Arrive in Vancouver and make your way to the ship to board your cruise.

Enjoy your day at sea aboard Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas.

Enjoy your day at sea aboard Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas.

Cruises to Ketchikan open the gateway to Alaska’s cultural, historical and natural treasures. For a more structured day, head to the visitor’s center to book tours for fishing, kayaking, hiking, the delightful lumberjack show, and more. To continue exploring, walk down the wharf to Creek Street, where you’ll find shops and restaurants packed with salmon products, winter jackets, native arts and crafts, and similar souvenirs. At your leisure, follow the signposts to the Cape Fox Funicular, a tram that trundles you up the hill to a delightful café with panoramic vistas. You can catch the tram back down or meander down the hillside, taking in the rainforest’s ambiance. On the way down, you’ll pass the traditional lands of the Taant´a Kwáan and Sanyaa Kwáan of the Tlingit First Nations. Pop in at the Totem Heritage Center and stand in awe of Alaska’s largest collection of 19th-century totem poles. A little further on is the “married man’s trail,” which takes you along the creek, past the fun “fish ladder,” rapids which salmon jump upstream, and ends at the infamous Dolly’s House Museum.

Sitka truly offers the best of Alaska. Its small-town appeal stems from a unique blend of Russian, Tlingit, and American history. Its snow-capped peaks and volcanic Mount Edgecumbe pose among the state’s most postcard-worthy scenes. And its rare wildlife astounds, from Saint Lazaria Island’s orange-beaked puffins to Alaska Maritime Refuge’s 40 million seabirds. This is off-the-path Alaska, where you can kayak Sitka Sound alongside swimming sea otters or fly-fish for the world’s biggest halibut. Whether it’s hiking Baranof Island trails or listening to tribal stories passed down for generations, in Sitka, the midnight sun never sets on adventure.

Once the starting point for gold stampeders heading for the promised land of the Yukon, Skagway symbolizes the spirit of Alaska. And now, it’s your turn to hunt for gold. Embark on the trail of the fortune seekers on a vintage train ride with dramatic, sweeping views at every turn. Trek through the dense rainforest and windswept valleys of the Chilkoot Trail and follow in the footsteps of Klondike pioneers. Or stroll the charming downtown streets studded with historical buildings. Whatever you get up to in Skagway, it’ll be a day you’ll never forget.

At 76 miles long and seven miles wide, North America’s largest tidewater glacier makes even the largest ships in the region feel small. Watch massive chunks of Hubbard Glacier’s translucent blue ice crash into the bay with a bang like a cannon shot, a sound the Tlingit people call “White Thunder.”

After a short tour of historic Seward, travel by deluxe motor coach to Anchorage. There’s time to stroll downtown and enjoy the Anchorage Museum before continuing deep into the interior.

The Denali Natural History Tour takes you into the park to look for wildlife. Then, travel to the charmingly offbeat village of Talkeetna. On your journey to Anchorage, enjoy the glass-domed cars of the Wilderness Express.

Return home.