San Fran, Sleepless in Seattle and Brilliant Alaska Voyage

Itinerary

• Day 1 - Fly from the UK to San Francisco, USA
  Fly to San Francisco for an overnight hotel stay.
• Day 2-3 - San Francisco, USA
  A further two nights' hotel stay. Take the famous cable car nearby over the hill to Fisherman's Wharf - a world class tourist destination. Here you will find Pier 39 a huge entertainment, dining and shopping experience. Fisherman's Wharf itself is where there are lots of bars, fishing boats and restaurants. Enjoy a free boat trip to Alcatraz and you will also see a magnificent views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Perhaps visit Golden Gate Park where you will find the carousel, a huge conservatory, a huge botanical garden, a Japanese tea garden and a buffalo paddock among other attractions. You can walk through to the Dutch Windmill on the coast and have a marvellous lunch overlooking the Pacific Ocean. For a more local feel visit the Castro and hippy Haight Ashbury.
• Day 4 - Amtrak Train from San Francisco to Seattle, USA
  Make your own way to the station to board the Amtrak Coast Starlight service for a 2050 departure overnight to Seattle on full board in a private sleeper roomette. Widely regarded as one of the most spectacular of all train routes, the Coast Starlight links the greatest cities on the West Coast. Travelling daily between San Francisco via Emeryville overnight to Seattle, the Coast Starlight passes through Sacramento, Portland (Oregon), the Cascades and crosses to Columbia River on its way to Seattle. The scenery along the Coast Starlight route is unsurpassed with the dramatic snow-covered peaks of the Cascade Range and Mount Shasta, lush forests, fertile valleys and long stretches of Pacific Ocean shoreline provide a stunning backdrop for your journey.
• Day 5-6 - Seattle, USA
  Arrive into Seattle at 1951 and stay for two nights in a centrally located hotel. Seattle is perhaps not the best known American city for British cruisers but it is a city which has lots to offer during a two-night stay. The shopping here is excellent, as are the dining and bars for some lively nightlife. Pike Place Market is a focal point in the downtown area and just steps away from the waterfront. Pioneer Square marks Seattle-s original downtown area dating back to 1852 and is home to art galleries, cafes, sports bars and nightclubs. The Seattle Underground Tour (16pp) can be found here and is well worth it as you have a chance to visit eerie sunken store fronts and forgotten streets which were at the original ground level before the Great Fire of 1889. These were covered up and built on in an effort to clean up the city in the second half of the 19th century. For the best views of the city visit the Space Needle which was built for the World-s Fair in 1962. This 605 foot tower is the equivalent to 60 floors high and houses the revolving Sky City restaurant open for lunch a dinner daily. It was built to withstand winds of up to 200 miles per hour and earthquakes of up to 9.1 in magnitude- At the Boeing Factory see how airplanes are built on this 4.5-hour small-group trip to the largest building in the world. Spend 90 minutes in the massive Boeing assembly plant and see a variety of different planes in production such as the737, 747, 767, 777, 787, and Dreamliner aircraft . Then explore the interactive exhibits and displays in the Aviation Centre Gallery and visit the educational Future of Flight Aviation Centre museum.
• Day 7 - Seattle, USA
  Make your own way to the cruise terminal to embark the ship. Enjoy the sail-away park as the ship heads out into the bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge.
• Day 8 - Inside Passage (Cruising), Alaska
  Relax and make the most of the myriad of facilities available on board the ship, from fantastic entertainment to delicious and diverse dining options.
• Day 9 - Ketchikan, Alaska
  Ketchikan is known as the Salmon capital of the world, is a quaint village, three-miles long, just three-blocks wide and wedged between the water and the forested slopes of Deer Mountain. The native American village is partly propped up on wooden pilings and the Totem Heritage centre houses more totem poles than anywhere else in the world. Perhaps or take a tour of the surrounding area with a very good chance of spotting majestic bald eagles that soar effortless over the inlet in their search for salmon.
• Day 10 - Sitka, Alaska
  Sitka is situated on Baranof Island - in Alaska-s Inside Passage and located at the heart of the world-s largest temperate forest - The Tongass National Forest. This is the nation's largest national forest, covering most of Southeast Alaska and surrounding the famous Inside Passage. It offers the chance to view eagles, bears, spawning salmon, and the breath-taking vistas of -wild- Alaska. Sitka has a unique blend of Tlingit culture and Russian heritage and is surrounded by island studded waters, jagged mountains, and a towering volcano.
• Day 11 - Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska
  This is a scenic cruising stop is located 50 miles southeast of Juneau and can be seen FREE from the decks of the ship- The Sawyer Glacier has carved a fjord with sheer vertical walls where you can watch blocks of ice calving off the face of Alaska-s most active tidewater glacier and thundering into the waters of the Fjord, creating Alaska-s biggest icebergs.
• Day 12 - Prince Rupert (British Columbia), Canada
  Prince Rupert is a port city on British Columbia-s northwest coast. It-s a gateway to wilderness areas like the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary bear habitat. Shops and cafes dot the waterfront Cow Bay area. The Museum of Northern B.C. showcases the region-s natural and cultural heritage. South, the North Pacific Cannery traces the city-s salmon-canning history. Humpback whales swim in the fish-filled waters offshore.