Destination guides
The towns where the ship berths, and the glaciers and fjords where it does not. Each guide covers what the place is really like, what to do with the hours you have, and what it costs.
Towns and destinations where the ship berths or tenders and you go ashore.
Port town
Juneau is Alaska's capital and the busiest cruise port in the state. The two things worth doing are Mendenhall Glacier, roughly 12 miles from downtown, and a whale watching trip in Auke Bay, where humpback sighting rates through the summer are exceptionally high. Most ships dock downtown, and a typical port day runs seven to eleven hours.
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Port town
Ketchikan is a compact, highly walkable cruise port known for totem poles, the historic Creek Street boardwalk and access to Misty Fjords National Monument by floatplane. Ships usually berth within a few minutes of the town centre, and port calls typically run six to nine hours. It is also the rainiest port on the circuit, averaging roughly 140 inches a year.
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Port town
Skagway is a preserved 1898 gold rush town at the northern end of the Inside Passage. Its defining attraction is the White Pass and Yukon Route railway, a narrow gauge line climbing nearly 3,000 feet in 20 miles through tunnels and over trestles. Ships berth within a short walk of the historic centre and typically stay eight to twelve hours.
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Port town
Sitka is a former Russian colonial capital on the outer coast of Baranof Island, combining Russian and Tlingit history with some of the best wildlife viewing in Southeast Alaska. Many ships tender rather than dock, so the effective port day is shorter than the schedule suggests. Highlights are Sitka National Historical Park, the Alaska Raptor Center and boat trips into Sitka Sound.
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Private destination
Icy Strait Point is a Tlingit owned cruise destination next to the village of Hoonah on Chichagof Island. Its main draws are exceptionally reliable whale watching in Icy Strait, the ZipRider zipline, and a quiet, uncrowded setting. Revenue stays with the local community, which makes it one of the more genuinely beneficial stops on the circuit.
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City
Victoria is included on Seattle round trip Alaska cruises because the Passenger Vessel Services Act requires a foreign port call. Calls are typically short, often four to six hours, and frequently run from early evening into the night. Butchart Gardens and the Inner Harbour are the two things worth doing, and both work after dark in summer.
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Days spent entirely on board, where the ship is the viewing platform.
National park
Glacier Bay is a 3.3 million acre national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Southeast Alaska. Cruise ship entry is capped by National Park Service permits, so only some operators visit and only on some sailings. A Glacier Bay day typically runs from early morning to late afternoon, with rangers boarding at the park boundary and the ship holding position at Margerie Glacier for around an hour.
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Glacier
Hubbard Glacier is North America's largest tidewater glacier, with a calving face about six miles wide and up to 400 feet above the water. It sits at the head of Yakutat Bay and features on most Gulf of Alaska itineraries, including those from cruise lines that lack Glacier Bay permits. Ships hold position for roughly one to two hours.
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Fjord
Tracy Arm is a narrow fjord south of Juneau within the Tracy Arm Fords Terror Wilderness, ending at the twin Sawyer glaciers. It is the most intimate glacier experience on the Alaska circuit because the fjord is barely half a mile wide in places with 3,000 foot walls. Large ships often cannot reach the glacier face because of floating ice, and may substitute Endicott Arm.
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Fjord
Endicott Arm is a 30 mile fjord south of Juneau ending at Dawes Glacier, a tidewater glacier roughly half a mile wide and 200 to 250 feet high. Ships often visit it in place of Tracy Arm because it is wider and more navigable. Expect three to five hours of scenic cruising with heavy floating ice and large numbers of harbour seals.
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Fjord
College Fjord is a 30 mile fjord in Prince William Sound containing five tidewater glaciers and more than a dozen others, named by an 1899 expedition after east coast colleges. Ships typically spend two to three hours here on Gulf of Alaska itineraries to or from Whittier, with Harvard Glacier at the head as the centrepiece.
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