The Edge of Alaska

Seattle is perhaps not the best-known American city for British cruisers but it is a city which has lots to offer during a one to three night stay. The shopping here is excellent, as is the dining and bars for some lively nightlife. Pike Place Market is a focal point in the downtown area and just steps away from the waterfront. Pioneer Square marks Seattle’s original downtown area dating back to 1852 and is home to art galleries, cafes, sports bars and nightclubs. The Seattle Underground Tour ($16pp) can be found here and is well worth it as you have a chance to visit eerie sunken store fronts and forgotten streets which were at the original ground level before the Great Fire of 1889. These were covered up and built on in an effort to clean up the city in the second half of the 19th century. For the best views of the city visit the Space Needle which was built for the World’s Fair in 1962. This 605 foot tower is the equivalent to 60 floors high and houses the revolving Sky City restaurant open for lunch a dinner daily. It was built to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour and earthquakes of up to 9.1 in magnitude!.

Embark ship

Relax and make the most of the myriad of facilities available on board the ship, from fantastic entertainment to delicious and diverse dining options.

Ketchikan, known as the salmon capital of the world, is a quaint village (propped up on wooden pilings), three miles long, just three blocks wide and wedged between the water and the forested slopes of Deer Mountain.

In the morning the ship makes a scenic stop at Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier before continuing onto Juneau to arrive at lunchtime. Juneau is the capital of Alaska perched on a hillside where the historical downtown buildings give it a somewhat frontier feel. 4000ft mountains create a dramatic backdrop to the city, beyond which lies the Juneau Icefield from which 30 glaciers flow, the most famous being the Mendenhall Glacier.

Skagway is a compact city in southeast Alaska, set along the popular cruise route the Inside Passage. It's home to gold-rush-era buildings, now preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad runs vintage locomotives past the famously steep Chilkoot trail and offers sweeping mountain views during its climb toward Canada.

Relax and make the most of the myriad of facilities available on board the ship, from fantastic entertainment to delicious and diverse dining options.

Victoria (British Columbia) was once a British colonial post and is full of historic sites, public parks and groomed gardens. Here, the locals appear more British than the British. The beautiful town centre features the impressive government buildings, the Fairmount Hotel and the harbour area where pleasure boats navigate past seaplanes as they take-off and land.

Disembark ship for overnight flight to UK