USA & Alaska

Alaska is the rare region where the ship is the best viewing platform you'll get. Between ports come the glacier days, Glacier Bay, Hubbard, Tracy Arm, where nobody goes ashore and everybody stands on deck. The towns themselves are tiny: Ketchikan, Skagway and Juneau are all walkable within minutes of the dock, which means the choice is less about how to reach town and more about whether to leave it for a floatplane, a train or a whale boat.

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Because the towns are small and several ships call at once, the good independent operators book out months ahead. Almost everything worth doing here needs planning, and our guides flag what to reserve before you sail versus what you can decide on the day. One quirk worth knowing: round-trip Seattle sailings must call at a foreign port, which is why Victoria in British Columbia appears on so many itineraries, usually as a short evening stop.

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The season runs May to September and nothing operates outside it. June and July give the longest days, August and September bring better whale watching and more rain. Every port page carries the same brief: how to get ashore, what's worth your hours, and when to be back.