Happy to be here in Skagway, but sad to see everyone go! We had an easy 14-mile cruise from Haines to our final destination. The sight was quite surreal. When the flotilla rounded the corner to get our first glimpse of Skagway, enormous white structures towered over the town on the waterway. Yes, the cruise line ships were in port and colossal they were! Seeing 2,000 guests unload into the town reminds us that we prefer the more intimate cruising our Mother Goose Flotilla fleet offers in the PNW.

Anyone can swipe a credit card, take to the seas, and be catered by a staff of hundreds offered by the many cruise ships that travel these waters. However, none can offer the seclusion we find when at anchor in a small cove all to ourselves. The friendships we make can last years as guests continue to come back and charter different legs gaining a terrific experience in their nautical skills while traveling in the best waters the Inside Passage offers.

That’s just it. The clients are very different when you compare those that book a cruise line to those that bare-boat charter. Immediately, everyone with us has something unique in common with one another. They prefer to do the leg work, to sail their own vessel, create routes of the paper charts, drop the anchor where they choose, and enjoy the seclusion of having the boat to yourself. Especially when you throw in the unprecedented local knowledge and experience of Captain Brian and Captain Jordan, the stress levels go down while they figure out all the technical nuances of cruising SE Alaska. That means more time to unwind and relax as they tend to the needs of any vessel repairs, alterations in the itinerary due to weather or adverse conditions, and the overall logistics of getting the boats from A to B.

It is a pleasure to cruise with NW Explorations for so many reasons, a true honor to share the experience with diverse clients that commit to a summer in Alaska, and a trip of a lifetime to take part.