Sojourn, Canadian Inside Passage, Alaska Fjords & Glaciers ex Juneau Return

Details

14 Night Cruise sailing from Juneau return onboard Seabourn Sojourn.

14 Night Cruise sailing from Juneau return onboard Seabourn Sojourn.

The second of Seabourn’s new class of ships, Seabourn Sojourns godmother was the English fashion icon and actress Twiggy. Like her sisters, Seabourn Sojourn enchants her guests with an array of public areas scaled to encourage a relaxed sociability. One of the most unusual features of Seabourn Sojourn and her sisters is Seabourn Square, an ingenious “living room” that replaces the traditional cruise ship lobby with a welcoming lounge filled with easy chairs, sofas and cocktail tables. An enclave in its center houses knowledgeable concierges discreetly seated at individual desks, ready to handle all sorts of business or give advice and information. The ship’s shops are conveniently located just off the Square and it has its own open terrace aft.

The Spa at Seabourn is the largest on any ultra-luxury ship, 11,400 square feet encompassing indoor and outdoor space over two decks. A variety of open terraces are scattered over seven decks, offering places to gather with a few friends or spend an isolated hour with a book. Seabourn Sojourn offers six whirlpools and two swimming pools, including the Pool Patio, with a pair of large whirlpool spas and a “beach” style pool, a casual Patio Grill and the Patio Bar. On the sun deck above sits Seabourn’s popular open-air Sky Bar. High atop Deck 11 is a Sun Terrace with 36 tiered double sun beds. Just aft of that is The Retreat, with shuffleboard courts and a nine-hole putting green. The panoramic Observation Bar on Deck 10 offers 270° forward views over the sea. The Club is a lively spot for dancing before and after dinner, while the larger Grand Salon is used for dancing as well as lectures, production vocal shows, cabaret performances and classical recitals.

Highlights of this cruise:

Juneau
Juneau, Alaska’s capital, is accessible only by air and sea, due to the rugged mountain terrain that surrounds the city. It has been a world-class travel destination since the early 1900’s. The city has plenty to offer the outdoor adventurer. You may choose to explore on foot along the Perseverance Trail or around Mendenhall Glacier, or board one of the many local whale-watching boats, or view the mountains and extensive glaciers of the Juneau Icefield from a helicopter.

Although founded by Alaskan pioneers, this area was in use for thousands of years by the Tlingit people and was originally settled by the Auke tribe, taking advantage of the abundant food and natural resources provided by the land and sea. Their descendants continue to gather clams, gumboot chitons, grass and sea urchins to this day. Originally named Harrisburg in 1880, after the gold prospector Richard Harris, the name was later changed to honor his partner Joe Juneau.

Wrangell, Alaska, US
One of the thousands of islands of the Alexander Archipelago, Wrangell Island sits at the heart of the Tongass National Rain Forest and receives approximately 80” (203 cm) of rain per year. The city of Wrangell, a true Alaskan frontier town, sits at the northern end of the island, a short distance from the mouth of the mighty Stikine River. The history of Wrangell is deeply rooted in the Tlingit people, the fur trade and the gold rush. The Stikine River trade route brought the Tlingit people here thousands of years ago, evidenced by some forty petroglyphs at Petroglyph Beach State Historic Site and Totem Park.

Rudyerd Bay (Misty Fjords) Ventures By Seabourn Only
Scottish-American naturalist John Muir compared the 2,294,343-acre (930,000 hectare) Misty Fjords National Monument to his favorite place in America, Yosemite National Park. Often shrouded in mist, Misty Fjords is a true wilderness. Its vertical granite cliffs, which reach 3,000’ (900 m) above sea level, descend another 1,000’ (300 m) below the water’s surface. Carved by glaciers and covered in a green carpet of mosses and lichens, Misty Fjords receives more than 150” (381 cm) of rain per year. Western hemlock, Sitka spruce, and western red cedar dominate the prolific vegetation along its shore. Mountain goats, brown and black bears, coastal wolves, sea lions, bald eagles, ravens, Dall's porpoises, orca and humpback whales can be spotted along its shorelines and throughout its waters.

Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada
Located on the now-dormant Alert Bay volcanic belt, Cormorant Island is host to Vancouver Island's oldest northern community, the small town of Alert Bay. It is located in the traditional territory of the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation and today is a blend of both aboriginal and pioneer culture.

Vancouver
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.

Sitka, Alaska, US
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.

Hubbard Glacier
The Hubbard Glacier is the largest, and one of the most spectacular tidewater glaciers in North America. Its ice cliffs, some 400’ (121 m) tall, calve icebergs into the fjord, which may frequently be larger than a five-story building. The glacier’s surface is creased and contorted, resembling the wrinkled skin of a giant elephant. Records show it has been growing in thickness and advancing since 1895. This stands in stark contrast to other glaciers around the world, most of which have been receding during the past century. In 2002, the glacier blocked Russell Fjord for two and a half months, raising water levels 61’ (18 m) and threatening local communities with flooding.

Haines, Alaska, US
Tucked in along the shores of the longest fjord in North America and surrounded by breathtaking scenery, Haines is an authentic Alaskan experience. It is an eclectic community and a truly hidden gem. Its rich culture shines brightly during the annual state fair that draws people from all over Alaska.
Haines is home to the largest concentration of bald eagles on earth, and grizzly bears gorge themselves on spawning salmon in its rivers. It was originally named Dteshuh, which means 'end of the trail' in the language of the Chilkat natives, who used to portage across the peninsula to Chilkat Inlet as a shortcut to their trade route to the interior.

Cruising Lynn Canal
Lynn Canal is a 90-mile long inlet into Alaska’s coast running from the Chilkat River in the north to the Chatham Strait and Stephens Passage in the south. Because it connects the towns of Skagway and Haines to Juneau and the rest of the Inside Passage, it is an important shipping lane for ferries, cargo and cruise ships, and was a crucial passageway to the Klondike gold fields during the Gold Rush. It was discovered by Joseph Whidbey in 1794 and named by George Vancouver after his birthplace, King’s Lynn in Norfolk, England. More than 2,000 feet in depth, it is one of the deepest and longest fjords in the world, and the deepest in North America outside Greenland.