Norwegian Bliss - Alaska

Where this cruise calls, day by day

7 ports and 1 sea day over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Seattle, WA

   United StatesDepart

   Seattle is the busiest Alaska turnaround port in the US, and which pier you get matters. Pier 91 at Smith Cove is a converted cargo terminal about three miles north of downtown; Pier 66 on Bell Street puts you a steep ten-minute walk from Pike Place Market. Because sailings from here are US-flagged only in part, almost every Seattle Alaska itinerary is legally obliged to call in Canada, usually Victoria.

   • Pike Place Market and the original Starbucks, best done before 9am
   • The Museum of Pop Culture and Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center
   • A ferry across Elliott Bay to Bainbridge Island for the skyline view back
   • Pioneer Square and the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park museum, free and directly relevant to where you are sailing

   Getting ashore

   Two terminals: Pier 66 is downtown and walkable, Pier 91 is three miles out and needs a taxi or shuttle - check your ticket, they are not interchangeable.

   Best months

   May-Sep (Jul-Aug reliably dry and warm; May and Sep wetter but far less crowded)

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3

   Juneau

   United StatesPort

   The oddity of Juneau is that it is a US state capital with no road to anywhere - you arrive by ship or plane or not at all, and the legislature meets in a town hemmed between a mountain wall and the water. Ships tie up along the downtown waterfront, close enough that the Mount Roberts Tramway cabins lift off almost directly above the berths. The real draw is Mendenhall Glacier, a rare tidewater-fed icefield you can reach on a scheduled bus.

   • Mendenhall Glacier and the trail to Nugget Falls, about 12 miles from downtown
   • Mount Roberts Tramway from the cruise dock to an alpine trail system at 1,800 feet
   • Whale watching out of Auke Bay, where humpbacks feed reliably through summer
   • Helicopter landing on the Juneau Icefield for a walk on the ice or a dogsled camp

   Getting ashore

   Docks downtown on the waterfront, walkable to the tram and shops; Mendenhall Glacier is a 20-30 minute bus ride.

   Best months

   May-Sep (Jun-Jul best for icefield flights; expect rain in any month)

4. Day 4

   Skagway

   United StatesPort

   Skagway is a gold rush staging town that never stopped being one - the false-fronted Broadway storefronts are a National Historical Park, and roughly a thousand year-round residents host several thousand passengers a day in season. What sets it apart from every other Alaskan call is the White Pass and Yukon Route, a narrow-gauge railway that climbs from tidewater to a 2,865-foot pass on grades cut into the cliff in 1898.

   • White Pass and Yukon Route railway to the summit, boarding near the docks
   • Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park visitor center and the restored Broadway buildings
   • The first miles of the Chilkoot Trail from Dyea, the actual stampeders' route
   • Driving the Klondike Highway over the pass into British Columbia and the Yukon

   Getting ashore

   Docks in the harbour a 10-20 minute walk from Broadway depending on berth, with a shuttle from the furthest one.

   Best months

   May-Sep (Jun-Aug for full railway and highway access; Skagway is unusually dry and sunny for the region)

5. Day 5

   Glacier Bay

   United StatesPort

   Glacier Bay is a 3.3-million-acre national park and UNESCO site where, 250 years ago, the entire bay was still filled by a single glacier. The ice has since retreated more than 60 miles, exposing a fjord system that scientists use to watch a landscape rebuild itself from bare rock. Cruise passengers see all of it from the deck; there is no port, and the only settlement, Bartlett Cove, is not a cruise stop.

   • Margerie Glacier, the reliable centrepiece at the head of the west arm
   • Lamplugh Glacier's blue face, often passed on the way up the west arm
   • Spotting brown bears, mountain goats on the cliffs, sea otters and puffins from deck
   • The Park Service ranger station set up on board, with a bookstore and cultural presentations from the Huna Tlingit

   Getting ashore

   No dock and no going ashore; the park limits entry to two cruise ships a day and rangers ride aboard for the visit.

   Best months

   May-Sep (peak season Jun-Aug; permits run roughly May through September only)

6. Day 6

   Ketchikan

   United StatesPort

   Ketchikan is built on pilings against a steep hillside, gets over 140 inches of rain a year, and holds the largest collection of standing totem poles anywhere. Creek Street, its most photographed lane, is a boardwalk of former brothels suspended over a salmon stream. Some ships berth right in town; others go to Ward Cove, a converted pulp mill site up the coast, which changes the whole shape of your day.

   • Creek Street boardwalk and Dolly's House, with salmon running below you in season
   • Totem Bight State Historical Park and the Totem Heritage Center's collection of unrestored 19th-century poles
   • Floatplane flightseeing over Misty Fjords National Monument
   • Saxman Native Village carving shed, where you can watch poles being cut

   Getting ashore

   Downtown berths put you steps from Creek Street, but the Ward Cove berth is roughly seven miles north and depends entirely on a shuttle bus into town.

   Best months

   May-Sep (Jul-Aug warmest; bring rain gear regardless)

7. Day 7

   Victoria, BC

   CanadaPort

   Victoria's oddity is the clock. US cabotage law requires round-trip Alaska sailings to touch a foreign port, so most ships arrive here late in the evening on the final night and leave near midnight - four hours, much of it dark. Ogden Point is a working breakwater terminal a couple of kilometres from the Inner Harbour, and the city itself is low-rise, English-inflected and easy.

   • Butchart Gardens, about 30 minutes north and lit for evening visits in summer
   • The Inner Harbour, the Parliament Buildings and tea at the Fairmont Empress
   • Royal BC Museum for its First Nations and natural-history collections
   • Fisherman's Wharf and its float homes, a walk along the water from the pier

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Ogden Point; it is roughly a 30-minute waterfront walk to the Inner Harbour, or a short shuttle, taxi or pedicab.

   Best months

   May-Sep; late calls suit Butchart's summer illuminations

8. Day 8

   Seattle, WA

   United StatesArrive

   Seattle is the busiest Alaska turnaround port in the US, and which pier you get matters. Pier 91 at Smith Cove is a converted cargo terminal about three miles north of downtown; Pier 66 on Bell Street puts you a steep ten-minute walk from Pike Place Market. Because sailings from here are US-flagged only in part, almost every Seattle Alaska itinerary is legally obliged to call in Canada, usually Victoria.

   • Pike Place Market and the original Starbucks, best done before 9am
   • The Museum of Pop Culture and Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center
   • A ferry across Elliott Bay to Bainbridge Island for the skyline view back
   • Pioneer Square and the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park museum, free and directly relevant to where you are sailing

   Getting ashore

   Two terminals: Pier 66 is downtown and walkable, Pier 91 is three miles out and needs a taxi or shuttle - check your ticket, they are not interchangeable.

   Best months

   May-Sep (Jul-Aug reliably dry and warm; May and Sep wetter but far less crowded)