Queen Elizabeth - Alaska Glaciers from Seattle

Where this cruise calls, day by day

9 ports and 2 sea days over 10 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Seattle, WA

   United StatesDepart
   Seattle, WA port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore

2. Day 2 · At sea

3. Day 3 · At sea

4. Day 4

   Ketchikan

   United StatesPort
   Ketchikan port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
5. Day 5

   Endicott Arm (Dawes Glacier)

   United StatesPort

   Endicott Arm is a narrow granite fjord running over 30 miles inland south of Juneau, ending at the tidewater face of Dawes Glacier. Ships thread past floating ice - some pieces the size of a small building - and harbour seals hauled out on the floes, then hold position off the glacier and slowly rotate so both sides of the ship get the view. It is frequently used when Tracy Arm next door is choked with ice.

   • Holding station off the calving face of Dawes Glacier while the ship turns through 360 degrees
   • Harbour seals and their pups resting on drifting ice floes
   • Waterfalls dropping straight off 2,000-foot walls into the fjord
   • The entrance to Fords Terror, a side inlet named for the tidal current that trapped its first visitor

   Getting ashore

   Scenic cruising only - no landing; larger ships may stop short of the glacier and send tenders or excursion boats closer.

   Best months

   May-Sep (Jul-Aug for the most open water; heavy ice can turn ships back in any month)

6. Day 6

   Juneau

   United StatesPort
   Juneau port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
7. Day 7

   Skagway

   United StatesPort
   Skagway port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
8. Day 8

   Glacier Bay (Scenic Cruising)

   United StatesPort

   A full day of scenic cruising inside Glacier Bay National Park, with no landing anywhere - the ship is the only way to see it. Access is tightly rationed: the Park Service permits just two cruise ships per day in season, so a berth here is a genuine itinerary feature rather than a filler sea day. Rangers board from a small boat near the mouth and stay aboard for the whole transit.

   • Margerie Glacier at the head of Tarr Inlet, the usual turnaround point where ships hold position and calving is likeliest
   • The dark, rubble-streaked face of Grand Pacific Glacier alongside it
   • Johns Hopkins Inlet, closed to vessels in May and June to protect unweaned harbour seal pups
   • Ranger commentary on deck, plus talks and a Junior Ranger programme in the ship's theatre

   Getting ashore

   Scenic cruising only - the ship never berths and no one goes ashore; Park Service rangers board by tender and disembark as you leave the bay.

   Best months

   May-Sep (Jun-Aug clearest; Johns Hopkins Inlet is off limits May-Jun)

9. Day 9

   Wrangell, AK

   United StatesPort

   Wrangell is the only Alaskan town to have been governed under four flags - Tlingit, Russian, British and American - and it remains a working community of about 2,000 that sees few ships, so a call here is unusually uncommercial. It sits at the mouth of the Stikine River, which is the reason for both its history as a fur and gold staging point and its best excursions today.

   • Chief Shakes Island tribal house and totems in the middle of the harbour
   • Petroglyph Beach, where carvings thousands of years old sit on the tideline
   • Jet boat up the Stikine River to Shakes Glacier and the hot springs
   • Anan Wildlife Observatory, where black and brown bears fish the salmon run

   Getting ashore

   Ships berth or tender close to the small downtown, which is walkable; Anan and the Stikine require permits or booked excursions.

   Best months

   May-Sep (Jul-Aug for Anan bear viewing, which is permit-limited)

10. Day 10

    Victoria, BC

    CanadaPort
    Victoria, BC port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
11. Day 11

    Seattle, WA

    United StatesArrive
    Seattle, WA port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore