Glacier Bay, Fjords & Canadian Inside Passage with Seabourn

Day 1 – 2 Vancouver

Vancouver has plenty to offer, hire a bike and explore Stanley Park along the seawall or venture within the park itself. One of the city’s main tourist destinations and featuring miles of well-maintained paved and dirt trails, Canada’s largest aquarium and an array of other activities, this 400-hectare park is recognised as one of the greatest urban parks in the world. The city also boasts plenty of flightseeing tours offering; a 30-minute circle tour of the skyline and the surrounding mountainous coastal islands, options for day trips that include landing on mountain lakes for a picnic, action packed excursions to Whistler, Bowen Island and more.

Day 3 Embarkation and Transit the Seymour Narrows

After embarkation at Vancouver Cruise you will make way up the Seymour Narrows. These 3 miles stretch of Discovery Channel north of Vancouver Island is notorious for the strength of tidal currents. This part of the cruise requires skill and technical accomplishment as the Venturi effect created from the tides increasing the velocity.

Day 4 Cruising the Queen Charlotte Sound

The Queen Charlotte Sound lies between the Queen Charlotte Strait, which winds between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland in the south, and Hecate Strait, which is northward, adjacent to the Haida Gwaii Islands off the Pacific coast of British Columbia. It is a broad reach in the long shipping route called the Inside Passage threading the myriad islands stretching from Washington’s Puget Sound to Alaska.

Day 4 Ketchikan

Ketchikan is a picturesque coastal town with a colorful frontier history, standing at the southern entrance to Alaska's famed Inside Passage. Once dubbed the 'Canned Salmon Capital of the World,’ the renowned Creek Street, perched on stilts along the mouth of the creek, would bring lasting infamy to the area for the red-light district that burgeoned there during the Gold Rush. A visit to Ketchikan is not complete without visiting one or all of Native American sites such as Totem Bight State Park, Potlatch Park, Saxman Native Village and the Totem Heritage Center. Together, these locations comprise the world's largest collection of standing Native American totem poles.

Day 5 Sitka

A stroll through the streets and National Historic Park of Sitka is a glimpse into its unique and colorful past. A blend of Tlingit and Russian cultures defines this first capital of Alaska. Although fish canning and gold mining were the initial catalysts for growth in Sitka, the construction of an air base during World War II truly paved the way for Sitka to come into its own. One of Sitka's most intriguing structures is the Cathedral of Saint Michael, built in 1848 to honor a Russian Orthodox bishop.

Day 6 Hubbard Glacier Cruising Only

The Hubbard Glacier is breath-taking and if you listen carefully, you can hear it calving! Soak up the surroundings of jagged icy peaks and the turquoise waters.

Day 7 Inian Islands

As the gatekeepers to the northern entrance of the fabled Inside Passage, the remote Inian Islands stand between Cross Sound and Icy Strait, exposed to the high energy seas of the Pacific Ocean. Tidal currents surging through the narrow channels separating the islands can be severe. Nicknames like ‘The Laundry Chute’ justify their notorious reputations.

Day 8 Haines

Haines can be found along the shores of the longest Fjord in North America. Surrounded by breathtaking scenery, Haines, is an authentic Alaskan experience. Haines is also home to the largest concentration of bald eagles on earth, and grizzly bears come to this shoreline for the spawning salmon in its rivers.

Day 9 Juneau

The capital of Alaska, Juneau, is only accessible by air and sea, due to the rugged mountain terrain that surrounds the city. The city has plenty to offer the outdoor adventure. Choose to explore on foot along the Perseverance Trail or around Mendenhall Glacier, or board one of the many local whale-watching boats or view the mountains and extensive glaciers of the Juneau Icefield from a helicopter.

Day 10 Tracy Arm or Endicott Arm

A short distance south from Alaska's capital of Juneau, where Holkham Bay cuts into the coastline under a dramatic back-drop of high snow-capped peaks and the verdant Tongass National Forest, lies the entrance to Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness. From Holkam Bay, the waterway is bisected into Tracy Arm to the north and Endicott Arm to the south. Each arm terminates at a stunning blue river of ice: North and South Sawyer glaciers in Tracy Arm and Dawes glacier in Endicott Arm.

Day 11 Wrangell

Wrangell Island sits at the heart of the Tongass National Rain Forest and receives approximately 203cm of rain per year. The city of Wrangell, a true Alaskan frontier town, sits at the northern end of the island, a short distance from the mouth of the mighty Stikine River. The history is deeply rooted in the Tlingit people, the fur trade and the gold rush. The Stikine River, Shakes Glacier and Anan Creek boast the largest pink salmon run of the Inside Passage, attracting brown and black bears in great numbers

Day 12 Rudyerd Bay (Misty Fjords)

Misty Fjords is a true wilderness, often shrouded in mist. Its vertical granite cliffs, which reach 900m above sea level, descend another 300m below the water's surface. Carved by glaciers and covered in a green carpet of mosses and lichens. Misty Fjords receives more than 381cm of rain per year. This rainfall keeps vegetation in abundance, bringing various wildlife to the area including Mountain goats, brown and black bears, coastal wolves, sea lions, bald eagles and ravens. Dall's porpoises, orca and humpback whales can also be spotted along its shorelines and throughout the waters. Your ship will cruise among these spectacular forest’s waterfalls and mountains., The onboard Ventures by Seabourn team will offer exceptional excursions including kayaking the fjords and a short sightseeing float plane flight.

Day 13 Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert, set amongst the coastal mountains, is the jumping-off point for travelers joining the coastal ferries to Haida Gwaii, Vancouver or north to Alaska. Highlights include the quaint Cow Bay with its shops and restaurants, the Museum of Northern British Columbia, the totem carving house or the stunning sunken gardens.

Day 14 Scenic Cruising

Whale Channel is a picturesque waterway separating Gil Island from Princess Royal Island in British Columbia’s Inside Passage. Surrounded by snow-capped mountain ranges and teeming with marine life, It is a diversion from the main shipping lane, located roughly halfway between Prince Rupert and the First Nations village of Klemtu.

Day 15 Alert Bay

Located on the now-dormant Alert Bay volcanic belt, Cormorant Island is host to Vancouver Island's oldest northern community, the small town of Alert Bay. It is located in the traditional territory of the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation and today is a blend of both aboriginal and pioneer culture.

Day 16 Vancouver

Today marks the end of this exploration holiday in Remote Alaska. Enjoy some time at your leisure prior to boarding your flight back to the UK.

ESTA online application for entry to the USA

Important: All cruise passengers must complete the online Visa Waiver form by visiting https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov which is needed for entry into the US at a cost of $21 per person.

You must complete an ESTA application at least 72 hours before flying. Any traveller who fails to complete an ESTA application at least 3 days before departure will almost certainly be refused entry into the country under new US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulations. If you are even considering visiting the States, it's worth filling out an ESTA application now as they are valid for two years. Important: If you are refused entry because you do not hold the correct travel documents or have had your application for ESTA rejected - you will NOT be entitled to any form of refund or covered by your travel insurance policy.

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