Once a trading post and a rough-and-tumble sawmilling settlement, today, modern Vancouver is many things. It’s a bustling seaport, a hub for outdoor enthusiasts, an ethnically diverse metropolis and the ‘Hollywood of the North’. Framed by towering mountains and the sparkling Pacific Ocean, Vancouver seduces visitors with its combination of urban sophistication and laid-back attitude against a backdrop of glass towers, modern sights and plentiful green spaces.

Rosedale on Robson or similar

Enjoy a six hour sightseeing tour of Vancouver’s magnificent North Shore. Travel across the Lions Gate Bridge and into the mountains to visit the original Vancouver tourist attraction, Capilano Suspension Bridge. Spend time exploring the temperate rainforest and learn all about salmon at the Fish Hatchery. Your tour coach continues its climb up Grouse Mountain where you’ll take the Skyride to the Peak of Vancouver with breathtaking views over the Lower Mainland and Coast Mountain Range. After time well spent in Vancouver’s backyard, your guide will drive you back to downtown and your hotel.

Rosedale on Robson or similar

Your Alaska journey starts early this afternoon at the Vancouver cruise terminal where you will board your cruise ship and settle in and get ready to embark on your epic Alaska Cruise.

On board

Dinner

Alaska’s Inside Passage is a protected network of waterways that wind through glacier-cut fjords and lush temperate rainforests along the rugged coast of Southeast Alaska. Arguably one of the greatest cruising routes in the world, the Inside Passage stretches through stunning landscapes, from Misty Fjords National Monument to famed Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

Sailing the Inside Passage offers opportunities to spot some of Alaska’s most iconic wildlife, with humpback whales and orca plying the bountiful waters alongside the ships, bald eagles soaring overhead and brown bears lumbering on the shoreline.

Numerous ports along the way recount Alaska’s colourful history. In Sitka, an onion-domed church marks Russia’s onetime foothold in the Americas; Ketchikan provides a glimpse of the Native Alaskan experience, with historic totem poles and native art galleries; and the legendary town centre of Skagway bustles as it did at the turn of the 19th century when it served as the rowdy Wild West gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush.

On board

Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Juneau, Alaska may well be the most remote, beautiful and strangest state capital in the United States. Surrounded by water, forest and mountains, visitors seeking things to do in Juneau, both indoors and outdoors can hike a glacier, eat fresh-caught fish on a seaside patio and tour a grand capitol building all in one day.

The city itself is pleasant, but the real highlight of a visit to Juneau is tracking down some wildlife. You can hike up Mount Roberts to chance upon wild deer and bald eagles. Most sightseeing and whale watching tours head north to Auke Bay; bring a good pair of binoculars to get the best view of these majestic and surprisingly graceful creatures. If you prefer land mammals, catch a floatplane to a nearby wildlife reserve such as Chichagof or Admiralty Island to spy some bears lolling around.

The sleepy, misty city of around 32,000 – mostly fishermen and small-business owners – has a frontier town vibe, but welcomes more than a million visitors each summer to its natural attractions, cementing Juneau as Alaska’s number-one tourist destination.

On board

Breakfast, lunch, dinner

At the height of the Klondike Gold Rush, the port town of Skagway served as the primary gateway to the legendary gold fields and quickly grew into Alaska’s largest settlement. It was then a raucous frontier hub packed with trading posts, saloons and guesthouses. As the gold rush faded into the 1900’s, so did Skagway, but today it has been reinvigorated as a gateway for a new kind of visitor, those looking to explore Alaska’s colourful history, pristine wildlife and unrivalled natural beauty.

At every turn, you’ll find yourself immersed in gold rush lore, from the infamous Red Onion Saloon which still keeps a pistol that Wyatt Earp left behind en route to the Klondike, to the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad, a classic narrow-gauge railway that traverses rugged mountains and passes cascading waterfalls and towering glaciers as it connects Skagway to Whitehorse deep in the Yukon. Much of the town has been preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, where rangers offer free walking tours around the historic district. Here you’ll also find a vibrant local community, home to a rich collection of local galleries, curio shops and restaurants serving seafood caught fresh from nearby waters.

On board

Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Imagine this; a bald eagle glides overhead when, in a flash, the ethereal silence is broken by the jarring boom of a calving glacier or breath catching splash of a breaching humpback. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve offers some of the most dramatic scenery and wildlife experiences in all of North America, which makes all the more reason for you to visit this UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve on this epic Alaska cruise. It’s going to be a highlight of your trip, we assure you!

On board

Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Alaska’s ‘First City’ of Ketchikan is so named because it’s the first major landfall for most cruisers as they enter the picturesque fjords of the Inside Passage. The town clings to the banks of the Tongass Narrows, flanked by green forests nurtured by abundant rain.

Ketchikan has long been an important hub of the salmon-fishing and packing industries. Here you can try your luck on a sport fishing excursion or simply savour the fresh seafood at one of the local restaurants. It is also one of the best spots along the Inside Passage to explore the rich cultural sights of Native Alaskan nations. You can see intricately carved totem poles at the Totem Heritage Center and Totem Bight State Park, while the attractions of Saxman Village just outside of Ketchikan offer the chance to see Tlingit culture in action, with working carvers and a dance show in the clan house. Be sure to leave time to explore the sights in the town itself, including historic Creek Street, a boardwalk built over the Ketchikan Creek, where you can shop for souvenirs, smoked salmon and local art.

On board

Breakfast, lunch, dinner

It’s the final day of your cruise and time to make your way back through the Inside Passage to Vancouver. Keep your eyes peeled today as you spend the day spotting the wonderful wildlife that makes this area of the world their home. If you’re lucky you might spot a pod of orca playing, humpback whales breaching off the bow of the ship, bald eagles soaring overhead or even brown bears wandering the shoreline in the distance.

On board

Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Arrive back into port this morning and depart the cruise ship to make your way to the airport. If you have some spare time, you could add some extra nights here in this wonderfully eclectic city or move on to another equally fun destination nearby.

Breakfast