Seattle,Ketchikan,Icy Strait Hoonah,Tracy Arm,Juneau,Victoria,Seattle

Relax and enjoy the facilities and entertainment onboard your ship. If the weather is good take some sun and sunbathe on the pool deck. Otherwise explore below deck the wide range of activities that will be available during the day. Perhaps you prefer to find a quiet spot and catch up on your reading.

Misty Ketchikan, the rainiest town in Southeast Alaska, is known as the "Salmon Capital of the World." The town offers the perfect blend of activities: kayak in Misty Fjords or hike up Deer Mountain in the morning, then poke in and out of fantastic galleries and shops in the afternoon. You're bound to visit Creek Street, a row of wooden buildings perched over the water on pilings. Brightly painted boutiques once catered to gentlemen seeking the company of "sporting women." The museum at Dolly's House gives you a glimpse into the bawdy ways of frontier life, though Ketchikan's red-light district wasn't shut down until 1953. Legends of a different sort are recorded on totem poles. Boasting the world's largest collection of Northwest totems, Ketchikan offers plenty of places to see these fascinating works of art.

One of Alaska's newest cruise ports, Icy Strait (just outside of Hoonah) opened in 2004 so local communities and giant cruise corporations alike could profit from visitors eager to experience America's "last wilderness." The native Tlingit Corporation Huna Totem owns Icy Strait Point, and in conjunction with cruise line partners and investors, they've created a cruise port with some of the highest passenger satisfaction levels around. The demand for a slice of "real" Alaska has only increased in the years since -- shore excursion offerings in Icy Strait more than doubled from 2015 to 2019. Facilities have expanded and increased over the years -- Huna Totem owns 23,000 acres. In 2020, Icy Strait will debut a second dock and their largest yet -- the Wilderness Plaza -- built in conjunction with Norwegian Cruise Line. No matter how big the port expands, the company is careful about the tiny details that preserve its nature-focused ethos; you'll never see a tour bus until it's time to board. The facility -- just down the road from Hoonah, Alaska's largest Huna Tlingit village, and 22 miles southeast of Glacier Bay National Park -- has been a lifeline for the community, providing a much-needed alternative source of income for locals afflicted by a downturn in their traditional businesses of fishing and logging. Millions of dollars have been invested in creating facilities that offer cruise travellers an authentic "wilderness experience" and a refreshingly non-commercialized alternative to the usual run of Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Sitka. What they've created is an attractive destination expressly for cruisers that's manmade but not commercialized. Icy Strait offers pretty woodland walks, an insight into Tlingit history and culture, a wide range of back-to-nature adventures and high-quality restaurants. Upmarket craft shops feature artisan crafts and locally made goods like woodland berry jam and confectionery, rather than the "made in Taiwan" goods so prevalent in, say, Juneau. Buildings are constructed from sustainable local timber and built by local Tlingit workers in traditional style. Although the port receives ships from many cruise lines, officials -- have wisely limited ship calls to ensure high passenger satisfaction. This will shift slightly when two ships are accommodated at a time, heading into the 2020 cruise season.

Tracy Arm is a 30-mile long fjord and one of the two branches of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness region, the other being Endicott Arm. During the summer, these fjords are dotted with pristine white floating ice fragments from the calving glaciers, some the size of houses and others that look like icing sugar dusting the pristine dark blue water. A rewarding few hours of scenic cruising.

Juneau, often described as America's most unusual state capital, is the only centre of U.S. government with no roads leading into or out of town. The city is surrounded by nature, namely towering mountains and the waters of Gastineau Channel. For most visitors, the only way in or out is by air or sea. Residents boast three routes: plane, boat or birth canal. Gold put Juneau on the map in the 1880s, though the mining camp went by several names before prospector Joe Juneau finally wrangled enough votes to get his name to stick. Juneau became a state capital when Alaska became the 49th U.S. state in 1959, and nearly 60 percent of the city's population works in government. The governor's mansion stands on a hillside overlooking the cruise docks, and anyone can take a walk up the hills via steep stairways. Juneau offers a wide range of shoreside activities, from whale watching, dog sledging and ziplining to touring the Capitol building or the Alaskan Brewing Company. Then, there's the state's most accessible glacier -- Mendenhall, an immense, 12-mile-long river of ice. Along with glacier viewing, there's always the chance of seeing a bear or two up close. The Juneau Arts & Humanities Council has a community calendar on its website that is jam-packed with events, so you can easily find out what's happening while you're in port.

Relax and enjoy the facilities and entertainment onboard your ship. If the weather is good take some sun and sunbathe on the pool deck. Otherwise explore below deck the wide range of activities that will be available during the day. Perhaps you prefer to find a quiet spot and catch up on your reading.

Wrapped around the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria is a gentle blend of colonial England and contemporary Western Canada. The thriving cafe scene conjures something European, while having the outdoors at your doorstep could only be pure British Columbia bliss. Wherever you venture, this famously temperate region reveals natural, historic, culinary and cultural delights. Proud of its British influence, Victoria delights in serving up an elegant High Tea, with all the trappings. At the same time, it urges you to get outside and enjoy the alfresco lifestyle. Walking trails lead right from the city center to Dallas Road, what locals call the scenic drive, along the Pacific Ocean and around the southern coast of the city. Vancouver Island is renowned as a world-class scuba-diving destination, where you can get in the water with seals and sea lions on a regular basis. But, for people who prefer to keep their feet dry, there are all kinds of boat excursions, from kayaking and glass-bottom-boat tours, to get you up close and personal with the amazing marine life. Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, and its grand Parliament Buildings, along with the gracious Fairmont Empress Hotel, dominate the Inner Harbour. Adjacent walkable inner-city streets foster cordiality. And, indeed, walking is a favorite local pastime -- Victoria is lauded as one of the most walkable Canadian cities. Myriad experiences are just a short walk away from the cruise terminal: a slice of Old England, an evocative meander through Chinatown, a forage along Antique Row (on Fort Street), the Royal B.C. Museum and IMAX Theatre, and fine hotels, tea houses, restaurants, pubs and shops -- both traditional and contemporary. So put on your walking shoes, and get moving.