We Small-Ship Cruised Alaska. Is this the best way?
We spent 11 nights on a small ship exploring the most spectacular coastline on the planet. This is Alaska to Vancouver — and we're doing it properly. Forget the floating apartment blocks. We're on board Windstar Cruises' Star Breeze — an elegantly compact ship that gets into hidden fjords, sidles up to calving glaciers, and sneaks into tiny ports the mega-ships can only dream about. And in Part 1, things get wild. Fast. We overnight in Anchorage — a city with more espresso stands per capita than anywhere in America, roughly 310 bears wandering the suburbs, and a neighbourhood so dense with craft breweries it's been officially dubbed the Beermuda Triangle. Then we board the legendary Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic to Seward — past bore tides, beluga whales, and an outdoor viewing platform that is genuinely the only one of its kind on any train in the world. Cold? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. Then we're at sea. College Fjord delivers five tidewater glaciers, a calving Harvard Glacier, a close encounter with a very large, very committed iceberg, and — because why not — a hot tub on the bow of the ship with glaciers collapsing in the middle distance. The Hubbard Glacier, the largest calving glacier in North America, turns up next and reminds us all exactly how small we are. And then — humpback whales. Dozens of them. At Point Adolphus, arguably the best place on the planet to watch humpbacks do their thing. We get rather close. This is Alaska by small ship. This is the right way to do it. And this is only Part 1. 🚢 Ship: Star Breeze — Windstar Cruises 🗺️ Route: Seward, Alaska → Vancouver, Canada (11 nights) 📍 Destinations covered in Part 1: Anchorage | Alaska Railroad | Seward | College Fjord | Valdez | Hubbard Glacier | Point Adolphus | Icy Strait Point ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction 1:45 Anchorage — Alaska's wonderfully unhinged capital city 6:30 Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic — Anchorage to Seward 13:10 Embarkation — Star Breeze Suite Tour 18:00 College Fjord — glaciers, calving ice & a very large iceberg 32:00 Valdez 35:30 Hubbard Glacier — the largest calving glacier in North America 44:00 Point Adolphus — the world's best humpback whale watching 51:00 Icy Strait Point — ziplining, bears & crab 🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES ▶ Star Breeze Full Ship Tour: [link] ▶ Windstar Cruises Alaska itineraries: [link] ▶ Alaska Railroad Coastal Classic — booking info: [link] ▶ Part 2 — Duck Farts, Crab Shacks & the World's Biggest Whale Pod: [link] #AlaskaCruise #WindstarCruises #StarBreeze #AlaskaTravel #SmallShipCruise #HubbardGlacier #CollegeFjord #HumpbackWhales #AlaskaRailroad #CruiseReview #AlaskaVancouver #GlacierBay #IcyStraightPoint #TravelVlog #LuxuryCruise #ExpeditionCruise #AlaskaWildlife #AnchorageDO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS SHIP, CRUISE LINE OR VOYAGE? We are very proud to be official Brand Ambassadors for PANACHE CRUISES, the UK and US specialist in Elite Ocean, River, Expedition and Yacht Style cruising. Click on the link or give them a call on the number below and one of their dedicated Cruise Connoisseurs will help you plan your perfect cruise. PLEASE don't forget to mention 'Visit With Us'! Thank you. Call this number now - 0161 513 8202 (UK) or 888 894-6153 (US) Or copy this link into your browser - https://bit.ly/2PdAPxy (These are sponsored referral links and if you book through one of these, Visit With Us will get a few pennies at no cost to you to help us keep bringing you more great content you know - and hopefully - love. Thank you.) VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE: We were invited on board as guests of Windstar Cruises (WC). We paid for our own transport to the ship and received no fees or remuneration for producing media during and after this voyage from WC. Any resulting videos have been produced without influence or expectation from WC and we had complete editorial and artistic freedom. WC have had no prior preview of this content and are watching for the first time along with you. All our videos contain our personal and unbiased opinion. Please ask us if you want to know more or visit www.asa.org.uk for more information on blogger/vlogger disclosure requirements. Thank you and we hope you enjoy the content as much as we did creating it. Rich and Helen x PLEASE SUBSCRIBE! Join us on FaceBook: search for 'Visit With Us' but also our cruise group 'Visit With Us Cruise Chat' Follow us on Instagram & Threads: visitwith.us Read our beautifully clean, picture rich blogs: www.visitwithus.co.uk Follow us on X (formerly Twitter): @visitwithus Follow us on Tiktok: @visitwithus Follow us on Bluesky: @visitwithus.bsky.social