Navigating Gastineau Channel, your Alaska adventure begins with the onboard naturalist relating tales of the frontier towns that boomed to life in the wake of Juneau’s gold discoveries and mine construction. Rounding the southern end of the island, keep an eye out for bald eagles, harbor seals, porpoises, and the ever-elusive humpback whale. This area is ripe with fascinating history and unique, Alaska anecdotes. Your onboard guides will regale you with intriguing stories of a sunken ship, modern hard rock miners and the “Aynskultu” Tlingit settlement. Also likely to enthrall your attention is Admiralty Island. Crawling with 1,500-lbs brown bears, the Alaska Natives called the Island Kootznoowoo, or “Fortress of the Bear.” Though plentiful, these predators are elusive — make use of complimentary tour-use binoculars to scan the shoreline. Nearing Auke Bay, our Cultural Heritage Guide will relate important Tlingit legends rooted in the powerful village that rested near the shores of our private dock facility. Throughout the journey, you’ll have an opportunity to indulge in delicacies of the Inside Passage—smoked salmon, berry jams, kelp salsa, and more. When you arrive at our dock facility, you will board a deluxe, private vehicle for a narrated ride to the ship.