Search 1,000+ pages, voyages, ports, guides, and comparisons.

EXPLORA III · Alaska

8 nights, Vancouver to Vancouver

August 31, 2028 – September 9, 2028 · 8 nights · 8 stops · round-trip

Explora's name for it: A Journey through Sapphire Shores & Ice-Carved Paths

Vancouver (open port guide)VancouverWard Cove (Ketchikan) (open port guide)Icy Strait Point (Hoonah) (open port guide)Sailing the Tracy Arm FjordSailing the Endicott Arm (Dawes Glacier)Juneau (open port guide)Sitka (Baranof Island) (open port guide)Prince Rupert (Kaien Island) (open port guide)Prince Rupert (Kaien Island)

The itinerary, port by port

8 calls over 8 nights, round-trip from 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 Vancouver (YVR) open around October 2027, about 11 months before you sail. I track that window for booked clients and flag it the moment it is worth booking. When to book your flights →

  1. Embark
    Vancouver

    Vancouver is the embarkation city for most Alaska sailings, a coastal Canadian metropolis pinned between the harbor and the Coast Mountains, with a forested 1,000-acre park at its tip. Port guide →

  2. 2
    Ward Cove (Ketchikan)

    Ward Cove is a cruise berth built on a former pulp mill site about 20 minutes north of downtown Ketchikan, used to spread ships out beyond the crowded downtown docks. Port guide →

  3. 3
    Icy Strait Point (Hoonah)

    Icy Strait Point is a converted 1912 salmon cannery on Chichagof Island, the only Alaska Native-owned cruise port in the state, built and run by the Huna Tlingit of neighboring Hoonah. Port guide →

  4. 4
    Sailing the Tracy Arm Fjord

    Tracy Arm is a classic glacier-carved fjord about 30 miles long, roughly 45 to 60 miles south of Juneau, that narrows to barely 300 yards between granite walls rising as much as 4,000 feet from milky…

  5. 5
    Sailing the Endicott Arm (Dawes Glacier)

    Endicott Arm is a fjord more than 30 miles long that branches south off Holkham Bay, about 45 miles south of Juneau within the Tongass National Forest.

  6. 6
    Juneau

    Juneau is Alaska's state capital, wedged between the Gastineau Channel and steep forested peaks and reachable only by water or air. Port guide →

  7. 7
    Sitka (Baranof Island)

    Sitka sits on the outer coast of Baranof Island, the only Southeast Alaska town that faces the open Pacific rather than the Inside Passage, and it was the capital of Russian America before the 1867 Alaska… Port guide →

  8. Disembark
    Prince Rupert (Kaien Island)

    Prince Rupert is a small fishing and First Nations port on Kaien Island, the last Canadian stop before the Alaska panhandle, set in the Great Bear Rainforest. Port guide →

Other departures of this itinerary

Same ports, different dates. Fares move between departures, so it's worth comparing.

Fares on this departure, decoded

Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:

Early Booking Benefit
A fare for booking far enough ahead of departure. Onboard credit where the offer applies.
Invitation to Discover More
Explora's discovery fare, available across most of the calendar. 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 →


Keep exploring

Want this voyage priced for you?

Send me the dates and the suite tier you have in mind and I'll come back with a confirmed live number and my read on the sailing within two hours. Best available price, and I make it worth more.

Book a 30-min Pre-flight or send your dates