Pacific Passage: Golden Week To Glacier Bay Cruise

Day 1 - Tokyo

Arrive: Sun 27 April 2025 / Depart: Sun 27 April 2025 at 17:00

Day 2 - At Sea

Day 3 - Miyako,Iwate, Japan

Arrive: Tue 29 April 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Tue 29 April 2025 at 18:00

Day 4 - Hakodate

Arrive: Wed 30 April 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Wed 30 April 2025 at 17:00

This important port on Japan’s northern Hokkaido Island was the first to be opened to European and American trade. The result of this is a trove of Western-style buildings in the suburb of Motomachi that gives the impression of a movie set. The bell of the distinctive Haristo Greek Orthodox church is designated one of Japan’s official treasured “100 soundscapes.” Hokkaido is famous for its hot springs, much beloved by the Japanese. Yunokawa Hot Spring enjoys a commanding view of the sea, and its botanical garden is home to the Japanese macaques called “snow monkeys” because of their habit of soaking in the hot springs during the northern winter. Goryokaku is a 150-year old star fortress that holds the Magistrate’s Office, an excellent example of traditional Japanese architecture. Get a panoramic view from the observation platform atop the Goryokaku Tower.

Day 5 - Kushiro, Japan

Arrive: Thu 01 May 2025 at 09:00 / Depart: Thu 01 May 2025 at 18:00

Blessed by a protective range of mountains and a relatively warm ocean current, Kushiro gets less than a third of the winter snow of its Hokkaido neighbor Sapporo, and twice as much sunshine as the nearby Kuril Islands. Thus it is an important reliably ice-free port during the winter. Like all of Japan, it is riddled with semi-active geothermal features and occasionally rattled by tremors. Scenic Lake Akan is ringed by hot springs. It also has an Ainu Koten museum with a replica village and folklore performances of the indigenous Hokkaido people. The Japanese Crane Reserve is a good place to see breeding populations of these large and graceful birds, so respected by the Japanese. The city encompasses Japan’s largest wetland, and the Kushiro City Marsh Observatory has a boardwalk to see it, as well as the Fureai Horse Park which offers equestrian tours into the forest.

Day 6 - At Sea

Day 7 - Cross International Dateline

Day 8 - At Sea

Day 9 - At Sea

Day 10 - At Sea

Day 11 - Dutch Harbor, Alaska

Arrive: Wed 07 May 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Wed 07 May 2025 at 16:00

Day 12 - At Sea

Day 13 - Kodiak, Alaska

Arrive: Fri 09 May 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Fri 09 May 2025 at 18:00

The largest of the Aleutian Islands, Kodiak is also Alaska’s largest island the second largest in the United States. Although occupied by native people for some 7,000 years, it languished in relative obscurity until the Second World War, when it housed as many as 25,000 troops. Fort Abercrombie, once the major center of North Pacific operations, today is a State Historic Park and a good place to learn the history. At the other end of the road system is the United States Coast Guard’s largest base, with a fleet of orange and white watercraft and aircraft that serves the Alaskan fishing fleet and other shipping and maritime activities in the Pacific area. Kodiak harbor is seasonally home to a fleet of some 650 fishing vessels, including huge trawlers, long-line and crab boats. Fishing is also a popular draw for visitors, but they also are attracted by opportunities to view and photograph local birds and wildlife, including the island’s massive brown bears, the males of which weigh as much as 1,500 pounds and stand ten feet tall. In the town, the fur warehouse originally built by the Russian American Company in 1808 is now the Baranov Museum, the oldest standing building in Alaska. VIEW CRUISES

Day 14 - At Sea

Day 15 - Glacier Bay

Arrive: Sun 11 May 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Sun 11 May 2025 at 18:00

Designated as an International World Heritage Site in 1992, Glacier Bay is also a National Monument, a National Park and a designated Biosphere Reserve. Over millennia, Glacier Bay has experienced many major advances of its glaciers. When first surveyed in 1794 by a team under the command of British captain George Vancouver on HMS Discovery, its vast glaciers extended well beyond present-day margins of the bay. Temperate, coniferous rainforest dominates its southern shores. Black and brown bears, wolves, moose, eagles and ravens all go about their daily routines, while harbor seals and whales frolic within the bay waters. Glacier Bay has two major arms, East and West, and over fifty named glaciers, some of which push forward at three to six feet per day. Combined with Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Canada’s Kluane National Park and Alsek-Tatshenshini Park, Glacier Bay encompasses the largest protected wilderness area on earth. This is a truly a place of awe-inspiring beauty and an icon of wild Alaska. VIEW CRUISES Skip Footer Content About Us

Day 16 - Sitka

Arrive: Mon 12 May 2025 at 07:00 / Depart: Mon 12 May 2025 at 15:00

A stroll through the streets and National Historic Park of Sitka is a glimpse into its unique and colorful past. A blend of Tlingit and Russian cultures defines this first capital of Alaska. Although fish canning and gold mining were the initial catalysts for growth in Sitka, the construction of an air base during World War II truly paved the way for Sitka to come into its own. One of Sitka's most intriguing structures is the Cathedral of Saint Michael, built in 1848 to honor a Russian Orthodox bishop. Sitka’s history begins thousands of years ago with the Tlingit people and their use of the land for sustenance and spirituality. Old Sitka, located just north of the present-day settlement, was founded by Russian-American Company trader Alexander Baranov in 1799. Originally named Novo-Arkhangelsk (New Archangel) under Russian rule, its name was changed to Sitka after Alaska was purchased by the United States in 1867. Sitka is a Tlingit word meaning 'by the sea.’

Day 17 - Transit Decision Passage

Day 17 - At Sea

Day 17 - Ketchikan

Arrive: Tue 13 May 2025 at 09:00 / Depart: Tue 13 May 2025 at 17:00

Ketchikan is a picturesque coastal town with a colorful frontier history, standing at the southern entrance to Alaska's famed Inside Passage. It began as a salmon cannery in 1885, built by company employee Mike Martin at the mouth of Ketchikan Creek. Once dubbed the 'Canned Salmon Capital of the World,’ today government, commercial fishing, and tourism are its main industries. The renowned Creek Street, perched on stilts along the mouth of the creek, would bring lasting infamy to the area for the red-light district that burgeoned there during the Gold Rush. The town’s site first served as a camp for Tlingit people, and for thousands of years this has been their home. Their rich culture is being preserved to this day. A visit to Ketchikan is not complete without visiting one or all of Native American sites such as Totem Bight State Park, Potlatch Park, Saxman Native Village and the Totem Heritage Center. Together, these locations comprise the world's largest collection of standing Native American totem poles. VIEW CRUISES

Day 18 - Inside Passage

Day 18 - Transit the Seymour Narrows

Day 19 - Nanaimo

Arrive: Thu 15 May 2025 at 08:00 / Depart: Thu 15 May 2025 at 18:00

Day 20 - Vancouver, Canada

Arrive: Fri 16 May 2025 at 07:00 / Depart: Fri 16 May 2025

The humble beginnings of the City of Vancouver, in the settlement of Gastown on Burrard Inlet, rose out of the old growth forests and the sawdust of the old Hastings Mill. Its location between the Pacific Ocean and the snow-capped coastal mountains creates one of the most idyllic settings of any city in the world. As a world-class city it has the best of both worlds, intermingling urban sophistication with a sense of wilderness and outdoor adventure. Whether you are exploring Vancouver's diverse downtown core, strolling through the giant trees of Stanley Park or taking in the 20 miles (30 km) of uninterrupted waterfront trails along the seawall, you are bound to fall in love with Canada's third largest metropolitan center, which is consistently ranked as one of most livable cities on earth. In 1886, the Canadian Pacific Railway reached Vancouver, completing Canada’s 'National Dream' of a connection between east and west, and opening up new trade routes between Asia and Europe. The city was named for British captain and explorer George Vancouver.