Awaken and inspire your sense of adventure as you sail north through Canada’s Inside Passage to Alaska along the same waterway frequented by prospectors and fortune-seekers more than a century ago. Your first stop is Ketchikan, a former last-stop mining supply outpost to Skagway-bound adventurers. Wander among the world’s largest totem pole collection and ponder contemporary dilemmas, like whether you want your Chinook salmon served sizzling on an aromatic cedar plank or cured next to an open alder wood fire. Whatever you decide, pair it with a side of sourdough bread and raise a glass of microbrew to the memory of the Klondike stampede. Admire the glaciated slopes and ice floes of Alaska’s Misty Fjords, Tracy and Endicott Arms and Kenai Fjords, but keep a weather eye on the horizon for the telltale spray and black fins of orca pods. Disembark in Seward and ride inland to Fairbanks and scenic Denali National Park. Caribou, foxes and Dall sheep observations are nearly certain, but even the locals grow excited about grizzly and wolf pack sightings. A detailed float along the Chena River provides additional opportunities for ursine encounters prior to your transfer to Fairbanks Airport and your reentry into the predictabilities of a less-adventurous modern civilization.

Vancouver’s location at the mouth of the Fraser River and on the waterways of the Strait of Georgia, Howe Sound, Burrard Inlet and all their tributaries makes this busy seaport an easy place for meeting. It is one of Canada’s most populated, most ethnically diverse cities that is a popular filming location. Visit the interesting neighborhoods of Gastown, Granville Island and Chinatown. Walk across the Capilano Suspension Bridge and stroll through Stanley Park. See the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Museum of Anthropology. There is an amazing variety of things to see and do here.

Today we cruise the fjords of Canada’s Inside Passage boasting centuries-old coastal rainforests, beaches, waterfalls and mountains. Over 25,000 miles of rugged coastline lie in Canada’s Inside Passage, joining Alaska’s 15,000 miles of inside waters and provides a safe and sheltered West Coast waterway transit.  In this isolated wilderness look for coastal First Nations longhouses fronted with proud totems and a variety of marine life, from orcas and porpoises to some of the largest populations of bald eagles in the world.

Dubbed the Salmon Capital of the World, Ketchikan is the southeastern-most town in Alaska and is home to the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles that are found throughout the city and at four major locations: Saxman Totem Park, Totem Bight State Park, Potlatch Park, and the Totem Heritage Center. Other attractions of Ketchikan are Creek Street, a boardwalk road built on pilings over Ketchikan Creek and the Waterfront Promenade that skirts the bustling shoreline with inviting whale-tail benches to take in the view.

Misty Fjords, with its gorgeous views of natural formations is a national monument and wilderness area with steep valleys formed by glaciers and lava flows. It is part of the Tongass National Forest and is about 40 miles east of Ketchikan along the Inside Passage. With its icy blue lakes, waterfalls, snowcapped peaks and glacial valleys literally everywhere you point your camera you will get a postcard picture, depending on the weather of course. For a more up-close opportunity in this beautiful scenic sanctuary optional expeditions excursions will be available.
 

One of the oldest towns in Alaska, Wrangell is located near the mouth of the Stikine River. Much of its history can be seen in the impressive collection of totems scattered throughout the town. Highlights here are the amazing Petroglyph Beach State Historic Park where you can find primitive rock carvings and just 30 miles away is the Anan Wildlife Observatory with the largest pink salmon runs in the Inside Passage, and a platform from which you can look for eagles, harbor seals and black bears.

Sitka is one of the oldest and most culturally significant communities in Alaska, filled with rich Tlingit, Russian, and early American settler history. Sitka is famous for its spectacular scenery, abundant wildlife, the copper-domed St. Michael’s Cathedral, the Pioneer Home and the Russian Bishop’s House. It contains 22 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is where the contract of sale was signed transferring Alaska from Russia to the United States.

Stunningly beautiful Tracy Arm is a fjord 45 miles south of Juneau that actually consists of two deep and narrow fjords – Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm. Both fjords are over 30 miles long. At the end of Tracy Arm are the impressive twin Sawyer Glaciers. Wildlife in the area includes black and brown bears, deer, wolves, harbor seals and a variety of birds. What you'll be able to see today and how far we can travel up Tracy Arm is weather and ice dependent.

Haines is one of the most popular Alaska cruise ports and one of the best places for hiking, fishing and wildlife viewing, especially bald eagles.  Within the Haines city limits Fort William H. Seward is a nationally recognized historic landmark, with some of its structures open to the public. Other cultural offerings in Haines include the Alaska Indian Arts Center where traditional craftsmen offer demonstrations of their work, the Sheldon Museum & Cultural Center where local Tlingit people are featured, the Hammer Museum, dedicated to the history of the hammer and the Tsirku Canning Company Museum with memories of Haines’ salmon canneries.

Located on the Gastineau Channel in the Alaskan panhandle, Juneau sits at sea level below steep mountains between 3,500-4,000 feet high. Atop these mountains is the Juneau Icefield, a large ice mass from which about 30 glaciers flow, and two of them – Mendenhall Glacier and Lemon Creek Glacier are visible from the local road. A unique feature of Juneau is that it is the only U.S. capital that has no roads connecting it to the rest of the state.

Today is a day of wonder as you cruise the Kenai Fjords, Alaska’s smallest national park. Carved by glaciers flowing from the Harding Icefield to the sea, Kenai Fjords has a rugged arctic landscape and is a rich habitat for marine animals and other wildlife. Most cruise lines don’t go here so enjoy this unique opportunity and you can even take an optional expedition excursion here. As with all Alaska, what you’ll be able to see is subject to weather and ice conditions.
 

Seward, (Anchorage’s gateway) is sandwiched between the Kenai Mountains and the Kenai Fjords National Park. It is one of Alaska’s oldest and most scenic communities, with Mount Marathon rising majestically behind the town. Even though Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city, it is also home to 1,500 moose, surrounded by nature parks full of wildlife.

Incredible views of Turnagain Arm and the Kenai Mountains help soothe your sadness over leaving your small ship. Explore native cultures at the Anchorage Museum before proceeding to tiny Talkeetna for a Welcome Reception and informative talk about the town’s colorful past.

(Includes overnight at Talkeetna Hotel and Welcome Reception)

Stretch your legs and enjoy the scenery from your deluxe domed railcar as your train makes its way to Denali. Tonight, get your bearings with a Welcome to Denali Talk, followed by an all-you-can-eat salmon and barbecue ribs dinner and a show at Alaska Cabin Nite Dinner Theater.
 
(Includes overnight at Denali Lodge, Breakfast, Cabin Nite Dinner)

Your 5-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour takes you deep into the park for the best opportunities to see both Denali’s famous wildlife and the iconic mountain. Back at the lodge, there’s time for an optional tour, or just relax and enjoy the lodge and scenery.

(Includes overnight at Denali Lodge, Breakfast, Bag Lunch and Snack)

Head north to the Golden Heart City of Fairbanks, a city shaped by gold and oil. Board the Riverboat Discovery for a cruise on the Chena River, sampling frontier life at an Athabascan village and meeting some powerful Iditarod huskies. Recount your favorite experiences with friends over a delicious Farewell Dinner.

(Includes overnight at Fairbanks Hotel, Breakfast and Dinner)

Today is yours to explore as you will. Various attractions let you pan for gold, or browse a goldmine of history at the Museum of the North before your flight home.

(Includes Breakfast)