- Season completed on 3rd September 2026, after 30 sailings starting from 14th May.
- Two ships, Silver Moon and Silver Whisper, among the smallest visiting the region.
- 14 ports of call between Vancouver and Seward, from well-known harbours to the villages of Metlakatla and Klawock.
- Sailings at the foot of Hubbard Glacier and in Icy Bay, on seven-night itineraries.
- 29 departures already scheduled for the 2027 season, from 27th May to early September.
Silversea‘s Alaskan season drew to a close on 3rd September 2026. Thirty sailings since 14th May, two ships, fourteen ports of call · a bilan that speaks volumes about the company’s strategy in a region saturated with very large vessels.
Two small ships, and that is the point
Silver Moon and Silver Whisper rank among the smallest cruise liners to navigate the Inside Passage. This is not a brochure detail · it is what allows them to go where ships carrying three thousand passengers cannot. Small size here is a matter of access, not comfort.
The seven-night itineraries connected Vancouver, British Columbia, to Seward, Alaska, in both directions. Alongside Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka and Skagway were significantly less frequented ports of call · Metlakatla, Klawock, Haines, Valdez, Whittier, Icy Strait Point.
Bert Hernandez, President of Silversea, sums up the company’s position in one phrase: “Destination leadership is what sets Silversea apart.”
◆ Glaciers and icefields, from deck to summit
Hubbard Glacier, and what to do ashore
On the navigational side, the season was punctuated by two highlights · the face of Hubbard Glacier, one of the few glaciers in Alaska still advancing, and the crossing of Icy Bay. Wildlife sightings included humpback whales, orcas, brown and black bears, bald eagles, Dall sheep and puffins.
Ashore, four excursions shaped the offering. In Skagway, a private parlour car on the White Pass & Yukon Route climbed from sea level to the summit, with a private guide on board to recount the Klondike Gold Rush. In Juneau, a half-day combined a helicopter flight over the Juneau Icefield with a landing on a glacier-based sled dog camp. In Sitka, kayaking hugged the indented coastline of Sitka Sound facing Mount Edgecumbe. From Ketchikan, a floatplane flew over Misty Fjords National Monument. It is the variety of these outings, rather than the ship, that makes all the difference over the course of a week.
For travellers wishing to extend their stay, the company’s land programmes provided access to Denali National Park and the Alaska Railroad, either before or after the cruise.
Seward, a terminal that changes logistics
The 2026 season was the first to operate from the new Dale R. and Carol Ann Lindsey rail terminal in Seward, inaugurated in June 2026. Developed by the Alaska Railroad, Royal Caribbean Group, The Seward Company and Turnagain Marine Construction, it features a floating pier equipped for shore power and direct rail access.
The benefit is tangible · the ship-to-train connection takes place without road transfers, making combined cruise and interior land stays genuinely viable. An electrified dock also allows engines to be shut down while in port, in a region where air quality is a sensitive issue.
What 2027 has in store
The company announces 29 sailings for 2027, from 27th May to early September, once again aboard Silver Moon and Silver Whisper. Several itineraries will add scenic cruising in Tracy Arm and past Sawyer Glacier, alongside the return of Hubbard and Icy Bay.
Among the newly announced excursions · a salmon feast at Taku Lodge paired with a five-glacier flightseeing tour from Juneau, a sports fishing trip in Ketchikan, and a whitewater rafting descent of Keystone Canyon in Valdez.
Our perspective
Alaska has become a mass tourism destination, and that is precisely what makes Silversea’s approach so clear · when the competition deploys ships with several thousand passengers, arriving with four or five hundred changes the nature of the port call. A village like Metlakatla simply cannot absorb any more.
It is an itinerary to recommend to anyone who has already experienced Alaska on a grand scale and wishes to return differently, or to anyone who dreads crowds on the observation decks. The direction of the cruise is worth considering · travelling from Vancouver to Seward finishes closest to Denali, which makes a land extension much easier.
