1. Destination Overview

  1. When Would You Like to Cruise?

  1. Ports of Interest

  3. ABC Islands, Alaska
  4. Adak Island, Sweeper Cove, Alaska
  5. Admiralty Island, Alaska
  6. Aghiyuk Island, Semidi Islands
  7. Akutan Island, Alaska
  8. Aleutian Islands
  9. Alyeska, Alaska
  10. Anan Creek, Alaska
  11. Anchorage, Alaska
  12. Aniakchak, Alaska
  13. Atka Island, Alaska
  14. Attu Island, Aleutians, Alaska
  15. Baby Island, Alaska
  16. Banff, Alberta
  17. Baranof Island, Alaska
  18. Barrow, Alaska
  19. Bayfield, Apostle Islands
  20. Behm Canal, Alaska
  21. Bella Bella, Canada
  22. Bering Strait
  23. Blashke Islands, Alaska
  24. Calgary, Alberta
  25. Campbell River, BC. Canada
  26. Cape Breton Island, Cheticamp, Nova Scotia
  27. Cape Dorset, Nunavut, Canada
  28. Cape Lisburne, Alaska
  29. Castle Bay, Alaska
  30. Chagulak Island, Aleutians, Alaska
  31. Chankliut Island, Alaska
  32. Chatham Strait, Alaska
  33. Chichagof Island, Alexander Archipelago, Alaska
  34. Chignik Bay, Alaska Peninsula
  35. Chirikof Island, Kodiak Archipelago, Alaska
  36. Chiswell Islands, Kenai Fjords, Alaska
  37. Clarence Straight, Alaska
  38. Cold Bay, Alaska
  39. College Fjord, Alaska
  40. Columbia Glacier, Alaska
  41. Copeland Islands Marine Park, Canada
  42. Cordova, Alaska
  43. Cortes Island, BC, Canada
  44. Dall Island, Alaska
  45. Dawes & Sawyer Glacier, Alaska
  46. Decision Passage, Alaska
  47. Denali National Park, Alaska
  48. Desolation Sound, Canada
  49. Dutch Harbour, Unalaska, Alaska
  50. El Capitan Passage, Alaska
  51. Elfin Cove, Alaska
  52. Endicott Arm, Alaska
  53. Ernest Sound, Alaska
  54. Fairbanks, Alaska
  55. Frederick Sound, Alexander Archipelago, Alaska
  56. Geographic Harbor, Alaska
  57. Glacier Bay, Alaska
  58. Grenville Channel, BC Canada
  59. Gulf Islands, Canada
  60. Gustavas, Alaska
  61. Gut Bay, Alaska
  62. Haida Gwaii Island, Canada
  63. Haines, Alaska
  64. Hall Island, Alaska
  65. Hall Island, Russia
  66. Harmony Islands, BC. Canada
  67. Hartley Bay, BC. Canada
  68. Herschel Island, Canada
  69. Hobart Bay, Alaska
  70. Holgate Glacier, Alaska
  71. Homer, Alaska
  72. Hoonah, Alaska
  73. Hubbard Glacier, Alaska
  74. Humber Arm, Newfoundland
  75. Hyder, Alaska
  76. Icy Bay, Alaska
  77. Icy Strait Point, Alaska
  78. Inalik, Little Diomede
  79. Indian Harbour, Nova Scotia
  80. Inian Islands, Alaska
  81. Inside Passage, Alaska
  82. Jasper, Alberta
  83. Jervis Inlet, BC. Canada
  84. Johnstone Strait, BC Canada
  85. Juneau, Alaska
  86. Kake, Alexander Archipelago, Alaska
  87. Kanaga Island, Aleutians, Alaska
  88. Kasaan, Alaska
  89. Katmai National Park, Alaska
  90. Kavik, Alaska
  91. Kayak Island, Alaska
  92. Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
  93. Ketchikan, Alaska
  94. Keweenaw Waterway Canal
  95. Kinak Bay & Kukak Bay, Katmai Peninsula, Alaska
  96. King Point, Yukon
  97. Kiska, Rat Islands, Alaska
  98. Kitimat, BC. Canada
  99. Klawock, Alaska
  100. Klemtu, BC, Canada
  101. Kodiak, Alaska
  102. Krestof Sound, Alaska
  103. Kuiu Island, Alaska
  104. Kukak Bay, Alaska
  105. Kupreanof Island, Alaska
  106. Kynoch Inlet, BC, Canada
  107. Lake Louise, Alberta
  108. LeConte Bay, Alaska
  109. Little Port Walter, Alaska
  110. Little Pybus Bay, Alaska
  111. Lituya Bay, Alaska
  112. Lynn Canal, Alaska
  113. Masset, Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada
  114. Metlakatla, Alaska
  115. Minto, Canada
  116. Misty Fjords, Alaska
  117. Nanaimo, BC, Canada
  118. Nome, Alaska
  119. Olympic National Park, Alaska
  120. Padloping Island, Nunavut, Canada
  121. Patterson Bay, Alaska
  122. Pavel Bay, Russia
  123. Pelican, Alaska
  124. Pender Harbour, Canada
  125. Penkigney Bay, Russia
  126. Peril Strait, Alaska
  127. Petersburg, Alaska
  128. Point Adolphus, Chichagof Island, Alaska
  129. Point Barrow, Alaska
  130. Point Hope, Arctic Alaska
  131. Point Sophia, Alaska
  132. Popof Island, Alaska
  133. Port Angeles, Washington, USA
  134. Port Clarance, Alaska
  135. Port Hardy, Canada
  136. Port Houghton, Alaska
  137. Port McNeill, Canada
  138. Prince of Wales Island, Alaska
  139. Prince Rupert, BC. Canada
  140. Prince William Sound, Alaska
  141. Princess Louisa Inlet, BC. Canada
  142. Princess Royal Channel, BC Canada
  143. Puget Sound
  144. Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada
  145. Ramah Bay, Canada
  146. Red Bluff Bay, Alaska
  147. Red Rock, Lake Superior
  148. Resolution Island, Canada
  149. Robert Island, Alaska
  150. Rose Island, Canada
  151. Rudyard Bay, Alaska
  152. Sail Island, Alaska
  153. Saint James Bay, Alaska
  154. Saint Lawrence Island, Alaska
  155. Saint Matthew Island, Alaska
  156. Saint Paul, Pribilof Islands, Alaska
  157. Saltspring, British Columbia
  158. Sandspit, Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada
  159. Savoogna, Alaska
  160. Sawyer Glacier, Alaska
  161. Seguam Island, USA
  162. Semidi, Alaska
  163. Sergius Narrows, Alaska
  164. Seward, Alaska
  165. Seymour Narrows BC Canada
  166. Shumagin Islands, Alaska
  167. Sidney, Canada
  168. Sitka, Alaska
  169. Skagway, Alaska
  170. Slate Islands, Lake Superior
  171. Snow Pass, Alaska
  172. Sointula, British Columbia, Canada
  173. St Matthew Island, Alaska
  174. Stephens Passage
  175. Stikine Strait, Alaska
  176. Sumner Strait, Alaska
  177. Taku Harbour, Alaska
  178. Talkeetna - Alaska
  179. Tanaga Island, Alaska
  180. Telegraph Cove, BC. Canada
  181. Terrace, BC, Canada
  182. The Brothers Islands, Alaska
  183. The Triplets, Alaska
  184. Thomas Bay, Alaska
  185. Thorne Bay, Alaska
  186. Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska
  187. Tsaa Fjord, Icy Bay, Alaska
  188. Ugashik, Alaska
  189. Unakwik Inlet, Alaska
  190. Unalaska Island, Alaska
  191. Unga Island, Shumagin Islands
  192. Unga Spit, Alaska
  193. Unga Village, Alaska
  194. Unimak Island, Alaska
  195. Uyak Bay, Alaska
  196. Valdez, Alaska
  197. Vancouver Island
  198. Vancouver, BC. Canada
  199. Victoria, BC. Canada
  200. Wainwright, Alaska
  201. Walker Cove, Alaska
  202. Whale Channel, Alaska
  203. Whistler, British Columbia
  204. Whittier, Alaska
  205. William Henry Bay, Alaska
  206. Windham Bay, Alaska
  207. Wrangell, Alaska
  208. Yakutat Bay, Alaska
  209. Yes Bay, Alaska
  210. Yunaska Island, Alaska
Alaska & Canada West

  1. Alaska & Canada West

  3. Alaska and Canada's West Coast is one of the world's last great true frontiers, an unspoiled wilderness of glimmering glaciers, abundant forests, towering mountains, exotic wildlife, and water front communities.

    Canada's West Coast starts at Vancouver and covers the first third of the Inside Passage ending at Port Hardy. Apart from a short stretch of open ocean between Vancouver Island and Rivers Inlet, where the Central Coast archipelago begins, the route north to Prince Rupert leads through a narrow maze of channels, passes, and reaches. Passengers should keep their eyes peeled for a whale or dolphin in Queen Charlotte Sound. With luck you might even see a white-coated Kermode bear on Princess Royal Island's lengthy shoreline.

    Alaska is a destination full of Native American culture and Russian influence, a step back in time to the days of gold rush saloons and oil booms. Alaska, simply put, is a once in a lifetime, dream holiday. The geography of Alaska also means that a cruise is simply the best way to experience the range of places, sights and towns of this amazing destination.

    Cruise types
    There certainly is no shortage of Alaska Cruises to choose from.

    Specialty cruises offer a small ship experience, allowing you to get a lot closer to nature and most have experts on board to teach you about the regions flora and fauna.

    Larger cruise ships can cover more territory and give you a better overview of the area as well as letting you visit a range of ports to experience the different cultures that make up the Inside Passage.

    Inside Passage cruises generally start and end from Vancouver, Seattle or San Francisco and combine visits to a variety of the ports in the Inside Passage such as Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Sitka with scenic cruising to view some of the regions Glaciers. Inside Passage cruises are in protected waters so irrespective of weather, cruise conditions are usually smooth.

    Cruises from Vancouver to Anchorage allow passengers to extend their vacation and visit some of the key attractions of the State including Kodiak Island, Denali National Park, Fairbanks and more.

    NB cruises to Anchorage dock at the ports of Seward or Whittier as the tidal flow at Anchorage only allows small vessels to visit. The Cruise Lines provide transfers between Anchorage and Whittier or Seward.

    Finally there are some interesting repositioning cruises available at the start and end of each season which combine an Inside Passage cruise with a ocean crossing to Hawaii or a West Coast Cruise down to Los Angeles, San Diego or Mexico.

    Cruise season
    The Alaska Cruise season begins in May and ends in September. Although July and August are the warmest months to experience these incredible sites, autumn and spring are the most fun, the most beautiful and the savings are the best.

    Main ports
    Inside Passage – Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco
    Anchorage – Vancouver and Whittier or Seward for Anchorage

    Weather
    Be prepared for one season colder than the time you are traveling. This is especially important for those who travel early and late in the season. The average temperature range is from overnight lows of 4c to daytime temperatures of 17c. The Inside Passage has an annual rainfall of over 50inchs but Anchorage rainfall is only 16inch pa.

    Photo Credit: John Simos