cruise
Towering fjords, calving glaciers, pods of spouting whales and masterfully carved totem poles: these are just a few of the wonders to be seen on Viking’ s 11-day tour through some of Southeast Alaska’ s most beautiful landscapes. This route, on board Viking Venus, travels from the tree-lined shores of Vancouver, British Columbia, into Alaska’ s Inside Passage, protected from intense weather by a series of islands in the west and the mainland shore to the east. At the end of the voyage, the ship docks in Seward, Alaska, having crossed the wide Gulf of Alaska, passing wildlife and waters that even most local residents never catch a glimpse of.
VANCOUVER
Vancouver was once a thriving, seasonal Indigenous village, named K’ emk’ emeláy for its plentiful maple trees. Now, it’ s the largest port city in Canada.
Before boarding Viking Venus to head north, there’ s a lot to see here. Bustling Granville Island Public Market makes an excellent introduction to the city’ s offerings, or dive deep into culture at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.
Vancouver is also uncommonly green, with more than 10 % of its land cover dedicated to parklands. One particular treasure is 1,000- acre Stanley Park, whose seawall merges into the 17-mile Seaside Greenway that runs along the Vancouver shoreline.
Once aboard and sailing north to Alaska, keep an eye on the shoreline. The ship will pass small shacks onshore and buoys that mark crab pots in the water. For all this coastline’ s rugged, remote nature, it’ s also home to plenty of fantastic wildlife.
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