Spend 25 exhilarating days on both sides of the International Date Line. Explore Japanese ports larger ships pass by and intriguing sights like the enchanting jade-green waters and brilliant white-pebble beach of Jodogahama or the North American wildlife like bears, moose and caribou, calving glaciers in Tracy and Endicott Arms, and stunning cherry trees blooming around Hakodate’s star-shaped fort. Your peaceful North Pacific crossing affords time for rest, relaxation and rejuvenation under the watchful care of the Windstar crew.
 

There are as many Tokyos to discover as there are interests. Cuisine? It has more Michelin stars than any other city. Culture? Kabuki theater and sumo wrestling are just the beginning. Shopping? The posh boutiques of Ginza lie on one end of the spectrum, workshops that hand-craft samurai swords at the other

Located on the southern tip of the island of Hokkaido, Hakodate will offer you breathtaking views, excellent seafood and a delightful natural environment. Visit Goryokaku, a star-shaped fort designated a special historic site with a tower observatory that commands an amazing panoramic view of the fort. While you're there find a place to have a Sapporo, since Hokkaido is home to this famous beer.

Cross the International Date Line, the imaginary line of navigation that runs down the middle of the Pacific Ocean from the North Pole to the South Pole roughly following the 180⁰ Longitude north-south line.  The IDL was established in 1852 in Greenwich, England.

Unalaska, home to the port of Dutch Harbor, has been continuously occupied by Aleuts for about 9,000 years. It is the only deep water port in the Aleutians and the main delivery port for king crab as featured on the Discovery Channel’s “The Deadliest Catch” reality show. The island provides opportunities for many types of outdoor activities such as bird/wildlife watching, hiking, skiing, sport fishing, and kayaking. The museums here are full of interesting artifacts from archaeological digs and the impact of WWII in the Aleutians.

Kodiak is noted as being one of the top three fishing ports in the country and home to over 650 boats. Alaska Marine ferries dock here and Kodiak is also home to the largest U.S. Coast Guard base. This renowned fishing destination offers a variety of sport fishing including halibut, rockfish, cod, trout and five species of salmon. But Kodiak is best known for the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge and the over 3,500 brown bears residing there. Bear viewing is the main attraction and male bears weigh in between 800-1,500 pounds and stand over 10 feet tall. Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park is the best place to learn about Kodiak’s WWII history.

Two hundred miles south of Anchorage and home of the Discovery Channel’s “The Last Frontier,” Homer is a small city on beautiful Kachemak Bay. The geological landform known as Homer Spit is the main attraction here. This 4.5-mile-strip of land with its variety of shops, art galleries, seafood restaurants and beaches was named one of the best 100 beaches in the U.S. Less than 10 miles from the Spit is Kachemak Bay State Wilderness Park, the only designated wilderness park in Alaska. Homer is also known as the “Halibut Fishing Capital of the World” and is the homeport for the Time Bandit of “Deadliest Catch” fame.

Seward, (Anchorage’s gateway) is sandwiched between the Kenai Mountains and the Kenai Fjords National Park. It is one of Alaska’s oldest and most scenic communities, with Mount Marathon rising majestically behind the town. Even though Anchorage is Alaska’s largest city, it is also home to 1,500 moose, surrounded by national parks full of wildlife.

Today is a day of wonder as you cruise the Kenai Fjords, Alaska’s smallest national park. Carved by glaciers flowing from the Harding Icefield to the sea, Kenai Fjords has a rugged arctic landscape and is a rich habitat for marine animals and other wildlife. Most cruise lines don’t go here so enjoy this unique opportunity and you can even take an optional expedition excursion here. As with all Alaska, what you’ll be able to see is subject to weather and ice conditions.
 

Sitka is one of the oldest and most culturally significant communities in Alaska, filled with rich Tlingit, Russian, and early American settler history. Sitka is famous for its spectacular scenery, abundant wildlife, the copper-domed St. Michael’s Cathedral, the Pioneer Home and the Russian Bishop’s House. It contains 22 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is where the contract of sale was signed transferring Alaska from Russia to the United States.

Located on the Gastineau Channel in the Alaskan panhandle, Juneau sits at sea level below steep mountains between 3,500-4,000 feet high. Atop these mountains is the Juneau Icefield, a large ice mass from which about 30 glaciers flow, and two of them – Mendenhall Glacier and Lemon Creek Glacier are visible from the local road. A unique feature of Juneau is that it is the only U.S. capital that has no roads connecting it to the rest of the state.

Haines is one of the most popular Alaska cruise ports and one of the best places for hiking, fishing and wildlife viewing, especially bald eagles.  Within the Haines city limits Fort William H. Seward is a nationally recognized historic landmark, with some of its structures open to the public. Other cultural offerings in Haines include the Alaska Indian Arts Center where traditional craftsmen offer demonstrations of their work, the Sheldon Museum & Cultural Center where local Tlingit people are featured, the Hammer Museum, dedicated to the history of the hammer and the Tsirku Canning Company Museum with memories of Haines’ salmon canneries.

Stunningly beautiful Tracy Arm is a fjord 45 miles south of Juneau that actually consists of two deep and narrow fjords – Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm. Both fjords are over 30 miles long. At the end of Tracy Arm are the impressive twin Sawyer Glaciers. Wildlife in the area includes black and brown bears, deer, wolves, harbor seals and a variety of birds. What you'll be able to see today and how far we can travel up Tracy Arm is weather and ice dependent.

One of the oldest towns in Alaska, Wrangell is located near the mouth of the Stikine River. Much of its history can be seen in the impressive collection of totems scattered throughout the town. Highlights here are the amazing Petroglyph Beach State Historic Park where you can find primitive rock carvings and just 30 miles away is the Anan Wildlife Observatory with the largest pink salmon runs in the Inside Passage, and a platform from which you can look for eagles, harbor seals and black bears.

Misty Fjords, with its gorgeous views of natural formations is a national monument and wilderness area with steep valleys formed by glaciers and lava flows. It is part of the Tongass National Forest and is about 40 miles east of Ketchikan along the Inside Passage. With its icy blue lakes, waterfalls, snowcapped peaks and glacial valleys literally everywhere you point your camera you will get a postcard picture, depending on the weather of course. For a more up-close opportunity in this beautiful scenic sanctuary optional expeditions excursions will be available.
 

Picturesque Prince Rupert, located on Kaien Island, just north of the mouth of the Skeena River is rich in culture and heritage. Prince Rupert was founded in 1910 on a site that has been inhabited by First Nations people for over 10,000 years. The area is rich with wildlife like whales, eagles, salmon and grizzly bears. 

Today we cruise the fjords of Canada’s Inside Passage boasting centuries-old coastal rainforests, beaches, waterfalls and mountains. Over 25,000 miles of rugged coastline lie in Canada’s Inside Passage, joining Alaska’s 15,000 miles of inside waters and provides a safe and sheltered West Coast waterway transit.  In this isolated wilderness look for coastal First Nations longhouses fronted with proud totems and a variety of marine life, from orcas and porpoises to some of the largest populations of bald eagles in the world.

Vancouver’s location at the mouth of the Fraser River and on the waterways of the Strait of Georgia, Howe Sound, Burrard Inlet and all their tributaries makes this busy seaport an easy place for meeting. It is one of Canada’s most populated, most ethnically diverse cities that is a popular filming location. Visit the interesting neighborhoods of Gastown, Granville Island and Chinatown. Walk across the Capilano Suspension Bridge and stroll through Stanley Park. See the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Museum of Anthropology. There is an amazing variety of things to see and do here.