Alaska Cruise on Noordam from Seattle (USA)

Seattle (USA)

Seattle is a major coastal seaport city and the seat of King County, in the U.S. state of Washington. A major gateway for trade with Asia, Seattle is the 8th largest port in the United States and 9th largest in North America in terms of container handling. Seattle has a noteworthy musical history. From 1918 to 1951, there were nearly two dozen jazz nightclubs along Jackson Street from the current Chinatown/International District to the Central District. The jazz scene developed the early careers of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson and others. Seattle is also the birthplace of rock legend Jimi Hendrix and the rock music style. Places to visit: the Henry Art Gallery , the first public art museum in Washington. The Seattle Art Museum , the Frye Art Museum is a free museum on First Hill. Regional history collections are at the Loghouse Museum in Alki, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, the Museum of History and Industry and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. Industry collections are at the Center for Wooden Boats and the adjacent Northwest Seaport, the Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum, and the Museum of Flight. Regional ethnic collections include the Nordic Heritage Museum, the Wing Luke Asian Museum and the Northwest African American Museum. Seattle has artist-run galleries, including 10-year veteran Soil Art Gallery,and the newer Crawl Space Gallery.Other significant events include numerous art and entretainment, music, religious and ethnic festivals. Since the middle 1990s, Seattle has experienced significant growth in the cruise industry, especially as a departure point for Alaska cruises.

Kodiak, Alaska

Kodiak is one of 7 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Alaska, , . Twenty thousand years ago most of the 5,000 square mile Kodiak Archipelago was covered by glaciers that scored and carved the landscape. Jagged peaks, fjord-like bays, and wide U-shaped valleys were left by the glacial retreat. Nature’s handiwork created a place of spectacular scenic beauty and a wilderness ideally suited for abundant land and marine life. Step away from civilization and rediscover nature in its purest, unruined form. While the Kodiak brown bear is the island’s most famous resident, there are a multitude of creatures to spot on Kodiak Island. The playful red fox is plentiful throughout the archipelago as are Sitka black-tailed deer. If you study the mountainside carefully, you might see a majestic white mountain goat. Whale watching is equal to anywhere in the world. Downtown Kodiak is a wonderful place to explore the island’s rich cultural history, several museums offer you a glimpse into Kodiak’s past. A unique lifestyle in an island Paradise.

Anchorage (Alaska)

Anchorage is a cosmopolitan port city and the largest city in Alaska. It makes up more than 40% of the state's total population with over 300.000. It stays light all night in the Land of the Midnight Sun. The city of Anchorage is on a strip of coastal lowland and extends up the lower alpine slopes of the Chugach Mountains. Take a walk around Anchorage's colorful Town Square where in summer you'll see flowers of all shapes and sizes.. It has been named the most tax friendly city in the United States. A diverse wildlife population exists within urban Anchorage and the surrounding area. Approximately 250 black bears and 60 grizzly bears live in the area. Bears are regularly sighted within the city. Moose are a common sight. You can visit the Alaska Native Heritage Center, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Anchorage Museum of History and Art and the Anchorage Zoo.

Valdez (Alaska)

Valdez is a city on Prince William Sound in the US state of Alaska. At the end of the 19th century, a port was developed in Valdez for gold prospectors who were pushing their way to Alaska and using the Valdez Trail. In 1964, Valdez was almost completely destroyed by the Good Friday earthquake and a tsunami that immediately followed. After the disaster, the city was quickly rebuilt. The city is important as the most important ice-free port in Alaska and the end point of the Trans-Alaska pipeline that runs across the entire state.

Hubbard Glacier (Alaska)

Hubbard Glacier is a glacier located in eastern Alaska and part of Canada and it is North America’s largest tidewater glacier. The ice you see at the terminal face is ap­proximately 450 years old and is over 2000 feet thick at some locations. The glacier was named in 1890 for Gardiner Hubbard, the first president of the National Geographic Society. The Hubbard Glacier is currently ad­vancing while most glaciers are retreating worldwide. The Hubbard Glacier will and does react in an opposite fashion to most glaciers in a warming climate. This is not in contradiction with current global tempera­ture increases.

Juneau (Alaska)

Juneau is Alaska´s capital, however you can´t get there by road, only by air or by sea. Juneau is a main port for the Alaska Marine Highway, Alaska´s ferry system. Downtown Juneau is compact and highly walkable, The most popular activities in Juneau for visitors are flight seeing, charter fishing, visiting the Mendendhall Glacier, hiking and shopping. Look for local shop with a sign on the window that says "This store is owned by an Alaskan family", that sell awesome pins, beads, carving arts, all done by local artists or customizable gifts for travelers who don´t want a boring, touristy-looking T-shirt. Highlights in Juneau include Mount Roberts Tramway, the Red Dog Saloon, the Alaska State Museum, the Gastineau Salmon Hatchery, the Governor´s Mansion, the Alaska Gastineau Mill, and the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.

Ketchican (Alaska)

Ketchikan is a scenic town of approximately 14,000 people. Ketchikan´s economy is based upon tourism and fishing, and the city is known as the "Salmon Capital of the World". A stay in Ketchikan itself can be rewarding, however, as the city is the gateway to Misty Fjords National Monument, an area so beautiful, it is known as "The Yosemite of the North." With steep valleys formed by glaciers and lava flows left by volcanic activity, Misty Fjords offers gorgeous views of natural formations, all reflected in the calm waters of Pacific inlets. The Ketchikan Visitors Bureau, located near the cruise ship berth 2, publishes a comprehensive area guide that provides maps, contact information for tour operators and local attractions, sample itineraries and community information. Explore the surrounding area: set on the hillsides above the waterfront on a heavily forested, mostly wilderness island, the town of Ketchikan is worth visiting on its own merits.

Prince Rupert

Alaska Inside Passage

The Inside Passage is a coastal route for oceangoing vessels along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific coast of North America. The Alaskan portion of the Inside Passage extends 500 miles (800 km) from north to south and 100 miles (160 km) from east to west. The area encompasses 1,000 islands, 15,000 miles (24,000 km) of shoreline and thousands of coves and bays. Cruising through the Inside Passage is really what has made Alaska cruising so popular. There are glaciers the size of Rhode Island. Misty rain forests and ghostly blue fjords.  And spirited communities that celebrate their varied heritage. Be sure to take in every view as you sail through one of the most beautiful parts of Alaska. Cruises to Alaska´s Inside Passage stop in four major destinations – Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, and Ketchikan – each with its own unique style and identity. Other stops on your Alaskan itinerary may include Anchorage, Icy Strait, Prince Rupert, Denali National Park, Haines, Glacier Bay, and Vancouver, British Columbia (or Victoria, British Columbia), Canada.

NANAIMO, BRITISH COLUMBIA

Seattle (USA)

Seattle is a major coastal seaport city and the seat of King County, in the U.S. state of Washington. A major gateway for trade with Asia, Seattle is the 8th largest port in the United States and 9th largest in North America in terms of container handling. Seattle has a noteworthy musical history. From 1918 to 1951, there were nearly two dozen jazz nightclubs along Jackson Street from the current Chinatown/International District to the Central District. The jazz scene developed the early careers of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Ernestine Anderson and others. Seattle is also the birthplace of rock legend Jimi Hendrix and the rock music style. Places to visit: the Henry Art Gallery , the first public art museum in Washington. The Seattle Art Museum , the Frye Art Museum is a free museum on First Hill. Regional history collections are at the Loghouse Museum in Alki, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, the Museum of History and Industry and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. Industry collections are at the Center for Wooden Boats and the adjacent Northwest Seaport, the Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum, and the Museum of Flight. Regional ethnic collections include the Nordic Heritage Museum, the Wing Luke Asian Museum and the Northwest African American Museum. Seattle has artist-run galleries, including 10-year veteran Soil Art Gallery,and the newer Crawl Space Gallery.Other significant events include numerous art and entretainment, music, religious and ethnic festivals. Since the middle 1990s, Seattle has experienced significant growth in the cruise industry, especially as a departure point for Alaska cruises.