Is Alaska on your bucket list? It was on mine, and I finally checked it off on a 7-day Silversea cruise in August.
Picturesque Seward.
I love water, drinking it, being near it, in it, doing activities in it and living by it. I am at peace, the stress melts away and healing occurs. Whether it’s sitting and admiring the view, dipping my toes in the water, floating, swimming, kayaking or something else, being near is it my happy place. I am at peace, the stress melts away and healing occurs. It also should come as no surprise that I am a Pisces—the water sign. So, when a trip that involved water—a cruise—was mentioned, it immediately peaked my interest. Let’s just say that I was sold.
When friends said, “Let’s take an Alaskan cruise to celebrate birthdays, retirements, friendship and anything else we could think of,” I didn’t take long for me to sign up for the seven-day cruise departing from Seward, Alaska and ending in Vancouver, Canada.
Silversea Cruises
While we saw several different cruise ships on our voyage—Viking and Celebrity—we went with Silversea, which is known for exceptional customer service. For me, the nice thing about this cruise is that you unpack once for the week and are not toting your luggage from city to city, checking in and out of hotels and arranging transportation for each destination. You also have access to a laundry room, room service, several restaurants for which to choose, drinks and a variety of excursions that are included in the cost so you don’t have to worry about tipping during the day.
Aboard the Silver Moon ship, the route went from Seward to Vancouver and along the way, we were face-to-face with the blue-white wall of the Hubbard Glacier. You might say that we saw Alaska awaken, with wildlife emerging from spring hibernation. We stopped in Ketchikan, where totem poles tell enduring stories, and Sitka, where Orthodox onion exudes Russian heritage. Before we landed in Vancouver, we explored the Seymour Narrows.
Silver Moon
Silver Moon mirrors her sister ship Silver Muse. At 40,700 gross tons and with capacity to accommodate 596 passengers on board, it offers spacious all-suite accommodations. The ship features the all-new Sea And Land Taste (S.A.L.T.) program —an immersive culinary concept that enables guests to travel deeper through a range of destination-based gastronomic experiences.
Sea And Land Taste (S.A.L.T.) Lab. Photo Credit: Silversea.
Below is an example of one of the suites.
The Silver Suite. Photo credit: Silversea.
The Royal Suite is designed using precise lines, authentic Italian craftsmanship, and fine materials with a plush interior furnishings, and sweeping seascapes from the suite’s private terrace. One bedroom is 1,130 square feet including a veranda and a two bedroom is 1,528 square feet including a veranda.
The Royal Suite. Photo credit: Silversea.
The Grand Suite offers the largest veranda on board, which makes it nice to entertain if you’re traveling with friends. One bedroom is 1,472-1,572 square feet, including the veranda and a two bedroom is 1,873 to 1,970 square feet, including the veranda.
The Grand Suite. Photo credit: Silversea.
Elsewhere inside the ship is equally elegant, featuring well-appointed areas for lounging after dinner or a day’s outing.
Panorama Lounge. Photo credit: Silversea.
Silver Moon – Dolce Vita. Photo credit: Silversea.
There’s also their funky Arts Café, which boasts interesting books, art and a creative vibe.
The Arts Café. Photo credit: Silversea.
Naturally, there’s a spa on board as well . . . a great place to unwind after a lot of walking or simply as a way to relax after a long day.
The Silver Moon Spa. Photo credit: Silversea.
The outside of the ship is impressive as well. Silver Moon is one of the largest ships in their fleet but maintains the small-ship intimacy and spacious all-suite accommodation that are the hallmarks of Silversea. Because of its size, they boast eight exquisite dining options as well.
Above and below: Silver Moon. Credit: Silversea.
Relaxing over something hot. A delicious cuppa Joe anyone?
Another favorite memory was sipping champagne on our veranda.
Nature at its Best
Alaska is for the nature lover. It is filled with beautiful forested areas—some touched by humans and some untouched, glaciers and wildlife, all of which were topped off with views from my balcony watching seals float by on chucks of ice, humpback whales and glaciers as we slowly cruised by remote uninhabited islands where binoculars enabled a closer view and the ability to scan the shorelines looking for black bears.
Alaska is definitely a place to unwind, reconnect with nature and be as active as you want like hiking, biking and kayaking or less active on a boat ride for whale watching to also see otters, sea lions, seals, eagles and more or viewing the area by bus, train, floatplane or helicopter. Our group did various activities such as hiking and biking, exploring a nature preserve to learn about the native plants, wildlife and culture, visit a wildlife rehabilitation center, learn about totem pole carving and dog sledding where they held puppies.
The excursions booked through the cruise line did provide an up close and personal look at the flora and fauna as well as salmon swimming upstream and other wildlife. There were many islands to see along the way as well as awe-inspiring ice glaciers. And the views were breathtaking.
Excursions which typically vary from 2-6 hours when the ship docks in a town can vary from more sedentary ones like bus tours or boat rides for whale watching to strenuous hikes and kayaking to something in between. For example, I went on a five mile bike ride on a flat route with about six stops to learn about the plants like Devils Club that can give you a rash you touch the leaves, but the stems can be ground and made into a cream for pain relief for those achy joints after a long hike and fireweed which was used to flavor icing at a doughnut shop in Anchorage where we initially landed.
While the temperatures were in the mid 50s to mid-60s Fahrenheit, it was mostly cloudy or slight rainy as Alaska has precipitation about 300 days a year, so consider yourself lucky if you get a sunny day. I had two, but my rain gear—waterproof jacket with hood and pants—did get used. For clothing, layers are the way to go as it is cool in the morning and late afternoon and warmer mid-day. Casual wear is what everyone is wearing in town and on the excursions as well. A wind proof, water resistant jacket over a fleece top and t-shirts was a popular choice in August along with sneakers or hiking boots depending on your plans for the day.
For evenings, the cruise was elegant casual/resort wear for the restaurants, so unless you are getting room service every night, then you need to pack another outfit for the evening. The ship did have a laundry facility on each floor which we used for our clothes that were mud-splattered after a bike ride on dirt trails in the rain.
At 40,700 gross tons and with capacity to accommodate 596 passengers on board, Silver Moon maintains the small-ship intimacy and spacious all-suite accommodation that are the hallmarks of the Silversea experience. Silver Moon also features the all-new Sea And Land Taste (S.A.L.T.) program —an immersive culinary concept that enables guests to travel deeper through a range of destination-based gastronomic experiences. Get ready for a new world of travel.
Cultural City Stops
As for the cities, we visited Skegway, Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan. We were amazed at all jewelry and gift shops tailored to tourists intermingled with shops with locally made art and souvenirs. The towns can be overcrowded at times because several cruise ships could be docked there on certain days of the week putting 13,000-22,000 people in the town, prompting some cites to limit the number or cruise ships allowed on certain days. For example, Juneau has 32,000 residents, and 1.6 million tourists a year. Compare this to Sitka’s 8,000 population that rises by at least 2,000 due to seasonal workers in the visitor and seafood industries for the summer months.
As for food, the prices at restaurants in town are high. We ended up not eating in any since we were either on our excursions, or tired and wanted a shower back on the ship to get out of the rain. I heard that the fish (halibut) and chips were about $34, but was delicious as well as the local craft beers.
Our favorite meal and a highlight of our trip in addition to seeing humpback whales, was the locally-sourced meal at Fin Island Lodge in Sitka, which was included in an excursion where we eight of us boarded a small boat to view humpback whales, otters and eagles. The just caught and cooked salmon, crab legs, prime rib with horseradish cream, mashed potatoes, tomato soup with a basil oil drizzle and seafood chowder were the best I’ve had, some of which was topped off with alder wood smoked sea salt which added an extra layer of local flavor. I purchased the smoked salt so I could remember this meal every time I use it. We also made s’mores outdoors at the firepit which just seemed to taste better in Alaska than at home.
Above and below: Lunch at Fin Island Lodge in Sitka.
I also have also heard good things about land tours or planning it on your own with a rental car and some plane or boat rides. It’s important to note to that some cities, like Juneau, are only accessible by boat or air.
All in all, I am glad to check my Alaska cruise off my bucket list and am now busy thinking about what and where my next adventure will be: How about you?
About Silversea Cruises
Silversea is a luxury cruise line and expedition travel brand headquartered in Monaco that was founded in 1994 by the Vlasov Group of Monaco and the Lefebvre family of Rome. It pioneered all-inclusive cruising with its first ship, Silver Cloud. Since July 2020, it has been owned by Royal Caribbean Group.
Their fleet of small luxury ships offers wonderful opportunities to explore the globe across all seven continents. Some fun options include sailing into the heart of Seville, around the tip of Cape Horn, along the craggy coasts of Canada or through the breathtaking Chilean fjords. Their expedition cruises take you to some of the world’s most remote and remarkable landscapes, such as the primeval Galápagos Islands and the lush, tropical Edens of Polynesia to the frosted wilderness of Antarctica.
You can learn more here. See some of our cruise coverage here — our hope is to expand our cruise section starting in 2026.
Patti Boerger helps companies grow through marketing, publicity, new web content and social media–both paid and earned. She is a corporate communications and trade association senior leader as well as a communications expert and writer. She provides strategic marketing, brand management, advertising, reputation management, crisis communications, media relations, executive communications, thought leadership, website content evaluation, content marketing, social media and program management. She has worked at the intersection of sustainability and social impact and is passionate about travel.
