Cruise West’s (www.cruisewest.com) online shore excursion store is now live and ready to accept reservations for guests booked on 2010 Alaska cruises. There are a total of 65 optional shore excursions offered from fishing to kayaking and heli-hiking, including eight new excursions in Wrangell, a new port call on Alaska’s Inside Passage cruises.

Cruise West, the world’s leading provider of small-ship explorations to the most fascinating destinations on earth, has always included a shore activity in every port; the optional excursions are in addition, allowing guests to further customize their Alaska experience.  Notable new optional excursions in Wrangell include the Wild Bears of Anan that offers an ideal opportunity to get up close to view black and brown bears from a perched observation deck (available on Alaska’s Inside Passage departures from July 5 to August 25), and the exhilarating and scenic Stikine River & Wilderness Glacier Adventure by Jet Boat that explores the ever changing river delta, icebergs and wildlife in protected wilderness.

Optional excursions are available on Denali Land Tours (Denali and Fairbanks) and in ports on all four Alaska itineraries: the 10-night Gold Rush Inside Passage (Petersburg, Sitka, Skagway and Juneau), 7-night Alaska’s Inside Passage (Juneau, Petersburg, Sitka and Wrangell), 4-night Glacier Bay Highlights (Skagway, Haines and Juneau) and 4-night Glaciers of Prince William Sound (Whittier and Cordova).  Capacities are limited on most optional excursions – book early to secure top choices.

Cruise West has made it simple to book shore excursions online.  Guests should have departure date, voyage name and a credit card available before logging onto http://www.cruisewest.com/shore-excursions.  Just follow the instructions, browse and choose shore excursions then secure with a credit card.