The ports of Alaska inspire visions of remote wilderness outposts, legendary gold-rush towns and Native Alaskan villages, all set amid lush forests and frigid, glacier-flanked waters. And while you’ll certainly find these things in and around Sitka, you’ll witness a unique slice of Alaskan history not found anywhere else. 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 under the name New Archangel.

Sailing into Sitka today, you’ll still see vestiges of Russia’s influence, including the unmistakable onion dome of St. Michael’s Cathedral and the Russian Bishop’s House, both National Historic Landmarks. Stop by the visitor center of the Sitka National Historical Park to peruse its interesting collections of Russian and Native Alaskan artifacts, and then join a ranger-led tour of the battlefield where Russia defeated the native Tlingit people.

Sitka also boasts an abundance of epic natural scenery and wildlife. Take a walk up Castle Hill to enjoy an ideal vantage point across the water to the dormant volcano Mount Edgecumbe, and trips to the nearby Fortress of the Bear and the Alaska Raptor Center offer up-close encounters with some of Alaska’s most captivating creatures.

A paradise for fishing enthusiasts, Valdez offers every kind of salmon, huge halibut and ample opportunity to reel them in. Rivers and streams spill into the Sound here and are ideal for kayaking.

There is a spot in College Fjord where you can see eight glaciers at once. The fjord pokes into the Chugach Mountains at the north end of Prince William Sound and its the only place in Alaska that surrounds you on three sides with glaciers, five of which terminate at the water. The Harriman Expedition that explored College Fjord in 1899 was funded by Ivy League colleges, and all of the glaciers were named for the various schools in their honor. As you travel into the Fjord, the glaciers on the left are named for womens colleges and those on the right are named for mens colleges. Harvard Glacier is the biggest – its face is a mile and a half across.

The volcanic Aleutian Islands stretch between the United States and Russia in the Bering Sea. The archipelago’s largest community goes by two names—Unalaska and Dutch Harbor—though you may hear really old-time Aleut speakers say “Ounalashka” too. Want to sound like one of the fishing port’s 4,300-odd residents? Just stick with “Dutch.” In the easternmost arc—the Fox Island subgroup—this flourishing town depends more on the fish-processing industry than on tourism. In fact, Dutch Harbor netted 762 million pounds in 2014, maintaining its “most seafood landed” status for the 18th consecutive year. But visitors may be more familiar with its fame from Deadliest Catch, a TV series about the brutal struggle to harvest Alaskan king crabs—a task often called the world’s most dangerous job. While its stark natural beauty is the main draw, Dutch woos tourists with the oldest Russian-Orthodox cruciform church in North America (note the darkened icons, damaged while locals were exiled to WWII internment camps). Learn more about the Aleutians’ war—Japanese forces invaded the area, making it the only occupied American soil during the conflict—at the National Historic Area.

For more than 8,000 years the Inupiaq Eskimos have lived in this location. Learn about their fascinating culture and traditions from tribal elders and retrace the city’s boomtown Gold-Rush history.

Kodiak is all about bears. And what bears! This unique subspecies named for the Kodiak Archipelago where they are found evolved in isolation for around 12,000 years and can reach heights of 3 meters, or 10 feet, when standing on their hind legs. One of the world’s largest carnivores, the bears have a diet that goes far beyond meat (they can sleep for up to eight months, then wake up ravenous to feast predominantly on grass, plants, berries and fish). About 3,500 live on this tiny island, meaning you have a great chance of seeing one, if not many, from May through October!

Shrubs and bushes cover the rolling hills here, giving Kodiak its Emerald Isle nickname. It was once a prime native hunting ground for the Alutiit, but their population plummeted after Russian traders and fur trappers settled the area in the late 1700s. Bought by the United States in 1867, Kodiak grew into a commercial fishing center. Today both the island and the hardworking town that shares its name attract anglers, hunters, adventure travelers and nature photographers. Top highlights include the Baranov Museum, the Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church and the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge.

From ice-blue glaciers to beluga whales and the famous bore tide, a single cruise to Anchorage, Alaska will considerably shorten any nature-lover’s bucket list. Nestled between mountains and the Cook Inlet terminus, near many national and state parks, this hospitable haven is one of the best places to see Alaska wildlife. A city moose roaming the streets (there are about 1,500) is a regular sight and views of whales, puffins, otters, and Dall porpoises going about their days is just a short excursion away. Cruises to Anchorage are a must for those that want some of the most incredible bear viewing in the country.

Although the wildlife is reason alone to cruise to Anchorage Alaska, the culture of the city itself is worth exploring. Almost half of the state’s residents live in Anchorage, a population that largely comprises military members, Alaska Natives, adventurous transplants from the “lower 48,” and oil industry workers. Coffee and espresso huts dot every corner and fresh halibut, smoked salmon and reindeer dogs are among the local eats.

Anchorage is a year-round town. On some clear, dark nights during winter, the Northern Lights dance above. In spring, thousands of flowers planted by the city bloom to celebrate the season’s anticipated arrival. Summer brings the Midnight Sun where days can stretch to 19 hours. Take an Alaska cruise to Anchorage to discover national parks, scenic glaciers, unique landscapes and wildlife.

Outdoor activities abound in Anchorage. Adventurous locals (there are a lot of them in Alaska) enjoy skijoring, a sport where a person is pulled on skis by dogs or sometimes horses. The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and Flattop Mountain Trail inside Chugach State Park offer hiking, biking, and wildlife sighting opportunities. Book an Anchorage cruise shore excursion and explore top destinations.

From ice-blue glaciers to beluga whales and the famous bore tide, a single cruise to Anchorage, Alaska will considerably shorten any nature-lover’s bucket list. Nestled between mountains and the Cook Inlet terminus, near many national and state parks, this hospitable haven is one of the best places to see Alaska wildlife. A city moose roaming the streets (there are about 1,500) is a regular sight and views of whales, puffins, otters, and Dall porpoises going about their days is just a short excursion away. Cruises to Anchorage are a must for those that want some of the most incredible bear viewing in the country.

Although the wildlife is reason alone to cruise to Anchorage Alaska, the culture of the city itself is worth exploring. Almost half of the state’s residents live in Anchorage, a population that largely comprises military members, Alaska Natives, adventurous transplants from the “lower 48,” and oil industry workers. Coffee and espresso huts dot every corner and fresh halibut, smoked salmon and reindeer dogs are among the local eats.

Anchorage is a year-round town. On some clear, dark nights during winter, the Northern Lights dance above. In spring, thousands of flowers planted by the city bloom to celebrate the season’s anticipated arrival. Summer brings the Midnight Sun where days can stretch to 19 hours. Take an Alaska cruise to Anchorage to discover national parks, scenic glaciers, unique landscapes and wildlife.

Outdoor activities abound in Anchorage. Adventurous locals (there are a lot of them in Alaska) enjoy skijoring, a sport where a person is pulled on skis by dogs or sometimes horses. The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail and Flattop Mountain Trail inside Chugach State Park offer hiking, biking, and wildlife sighting opportunities. Book an Anchorage cruise shore excursion and explore top destinations.

Sailors used to worry about falling off the edge of the world. Surely somewhere out there, it all simply stopped, and the only thing left to do would be to fall. But what if you discover that you’ve already fallen, and now you’re trying to get back up? That’s what sailing towards Hubbard Glacier feels like.

The glacier is up to 65 meters (213 feet) wide at its face and 50 meters (164 feet) tall, but that’s only the tiniest piece of the ice: The main channel of this frozen river begins 122 kilometers (76 miles) back, pouring down from around the 3,400-meter (11,100-foot) mark off the shoulder of Mt. Walsh.

Hubbard is the longest tidewater glacier (meaning it ends at the ocean) in North America. But unlike nearly every other tidewater glacier on the continent, Hubbard is advancing, not retreating; it’s forever pushing a little further into the bay. Chunks of ice that break off become floaties for seals, who like the bergs because orca sonar doesn’t work well among them.

The deep blue of the face of the glacier on a sunny day—the color made by compression of ice crystals that can be a foot or more long—is the blue of the furthest stars. The glacier is on the move.

There’s a reason Haines is known as the adventure capital of Alaska. Although many cities in Alaska feel different than those in “the lower 48,” Haines is more unusual than most with its unique rustic feel. It’s almost as if time has stopped and chain stores, and even stoplights, haven’t infiltrated this town of 1,300 that once topped Outside magazine’s list of “20 Best Places to Live and Play.” In the late 1890s, when Jack Dalton turned an Indian trail into a tollway ($10 for four horses with an unloaded sled or wagon), the town emerged as a stop for prospectors headed to the Yukon for the Klondike Gold Rush. Decades later it became a logging town, before turning to tourism beginning in the 1970s. These days, Haines is known as a haven for artists and nature lovers and is visited by far fewer cruise ships than other Alaskan coastal cities. Haines is a hotspot for rafting and hiking, salmon-, halibut- and trout-fishing in the Chilkat River or kayaking on Chilkoot Lake—as well as heli-skiing in the winter. During the late fall and early winter, thousands of bald eagles migrate through this area to feed on the salmon, an event celebrated by the Alaska Bald Eagle Festival in November. The memory of prospector days lingers on with opportunities to pan for gold, while the Indian Arts gallery, with its totem pole carving studio, offers a glimpse of an even older Haines.

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.

This narrow, 26-mile-long fjord is another of Alaska’s most dramatic glacier settings. The lush rain forest recedes to reveal a stunning canyon of bare rock. The panorama of 7,000-foot mountain peaks and nearly vertical rock cliffs is astounding. Waterfalls appear at every turn. Icebergs make their way to the sea in all sorts of wondrous shapes. And tucked away at the end of this remarkable waterway are two very active reminders of the Ice Age – the twin Sawyer Glaciers, calving icebergs into the jade-colored inland sea. Kittiwakes, mountain goats and seals are a common sight. Whales and bears may even make an appearance in this magical place.

Just outside of Wrangell, explore Tlingit culture, through authentic stories, intricately carved totem poles and dance, at the Chief Shakes Tribal House—built mainly by hand and largely by women.

Prince Rupert is a port city on British Columbia’s northwest coast. It’s a gateway to wilderness areas like the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary bear habitat. Shops and cafes dot the waterfront Cow Bay area. The Museum of Northern B.C. showcases the region’s natural and cultural heritage.

Seattle, disembark and be transferred to the airport for your overnight flight back to the UK.

Arrive UK.