Albrecht's
Cruises & Travels
Alaska -August 2026
Seven Seas Explorer
10 August to 26 August, Cruise 12 August to 26
August
Type: Crusie Ship GRT: 55,254 Length:
734 FT Beam: 102 FT Speed: 19.4 knots Registry: Marshall Islands
Passengers: 750 Crew: 553 Shipyard: Fincantieri
Ports of Call
|
Day 1 |
12-Aug |
Vancouver, BC |
|
Day 2 |
14-Aug |
Ketchikan, AK |
|
Day 3 |
15-Aug |
Juneau, AK |
|
Day 4 |
16-Aug |
Skagway, AK |
|
Day 5 |
17-Aug |
Icy Strait, AK |
|
Day 6 |
18-Aug |
Hubbard Glacier, AK |
|
Day 7 |
19-Aug |
Whittier, AK |
|
Day 8 |
20-Aug |
Hubbard Glacier, AK |
|
Day 9 |
21-Aug |
Sitka, AK |
|
Day 10 |
22-Aug |
Holkham Bay Glacier Fjords, AK |
|
Day 11 |
23-Aug |
Klawock AK, Alaska, AK |
|
Day 12 |
25-Aug |
Victoria, BC |
|
Day 13 |
26-Aug |
Vancouver, BC |
General Comments
Flew in a day early (10 August) to see some of
Vancouver, stayed at the Fairmont Vancouver, older but nice hotel in
downtown Vancouver, our second night (11 August) was included in the
cruise fare.
The cruise was on the Regent Seven Seas Cruise
line. We used Brenda Campos
of Cruise Planners (https://www.worldwidetravelbybrenda.com/)
to book the cruise. We were
impressed by the Seven Sea Explorer both by the size of the cabin and
also by the service, particularly with such a high guest to crew ratio.
It almost never seemed crowded.
Most of the excursions had local guides who talked
about the places we visited and about the country side we were passing
through. When it was only
the drivers, they also talked about the country side.
For the first part of the cruise the weather was
clear and even warm. Once
we got to Skagway it started to change, and for the rest was overcast
and colder. On the return is was mostly cold and rainy, until aft
Klawock, then it cleared up and was sunny and warm (actual almost hot at
Victoria.
Day 0 – 10 August
Monday flew from San Francisco (SFO) to Vancouver
(YVR), checked in to hotel and had dinner.
Day 1 – 11 August - Vancouver
Walked around downtown Vancouver. Saw a native art
museum Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, then walked through the
CF Pacific Center Mall.
Breakfast and dinner in hotel, both very good.
Day2 – 12 August - Vancouver
After breakfast in hotel (included), we met in
lobby and where transferred to ship by Regent, had dinner in Pan
Pacific, very good Asian Fusion.
Day 3 – 13 August – at Sea
First day was a sea day, looked around the ship and
got settled in. Had dinner
in Setti Mari, nice Italian.
Day 4 – 14 August - Ketchikan
Looked over pre arraigned shore excursions (mostly
did ones included in fare).
The one we had arraigned was upgraded to strenuous activity and had some
other features we were not interested in so switched to the Lumber Jack
Show. Regent being a NCL
Holdings line like NCL and Oceania, docks at Ward Cove instead of
downtown, Ward Cove now has it’s own Lumber Jack Show as well as a
decent set of shops in an old Mill Building.
As we have been downtown several times, we stayed a Ward Cove. We
were in with Norwegian Encore a much bigger ship.
Lumber Jack show was very good.
Had dinner in Prime 7, was also very good.
Day 5 – 15 August - Juneau
Made our own tour arrangements to see the AJ Mine
Gastineau Mill Tour (https://ajgastineauminetour.com/).
This is an underground mine tour with visit to the old mill site and an
opportunity to do some gold panning.
Also a gift shop.
Gave a demonstration of using a jack leg drill.
We also had scheduled the standard Salmon bake
excursion, but decided to skip it.
Had dinner in main dining room – Compass Rose, and
as others was very good.
Better than most main dining rooms on cruise ships.
Day 6 – 16 August - Skagway (our 56th
Anniversary)
Took the walking tour Ghosts and Goodtime Girls
with tour guide Tilly. Very
Interesting tour and excellent guide.
Learned some interesting facts about Skagway. Then went to the
the Back Alley Rock Shop and a couple other stores.
Had dinner in Chartreuse, dinner was good, but not
really to our taste.
Icy Strait Point, is a stop developed by the local
Tlingit tribe. In the
morning we did the Sea food feast and tribal dance.
The sea food feast was a sea food boil and the tribal dance was
organized by the local high school.
In the afternoon we did the Alaska Wild Kitchen.
How to prepare salmon spread and cook halibut and salmon.
Day 8 – 18 August – At Sea, Hubbard Glacier
Heavy fog so did really see the glaciers.
Day 9 – 19 August – Whittier
Took bus into Anchorage and met a member of the
local rock club (Chugach Gem & Mineral Society) at Anchorage Museum.
To go and from Whittier you need to go through the
Whittier Tunnel (officially the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel) is a
2.5-mile long, single-lane highway and railroad tunnel in Alaska that
provides the only land access to the town of Whittier. The tunnel is
one-way and reverses every half hour.
So you have specific times to be at either end.
On our way back we were early so the bus driver stopped at the
Williwaw Salmon Viewing Area to see spawning salmon.
Day 10 – 20 August - At sea with afternoon at
Hubbard Glacier
Again, fog and poor visibility, but could make out
the glacier. Definitely had
a better view in June of 2022 on the Oceania Regatta.
From 2022 when it was clear and sunny.
Day 11 – 21 August - Sitka
Visited the Raptor center and the Sheldon Jackson
Museum and Totem exhibit, weather was cold and rainy.
But both were worth visiting.
First Raptor Cente
Due to fog, heavy drift ice captain skipped Endicott atm. Slow ride at sea.
Day 13 – 23 August - Klawock
Visited carving house for totem poles and totem
Park, interesting information on the history and meaning of totem poles.
Day 14 – 24 August - at sea
Day 15 – 25 August - Victoria
Trip to Buchart Gardens. First clear and warm day.
Gardens are beautiful. Actually, got pretty warm 82 f.
Day 16 – 26 August – Vancouver
Returned to Vancouver an flew home, hit rush our traffic and took almost 2 hours to get home.
It was good trip, and really liked the ship and the ambiance aboard. Especially that there was minimal nickel and dimeing. Even booked a future cruise while on board.
Seven Sea Explorer General Comments
The Explorer is an
elegant ship. larger than some we sailed on, but with a relatively low
passenger count (750) and a high crew count (552) service was generally
fast and excellent. In the dining room our normal server (Rachel)
quickly learned our preferences.
The suite stewards were also very attentive, and
almost every crew said hello as we passed.
The room and balcony were large and very
comfortable. Although, due to weather we did not use the balcony
much.
We had a Concierge D Suite
Concierge Suite D: Cabin 943: 332 sqft (31 m2)
Balcony: 83 sqft (8 m2)Comments on dining
Generally, very good.
- The Compass Rose was consistently good and had
great service.
- La Veranda for breakfast and lunch. While a
buffet style, still had white table clothes and napkins.
- Setta Maria is an Italian style and replaces
the La Veranda for dinner. Also good service and food.
- Pool Grill was actually in a heated
semi-enclosed area for simpler dishes such as sandwiches,
hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, and such. Again, good food and
service. Although the pizza was thin crust, low sauce and cheese so
only tried once.
- Room service was prompt and efficient. Also,
the table in the room was high enough and large enough to actually
work for dining.
- Prime 7 the steak house was great. Went twice each for lunch and dinner.
- Chartreuse was the French-themed place. Food
and service were good. But the food was not outstanding to our
taste, so only went once for lunch and once for dinner.
- Pan Pacific was Asian Fusion and also great
food and service. Went twice.