2009 IDITAROD CHAMPION'S CRUISE

2009 IDITAROD CHAMPION'S CRUISE HOSTED BY LANCE MACKEY


Join two time Iditarod Champ Lance Mackey and some of his team*, that has won the last two “Great Race” championships on a Knightly Tours Exclusive Alaska Cruise. Join Lance as we cruise depart Seattle aboard Star Princess for a 7 day Alaska cruise to Lance’s home state. Your adventure includes two Private Cocktail Receptions and two Private Lectures with Lance as he recounts the wonders of this race. Plus you will receive Shipboard Credits ranging from $100 to $300 per couple so you can enjoy ship board life.

August 23 Embark Star Princess and depart Seattle
Arriving in Seattle you will transfer to the awaiting Star Princess. Tonight you enjoy a Private Welcome Cocktail and meet Lance and the other members of the group. The rest of the evening is free to enjoy your luxury cruise ship as sail through Puget Sound enroute to Alaska.

August 24 Cruising to Alaska
The day is spent enjoy the hundreds of possibilities aboard Star Princess. There is something for everyone. Later today Lance (and hopefully some of this team) will give a Private Lecture on the wonders of participating in “The Last Great Race”. You will learn about training, preparation for the race and what life is like on the trail. Cruising to Alaska and learning about one of the most historic races will make for a memorable day.

August 25 Ketchikan
Your call today is in the “Salmon Capital of Alaska”. Ketchikan offers many options for exploring Alaska’s beauty. Floatplanes, fishing fleets and cruise ships all help you enjoy the beauty of the Tongass National Forest. Make sure no matter what else you do in this town, allow yourself time to stroll Creek Street and learn about some of Ketchikan’s colorful past.

August 26 Tracy Arm and Juneau
This morning Star Princess slips into Tracy Arm Fjord. This magnificent waterway twists and turns for some 30 miles until it ends at the Twin Sawyer Glaciers. These icy blue wonders are magnificent in the morning light and sheer walls for fjord provide unique cruising experience. Wildlife abounds so keep your eyes focused and your camera.

Later you arrive in Juneau, Alaska’s capital city. Here adventure options abound, river rafting, helicopter flightseeing, whale watching and flightseeing all provide you with wonderful opportunities to enjoy the capital city.

August 27 Skagway
In 1898 thousands or would be gold miner arrived in this town headed for Dawson. The town was hard with comforts of home. Today while many of the buildings are preserved in the National Park you can enjoy a latte or have a fine meal, but the frontier friendliness and adventure still abound. Make sure you visit the Park Headquarters and learn about the great gold rush. Tonight you sail Lynn Canal another masterpiece on the inland waterway.

August 28 Cruising
Today will give you another opportunity to relax and enjoy the ship. Spa treatments, cooking class, a work out maybe or just enjoying that book as the beauty slides by. You have a the day to learn more about the race as tonight the group will enjoy another Private Cocktail Party with Lance. He will inform and entertain you with some tails of the trail.

August 29 Cruising and Victoria
Enjoy your last day sea and another Private Lecture to hear Lance speak. This evening you make a call in British Columbia’s capital Victoria. This little bit of old England has a charm and allure that will make you think you are strolling in London.

August 30 Depart for Home
You arrive in Seattle this morning, clear Customs and depart for home, with the memory of meeting one of Alaska’s great competitors and enjoying some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

Your Exclusive Knightly Tours Iditarod Champion Cruise includes:

7 night Star Princess Alaska Cruise
Calls at Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway
Glacier Cruising
2 Lectures with Lance Mackey (and team*)
2 Private Cocktail Parties with Lance
Knightly Tours Escort
Onboard Ship Credits

IDITAROD TOUR

2008 winner Lance Mackey


Featuring a Private Breakfast with Lance Mackey, 2007 & 2008 Iditarod Champion


5 Days - Anchorage

March 4 to March 8, 2009


Your Exclusive Knightly Tours Iditarod Tour includes:


4 Nights Captain Cook Hotel (Junior Suite)
5 Breakfasts
1 Dinner (Mushers' Banquet)
Escort
Private Transfers
Private Meeting / Lecture with Lance Mackey, 2007& 2008 Iditarod Champion
All admissions (including two lectures of your choice Friday February 29)

Day 1 - March 4, Wednesday Arrival in Anchorage

Upon arrival in Anchorage you are met and transferred to your hotel. Settle in and get acquainted with your guide and the city of Anchorage. Overnight Anchorage

Day 2 - March 5, Thursday Touring Anchorage

This morning after a leisurely breakfast you will attend a "Welcome to Alaska" orientation that will review the week's activities. This will be your in depth introduction to the "Last Great Race".

Before leaving for a drive along Alaska's only National Scenic Highway, the Seward, we'll visit the Anchorage Museum of Art and History. Then, drive south of Anchorage toward Portage Glacier. Here on the eastern edge of the Pacific "Ring of Fire," the road skirts Turnagain Arm, where 14,000 years ago we would have been unable to drive here as the landscape was covered with late Wisconsin glaciers. Turnagain Arm was named by English Captain, James Cook in 1778. We'll stop at Beluga Point, a 4,000-year old Alutiiq Eskimo hunting site, where the second highest tides in the world occur with a 38-feet surge.

Tonight you will attend the Mushers' Banquet where you enjoy the festivities as you celebrate the great achievement of the serum run to Nome. At the banquet you will have a chance to bid on an opportunity to ride in one of the sleds during the race start in Anchorage. (B) (D) Overnight Anchorage

Day 3 - March 6, Friday Private Breakfast Reception with a Musher

This morning our group will enjoy a private meeting with Lance Mackey 2007 Iditarod Champion.

Lance will provide insights into the sled dogs, their many characteristics and attributes, the years of breeding and training that goes into putting together a team. You will learn first hand of his accomplishment in winning last years" Iditarod Race".

As well, he will describe the strategy, hardships, technical aspects and joys of life on the trail - the race itself. We'll get a good look at the sled, (20" wide), clothing and gear that carries the musher, food and required survival equipment for two weeks from Anchorage 1,150 miles across the wilderness of Alaska to Nome on the Bering Sea coast. What it takes to win this extraordinary sled dog race will soon emerge from the discussion.

This afternoon you have free time to attend some lectures on the race and learn even more in anticipation of the race start tomorrow. (B) Overnight Anchorage

Day 4 - March 7, Saturday "Race Day"

The ceremonial Iditarod start will begin in downtown Anchorage, where thousands of fans and media from around the world join in this world-famous event. The #1 position is reserved for Leonard Seppala, one of the most famous musher's who carried the diphtheria serum to Nome over the original Iditarod Trail. Today, fans who were the successful bidders on the "Idita-Rider" auction will ride in the sled of a musher as they leave the start chute. (B) Overnight Anchorage

Day 5 - March 8, Sunday Race Re-Start and on to Fairbanks

Today we transfer to watch the official start for the race to Nome. Depending on conditions the race will re-start at Wasilla or Willow. Mushers will hookup their dogs and race across more than 1,000 miles of Alaska's wilderness. The dogs sense that this is "go time" and their level of excitement is unmatched. You will have a far better, closer look at the teams and mushers.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - Go! With a rooster-tail of snow behind each sled speeding down the chute, mushers wave to fans as they head off on the "Last Great Race". After wishing the mushers well we head to the Anchorage Airport and fly home.