JUNEAU, Alaska -- The Empress of the North does not have a casino,
a spa or a disco. There's no movie theater, and you definitely
won't find Lido buffet lines, either.
In fact, this 235-passenger American West Steamboat Co. ship
doesn't have many of the bells and whistles that have come to
define contemporary megaships.
That was just fine with the passengers sailing on the ship's
11-night Alaska itinerary from Juneau to Seattle late this
summer.
After all, they were on a paddle sternwheeler -- not your
standard cruise ship, and that's the point.
The vessel, whose smaller sister, the Queen of the West, plies
the Columbia and Snake rivers, is not only brand-new, but it also
brings to Alaska a novel and nostalgic twist to cruising the Inside
Passage.
The Empress of the North is the first sternwheeler to ply Alaska's
Inside Passage in more than 100 years. The ship is a beautifully
rendered reproduction of an 1800's-era paddlewheel riverboat. The
paddlewheel, by the way, really works.
The vessel virtually mirrors the Queen of the West, except the
Empress is larger. The Queen of the West is 230 feet long and has
73 staterooms and suites; the Empress of the North is 360 feet long
with 112 staterooms and suites.
Because riverboats are designed for shallow-water cruising,
Alaska is an ideal venue for the Empress.
With its diminutive size, it can navigate into such tricky areas
as the Wrangell Narrows and Peril Strait -- which bigger ships
wouldn't dream of sailing through.
And because a riverboat can hug the coastline, passengers are
afforded astounding views of the Alaska landscape that wouldn't be
possible from a larger vessel.
I, for one, had never sailed steamboat-style and had some
preconceived notions about the experience. Some of those
perceptions were correct, others were not.
I thought the passengers generally would be an older crowd, and
on that front I was correct. Although there was one couple in their
early 50s, most of the guests averaged between 70 and 75 years
old.
I also thought the passengers would not be terribly
sophisticated, or, for that matter, well-traveled. On that front, I
was dead wrong.
The guests were veteran cruise passengers who had previously
traveled on virtually all the mainstream lines, including Holland
America and Princess, as well as such luxury companies as Crystal
and Radisson Seven Seas.
American West said half the passengers on board the Empress of
the North had sailed on the Queen of the West's Columbia and Snake
river itineraries.
Most were retired, and virtually all embraced the nontraditional
cruise experience.
The passenger complement was eclectic, to say the least.
Fashionable Beverly Hills matrons mixed with retired high school
teachers and CEOs; there was one female Lutheran minister on
board.
Although riverboat cruising doesn't come cheap -- cruise fares
ranged from $3,699 to $8,299 per person, double -- the guests were
not flashy or pretentious.
Rather, they were understated and casual -- traits reflected in
what they wore onboard: a mix of jeans, khakis, sweatshirts and
polo shirts, even in the dining room.
Although passengers came from different walks of life, they
seemed to share one important quality: an abiding intellectual
curiosity that hadn't been diminished by time.
The vessel featured an onboard historian who provided lectures
in the Showboat Lounge, the main showroom, and narration on each
port of call prior to arrival.
In a move that's not typical of larger cruise lines, America
West also includes one shore excursion per port in the cost of the
cruise.
While megaships are ballyhooed as floating resorts, the Empress
of the North can be categorized as a homey yet elegant floating
inn, complete with rocking chairs and a calliope (which the cruise
director actually knows how to play) in the aptly name Calliope Bar
& Grill.
The vessel exudes a gracious Southern charm, with public rooms
appointed in jewel tones, cushy couches and embroidered chairs.
Each of the vessel's four decks is decorated with art
encompassing four categories: Alaska native art, the American West,
Russia and the Gold Rush.
In a glass case near the purser's office on Deck 1, guests will
even find a collection of Faberge eggs, which hail from the
personal collection of the late Robert Giersdorf, the company's
founder.
Distinct design flourishes are ubiquitous. For example,
staterooms featuring ornate lighting fixtures, lace curtains,
embroidered chairs and flowery bedspreads would be more aptly
called bedrooms.
There are 112 staterooms and suites, all of which are outside
and most of which have verandas. Depending on category, suites and
staterooms measure anywhere from 160 square feet in the lowest
stateroom category to about 410 square feet in a two-room
suite.
The Romanov Dining Room, which offers open seating for
breakfast, lunch and dinner, featured excellent meals, although the
room was rather congested.
Waiters and waitresses had trouble navigating between tables and
sometimes jostled diners in their efforts to bring dishes in and
out of the kitchen.
Joel Perry, vice president of marketing, said the company is
looking at options to reconfigure the dining room to eliminate
logjams.
For casual dining, guests can have continental breakfast and
sandwiches, hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch in the Calliope Bar
& Grille. Tell clients to sample the great homemade soups and
chili here.
The Paddle Wheel Lounge, at the stern, provides a great vantage
point to view the fire-engine-red paddlewheel. The lounge also was
a favorite spot to play cards, read a book or gaze out on the
scenery in hopes of spotting a humpback whale.
The lounge also was a preferred venue for passengers to have
predinner cocktails and watch a husband-and-wife singing duo dubbed
Pacific Breeze perform an array of easy-listening numbers.
The main performance venue, though, is the Steamboat Lounge,
which featured the cruise's main acts.
These included a solo jazz performer, a "Best of Broadway"
review performed by the entertainment staff and a "Goodtime Oldies"
review show with dancing.
Although the entertainment was, for all intents and purposes,
standard fare, the cruise experience was far from ordinary.
Small as the Empress is, the ship cuts a striking figure on the
Inside Passage.
To contact reporter Claudette Covey, send e-mail to [email protected].
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For more details on this article, see The Empress' itineraries.