“We have a sighting at 2 o’clock,” the young captain announces to a boat-full of hawkeyed travellers watching every wave with intent, hoping to find a humpback whale in the vast Pacific Ocean just off the coast of Juneau, the first stop on our week-long cruise with Holland America Line celebrating 150 years of sailing around the globe.
We spent the first day at sea traversing along the archipelagos of British Columbia, passing the island of Haida Gwaii, and making our way through to Alaska’s capital city, accessible only by boat or plane, with no road connections to the rest of the state or North America. Snowcapped mountains on either side are cut through by the scenic Gastineau Channel, popular for boating, fishing, and wildlife watching.
