34-Day Glacier Bay, Pacific Crossing, Hokkaido & Korea Cruise

Day 1 - Vancouver

Arrive: Fri 08 September 2028 / Depart: Fri 08 September 2028 at 17:00

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.

Day 1 - Transit the Seymour Narrows

Day 2 - Cruising the Queen Charlotte Sound

Day 3 - Ketchikan

Arrive: Sun 10 September 2028 at 08:00 / Depart: Sun 10 September 2028 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 4 - Klawock, Alaska

Arrive: Mon 11 September 2028 at 08:00 / Depart: Mon 11 September 2028 at 17:00

Day 5 - Sitka

Arrive: Tue 12 September 2028 at 08:00 / Depart: Tue 12 September 2028 at 17:00

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 6 - Glacier Bay

Arrive: Wed 13 September 2028 at 08:00 / Depart: Wed 13 September 2028 at 16:00

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 7 - At Sea

Day 8 - Kodiak, Alaska

Arrive: Fri 15 September 2028 at 07:00 / Depart: Fri 15 September 2028 at 16:00

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 9 - At Sea

Day 10 - Dutch Harbor, Alaska

Arrive: Sun 17 September 2028 at 10:00 / Depart: Sun 17 September 2028 at 18:00

Day 11 - At Sea

Day 12 - At Sea

Day 13 - At Sea

Day 14 - Cross International Dateline

Day 16 - At Sea

Day 17 - At Sea

Day 18 - Kushiro, Japan

Arrive: Mon 25 September 2028 at 07:00 / Depart: Mon 25 September 2028 at 16:00

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 19 - Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

Arrive: Tue 26 September 2028 at 10:00 / Depart: Tue 26 September 2028 at 19:00

Miyako Island is 300 km south of Okinawa island, and is famous for its beaches, said to be Japan’s most beautiful. Maehama beach is for swimmers, while Yoshino has great coral reefs for snorkelers and the white-sand Sunayama has dramatic rock formations. Cape Higashi-Hennazaki is a long, narrow cape with the picturesque lighthouse at the end. The city’s Botanical Garden boasts over 1600 tropical varieties. Nakasone Tuyumya was an important leader of Miyako and the Okinawan people in the 16th century. Near the port in Hirara is memorial to him and his descendants, a designated national cultural asset. At the island’s north end, the graceful Ikema Ohashi bridge leads to the small Ikema Island.

Day 20 - Ishinomaki, Japan

Arrive: Wed 27 September 2028 at 08:00 / Depart: Wed 27 September 2028 at 18:00

Ishinomaki is a city on Japan’s Honshu mainland. Housed in a striking spaceship-shaped building, the Mangattan Museum is dedicated to the work of manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. Along the coast, San Juan Bautista is a replica of a 17th-century Japanese galleon. Offshore, Kinkasan Island is home to wild deer and the 8th-century Koganeyama-jinja Shrine. Trails lead to the island’s summit for panoramic city views.

Day 21 - Hitachinaka, Japan

Arrive: Thu 28 September 2028 at 07:00 / Depart: Thu 28 September 2028 at 17:00

Day 22 - Tokyo

Arrive: Fri 29 September 2028 at 08:00 / Depart: Fri 29 September 2028 at 19:00

Day 23 - At Sea

Day 24 - Miyakojima, Okinawa, Japan

Arrive: Sun 01 October 2028 at 07:00 / Depart: Sun 01 October 2028 at 17:00

Miyako Island is 300 km south of Okinawa island, and is famous for its beaches, said to be Japan’s most beautiful. Maehama beach is for swimmers, while Yoshino has great coral reefs for snorkelers and the white-sand Sunayama has dramatic rock formations. Cape Higashi-Hennazaki is a long, narrow cape with the picturesque lighthouse at the end. The city’s Botanical Garden boasts over 1600 tropical varieties. Nakasone Tuyumya was an important leader of Miyako and the Okinawan people in the 16th century. Near the port in Hirara is memorial to him and his descendants, a designated national cultural asset. At the island’s north end, the graceful Ikema Ohashi bridge leads to the small Ikema Island.

Day 25 - Muroran, Japan

Arrive: Mon 02 October 2028 at 08:00 / Depart: Mon 02 October 2028 at 20:00

Day 26 - Hakodate

Arrive: Tue 03 October 2028 at 07:30 / Depart: Tue 03 October 2028 at 18:30

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 27 - Otaru, Japan

Arrive: Wed 04 October 2028

This port on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido thrived on coal exports and the herring fishery through the end of the 19th and the early 20th centuries, evidenced by the Western influenced “herring mansions” that line its central canal. The 1897 Nishin Goten is an early example, while the Aoyama Villa from 1924 is a later version. The 1912 Bank of Japan Museum is also influenced by Western taste, but nods to tradition with keystones representing owls, an ancient Ainu deity. Further afield, explore the Yoichi Nikka Whisky Distillery, the spas at the Jyozankei Hot Springs, or the Hokkaido coast as seen from the Cape Kanui Lighthouse. Any visit to Sapporo should include the mile-long Odoro Park.

Day 28 - Otaru, Japan

Depart: Thu 05 October 2028 at 22:00

This port on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido thrived on coal exports and the herring fishery through the end of the 19th and the early 20th centuries, evidenced by the Western influenced “herring mansions” that line its central canal. The 1897 Nishin Goten is an early example, while the Aoyama Villa from 1924 is a later version. The 1912 Bank of Japan Museum is also influenced by Western taste, but nods to tradition with keystones representing owls, an ancient Ainu deity. Further afield, explore the Yoichi Nikka Whisky Distillery, the spas at the Jyozankei Hot Springs, or the Hokkaido coast as seen from the Cape Kanui Lighthouse. Any visit to Sapporo should include the mile-long Odoro Park.

Day 29 - At Sea

Day 30 - At Sea

Day 31 - Sokcho, South Korea

Arrive: Sun 08 October 2028 at 07:00 / Depart: Sun 08 October 2028 at 16:00

Day 32 - Busan, South Korea

Arrive: Mon 09 October 2028 at 09:00 / Depart: Mon 09 October 2028 at 19:00

Busan is the second largest city in South Korea, and the country's seaside connection to Japan and the West. Lovely urban scenery, the Pusan International Film Festival, and near-by hot springs has made Busan a popular leisure destination. Busan has the sophistication of a major city, as well as famous beaches that lure visitors from all over the world. The city is a microcosm of South Korea, a nation whose economic success often obscures, to Westerners, one of Asia's most sophisticated and venerable cultures.

Day 33 - Jeju

Arrive: Tue 10 October 2028 at 09:00 / Depart: Tue 10 October 2028 at 19:00

Jeju (Cheju) Island is a volcanic island, dominated by Halla-san (Halla Mountain), a volcano 6,398 feet high and the tallest mountain in South Korea. The island was created entirely from volcanic eruptions approximately 2 million years ago. Because of the relative isolation of the island, the people of Jeju have developed a culture and language that are distinct from those of mainland Korea. The most distinct cultural artifact is the ubiquitous dol hareubang ("stone grandfather") carved from a block of lava. Jeju translates to “Island of the Gods” and lives up to its name with beautiful beaches, waterfalls and volcanic rock formations.

Day 34 - At Sea

Day 35 - At Sea

Day 36 - Tokyo

Arrive: Fri 13 October 2028 at 08:00 / Depart: Fri 13 October 2028