Whales are guaranteed to be sighted on this Alaska's Whales & Wilderness cruise. If a whale is not sighted on your voyage, we will refund US$250 of your cruise price after your return home. This promise was made five years ago, and happily, our ship’s operator has never had to make good on this guarantee. We don't expect to on your cruise either.


Itinerary
(All Meals Included on Board Ship)

Day 1
Arrive in Juneau
Plan to arrive in Alaska's capital city today and transfer to our hotel, near the downtown Juneau waterfront.
o/n Goldbelt Hotel

Day 2
Sail From Juneau
Juneau, Alaska’s capital city, is in the northern heart of the United States’ largest National Forest and is the only state capital that is inaccessible by roadways. Even though it is located on the mainland, the surrounding imposing mountains and massive icefield create a community accessible only by air or water. And it takes only minutes to cruise along Gastineau Channel into the wilderness.

We’ll meet our fellow traveling companions today when we board buses for a quick (included) tour of the little island neighborhood of Douglas, once Alaska's largest city.  The tour concludes at our vessel when we board the M.V. Spirit of Discovery. 

The ship sails in the late afternoon and boarding details will be sent along with your final documentation. Once onboard, step out on deck to watch Gastineau Channel glide by as we enter Alaska’s true wilderness and look for wildlife in and along the channel.

Day 3
Icy Strait
Icy Strait is a northern waterway that separates Chichagof Island from Glacier Bay on the mainland, extending 65km northwest from Chatham Strait to Glacier Bay and Cross Sound. Its nutrient rich waters are a magnet to an abundant variety of marine mammals and seabirds, and its northern border is the untamed, natural wilderness of Glacier Bay. Saw-toothed mountaintops of the Fairweather Range loom thousands of metres into the northern sky.

The Captain will take the vessel into Glacier Bay Park Headquarters in Bartlett Cove where a Park Ranger will come aboard to provide a brief introduction to the Park. Then the crew will transfer us by inflatable excursion craft to the dock to spend time ashore.

Day 4
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Declared by many to be the most extraordinary and untouched place in the world, Glacier Bay was first established as a National Monument in 1925 and has since enjoyed the highly protected status of National Park, Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site. Glacier Bay National Park shows us the earth in transition. The glaciers here are receding rapidly, leaving in their wake scoured cliffs and deep fjords.

We’ll pick up a Glacier Bay Park Ranger and a local Tlingit Cultural Interpreter in Bartlett Cove. They will provide a comprehensive day of narrative sightseeing. Over 100km of pristine terrain and habitat have been revealed in Glacier Bay since its giant rivers of ice began dramatically retreating 200 years ago. We’ll approach Marble Islands and hurry outside to encounter a teeming multitude of seabirds such as Black-legged Kittiwakes, murrelets and puffins, all swooping and swarming above the writhing, barking haul-out of Steller’s sea lions. We may encounter mountain goats on Gloomy Knob or watch brown and black bears foraging along the shoreline. We will also be on the lookout for more harbour seals, sea otters and the humpback whales that call Glacier Bay their summer home. Finally, we’ll admire the 4500m peak of Mt. Fairweather, the steepest climb from sea level in the world. 

Day 5
Wilderness Cruising
For those lucky and hearty few who call this wilderness home, "traffic" takes on a whole new meaning! We will port call at one of a handful of small Alaskan villages to briefly get a taste of what it would be like to be part of a community that rests in the wild and off-the-beaten-path part of the world.  We'll also spend part of today in some of the richest whale waters in all of Southeast Alaska and take every opportunity to spot whales, letting our itinerary be dictated by their movements.  Enormous volumes of nutrient-rich water flow into Icy Strait and flood the coast of Chichagof Island at Point Adolphus.  This creates perfect conditions to attract humpback whales, seals, sea lions and porpoises.  We may even seen orcas if we are vigilant.  

Day 6
Sitka
This beautiful little city is thought by many to be the “Jewel of the Inside Passage.” Its setting alone is breathtaking. While big ships must plow through miles of open ocean and moor far from the tiny docks, our small ship will come to Sitka “through the back door,” threading through beautiful Peril Strait and navigating the delicate passage through Sergius Narrows where tides challenge all but the most expert mariner’s skill. We’ll enjoy the peaceful setting as we stroll amongst the totems at the beautiful Sitka National Historic Park, or choose other optional excursions to further explore the gem of Baranof Island.

Day 7
Frederick Sound and Wilderness Exploration
Frederick Sound teems with the humpback whale’s favourite food – and the whales take full advantage, feeding in the rich waters as they prepare for their long migration south. Once they leave Alaskan waters at summer’s end, these giant creatures will not eat again until they return next year.  Keep vigilant in the telltale explosion of vaporous exhalation of the whales.  Sometimes the speedy Dall's Porpoise will surround us, frolic about and playfully ride the wake of the ship's bow.

When not focused on marine mammals, the spectacular scenery surrounding this area will captivate our hearts.  The snowcapped Coastal Range Mountains rise from sea to sky in 3000-metre splendour.  The Stikine Icefield holds the eastern border cold and serene.

This afternoon we’ll discover the joys of “gunkholing,” a nautical term that means, among other things, “exploring at leisure.” Your Captain and Exploration Leader know these waters intimately – and each voyage is likely to be different, depending on what magic they find to share with us.

Day 8
Tracy Arm
Many travelers consider these narrow fjords the most spectacular spots in Alaska. Sheer cliffs rise thousands of feet from waterline to snowcapped peaks, their sides studded with stunning waterfalls. And there's the ice. We’ll come as close as safely possible to the face of a glacier and hope for a show of thundering ice, splashing seawater many metres high. Conditions permitting, our crew will welcome us into inflatable excursion craft to explore the waters and shorelines amid bouncing “bergie bits” calved from ancient glaciers.

Day 9
Arrive Juneau
Disembark in Juneau this morning, and we'll be transferred to the airport for our flights home.

Please Note: Although every effort will be made to adhere to the itinerary within the limits of weather, safety and time constraints, it is possible that some changes to the itinerary and certain planned shore excursions may occasionally occur.