Book excerpt: Fodor's. For Choice Travel Experiences. Fodor's helps you unleash the possibilities of travel by providing the insightful tools you need to experience the trips you want. Although you're at the helm, Fodor's offers the assurance of our expertise, the guarantee of selectivity, and the choice details that truly define a destination. It's like having a cruise-savvy friend in Alaska -Updated annually, Fodor's Alaska Ports of Call provides the most accurate and up-to-date information available in a guidebook. -Fodor's Alaska Ports of Call features options for a variety of budgets, interests, and tastes, so you make the choices to plan your trip of a lifetime. -If it's not worth your time, it's not in this book. Fodor's discriminating ratings, including our top tier Fodor's Choice designations, ensure that you'll know about the most interesting and enjoyable options for cruising in Alaska. -Experience an Alaskan cruise like an insider Fodor's Alaska Ports of Call includes choices for every type of cruiser---from small vessels to luxurious crafts, from popular ports like Ketchikan and Haines to wild, out-of-the-way destinations like Kodiak and Dutch Harbor---plus coverage of Alaska's whales, glaciers, gold, shore excursions great and small, and much more -Indispensable, customized trip planning tools include "Top Reasons to Go," "Word of Mouth" advice from other travelers, and tips to help save money, bypass lines, and avoid common cruising pitfalls. -Use the expanded selection of maps to orient yourself to each port of embarkation and port of call. Visit Fodors.com for more ideas and information, travel deals, vacation planning tips, reviews and to exchange travel advice with other travelers.