Whales of Alaska

Whale-watching is one of the many things to enjoy while vacationing in Alaska. Alaskaoffers has several amazing and affordable Alaskan cruises that you can choose from so you can pick the one that works for you. Our customers agree that an Alaskan cruise with us is the experience-of-a-lifetime. Even better, booking your spot is easy and Alaskaoffers will take care of all the complicated details so that you can sit back and relax.

With nothing to worry about, why not read a little about the fun stuff you can do on your trip? Whale-watching is very popular in Alaska and is something that is fun for all! The following are the types of whales that you might see while whale-watching in Alaska:

Humpback

• Adults measure 40-50 ft long and weigh about 79,000 lbs
• Males produce a complex song that lasts 10-20 minutes
• Eat mostly krill and small fish
• Eat only in summer; breed and give birth in the winter
• Newborns are about the length of their mother’s head

Killer (Orca)

• Is the largest species of the dolphin family
• Some feed mostly on fish while others hunt marine mammals
• There are 5 distinct types of Killer Whales
• They are very social and even have matrilineal family groups that are the most stable of any animal species
• Adults measure 16-26 feet long
• Average lifespan is 30 years but can go up to 50-60 years

Gray

• Adults measure about 52 ft
• Lifespan is 50-60 years
• Once called the Devil Fish because of its fighting behavior when hunted
• Young are born tail first and measure about 13 ft

Blue

• Is the largest animal ever to have existed
• Measures about 108 ft and weigh up to 380,000 lbs
• There are at least 3 distinct subspecies
• They feed on krill and a small number of copepods
• Believed to be able to live for at least 80 years

Fin

• Is the second largest living animal after the Blue Whale
• There are at least 2 subspecies
• May live up to over 90 years
• Newborns measure about 21 ft and weigh about 4,000 lbs
• Feeds on small schooling fish, squid, and crustaceans

Minke

• Measure between 28 and 35 ft long and weigh about 30,000 lbs
• Usually live between 30-50 years
• Are inquisitive and may engage in “human-watching”
• Do not jump clear of the sea surface
• Can hold their breath underwater for up to 20 minutes

Denali National Park

Alaskaoffers wants you to discover Denali!

Experience Denali National Park and Preserve with a dream vacation to Alaska! Denali, meaning “the great one” in the Athabaskan language refers to Mount McKinley, which is located in the park. Mount McKinley National Park was originally established on February 26, 1917 as a preserve for the Dall sheep. Only a portion of Mount McKinley was actually within the original park’s boundary at the time. On December 1, 1978 Jimmy Carter proclaimed a separate Denali National Monument, which later joined with Mount McKinley Park to from the Denali National Park and Preserve by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act on December 2, 1980.

Today, the national park is over 6 million acres and the national preserve is over 1,300,000 acres. Both are federally owned. The park’s 400,000 annual visitors can enjoy wildlife viewing, mountaineering, and backpacking. Wintertime recreation also includes dog-sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling where allowed.

Wildlife

There are many varieties of birds and mammals at Denali, including grizzly bears and black bears. Denali is also home to caribou, dall sheep, moose, gray wolves, hoary marmots, arctic ground squirrels, beavers, pikas, snowshoe hares, foxes, martens, lynx, and wolverines. Denali also hosts many bird types, include waxwings, Arctic Warblers, pine grosbeaks, wheatears, Ptarmigan, tundra swan, hawks, owls, gyrfalcon, and golden eagle.

There are also several fish species, including trout, salmon, and arctic grayling. The only amphibious species in the park is the wood frog.

There is much to discover at Denali Park and Alaskaoffers gives you two chances to see it! You can explore this wonderful place on either our Alaska and Denali Cruise and Tour or our Alaska Cruise and Tour. Why choose Alaskaoffers? Well, our customers trust us to deliver great experiences for an affordable price, and that’s exactly what we have been doing for over 40 years! Why wait any longer to see Alaska and one of its highlights, spectacular Denali Park? Check us out and order your ticket today!

The following trips feature Denali National Park:

Alaska Cruise and Tour

Alaska Cruise and Agricultural Tour

Discover What Awaits You in Juneau

Experience the capital of Alaska on any one of the Alaskaoffers trips. This charming city is a great place to visit if you want to experience Alaska. Its area is almost as large as Rhode Island and Delaware combined and its population in 2007 was over 30,500. Juneau is located at the base of Mount Juneau and is across the channel from Douglas Island.

You can sit back and enjoy the rich culture of this great city on a relaxing cruise. Juneau is home to Perseverance Theatre, Alaska’s only professional theater. Music and arts are an important part of the culture here, as is the influence of various native Indian tribes. Travel with a trusted company to this amazing destination and let yourself enjoy all it has to offer. Read on for some fun things to do in Juneau!

Fishing, whale watching, shopping, enjoying the arts, and flight-seeing are all great ways to enjoy your trip to Juneau. Of course, there’s also plenty of wildlife to see. Catch a glimpse of a bear, bald eagle, sea lions, sea otters, mountain goats, and deer! This city is a perfect place for any traveler to relax and see something new. Whether you’re the outdoorsy type or someone who enjoys the arts, Juneau has something for you.

See Juneau on Any one of These Vacation Packages:

Alaska and the Great Northwest Tour

Alaska Cruise and Tour

NCL Alaska Cruise and Tour

The Flag of Alaska

Alaskaoffers.com wants to take you on an exciting adventure to a place rich with interesting history! Alaska is more than just an amazing place full of pristine sites and thrilling excursions; it also has a fascinating culture. Did you know that the state’s flag was designed by a 13 year old? Did you know that the state’s flag, song, and flower are all connected? There is so much to learn about Alaska, and Alaskaoffers.com wants to do more than just take you there; we want to teach you something new and give you an experience you’ll always remember.

In 1926, 13 year old Bennie Benson from Chignik, Alaska submitted his design for an American Legion flag contest. He could never guess that his simple yet thoughtful illustration would be the one to be chosen for the official flag for the Territory of Alaska. Bennie described his flag as follows:

"The blue field is for the Alaska sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaska flower. The North Star is for the future state of Alaska, the most northerly of the Union. The dipper is for the Great Bear -- symbolizing strength." (The Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major, or Great Bear)

In May of 1927, the Alaska Legislature adopted Bennie’s design because of its simplicity, originality, and symbolism. Before that, only the US flag had been flown since the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. When Alaska was admitted into the union as the 49th state, Bennie’s design was retained as the official state flag.
In 1935, Department of Education employee Marie Drake wrote a poem that mirrored Bennie’s illustration. Because Drake did a lot of work for the School Board, the poem appeared in the October School Bulletin.

Shortly after that, Elinor Dunsenbury composed a song that mirrored the poem. She had no idea that it would become the official state song of Alaska. Dunsenbury, the wife of the Commanding Officer of the Chilkoot Barracks, had fallen in love with the state but had to move because her husband was transferred. After reading Drake’s poem, she used it to compose a song because she was homesick! In 1939, Dunsenbury visited Juneau and got to play her song for Drake. Over the next two decades, the song grew in popularity and was played unofficially. The Territorial Legislature adopted “Alaska’s Flag” in 1955 and made it the official state song when the Territory of Alaska became the 49th state in 1959.

Check out our fabulous Alaska adventure packages and discover what awaits you. Visit Alaskaoffers.com or call 1-800-922-9000 today!

Alaska's Flag Song Lyrics
Written by Marie Drake

Composed by Elinor Dusenbury

Eight stars of gold on a field of blue

Alaska's flag. May it mean to you

The blue of the sea, the evening sky,

The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;

The gold of the early sourdough's dreams,

The precious gold of the hills and streams;

The brilliant stars in the northern sky,

The "Bear" - the "Dipper" - and, shining high,

The great North Star with its steady light,

Over land and sea a beacon bright.Alaska's flag - to Alaskans dear,

The simple flag of a last frontier.

The Salmon of Alaska

YMT Vacations offers you many chances to experience the glory of Alaska! With a variety of different cruises available to this magestic destiation, you are sure to find one that fits your style. When one thinks of Alaska, the breathtaking scenery is first to come to mind; also popular is the spectacular wildlife. YMT wants to make sure that you don’t forget another part of Alaska that’s just as exciting: fishing!

Alaska is a place that any fisher (or a curious traveler eager for new experiences) can find something exhilarating. Fishing for sport and commercially are a big part of Alaska and the state is full of halibut, trout and more! And let's not forget about the salmon! There are five types of the species: Chinook, Chum, Coho, Pink, and Sockeye. Each is discussed below.

Chinook Salmon

• Is the state fish
• Is the largest of all the Pacific salmon
• Other names: spring, quinnat, tyee, tule, blackmouth, king, Colombia River, black, chub, hook bill, and winter salmon
• Color: blue-green on the back and top of head with silvery sides and white ventral surfaces with a dark grey mouth and black spots on the tail and upper half of the body
• Size: adults range from 10-50 lbs and 33-36 inches in length

Chum Salmon

• Has the widest distribution of all the Pacific salmon
• Other names: dog, calico, and keta salmon
• Color: silvery blue green, when near spawning, develops purple streaks near the caudal fin
• Size: adults range from 9-15 lbs and average 2 feet in length

Coho Salmon

• Other names: silver salmon
• Color: in the ocean phase, has silver sides with a dark blue back
• When spawning: has bright red sides, blue-green head and back with a dark belly and dark spots on the back
• When sexually maturing: gets a light pink shading along the belly
• Mature adults: have a red skin and darker backs
• Size: adults range from 8-12 lbs and 24-30 inches in length

Pink Salmon

• Smallest of the Pacific salmon
• Characterized by a white mouth and black gums, large oval shaped black spots on its back and v shaped tail, and an anal fin with soft rays
• Other names: humpback salmon
• Color: is bright silver in the ocean but pale gray with a yellow/white belly when it returns to its spawning stream
• Size: adults average 4.8 lbs and range from 20-25 inches in length

Sockeye Salmon

• Other names: red or blueback salmon
• Color: in freshwater is bright red with a pale green head (females may have green and yellow marks) and in saltwater is blue-green on top and silver on bottom

Jasper National Park

Alaska is a magnificent state full of awe-inspiring scenery. It has always been a popular destination and with amazing destinations like Jasper National Park, it’s no wonder why. Alaskaoffers.com has many exciting discount packages to Alaska that you can choose from, all featuring different spectacular highlights, including national parks. But one of our favorite places to visit is Jasper National Park. Located in Alberta, the park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies.

It’s full of breathtaking sites such as lakes, hot springs, waterfalls, mountains and even glaciers. It’s not only rich in scenery but also in wildlife such as moose, caribou, elk, white-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, bears, beavers, the Rocky Mountain pika and many more. Among many others, the park’s attractions include Mount Edith Cavell, Maligne Lake, Medicine Lake, Pyramid Mountain, Tonquin Valley and the Icefields Parkway.

This amazing place was granted national park status in 1930 and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. And it sure is a popular place as it had almost two million visitors in 2006! So if you’re looking through the many Alaskaoffers vacation packages trying to find the perfect one and Jasper National Park seems like a place you want to visit, try checking out the Alaska Cruise and Canadian Rockies Tour package. If that one doesn’t fit just right, there are always plenty of other value-laden options that feature a number of other gorgeous sites as well.

So don’t wait to finally book your spot on the vacation-of-a-lifetime and call us today at 1-800-922-9000 to get started.

NCL Alaska Cruise and Tour

Discover our NCL Alaska Cruise and Tour. For an affordable price, you can get a value-laden all-inclusive package like this one. Explore San Francisco, Reno, Lake Tahoe, Medford, and Seattle on the tour then enjoy a luxurious freestyle cruise through Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Prince Rupert. Alaskaoffers wants to give you the best, and that’s why we’ve chosen amazing ships like the Norwegian Star for our cruises. With the freestyle cruising Norwegian Cruise Lines offers, you can decide what you want to do and when you want to do it. There’s no limit to the fun you can have!

The Norwegian Star features:

• Spinnaker Lounge
• Cinema and Auditorium
• Oasis Pool
• The Video Zone
• Barong Spa and Fitness Center
• Red Lion Pub
• Stardust Theater
• Carousel Bar and Nightclub
• Star Club Casino
• Countless restaurants and dining areas
• And much more!

So experience what cruising is all about on the fantastic Norwegian Star. Now is the time to reward yourself with that dream vacation, and Alaskaoffers has got just the thing for you. An unforgettable vacation with breathtaking sights combined with the unparalleled service aboard the Norwegian Star make the perfect package! Call 1-800-922-9000 today to book your spot!

Click here to hear about the Norwegian Star from a customer or click here to learn more about NCL.