8 Day Westward - Western Passage small ship cruise

Juneau to Sitka or reverse

June 6th, 2024 May 28th, 2024 June 15th, 2024 June 24th, 2024 July 21st, 2024 July 30th, 2024 August 8th, 2024 August 17th, 2024 August 26th, 2024 September 4th, 2024

• Petersburg
• Stephens Passage
• Warm Springs Bay
• Freshwater Bay
• Bair
• LeConte and Dawes Glaciers
• Hidden Falls Hatchery.

• Pacific Catalyst company itineraries have been carefully refined over decades of local experience. They explore selected regions in great depth, taking the time to reveal the unique aspects of each one. Their itineraries don’t require a rush past hundreds of miles of beautiful coves, inlets, and fjords to stay on schedule, so you don’t have to travel at night.

• Each anchorage is selected because it provides the best of what guests come to Southeast Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, or the Sea of Cortez to see. One offers the opportunity to walk through a forest following trails built by generations of brown bears, another features a stroll past endemic cactus on an isolated desert island, and yet another climbs to the edge of a dramatic cliff-walled fjord.

• The food is elegant, locally sourced, and artfully presented. Their chefs perform their culinary magic with ingredients from local providers wherever possible, including organic farmers who make deliveries with a small rowboat, and buy fish directly from local fishers. Guests frequently comment that the cuisine is an unexpected highlight of their trip.
• The wooden vessels are unique, and both are powered by their original engines. Catalyst was built in 1932 as the University of Washington’s first research vessel. Westward was launched in 1924 and was the very first boat built specifically to convey charter guests in Alaskan waters. She is designated as a Historic Place by the National Park Service. Our antique engines are efficient, using only as much fuel in an entire season as some of our competitors consume in a week.
• Their boats are quiet, having electrical systems that allow us to go for up to 12 hours at anchor without running a generator. The sounds of whales blowing in the distance, thrushes singing in the surrounding forest, sea turtles breathing in the nights’ cove, or water cascading down nearby cliff faces are essential parts of a wilderness experience. They want you to hear them.

• With their small capacity, they are able to go ashore in areas designated as Wilderness by the Forest Service, where group sizes are limited to 12 persons. Larger vessels cannot send their guests ashore in Wilderness Areas or can do so only when they divide into multiple groups, thus diluting the sense of community born of common experience that occurs on our trips and is key to what we do.

• All of the walks and kayak paddles are guided by their naturalists. They seek to show you the places that they love and are representative of the Southeast Alaska, Pacific Northwest, or Sea of Cortez ecosystems, because they feel that a small, intimate guided group is the best way to accomplish that objective.

So, why not join them for your next cruise?

June 6 operates Sitka to Petersburg

June 15 operates Petersburg to Sitka 

September 4 operates Sitka to Petersburg

Many dates are already sold out for 2024. Inquire soon!

For more details and to book, click here to begin your journey! https://www.akcruises.com/ContactUs