The art of nature...
Tonight my son and I attended a Covered Dish supper and Game Night held by my local chapter of Beta Sigma Phi. Our dinner discussion turned to visiting Alaska, and the best way to see all that this vast land of frontiers has to offer. I think you do Alaska a disservice if you only visit by sea, or by land. The ideal way to appreciate Alaska calls for a combination of the two, what’s referred to by cruise lines, as a cruise-tour. If you only have time to do one or the other, go anyway…you won’t be sorry!
To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world.”
John Muir
Nome, Alaska however might not be a high priority to visit right now. They’re running out of fuel and a Russian tanker and a U. S. Coast Guard icebreaker are trying to deliver more than a million gallons of diesel and gasoline to this iced-in town. It’s an amazing story that promises to have a happy ending. (See http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-01-14/fuel-tanker-nome/52551596/1 for more detail). I hope they have some extra blankets!!!
I Love To Travel Blog 
Alaska is on my bucket list!!!
It kind of depends on what you want to do, i.e. local or olinne I have used my travel agent for years now and would never plan a vacation without one. Personally, I feel it is the best bet that you will get everything you want out of your vacation. So many problems can occur when you book directly on your own that you may not notice. However, if you have a travel agent that deals with this every day, they will be able to spot the problems and fix them. There have been many instances with my family where the travel company, i.e. Princess, Cunard, Disney, etc. did something incorrectly and I could have been charged a fee or something but my agent was able to fix it and get the fee waived. Something that I can almost guarentee I would not have been able to do. My agent deals with these companies daily and is able to get more than I can.Plus, most of the time an agent is going to offer you a lower rate than going directly. For example, agents can book group rates that will offer you lower rates, they may offer special upgrades to get a better category/cabin, onboard credit, etc. these are special incentives that the agents are offerred by the cruise line that the cruise line may not offer directly to clients. Since 90% of the time I save money or get the same rate with my agent, I see no other reason to book it myself. Less problems, worries, hassels etc. everything is taken care of for me and I get a ton of service for no extra charge. There are a lot of options for who to book with. I can’t recommend you to a local agent since I don’t know where you live and everything, but I use an olinne agency and they are really great. My agent is wonderful and I have never once questioned booking with her. I’ve included a link to the agency site for you to look at. Whichever agency you choose, just be sure that you are going with a good agency, there are some out there just trying to earn your business but don’t do a good job like some of the others. And my biggest suggestion is to stay away from sites like Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline and places like Sams Club, if you go this way you are much safer booking on your own, but that is a whole nother story. Good luck with your planning. Alaska is a great cruise, one of my favorites. If you are looking at lines, I would check Princess they have had the best Alaskan cruise I have been on yet!