I wasn’t sure that cruising was for me, until I realized that ships come in all sizes and their voyages cater to every imaginable niche. My first cruise was a floating music festival and my most recent one was a bucket list expedition to Galápagos. Here are three reasons I’ve taken cruises.
To explore the Galápagos of North America — and the real Galápagos
Before I visited the real Galápagos, I visited the Galápagos of North America and it was only 35 kilometres off the coast of Santa Barbara. California’s Channel Islands are home to about 2,000 species of animals and plants, including many that aren’t found anywhere else on earth. There are eight islands, including five that make up Channel Islands National Park and one (Catalina) that’s inhabited. Those in the know daytrip — weather permitting — to one biodiverse island at a time to hike, kayak, picnic and birdwatch. Greater Los Angeles, with its 18 million people, is so close yet so far from this “California of yesteryear.”
Brown pelicans on Santa Cruz, Channel Islands, California. Photo: Jennifer-Bain
Using the 100-passenger National Geographic Quest as my base, I joined National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions for a five-day voyage through the isolated archipelago where pygmy mammoths once roamed. Originally the home of Chumash and Gabrielino-Tongva peoples, the Channel Islands were taken over by Spanish explorers, missionaries, ranchers, smugglers, gold diggers, pirates, hunters, the military and even a chewing gum tycoon.
The landmark arch, shaped by centuries of history on Channel Islands, California. Photo: Cindy Robinson/Getty Images
The sweet island fox is only found here. The freakishly large pine cones of the Torrey pine forest are as rare as they are gnarly. Giant kelp forests and clear gelatinous creatures called “by-the-wind sailors” are mesmerizing. There are noisy California sea lions and bison descended from animals brought to Catalina Island in the 1920s for a silent Western film and then abandoned.
Photos: Sea Snail on Giant Kelp (Natalie Ruffing/Getty Images); Sweet Island Fox ( kellyvandellen/Getty Images)
The largest brown pelican rookery in the U.S. is arresting, but I couldn’t get enough of the Giant coreopsis — bright yellow, Dr. Seuss-like flowers that have become the poster child of the Channel Islands.
Giant coreopsis and Lindblad ship, Channel Islands. Photo: Jennifer-Bain
As for the real Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, Lars-Eric Lindblad led expeditions there in 1967, becoming the first explorer to bring private citizens to this epic archipelago. I finally visited this year, again with National Geographic-Lindblad and this time aboard the National Geographic Endeavour II.
For a week, I got to island hop and commune with blue-footed boobies, penguins, marine iguanas and giant tortoises. But what I really loved was once again sailing with fellow travellers who care about the planet and aren’t afraid to wear t-shirts that say “save our oceans” and “science not silence.”
Galapagos Sea Lion mother and pups on Espanola island beach, Galapagos national park, Ecuador. Photo: SL_Photography/Getty Images
To Fall in Love With Big Nature
Like the licence plates say, Alaska is America’s Last Frontier, a land of big wildlife and even bigger nature. It’s a place where just 734,000 locals treasure pristine wilderness and where upwards of 1.7 million cruisers come each year to see the big three — glaciers, whales and bears. Cruise Lines International Association Alaska says 52 ships visited 24 ports in 2023, carrying people of all socio-economic ranges and physical abilities. You can always dodge the crowds and carve out moments of solitude in America’s premier cruise destination.
Princess Margarie Glacier, Alaska. Photo: Jennifer Bain
I’ve answered the call of Alaskan wild twice. My daughter and I sailed through the Inside Passage with Juneau-based UnCruise Adventures on a replica 1898 coastal gold rush steamer with 86 guests. Guided by “whim, wildlife and weather,” we kayaked, bushwhacked through island forests and marvelled at creatures like sea stars and jellyfish while tide pooling. It was the first time I touched a glacier.
Kayaking into blue ice cave in glacier iceberg, Alaska. Photo: PuttSk/Getty Images
My son and I made just as many memories sailing through the Inside Passage on the Discovery Princess with 3,660 passengers. He loved the balcony, pool and buffet. I loved having park rangers come aboard to guide us through Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. We walked in the footsteps of Klondike gold rush seekers on the Chilkoot Trail, dug into history at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Seattle and Skagway, toured a Juneau gold mine and made art at Saxman Native Village near Ketchikan.
The main road of the compact city of Skagway with the typical gold-rush-era buildings, now preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. Photo: MWayOut/Getty Images
Still, it was a scenic White Pass & Yukon Route Railway journey to the White Pass Summit and over the unmarked Canadian border that stood out, mostly because we safely saw four “adorable” black bears through the window of our vintage passenger coach instead of while hiking. But also because we got to cross Dead Horse Gulch twice over a historic steel cantilever bridge — sobering moments that recalled how thousands of unsung pack animals died during the Gold Rush.
The White Pass & Yukon Route Railway, a historic narrow-gauge railroad winding through the mountainous terrain between Skagway, Alaska, and the Yukon Territory, Canada. Photo: White Pass & Yukon Route Railway
To Meet Your Musical Heroes
In real life, I wouldn’t dare approach a musical legend. But on the inaugural Outlaw Country Cruise out of Miami in 2016, I spotted Steve Earle strolling to the gym a few times before screwing up the courage to introduce myself while he was eating breakfast. We chatted about our sons on the autism spectrum, his ex-wife and the then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while 2,400 fellow passengers loaded up at the buffet.
Norweigan Jade Atrium, home of the Outlawa Country Cruise in 2016, where Steve Earl played. Photo: Norweigan Cruise Lines
As SiriusXM puts it, “the freaks, misfits, outcasts, rebels and renegades of country music roll non-stop, safely within the sanctuary of Outlaw Country.” More than any of the music I soaked up aboard the Norwegian Pearl that week, it was my brief chat with the hard-core troubadour that stood out. Well, that and seeing Lucinda Williams perform. I haven’t been able to catch a second floating concert yet, but my music-hound husband returns annually for either the Outlaw Country Cruise or a more eclectic sailing called Cayamo (a singer-songwriter festival that revolves around Americana, folk and bluegrass).
