17 nights, Los Angeles to Vancouver
Explora's name for it: A Grand Journey through Pacific Cities, Untamed Wilderness & Glacial Wonder
Seventeen nights, two countries, and a route that flips character partway through. It opens as a West Coast run: San Pedro's working harbor and battleship museum in Los Angeles, San Diego's flat Embarcadero walk past the Midway to Seaport Village, then San Francisco at Pier 27 with the Ferry Building, the Alcatraz pier, and the vintage F-line streetcars a short stroll from the gangway. After Vancouver the trip becomes Southeast Alaska, where the headline days are the two fjord transits. Endicott Arm threads a granite corridor to the roughly 600-foot calving face of Dawes Glacier, with the ship in view of it early enough that the alarm beats the crowds. Tracy Arm narrows to barely 300 yards below walls climbing toward 4,000 feet. Ashore, Skagway's four-block gold-rush core and Juneau's downtown tram base both sit at the pier.
This rewards a traveler who wants range over a tight theme and does not mind that a few gateway days are about logistics rather than scenery. San Pedro is the port, not the city, so resist the traffic to Hollywood. Ward Cove drops you about 20 minutes outside Ketchikan by shuttle. If you want only glaciers and quick port walks, a shorter Inside Passage loop fits better.
Explora III is all-suite and all-oceanfront.
The itinerary, port by port
13 calls over 17 nights, Los Angeles to Vancouver. Open any port for my full day-ashore guide, what to see, when to go, and how the day actually runs.
Getting there: Flights to Los Angeles (LAX) are already bookable for these dates. I watch the fare for booked clients so you book at the right moment. When to book your flights →
- Embark
- 2 San Diego
- 3 San Francisco
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8 Sailing the Endicott Arm (Dawes Glacier)
- 9 Sailing the Tracy Arm Fjord
- 10
- 11
- 12
- Disembark
Fares on this departure, decoded
Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:
- Invitation to Discover More
- Explora's discovery fare, available across most of the calendar. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
- Founders Fare
- A founding-era fare on a selected set of sailings. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
The ship and your suite
This sailing is aboard EXPLORA III, all-suite, every suite with a private ocean-front terrace. Suites run from the entry Ocean Terrace to the Owner's Residence; the right tier depends on how you travel. Compare suites → · What's included →