Seeing Alaska from the deck of a cruise ship is not like actually being in Alaska. Not like walking into the wilderness or taking a Land Rover into Denali (think “six million acres of wild land bisected by one ribbon of road”).

In fairness, even the edge of the Garden of Eden is amazing to see. If you want to take a bite of the apple, on the other hand, it won’t happen when you’re stuck on a floating hotel with 3,500 other passengers.

Leaving from Seattle a few weeks ago, we sailed all nig...