Seabourn Encore is as strikingly beautiful and as excitingly innovative as any Seabourn has ever debuted. She crowns a fleet of luxury cruise ships that is already the newest, most modern and most acclaimed in the ultra-luxury segment. Modeled on the award-winning trio of ships introduced with Seabourn Odyssey, Seabourn Encore represents another welcome stage in the evolution of small ship cruising, which Seabourn pioneered and has consistently expanded and enriched for all of the small ship cruises.
Day 1 Juneau
Juneau is one of America's most beautiful state capitals, with the looming summits of Mt. Juneau and Mt. Roberts providing a gorgeous backdrop. Once part of Alaska's Gold Rush, the city boasts natural and manmade attractions. Downtown is filled with many vibrant buildings, including must-see St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, which houses artwork and artifacts dating back to the 18th century. From the bright mural in Marine Park to the carvings in House of Wickersham, downtown is filled with Alaska's own unique brand of culture and architecture. Often hailed as Juneau's most impressive sight, nearby Mendenhall Glacier is approximately 12 miles long and 1.5 miles wide. See the glacier on a float trip or a "flightseeing" adventure, or hike up one of its trails for a closer inspection. For a bird's-eye view, the Mt. Roberts Tramway offers a short, six-minute trek to the top of Mt. Roberts, 1800 feet above the city. If wildlife is your passion, scenic Admiralty Island has the world's highest concentration of brown bears.
Day 2 Glacier Bay
Spread across an impressive 3.2 million acres in southeast Alaska, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve offers an inspirational glimpse of what Mother Nature does best. The head of Glacier Bay is Tarr Inlet, where scientists have found exposed rock believed to be more than 200 million years old. The Tarr Inlet is home to Grand Pacific Glacier, an active body of ice slowly making way toward Margerie Glacier, which it last touched in 1912. Johns Hopkins Inlet is home to no less than nine glaciers. Framed by rocky slopes stretching skyward more than 6,000 feet, these wondrous bodies are eclipsed only by mighty Mount Fairweather, which at more than 15,300 feet is the highest point in southeast Alaska. In northeast Glacier Bay, the snow-covered Takhinsha Mountains feed active Muir Glacier. The brilliant blue glow of a calving glacier and the thunderous roar of ice crashing into the water below are sights and sounds to remember for the rest of your life. With such diverse landscape, the park provides a variety of habitats for animals.
Day 2 Chatham Strait
Chatham Strait is a popular feeding ground for humpback whales.
Day 3 Decision Passage
Day 3 Wrangell
Wrangell, a hidden jewel in the heart of the Tongass National Forest, is the third oldest community in Alaska and the only community to be ruled by 4 nations: the indigenous Tlingit nation, Russia, Great Britain and the United States. The island is rich in native heritage as evidenced by the rock carvings at Petroglyph Beach as well as the totems seen around town. Walk in the steps of John Muir amidst historic buildings that will take you back to the unhurried pace of yesterday, and enjoy the beauty of the Stikine River and the surrounding wilderness.
Day 3 Stikine Strait
Day 4 Behm Canal
Day 4 Misty Fjords
At 3,600 square miles, this least spoiled of all wilderness areas is the largest of all preserves. It is one of the most awe inspiring experiences of an Alaska vacation. Beginning near the British Columbia border, the Behm Canal winds around the Eastern side of Revillagigedo Island, becoming increasingly narrower as it heads northward, finally taking a left turn back into the Inside Passage near Ketchikan. Along its 900-foot deep chasm, 3,200-foot tall cliffs soar upwards and the dramatic spire of New Eddystone Rock is repeated in the spiky tops of spruce and fir trees which cast stalactite reflections in waters broken only by the wake of ships and the splashes of breaching humpback whales.
Day 4 Misty Fjords
At 3,600 square miles, this least spoiled of all wilderness areas is the largest of all preserves. It is one of the most awe inspiring experiences of an Alaska vacation. Beginning near the British Columbia border, the Behm Canal winds around the Eastern side of Revillagigedo Island, becoming increasingly narrower as it heads northward, finally taking a left turn back into the Inside Passage near Ketchikan. Along its 900-foot deep chasm, 3,200-foot tall cliffs soar upwards and the dramatic spire of New Eddystone Rock is repeated in the spiky tops of spruce and fir trees which cast stalactite reflections in waters broken only by the wake of ships and the splashes of breaching humpback whales.
Day 5 Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert is the Gateway City for Southeast Alaska and fishing center of the Northwest. Cow Bay is a must - with a fish processing plant, public water floats, and Cow Bay Gift Galley's pottery studio and sushi bar. Enjoy Civic Centre and Performing Arts Centre. Visit Museum of Northern British Columbia, Archaeology Harbor, and North Pacific Historic Village. Kwinitsa Railway Museum exhibits railway history of the area in a Grand Trunk Railway station. Old Field Creek Hatchery tours are offered. Firehall Museum's central exhibit is a 1925 REO Speedwagon Fire Engine. A walking tour has been laid to cover the city's historic and scenic points. The Pacific Northwest is home of Tsimpsean and Haida Indians, and scattered throughout Prince Rupert are authentic reproductions of historic and famous poles. An 18-hole golf course is located at Mt. Oldfield.
Day 6 Grenville Channel
Day 6 Whale Channel
Day 6 Princess Royal Channel
Day 7 Alert Bay
Alert Bay lies off Vancouver Island in the straits and channels between the island and the mainland. It is home to one of the best-preserved and still vibrant native villages in western Canada. Totem poles face the waters, and cedar-pole longhouses are painted with traditional images and symbols. The U'Mista Cultural Centre contains a collection of carved wooden masks, baskets, and potlatch ceremonial objects.
Day 7 Johnstone Strait
Johnstone Strait is a deep glacier-carved passage off the east coat of Vancouver Island, British Colombia. The strait is home to the largest resident pod of killer whales in the world, and there is no better place for visitors to view these amazing creatures. Visitors may also enjoy visiting the Broughton Archipelago Marine Provincial Park. The park is a maze of small islands, and a superb destination for sea kayaking.
Day 7 Seymour Narrows
Seymour Narrows is as a segment of the Discovery Passage in British Columbia. This section is well known for its strong tidal currents which can reach a velocity of up to 15 kn. The Seymour Narrows is well known for the infamous Ripple Rock, which was removed by an explosion back in 1958, and is known to Canada as being one of the countries National Historic Events.
Day 8 Vancouver
Vancouver is a thriving metropolis surrounded by natural beauty. With parks, beaches, gardens, museums, art galleries and the second-largest Chinatown in North America, Vancouver lives up to its promise of offering something for everyone. With modern buildings set against green, rolling hillsides, this city is breathtaking; no location offers a more spectacular view than Stanley Park - with a zoo, aquarium, totem poles and honking geese. A short walk from the park leads to Robson Street, which offers the town's best window-shopping. Stores with European flavor share the avenue with delicatessens and tea rooms ready to serve. As architectural heart of the city, Robson Square features a central plaza with a food fair and an old provincial courthouse, which now houses Vancouver Art Gallery. Be sure to stop at 8 Pender St. - "the narrowest building in the world." Other points of interest include the Museum of Anthropology; Japanese-style Nitobe Memorial Garden; and VanDusen Botanical Garden. Capilano Canyon is site of the world's longest and highest suspension footbridge.