship or ferry:

Glacier Bay: The national monument at the northwest extreme of the Inside Passage contains one of the world's most extraordinary displays of glaciers, scenery and wildlife. Fifty miles wide, the bay is encircled by snow-capped mountains. Most of its eight fjord-like inlets terminate at one or more ice cliffs. Wild life abounds on both land and water - bear, mountain goat, whale, porpoise and seal.

Tracy and Endicott Arms: About 40 miles south of Juneau the Alaska mainland is deeply indented by twin arms of the sea. Slender waterways penetrate through narrow canyons with sheer granite faces down which cascade 1,000-foot waterfalls. Glaciers press to the water's edge, breaking off in huge chunks that fall into the sea and provide a roosting place for seal and birds.

Wrangell Narrows: Between the communities of Wrangell and Petersburg, Wrangell Narrows twists and turns from one channel marker to the next, at times the ship is so close to land that passengers can see trees, foliage and beach in sharp detail. Too narrow for larger ships, the route is used by smaller cruise liners and Alaska Marine Highway ships.

Peril Strait: This narrow channel is a treat reserved for ferry travelers only. It winds for some 30 miles around the northern end of Baranof Island on the ferry route to and from Sitka. No other strait in Alaska gives the ship traveler as close a view of primitive shoreline.

Ports of Call: Visit the many world-renowned museums and Alaskan Native Centers where travelers are able to learn about ancient Indian cultures, early explorers, gold-rush prospectors and Russian fur traders.

Wildlife

Varieties of wildlife most often seen are birds and several kinds of marine mammals.

Gulls constantly follow passenger ships, scavenging for food. Glaucous-winged gulls are white with flesh-colored feet. The Western Gull is smaller with black wingtips, pink feet and a dark mantle. The American Bald Eagle is seen soaring over forests and inlets, or perching in tree tops. Other larger birds are the Raven, with a wing span of four feet or more; Trumpeter Swan, a large white bird, up to 20 pounds; Western Canada Goose, slightly smaller and brown; Cackling Goose, dark with white cheeks; and several varieties of ducks.

Marine mammals in these waters are seal, whale and porpoise. The Harbor or Hair Seal has large eyes, smooth head and no ears, weighing up to 300 pounds. Less frequently seen are Northern Fur Seals, smaller than the Hair Seal, with prominent ears. Much larger, reaching more than a ton in weight, is the Northern Sea Lion.

Killer Whales, commonly called Orcas, travel in pods, feeding on Seal, Sea Lion, Porpoise, Squid, and other species of Whale. They reach more than 25 feet in length, are jet black with white patches on the throat and underside. Humpback Whales are famous for their cavorting in Glacier Bay and are sometimes seen along the Inside Passage, but more often off the coast. Other kinds of Whales seen include the Grey, Sei, Finback and Blue.

Passengers delight in watching the antics of porpoises as they play alongside and off the bow, sometimes for many miles.

Living in the forest and less frequently seen by cruise passengers are Wolf, Black Bear, Grizzly Bear, Cougar, Deer, Moose and, higher on the mountains, particularly at Glacier Bay--Goat.

BOAT AND SHIPS

Passenger ships are only a small part of the maritime commerce that plies these quiet waters.

Freighters, container ships, tugs towing barges, tugs towing rafts of logs, many kinds and sizes of pleasure craft - almost always one or another of these craft is in sight, emerging from behind a faraway point of land, drawing nearer and passing to port, gradually disappearing astern.

Several kinds of commercial fishing craft will be seen: Salmon Purse Seiners, King Crab Boats, Halibut Schooners, Gill Netters, Trollers and many smaller sport charter boats fishing for salmon and halibut.

Watching these vessels come and go is a marvelously relaxed therapy.