Cruise West

Cruise West Lines and Deals

The specialist in Alaskan tour operations, Cruise West was one of the independent cruise operator based in Seattle. It was started by Chuck West in the year 1973. It was initially used for Alaskan tour purpose. It has the largest fleet of small sized cruises. It currently has about 9 ships in its fleet. They have expertise in the Alaskan cruises but later on they have started covering all the major destinations in the Pacific Ocean.

Origin of Cruse West

In 1973, Chuck West started a company which was taking people to Alaska tour.  It was in the year 1990 that the Cruise West bought its first cruise Spirit of Glacier Bay. This had a capacity of 52 passengers and was the first overnight vessel of the company. All through the 1990s, Cruise West concentrated on expanding its fleet and taking its passengers to non-Alaskan destinations. This was the turning point of Cruise West. It was successful in attracting people and taking them on long voyages.

The concept of having a small sized cruise was to give the passengers enough space so that they get their privacy and yet the experience of travelling. They have started reaching destinations like Columbia and Snake River, British Columbia, California’s wine country and into Mexico’s Sea Cortes. It always had American vessels in its fleet but in 2001 it got its first foreign vessel. Spirit of Oceanus is a 114-passenger carrier which was bought from Renaissance Cruises.

The list of vessels Cruise West owns is given below-

• Spirit of Glacier Bay (bought in 1990) -52 passenger capacity
• Spirit of Oceanus (bought in 2001) – 114 passenger capacity
• M/V Pacific Explorer (bought in 2001) – 100 passenger capacity
• Nantucket Clipper (bought in 2006) – 102 passenger capacity
• Yorktown Clipper (bought in 2006) – 138 passenger capacity

Salient Features of Cruise West

The specialty of the Cruise West was, it was successful in providing a private travel experience to the passengers. The small cruises which are with this line are of the high end versions and since there were fewer passengers, everyone got the same level of treatment. All the passengers are given elite priority. It gives a personal touch to your journey as you feel like you own the cruise.

Even with all the positives there are few glitches in the Cruise West profile. It is not quite well appreciated for its safety. There were few occasions where the vessel was spotted grounding. Its safety record is highlighted by 4 groundings in Prince William Sound, Virginia Beach and two groundings in Tracy Arm in an Alaskan tour.

Cruise West Fleets

• Spirit of Yorktown
• Spirit of Glacier Bay
• Spirit of Alaska
• Spirit of Columbia
• Pacific Explorer
• Amadeus Diamond

Cruise West Former Fleet

• Spirit of Oceanus
• Spirit of Endeavour
• Spirit of '98
• Spirit of Discovery

Cruise West Destinations

• Alaska
• British Columbia
• Columbia and Snake Rivers
• Mexico's Sea of Cortes
• Central America - Costa Rica and Panama
• South Pacific
• Asia - Japan, Vietnam, China, and Russia