The best way to see Alaska is by doing a 7 night Alaska Glacier Cruise. Glacier Bay is a place that should be on your bucket list. It’s insanely STUNNING and was the highlight of my 7 night Alaska Glacier Cruise.

Alaska was never on my list of places to visit and now I don’t know why it wasn’t. Alaska is such a beautiful part of the world that should be seen by everyone!

Vancouver to Alaska

Alaskan cruises depart from the Vancouver Cruise Ship Terminal at Canada Place next to the Convention Centre.

The inside passage is the most popular route and generally, the itineraries are somewhat similar in the stops they make.

I booked with Holland America because they had a great deal at the time and excellent reviews!

I highly recommend Holland America for your 7 night Alaska Glacier Cruise the food was great, the service was outstanding and the activities on board were abundant!

7 night Alaska Glacier Cruise Stops and Excursions

Stop 1 – Juneau

Whale Watching and Wildlife Quest

Onboard the cruise ship there are plenty of options for excursions at each stop in Alaska. 

If you decide to go ahead with the Whale Watching and Wildlife Quest excursion you have made the right choice! 

A catamaran will take you out to Stephens Passage where you will be able to see humpback whales. You are guaranteed to see whales on your journey and if you don’t usually these tour companies will have the policy to give you a partial refund.

Once a whale is spotted the captain will hover around the area so that people can take photos and videos. An onboard naturalist will talk about the whales and any other wildlife that is seen during the tour. 

You are on the catamaran for approximately 4 hours which is plenty of time to see a lot of wildlife!

I saw 8 humpback whales, many sea lions, and bald eagles on my excursion! The sea lions were really noisy and were all densely congregated on an island, almost laying on top of each other. As you get closer to the sea lions the louder and smellier it gets!

Bring a warm jacket for the outside top observation deck as it gets windy. You can also sit inside the cabin if you want to keep warm. 

At the cruise ship port, there are several souvenir shops and restaurants within walking distance of the cruise ship. 

Check out the coolest shop in Juneau called the Trove! It is more than just a souvenir store. The stuff in this shop is really interesting and unique. You will most likely find souvenirs for your friends and families here or end up just buying a cool gift for yourself. 

Stop 2 – Skagway

White Pass Rail and Yukon Expedition

The 8 hour White Pass Rail and Yukon Expedition is the BEST excursion! It starts on a coach that takes you to the top of White Pass and then into the Yukon Territory in Canada. 

Make sure you have your passports handy as you will need to show these when crossing the border on the way there and back. 

Emerald Lake in the southern Yukon is a stop on this excursion and it’s truly breathtaking! The lake looks like the Northern Lights on water! The intense green colour of the lake is incredible and the Caribou Mountains as the background makes for the perfect photo! 

The next stop on the expedition is the Caribou Crossing Trading Post where you will eat a delicious barbecue chicken lunch with tasty side dishes and then for dessert, homemade donuts!

Spend some time with the sled dogs and husky pups at the Dog Mushers Village. There is also a Petting Farm right next to the Dog Mushers Village where you can pet goats, miniature donkeys, and other farm animals. 

The Wildlife Museum was impressive. You can view stuffed Alaskan animals such as bison, grizzly bear, moose, woolly mammoth, polar bear, and other animals you would see in Alaska. They look so real it’s kinda scary! 

On the way back from Caribou Crossing you will stop at a small town named Carcross. Buy a small ice cream cone from Matthew Watson General Store and the reason I say small is that their small is massive! I wonder how big their large is! 

From Fraser, you will board the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad train back to Skagway town. The scenery on this train ride is stunning! It’s a 3-hour train ride and you will want to get your camera out constantly for the picturesque panoramic view of the mountains, gorges, glaciers, tunnels, rivers, and waterfalls. 

Stop 3 – Glacier Bay National Park

Glacier Bay is only viewed from the Cruise Ship! Unfortunately, you cannot go out and explore it on foot. The ocean is so STILL here and depending on the season you visit you can see little pieces of snow ice floating above the water. 

It’s so incredible to see the majestic snow-capped mountains, extraordinary glaciers, and abundant birds and wildlife at Glacier Bay! It’s like nothing I have ever seen before and there’s nothing like it.

You can stay on the deck for hours observing the glaciers and the ice calving. Ice calving is when ice chunks break from the edge of the glacier and it usually only lasts for a couple of seconds.

When this happens you will hear a loud crash from the ice breaking and crashing into the ocean. Unfortunately, ice calving doesn’t happen that often so if you see one then you are lucky! 

Stop 4 – Ketchikan

Bering Sea Crab and Fisherman’s Tour

I honestly think I picked the best excursions at each place the cruise stopped in Alaska! The Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour is the highest-rated tour in Ketchikan! If you enjoy fishing as I do then this is definitely for you! 

Have you seen the popular TV show on the Discovery Channel called Deadliest Catch? Well if you have you will be excited to know that the boat on the show is the boat that you will be on for the tour. You may also be familiar with some of the faces of the crew members.

The crew members show you how they harvest sea creatures such as crabs and octopuses. They reel these creatures in from the sea and place them in a tank for everyone to see. 

If you want you can hold crabs and really big ones too like the King Crab! Bald eagles are also seen flying around the boat looking for food. 

The tour is informative and interesting as you get to know what it’s like to be a commercial fisherman who worked in the rugged Bering Sea. The tour is 3 hours long so you have plenty of time to do it on your day in Ketchikan! 

The crew members that host the tour are really funny and entertaining. Even my mother who doesn’t like fishing really enjoyed it!

There are a lot of souvenir and jewelry shops by the port of Ketchikan to wander around, either while you’re waiting for your excursion or after if you have time before the cruise departs.

I hope reading my experience has convinced you to book a 7 night Alaska Glacier Cruise. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience and there is no better way to see Alaska than by cruise!