A delightful cruise through the Inside Passage on Viking Ocean Cruise. W started with a full day in Vancouver, then boarded the ship and finished our trip with a ride on the Alaska Railroad.
Day 0:Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Day 1:Scenic Sailing
A day of sailing through the inside passage, enjoying the wonderful food and learning about the ship and the fun activities on board. Viking invites guest lecturers onboard with subject matter expertise of the destination, our journey had three professors. Daily lectures were held on subjects like The Alaska Purchase, The Klondike Gold Rush, The Indigenous People….and many more.
Day 2:Ward Cove, Ketchikan.
A short 10-minute bus ride from our port in Ward Cove to the vibrant town of Ketchikan. This town had the most and best shopping of all the ports we stopped in. Had I known that nugget, I would have spent more time in the stores.
Day 3: Wrangell
In addition to visiting the town, we opted to cruise up close to a glacier. You will see that there are so many beautiful scenery shots.
Day 4: Icy Straight Point
This recreated village, just outside Hoonah. More beautiful scenery and shots of the abundant wildlife. You can search the photos that confirm Bear do sh*t in the woods.
Day 5: Hanies & Skagway
We took a ferry ride from Haines to Skagway, walked around that town, visited the brothel museum, then came back and toured Haines. In Haines we visited the American Bald Eagle Foundation and The Hammer Museum
Day 6: Sitka
We watched a play of local culture, visited a Russian Orthodox church, a local furrier and a local dive bar.
Day 7: Scenic Sailing and no Hubbard Glacier
We were scheduled to tour the Hubbard Glacier, but the weather proved to be uncooperative.
Day 8: Valdez
Fun fact, the oil spill that occurred in Valdez, was named after the ship Valdez, not the town. The town is named after a Spanish secretary of the navy. While in town we visited the Small Boat Harbor, Valdez Museum, the Whitney Museum and a local dive bar. The Whitney had an amazing amount of taxidermy.
Days 9 & 10: Seward
This is our final spot to visit while on the ship. We were prepared for endless rainy days, but we were blessed, Day 9 was the only time that we had significant rainfall. It added to the glacier hike experience. Our time in Seward was filled with wildlife, delicious food, dive bars and good times with great friends.
Day 10: Alaska Railroad
A stupendous journey through the Alaska wilderness from Seward to Anchorage, our final, final stop.
Day 11: Anchorage
