Vancouver

Your cruise begins in Vancouver and so why don't you spend a day or two before embarkation to explore this city more fully (Frontier Canada can recommend hotels). Explore the galleries, boutiques, public markets, and restaurants of every flavour. Visit vibrant Chinatown and Stanley Park, with its 1,000 acres of forests, gardens, lakes and lawns in the heart of the city. Board the ms Zaandam at 5.00pm.

7 nights onboard the ms Zaandam.

Vancouver to Inside Passage

The fabled Inside Passage is one of the most scenic sea-lanes in the world, and one of the few where deep-draft vessels can sail close to steep mountain walls and afford cruisers the most unbelieveable views. The scenery is stunning, with forests in a myriad shades of green, tumbling glaciers, and quaint, historic towns loaded with culture and adventure. With most of Southeast Alaska accessible only by boat or plane, the Inside Passage is a lifeline to the outside world.

Ketchikan

Today arrive in Ketchikan at 7am and spend most of the day exploring before the ship sets off again at 3pm.  Ketchikan clings to the shores of the Tongass Narrows, with many shops and houses built right out over the water. The stairways are weathered and the vibe is cheerful in the town that calls itself the Salmon Capital of the World. The main attractions are Creek Street, the Tongass Historical Museum, Totem Bight State Park and Saxman Village, but recommended is a flightseeing trip to Misty Fjords National Monument. These deepwater fjords were gouged out by retreating glaciers, leaving granite cliffs towering thousands of feet above the sea and countless waterfalls plunging into placid waters.  Another floatplane adventure is the Alaska Bear Adventure; deep in the forest, black bears gather to feed on of pink, coho and chum salmon.

Juneau

No roads lead to Juneau, which gives the Alaskan capital an air of mystery. You need to come by boat or plane, but when you arrive, the place will delight you with its bounty of water, forests, and mountains. You will arrive at 9am and have until 10.30pm to discover the variety that Juneau has to offer.  The massive Mendenhall Glacier and the immense Juneau Icefields are at its back door and the vast Tongass National Forest stretches away to the northeast. You can shop downtown or get out and kayak, dogsled, raft, hike, whale watch, flightsee or fish. The adventures are as bountiful as the daylight.  Tour highlights include: Photo Safari by Land & Sea, Dog Sled & Glacier Adventure by Helicopter, and a Whale Watching Quest and trip to Mendenhall Glacier.

Skagway

The ship will weigh anchor in Skagway for 14 hours, allowing plenty of time to get to know this Gold Rush era town. Ride the antique White Pass & Yukon narrow-gauge railway, step into the Red Onion Saloon or peruse the restored buildings and wooden boardwalks of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park.  Tours allow you to discover the White Pass Summit Scenic Railroad, built through beautiful, but rugged terrain, take a trip downtown then settle in for salmon cooked over an open fire, and visit Jewell Gardens where you will have the opportunity to harvest items then use them to prepare a meal.

Glacier Bay

A place was never so aptly named, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Bay protects a unique ecosystem of plants and animals living in concert with an ever-changing glacial landscape.

When a gigantic chunk of ice splits off a glacier and thunders into the sea the impact shoots water hundreds of feet into the air.  This happens again and again as Glacier Bay has more actively calving tidewater glaciers than anywhere else in the world. Nature at its most spectacular.

Gulf of Alaska

Today the ship heads out to sea in the Gulf of Alaska. 

Seward

Arrive in Seward at 6.00am.  Located along the southern coast of the Kenai Peninsula, the city is major fishing port and the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park with its steep, glacier-carved valleys and abundant wildlife. The park is also home to the Harding Ice Field, the largest within U.S. borders. Look out for bald eagles, thousands of seabirds and share the waters with Stellar sea lions, harbor seals, Dall's porpoises, sea otters and whales.  Take a hike to Exit Glacier, one of Alaska's few walk-in glaciers or see some of Alaska's marine wildlife close up at the SeaLife Center.  Say farewell to the ship and its crew and continue your journey from Seward.