(train bells) - [Lynn] I'm Lynn Elmhirst.

I'm a travel journalist with a deep passion for sailing the high seas.

My most cherished travel experiences have been by water.

The spectacular scenery, fascinating ships, and maritime traditions you can only experience when you cruise.

When the whole world went into dry dock, I bided my time by diving into my library of footage to relive some of my favorite travel memories on the world's greatest cruises.

(ambient down tempo music) Today on "World's Greatest Cruises", exploring glaciers and gold rush history in Alaska.

The very best way to experience America's last frontier may be by sea.

Sailing from Vancouver, up Pacific Northwest coast to Alaska, along the inside passage of islands, fjords, bays, and inlets, into small ports of call, many with no land access, is a cruise treasure trove of wildlife, adventure, natural wonders, and fabled history.

Where cruise guests like us can still get a taste of gold rush frontier history from over a century ago.

Some travel colleagues and I are sailing on the Regent Seven Seas Explorer, along with about 750 other guests, and 550 crew.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises broke the mold in designing this first of its new Explorer class of ships, implementing some things I'd never seen on a cruise ship before.

Off the aft deck, an infinity pool, where you can gaze into the sunset beyond the wake of the ship, a two and a half ton bronze prayer wheel at the ship's PanAsian restaurant, enough marble and granite to cover two football fields, a detail you do forget about when you're dancing the night away on a marble dance floor.

It's part of an old Hollywood feel throughout the ship that makes the dramatic Pacific Northwest wilderness sailing past, even more spectacular by contrast.

On board, we go behind the scenes to learn about the life of a cruise ship butler, and the secrets of a classic cruise dessert in its namesake destination.

(tropical music) Vancouver's famously a city nestled between the sea and the mountains, where the outdoors is right downtown.

And before we even embark on our cruise, while we're still in the heart of urban Vancouver, we get a taste for the Pacific Northwest coast's lush, temperate rainforests at the University of British Columbia's Botanical Garden and its unique Greenheart Tree Walk.

We climbed over 65 feet into the air onto a more than thousand-foot long canopy walkway between stately firs and cedars.

Many of these trees have been watching over this land for over a hundred years.

I've been on other tree walks and it's like walking on a sidewalk in the air, but this one is super wobbly.

Why is that?

- [Josh Yu] And for a really good reason.

It basically gives less stress on the trees when the bridges are able to wobble in this way.

- Okay.

- Especially during windstorms.

- Okay.

Has anyone ever been seasick on this?

It feels like you could be really seasick.

There's a lot of rock and roll.

- [Josh Yu] My first time I felt like I was still wobbling up and down on the ocean after going off of it, so definitely.

- [Lynn] Unlike other tree walks, bolted or nailed into the living wood, this design uses a secure system that hugs the trees without harming them.

That hugging system means you're going to need both hands to hold onto the guide wires, but you can still appreciate the rare bird's eye view from this aerial forest trail, or from over a dozen solid platforms suspended over the forest floor.

It smells so beautiful up here in the treetops.

- It does does.

It does.

And reason why, is that these are the leaves of a grand fir tree.

- A grand fir.

That's most of the trees around here?

- Yeah.

That's most of the trees here.

- So scratch and sniff.

Smells like Christmas.

(laughs) That's not a tree.

That's a tower.

- Yes.

That is a tower.

It marks our 23 meter height in the air.

And it brings you to an even higher point.

So you get to look at the trees - If high is good, then higher must be better.

Top of the tower.

- Yep, top of the tower.

- Top of the world.

(laughs) It's almost primeval, the view.

- [Josh Yu] It is.

- [Lynn] Looking down in the patch of sunlight on the big firs.

I kind of almost feel like a gigantic brontosaurus.

(laughs) Wandering through the forests.

- [Josh Yu] And finally, this is my favorite tree.

This is called the tree of life.

- The tree of life.

What makes it so special?

- It's a western red cedar, and there's many, many different uses for it, especially for the indigenous population that used to live here.

- [Lynn] So red cedar, and what did they, what was it used for?

Why a tree of life?

- From anything from totem poles to canoes, and even diapers.

- Wow.

So like a department store in one tree.

- Exactly.

- Here we are, back down to earth.

And no trees were harmed in the making of this tree walk, even better news.

(mellow jazz music) - [Lynn] We sail away from Vancouver, heading up the west coast's inside passage towards Alaska, with a sea day to explore the ship.

Up on deck 14, we head to the ship's regent suite, easy to find all the way at the aft of the ship, with two Picassos outside in the hallway.

I'm here because so many people ask me, "What do butlers on cruise ships do?"

I have an appointment with the Regent Seven Seas Explorer's head butler to tell us about his work.

It's a lot more involved than having your garments pressed or opening bottles of champagne.

- I just have a lovely bottle of champagne for you.

- [Lynn] I like how you start an interview, Ronnie.

(laughs) So what does it mean that you're the head butler?

- Head Butler is the one who's solely in charge for the guest satisfaction of the ship.

Can be anything concerning food, services, services on board.

I meet them at the gangway.

From there on, they are my responsibility.

The best thing about my job is meeting lovely people.

I'm here to make sure the whole cruise and everything is being organized for them.

(soft guitar strumming) - [Lynn] We've sailed into Alaskan waters in the inside passage.

90 miles north of the state capital, Juneau, we dock in Skagway on the Alaskan panhandle.

See how close this is to Canada's Yukon territory?

Well, during the Klondike Gold Rush, Skagway was the closest seaport for eager prospectors.

Right off the ship at the dock, we board a vintage train to transport us on the gold rush route all the way to the Yukon, and back in time.

(soft guitar music) - [Mike Sica] Most of the people that come here, they're coming to see the trains.

- Right.

- The old rolling stop.

They're interested in the history of the gold rush.

I think the scenery blows 'em away.

But I think what ends up happening to a lot of 'em, they end up loving the interaction with other passengers, as well as with the crew.

And that's one of my favorite parts as well.

- [Lynn] So let's start with the history.

Why is this train so historically interesting?

- It was basically built for a way to get to the gold rush.

You know, the Gold Rush of 1898, which really started in '97.

By the time it was built, though, most of the claims are already been staked, but the railroad ended up being this great means of transportation for all the rushes we had, starting with gold, eventually silver.

They had copper.

I think for a while they had asbestos.

- Oh, cool.

(laughs) - [Mike Sica] Now the new gold are the passengers that come with us.

- [Lynn] Walk us through the scenery.

What was some of the highlights of the things that we'll see along the way?

- [Mike Sica] I mean, the whole railroad is filled with some of the most breathtaking sites.

You're going through both conifers and deciduous trees.

It's this beautiful mix of fir trees, and birch, and cottonwood, and it changes all the time.

But some of my favorites are coming southbound, when you come out of a tunnel, and you open up to this great view, and all this light comes, and the scenery is gorgeous.

It's like going from darkness to Shangri-La.

And one of my favorites is a seasonal view.

- [Lynn] Oh.

- [Mike Sica] when we're on the high line, the fireweed comes out and it blankets the side of the mountain.

- [Lynn] So we go from literally sea level, and it feels like we've been climbing ever since.

- You know, we get a lot of people from, like, Denver and throughout Colorado, and places like that, from Utah.

And they always say, "You know, we have mountains that are eight, 10,000 feet.

In fact, they start there."

But this is so dramatic.

It's because we do start from sea level and we go to 3000 feet within 20 miles.

Our average grade is 2.6 degrees.

It is a quick, dramatic, beautiful climb.

- So I mean, I have to ask this.

This is an old train, old tracks, steep climb.

Is this still safe?

(laughs nervously) - It is old equipment, but it's constantly refurbished and upgraded by very good people.

- Right.

- And we travel at very low speeds on super reinforced track.

- [Lynn] Right.

- [Mike Sica] And I have total confidence in the people that give me the joy of getting to work here, knowing they do their job right.

- [Lynn] I'm glad we're not going over that bridge.

It's nice just to look at.

Wow.

Imagine, back in the rush, going through that.

- [Mike Sica] Right now, we're probably 800 feet above the trees you're seeing.

And we're probably about 1200 feet from sea level.

We'll eventually get to the summit itself, which is about 3000 feet.

When you look at the elevation sign, it's 2,888 feet.

And on the left of it will be the U.S. flag.

On the right of it will be the Canadian flag.

There'll be a little obelisk on top of it.

That's also the continental divide.

So the border that sits there supposedly goes both ways.

- [Lynn] In either direction, yeah - [Mike Sica] And this was a city during the gold rush.

Skagway, of course, had 15,000 people living in 1898, in that little town.

Most of the trees had been logged, the areas were denuded.

This was called White Pass City.

It had up to 10,000 people living down there.

- [Ryan] Really?

Wow.

- Well, it's impossible to imagine that that wilderness down there was a city during the gold rush.

That the trees just came back and took it all back to nature.

We have struck gold.

It's a sunny day in Alaska, and, you know, fair warning, there's a lot of cloud and mist, but this is visibility forever.

- And this is Inspiration Point.

- Inspiration point!

Oh, look at that!

- [Ryan] If this doesn't inspire you to come to Alaska, what will, right?

(train squeaking) - [Lynn] The White Pass and Yukon train, back down from the mountains once more, drops us off in Skagway's historic downtown.

Well over centuries passed since the Klondike Gold Rush, the historic downtown Skagway's been preserved, like the gold rush town of its heyday.

It's now part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park.

It's like the Wild West Arctic edition, with boardwalks, and historic buildings and facades, that all just scream "frontier town".

Nowadays, cruise guests, not gold, drive the local economy, walking the streets, and imagining 1898, when Skagway was the largest, and most lawless, city in Alaska.

This building may have been one of its most notorious.

(ragtime music) The Red Onion's back in business today, at first glance, like an ordinary neighborhood bar, but there's a twist.

Not just the bawdy decor and cheekily costumed staff, tourists today talk about what life was like upstairs here, in a lawless town, almost entirely populated by men.

- [Madam Lucy-Anne] Good afternoon, Red Onion Saloon.

Can I have your attention for a moment?

Folks, my name is Madam Lucy-Anne ready, and I am certainly ready to take you all upstairs for your two o'clock quickie.

It's just $10 for 20 minutes upstairs with me, all right?

So this building was erected in 1897.

So these are original floor boards down here.

- [Lynn] Are all your puns intended?

- Yes.

(laughs) We have original wallpaper on the walls here.

So everything is pretty old, right here, in this building.

Now these dolls that we have over here, these are antique porcelain dolls, and they are made to represent the doll system that we had here at The Red Onion.

That was the system that got those 15,000 men that were here in town, through a brothel with just 10 girls upstairs.

So the way that these men would choose the girl that they were going to spend time with, was by picking out one of the 10 dolls that sat behind the bartender.

Now these were rag dolls, right?

The only features that they gave were the eye color, the hair color, and the dress color, of the girl upstairs.

That was it.

So once you chose your doll, based on those features alone, the bartender would take that doll, and lie her flat on her back, which was a symbol to the rest of the bar that that girl was gonna be very busy for the next 15 minutes.

- [Lynn] All 15 of those minutes.

- That's the big question we've got here, honey, is what did these men do with the other 12 minutes, right?

(Lynn laughs) The mystery of 1898.

Well, once you chose your doll, you would go to the back of the bar.

There was a steep ladder, like a staircase, took you up here.

And a bouncer would take you down this very hallway, right here.

So once you were taken to your girl's door, you would give her a few knocks.

She would open it up.

And then the first rule of prostitution would come into play.

- [Lynn] Payment?

- Very good, honey.

We've got a working girl here among us, don't we?

$5, all right, in gold coins or gold nuggets.

Pretty expensive back then.

The cost of living in Skagway back then was $6 a day.

So that kind of gives you an idea, right?

You were spending your entire day's money right here, at The Red Onion Saloon, right?

- [Lynn] Gotcha.

- Now after they spent their 15 minutes together, the girl would take her gold and put it into one of these things right over here.

These were called money holes.

And every girl would have had one of these in her room.

And it was connected to copper tubing that snaked all the way down to a safe deposit box behind the dolls.

So that kept the girls safe, 'cause they didn't want gold piling up in their rooms all night long, right?

But it also served as a signal to the bartender, 'cause the bartender would hear that clanking of the gold against the copper.

He would see the happy gentleman trailing down the stairs in the back, then he would know it was time to take the doll and prop her right back up at attention.

Now today, we don't have any more copper tubing.

We did have to remove it all.

But, when we lifted up the floorboards to do so, we uncovered valuables that the girls had stashed there for safekeeping so many years ago.

Those are some of my favorite things that we have.

They're right here in this case.

This white, lace collar right here was found under the floorboards.

This lady's bustle pad in the center, as well as these two tortoise shell combs, and even that electric curling iron right there.

Skagway did have electricity back then.

We got electricity one full year before New York City did.

That's how much money was funneling through this town Now the thing I love most about this curling iron, is the end of it there.

It really represents electricity of that time, 'cause you couldn't plug it into the wall.

All the electricity ran through the ceiling by knob-and-tube wiring.

So girls would actually have to put that in through their light bulb socket.

They would have to take their light bulb out and screw the end of that cord into the socket, then curl their hair in the dark.

We do actually predict that about 180 girls came in and out of here within just the two years that it was opened.

The Klondike Gold Rush only lasted two years, and The Red Onion Saloon and Brothel was only open for two years.

Now, we were able to predict that because we found so many layers of wallpaper.

The madams in the brothels would often offer, as a little perk to the girls, their new recruits, that they could get a fresh, new layer... - [Lynn] A fresh layer.

- ...of French silk wallpaper, right?

We found 18 layers in one room, multiply that by the 10 rooms here.

That's how we got such a high turnover rate.

Now this bed, that's called a three-quarter twin.

That's three quarters the width of a standard, twin-size bed.

And these are the beds that the girls slept on and worked on.

They lived right here in these rooms, as well as worked in these rooms.

Now, right next door here, is the Madam's room.

She got the big bed over there.

She got 50% of what the girls made.

And the bouncer, the bouncer took 25%.

But the reason so many girls came here to work, was because the Madam was offering them a roof over their head, food on the table, guaranteed every day, a clothing allowance every week, their safety was insured here.

That most women did not have that out of the streets.

- [Lynn] Right?

- So that's why it was so enticing for those girls.

That $1.25 they'd make was pure profit for them.

- [Lynn] So what's the experience today?

We see you in full regalia.

- Yes, indeed, in all my glory here.

Little strip sock action here.

- [Lynn] Woo hoo.

Fancy.

The striped socks were the symbol back then that you were a working girl.

Yes.

So today, the experience at The Red Onion is obviously much different than in 1898, which is probably for the best, right?

But we do have a fabulous bar and restaurant downstairs.

(ragtime music) - [Lynn] That's where we discovered some spirits distilled in Skagway, using local glacier water.

This is Skagway gin.

- [Ryan] Just opened up for Skagway Spirits maybe three weeks ago, distilling with a pioneering spirit.

- There you.

So we set off on a little, impromptu side tour to find these local makers and learn their story.

- [Gary Heger] It's pretty much my idea of starting out, and getting Jan and our son, Luke, on board was a different story.

(laughs) - [Lynn] So what did this building used to be?

- It used to be a hangar.

- To planes.

- [Lynn] Okay.

So we're right to the airport.

This used to be an airplane hangar.

And now it's a distillery.

So what happens here?

- [Gary Heger] We distill gin and vodka.

- [Lynn] Which do you favor?

- [Gary Heger] I'm the gin drinker.

- -[Lynn] And you?

- I'm totally on the gin.

- [Gary Heger] We like it.

We think it's traditional London dry.

- [Janilyn Heger] I've always been a foodie.

I've owned restaurants with my sister.

So all the nuances that come off with cooking food, it's no different when you get to this.

- [Lynn] So bar chef, what would you recommend?

I'm looking at the board, and I'm seeing fireweed cosmo.

That sounds local.

Spruce tip tonic, rhubarb collins.

Would you make us a drink?

(all laugh) - [Ryan] Please use some of these flowers, because I'm dying to know what you do with these.

- [Lynn] Those are fireweed aren't they?

- [Janilyn Heger] Those are fireweed.

- [Lynn] Those are fireweed.

We saw them on the train.

And I happen to know for a fact that Ryan is a fan of cosmos.

So I think Ryan needs that fireweed cosmo.

Are you cool with that?

- As manly as I am.

(Lynn laughs) I like to do a cosmo.

- [Janilyn Heger] So the cosmo, I have actually cooked the fireweed tea.

We put fireweed and hibiscus together.

- [Lynn] So it's fireweed and hibiscus instead of cranberry, with your vodka made from local glacier water.

Fireweed blossom, ah.

- [Janilyn Heger] That's that.

- [Lynn] Look at that.

- Nothing like that in the world.

- Well, literally.

- Skagway, Alaska.

Locally made by local entrepreneurs.

- [Janilyn Heger] So this is the rhubarb juice that I showed you.

- [Lynn] Is that beautiful?

- It's got a stronger rhubarb flavor, but it's not very pretty.

So I put a little bit of hibiscus tea in for the color.

- Oh, cheers, and cheers to you.

Thank you.

Oh, that is just beautiful.

That is spring in a glass.

Oh, that's so amazing.

I'm going to toast our hosts.

Thank you very much.

- Yes, thank you so much.

It's amazing.

- So good.

Wow.

- Would you like some?

The Regent Seven Seas Explorer has eight dining venues that include international flavors, like French and PanAsian cuisines.

But I was reminded of a classic American dessert as we sailed north up the Alaskan coast with its frozen landscapes and snow capped-mountains, and a Regent pastry chef shared with us the secrets of baked alaska.

- Today, we're making baked alaska, very appropriate for the location where we are.

As you can see, we've got a mountain, it's cold, and baked alaska, like the name says, it's Alaska.

So for this purpose, I've got mold because we're gonna mold it up.

We have also sponges that will soak up in a syrup.

This syrup is half water, half sugar, boiled together.

And to give it flavor, I put maraschino liqueur inside.

So I'm gonna top up the bottom, so we soak it.

So now we got this one.

I have my ice cream scoop right here, and I start with the chocolate.

I'll flatten it up at the bottom.

There will be three layers.

Vanilla, and then the last one, strawberry.

Now we're gonna finish up, again ,with a sponge.

So we're gonna have sponge at the bottom and the top.

So now that this one done.

So, you see our serving plate.

The baked alaska will go in the middle.

Now, meringue.

If you are in the kitchenette, you can use the egg whites, sugar, a pinch of salt, or lemon juice, to make it thicker.

For this purpose, I already have my piping bag with a star nozzle.

In the kitchen, to make it faster, we can also use a spatula to go around.

There's no real way.

All what matters that we cover completely the baked alaska, like a mountain.

You can see the relation between the white from here and the white from the mountains, there.

It looks like snow.

There we go.

And now the final touch, the blow torch.

When the heat goes to the sugar, (indistinct) caramelize inside the bubbles of egg whites to feature the shades of the mountain.

As a little touch, a bit of sauce on the side.

One is raspberry.

One will be vanilla.

A few berries just for decoration, and a sprig of mint.

This is baked alaska.

What I like the most is the combination of the feeling of meringue, which is warm, and the cold of the ice cream.

Just magic.

- [Lynn] We exit the inside passage, sailing northwards toward the Gulf of Alaska, to the Hubbard Glacier, where everyone's on deck in the early morning to see this icy phenomenon.

It's a tidewater glacier, and that means it flows into the ocean.

It's the largest one in North America, seven miles wide here at sea level, and 1200 feet deep.

Only a quarter of that, which is still 30 stories high, is above the water line.

This river of ice starts 76 miles away and flows very slowly.

It takes 400 years for ice to travel the full length of the Hubbard glacier.

So this wall of ice, where it ends at the bay, is 400 years old.

There are no roads leading to the Hubbard Glacier.

The only way to experience this natural wonder is on our cruise to Alaska.

Until next time on "World's Greatest Cruises", wishing you fair winds and following seas.

More information about "World's Greatest Cruises", and the ship and ports of call featured in today's program, on our website at www.worldsgreatestcruises.com.

(train bells) Next time, on "World's Greatest Cruises", sailing along the St. Lawrence River for autumn colors in eastern Canada.

From the cosmopolitan flare of Montreal, to Quebec City, that's like visiting Europe in our own backyard.

We go shopping with Seabourn chef at the market for local seasonal flavors, then cook up a storm on deck against an historic backdrop.

(tropical music)