Aboard Seabourn Quest with Seabourn
Cruise Overview
Juneau, Alaska's capital and third-largest city, is on the North American mainland but can't be reached by road.
Bounded by steep mountains and water, the city’s geographic isolation and compact size make it much more akin to an island community such as Sitka than to other Alaskan urban centers, such as Fairbanks or Anchorage.
Juneau is full of contrasts.
Its dramatic hillside location and historic downtown buildings provide a frontier feeling, but the city's cosmopolitan nature comes through in fine museums, noteworthy restaurants, and a literate and outdoorsy populace.
The finest of the museums, the Alaska State Museum, is scheduled to reopen in May 2016 on its old site as the expanded Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum (SLAM) following several years of planning and exhibit research.
Another new facility, the Walter Soboleff Center, offers visitors a chance to learn about the indigenous cultures of Southeast Alaska–-Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian.
Other highlights include the Mt.
Roberts Tramway, plenty of densely forested wilderness areas, quiet bays for sea kayaking, and even a famous drive-up glacier, Mendenhall Glacier.
For goings-on, pick up the Juneau Empire (www.juneauempire.com), which keeps tabs on state politics, business, sports, and local news.
Located in Southeast Alaska, west of the capital city of Juneau, Glacier Bay is a beautiful National Park full of snow capped mountains, tidewater glaciers and wildlife.
Experience wildlife in all its beauty from boat trips for whale watching and hiking through the trails of the Park.
It is a protected area full of wonder to be explored.
A small, unassuming timber and fishing community, Wrangel sits on the northern tip of Wrangel Island, near the mouth of the fast-flowing Stikine River—North America's largest undammed river.
The Stikine plays a large role in the life of many Wrangel residents, including those who grew up homesteading on the islands that pepper the area.
Trips on the river with local guides are highly recommended as they provide, basically, an insider's guide to the Stikine and a very Alaskan way of life.
Like much of Southeast, Wrangel has suffered in recent years from a declining resource-based economy.
But locals are working to build tourism in the town.
Bearfest, which started in 2010, celebrates Wrangel's proximity to Anan Creek, where you can get a close-up view of both brown and black bears.
Wrangel has flown three different national flags in its time.
Russia established Redoubt St.
Dionysius here in 1834.
Five years later Great Britain's Hudson's Bay Company leased the southern Alaska coastline, renaming the settlement Ft.
Stikine.
It was rechristened Wrangel when the Americans took over in 1867; the name came from Baron Ferdinand Petrovich von Wrangel, governor of the Russian-American Company.
The rough-around-the-edges town is off the track of the larger cruise ships, so it does not get the same seasonal traffic that Ketchikan and Juneau do.
Hence, it is nearly devoid of the souvenir shops that dominate so many other nearby downtown areas.
But the gift shops and art galleries that are here do sell locally created work, and the town is very welcoming to visitors; independent travelers would do well to add a stop in Wrangel during their Southeast wanderings.
Bounded by steep mountains and water, the city’s geographic isolation and compact size make it much more akin to an island community such as Sitka than to other Alaskan urban centers, such as Fairbanks or Anchorage.
Juneau is full of contrasts.
Its dramatic hillside location and historic downtown buildings provide a frontier feeling, but the city's cosmopolitan nature comes through in fine museums, noteworthy restaurants, and a literate and outdoorsy populace.
The finest of the museums, the Alaska State Museum, is scheduled to reopen in May 2016 on its old site as the expanded Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum (SLAM) following several years of planning and exhibit research.
Another new facility, the Walter Soboleff Center, offers visitors a chance to learn about the indigenous cultures of Southeast Alaska–-Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian.
Other highlights include the Mt.
Roberts Tramway, plenty of densely forested wilderness areas, quiet bays for sea kayaking, and even a famous drive-up glacier, Mendenhall Glacier.
For goings-on, pick up the Juneau Empire (www.juneauempire.com), which keeps tabs on state politics, business, sports, and local news.
Located in Southeast Alaska, west of the capital city of Juneau, Glacier Bay is a beautiful National Park full of snow capped mountains, tidewater glaciers and wildlife.
Experience wildlife in all its beauty from boat trips for whale watching and hiking through the trails of the Park.
It is a protected area full of wonder to be explored.
A small, unassuming timber and fishing community, Wrangel sits on the northern tip of Wrangel Island, near the mouth of the fast-flowing Stikine River—North America's largest undammed river.
The Stikine plays a large role in the life of many Wrangel residents, including those who grew up homesteading on the islands that pepper the area.
Trips on the river with local guides are highly recommended as they provide, basically, an insider's guide to the Stikine and a very Alaskan way of life.
Like much of Southeast, Wrangel has suffered in recent years from a declining resource-based economy.
But locals are working to build tourism in the town.
Bearfest, which started in 2010, celebrates Wrangel's proximity to Anan Creek, where you can get a close-up view of both brown and black bears.
Wrangel has flown three different national flags in its time.
Russia established Redoubt St.
Dionysius here in 1834.
Five years later Great Britain's Hudson's Bay Company leased the southern Alaska coastline, renaming the settlement Ft.
Stikine.
It was rechristened Wrangel when the Americans took over in 1867; the name came from Baron Ferdinand Petrovich von Wrangel, governor of the Russian-American Company.
The rough-around-the-edges town is off the track of the larger cruise ships, so it does not get the same seasonal traffic that Ketchikan and Juneau do.
Hence, it is nearly devoid of the souvenir shops that dominate so many other nearby downtown areas.
But the gift shops and art galleries that are here do sell locally created work, and the town is very welcoming to visitors; independent travelers would do well to add a stop in Wrangel during their Southeast wanderings.
Cruise Itinerary
Aboard Seabourn Quest
Launch Year: 2011 Length: 198 Width: 26 Currency: USD Capacity: 450 Crew Count: 330 Deck Count: 10 Cabin Count: 229
Seabourn Quest is the third iteration of the vessel design that has been called “a game-changer for the luxury segment.” True to her Seabourn bloodlines, wherever she sails around the world, Seabourn Quest carries with her a bevy of award-winning dining venues that are comparable to the finest restaurants to be found anywhere. Seabourn Quest offers a variety of dining options to suit every taste and every mood, with never an extra charge.
Seabourn Quest Facilities
Seabourn Quest Includes
Cabin Details
Seabourn Quest offers nine types of suites, eight of which feature verandas. Designed as home away from homes, these suites aim to be the place for you to unwind at the end of the day. Featuring a range of traditional cabin amenities, each also benefit from a Personal Suite Stewardess who will welcome you with Champagne and canapés, draw you a relaxing bath and assist you with anything you might need during your stay.
