A full exploration of spectacular Canadian highlights is followed by an 18-night Alaskan and trans-Pacific cruise aboard Silversea’s most luxurious cruise ship, Silver Shadow and a stay in a five-star Tokyo hotel on the latest fly-cruise-and-stay holiday from Cruise Traveller (cruisetraveller.com.au).
‘From Glaciers to Geishas’ lasts a month – 30 nights – and delivers luxury all the way. Silver Shadow sails Alaska’s Inside Passage and visits Russia and ports in Japan. The Canadian exploration includes a two-day Rocky Mountaineer Rail journey in renowned GoldLeaf class. The custom-designed, bi-level, glass-domed GoldLeaf coach is the best way to enjoy the grand panoramas of the Rocky Mountains.
Silver Shadow is a byword for top-of-the-range cruising, a superbly appointed Silversea ship known for service and carrying no more than 382 guests. The cabin is a Twin Vista Suite, a quiet sanctuary with large picture windows framing wide ocean views. It’s the perfect backdrop for breakfast in bed.
Special touches add value. Silver Shadow features in-suite dining and 24-hour room service. All gratuities are included on the cruise so forget tipping. Beverages, in-suite and throughout the ship, are included too; select wines, premium spirits, specialty coffees and soft drinks, plus your own tailored mini-bar. There’s even a bonus US$250 in onboard credit, per person.
Finally, the Tokyo hotel where you’ll spend two nights is five-star. It’s one of several excellent hotels used on this holiday, which includes a three-night stay in the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver.
‘From Glaciers to Geishas’ costs from A$17,699 per person twin share, valid at that rate until the end of this year and including flights from Sydney to Calgary and back from Tokyo. It sets out on 5 September 2016 and starts with a flight to Calgary, a welcoming city with a rough and tough past. You’ll stay in the city’s premier hotel, the Fairmont Palliser Hotel Calgary.
A six-night Canadian Rockies Coach/Rocky Mountaineer Rail tour begins with a visit to the town of Banff for a two-night stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, the landmark “Castle in the Rockies”. Sightseeing includes the Hoodoos (shaped by centuries of wind), Surprise Corner, Bow Falls, Lake Minnewanka and Bankhead, an abandoned mining town full of atmosphere. The Banff Gondola makes a breathtaking ascent up Sulphur Mountain.
Depart Banff in early afternoon for a short drive via Bow Valley to Lake Louise for a night’s stay in the picturesque Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.
Next day brings an Ice Explorer ride on the Athabasca Glacier and the award-winning Glacier Skywalk with its transparent floor. Photo stops at Bow and Peyto Lakes, the Crowfoot Glacier and the Athabasca Falls. The route is known for sightings of bears, elk, moose and mountain sheep.
A two-night stay at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge includes an evening wildlife tour and a day free before boarding the Rocky Mountaineer train for a scenic rail journey to Kamloops, in glorious GoldLeaf class. Complimentary beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and gourmet snacks are provided throughout the journey. The train follows the Yellowhead route past Mount Robson, highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.
Next day the train passes through Rainbow Canyon, named for its cliffs striped with pinks, greens and greys, past the Hell’s Gate torrent to arrive in Vancouver, where home for the next three nights is the Pan Pacific Vancouver. The hotel is located dramatically, above Canada Place cruise ship terminal in the city’s downtown area. A full-day tour takes you to Vancouver Island, with its gracious capital, Victoria, and delightful Butchart Gardens.
Plenty of time to explore Vancouver – maybe visit Gastown, Stanley Park and Granville Market – before boarding Silversea’s sleek and stylish Silver Shadow.
The next 18 nights will take you through the spellbinding surroundings of Alaska’s Inside Passage, with visits to the townships of Ketchikan, known for totem poles, Juneau and Kodiak Island, home to huge Kodiak brown bears.
Silver Shadow calls at Dutch Harbor in remote Unalaska and crosses the International Dateline to Petropavlovsk, capital of Russia’s isolated Kamchatka, a 1250-kilometre-long peninsula separating the Pacific from the Sea of Okhotsk. Into Japanese waters now and Kushiro, Japan’s most extensive wetland, a year-round home to endangered Japanese cranes, making it a popular stop for birders.
Visit historic Hakodate, where the renowned Blue Moon Cruise traverses the scenic bay, and Aomori in Japan’s northerly Tohoku region. Finally, Tokyo, an impressive blend of ancient and modern that wows visitors: dazzling neon signage, traditional culture, skycrapers and venerable temples.
A private car conveys takes you from Silver Shadow to your five-star Tokyo hotel. Two nights in Tokyo gives time to sample Japanese culture, maybe sip a sake with your sushi, before jetting back to Sydney.
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SOURCE Cruise Traveller