7-Day Alaskan Inside Passage

MAY 7 - MAY 14, 2023

Round Trip Vancouver

Balcony from $1,259 per person

-includes Shore Excursions, Beverage Package, Specialty Dining

Named for the Northern compass point, Noordam dazzles with museum-quality art and lavish staterooms. Guests of this Vista Class cruise ship will have their pick of onboard activities. Watch dramatic footage of natural wonders set to live music at BBC Earth In Concert. Listen to pianists play favorite hits at Billboard Onboard. Get moving with a pilates class at the fitness center. Or savor the delights of numerous specialty restaurants. The Pinnacle Grill serves the juiciest steak at sea and Canaletto beckons with tantalizing Italian dishes. These name just two of many dining options.

Vancouver, B.C., CA

MAY 7, 2023

DEPARTS 04:00 PM

Once a trading post and a rough-and-tumble sawmilling settlement, today modern Vancouver, Canada is many things. Cruise to Vancouver and visit this bustling seaport. This city is a hub for outdoor enthusiasts looking for active things to do in Vancouver an ethnically diverse metropolis, and Hollywood of the North. Hemmed in by mountains and sea, Vancouver seduces visitors with its combination of urban sophistication and laid-back attitude against a backdrop of glass towers and modern sights and plentiful green spaces.

Enjoy local attractions, fun filled outdoor activities, and an innovative culinary scene on a Vancouver cruise excursion. Vancouver's culinary and cocktail scene is on the rise—and its excellent restaurants and hopping bars have a distinctively local stamp on them. If you are looking for where to go in Vancouver for music, theater and the arts, they are thriving in the city’s many museums, galleries and performance venues. Beyond the downtown attractions in Vancouver, days of exploration and sightseeing await among the colorful suburbs, unspoiled islands and the vast, rugged wilderness.

Scenic Cruising the Inside Passage

MAY 8, 2023

CRUISING ONLY

Alaska’s Inside Passage is a protected network of waterways that wind through glacier-cut fjords and lush temperate rain forests 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 & 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.

Sitka, Alaska, US

MAY 9, 2023

A storied past mixed with jaw-dropping scenery sets Sitka, Alaska apart from other ports. Located on Baranof Island surrounded by the Sitka Sound’s icy blue water, it not only boasts lush scenery and captivating wildlife, Sitka offers a unique glimpse into Alaska history. Russia controlled Alaska from the mid-1700s until the United States purchased it in 1867, and Sitka was settled as the capital of Russian America with the name New Archangel.

Sail to Sitka on an Alaska Cruise today and you’ll see vestiges of Russia’s influence. Stroll past the onion dome of St. Michael’s Cathedral and the Russian Bishop’s House, both National Historic Landmarks. On a Sitka, Alaska shore excursion, stop by the visitor center of the Sitka National Historical Park to peruse fascinating collections of Russian and Native Alaskan artifacts, and then join a ranger-led tour of the battlefield where Russia fought the native Tlingit people.

Surrounded by the Tongass National rain forest, nature abounds in Sitka, Alaska. A walk-up Castle Hill offers the ideal vantage point to take in Mount Edgecumbe, a dormant volcano. Visits to the Fortress of the Bear and Alaska Raptor Center are in order for any animal-lover. Both provide the opportunity to see Alaska wildlife, such as bears or raptors up-close, but safely.

Juneau, Alaska, US

MAY 10, 2023

Cruise to Juneau, Alaska and visit the most remote, most beautiful and strangest state capital in the United States. Surrounded by water, forest and mountain sights, visitors seeking things to do in Juneau 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.

Juneau is known for its outdoor recreation, fresh seafood and fine dining. 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 on Alaska cruise excursion.

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. Experience this breathtaking city on an Alaska cruise.

Scenic Cruising Tracy Arm or Endicott Arm

MAY 11, 2023

CRUISING ONLY

Steep cliffs and glacier-covered mountains flank this fjord, fringed by the largest intact coastal temperate rain forest in the United States. Old-growth trees colonized Tracy Arm’s mouth long ago as the Ice Age retreated. But further up the sinuous 48-kilometer (30-mile) waterway, its icy grip lingers a little. There, the twin Sawyer Glaciers flow from the peaks down to the sea, sloughing off stories-high chunks of water frozen decades or even centuries before. Even more glorious than nearby Glacier Bay, Tracy Arm is part of the 5.7 million acres (or around 23,000 square kilometers) of pure wilderness sheltered by the Tongass National Forest (America’s biggest). Visitors often see bears, whales and mountain goats roaming across various corners of this pristine area—not to mention chubby baby seals resting on the ice floes. Summer temperatures average 35 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit (0 to 16 degrees Celsius), so pack warm clothing. And don’t forget waterproof gear, even when traveling by cruise ship: More than a meter and a half of rain falls here each year! We also recommend a water bottle, thermos or reusable coffee cup: On scenic cruising days, cruise ships ban paper and disposable plastic products that could litter this unsullied environment.

Ketchikan, Alaska, US

MAY 12, 2023

Take an adventure and cruise to Ketchikan, Alaska. 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, where 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. Visitors can try their luck on a sportfishing or simply savor the fresh seafood at one of the local restaurants on a cruise to Ketchikan excursion. Ketchikan is also one of the best spots along the Inside Passage to explore the rich cultural sights of Native Alaskan nations like the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. 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 offers the chance to see Tlingit culture in action, with working carvers and a dance show in the clan house. On an Alaska cruise to Ketchikan don't forget 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, while exploring gold rush­–era tourist attractions like Dolly’s House Museum.

Scenic Cruising the Inside Passage

MAY 13, 2023

CRUISING ONLY

Alaska’s Inside Passage is a protected network of waterways that wind through glacier-cut fjords and lush temperate rain forests 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 & 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 colorful 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-arts galleries; and the legendary town center 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.

Vancouver, B.C., CA

MAY 14, 2023

ARRIVES 07:00 AM