Silversea

Timeless sophistication

“This line caters to truly international, high-flying clients,” says Tom Baker, owner of CruiseCenter, a luxury cruise specialist. Silversea exhibits its level of quality everywhere: in-suite Bulgari amenities; onboard Relais & Château cooking classes; floatplanes to Misty Fjords in Ketchikan; helicopters to dogsled rides atop Mendenhall Glacier. The company’s seven-night itineraries sail northbound to Seward or southbound to Vancouver. They don’t go to the coveted Glacier Bay, but stops at Tracy Arm fjord and Hubbard Glacier allow you to witness calving icebergs the size of tall buildings. “We were within 300 yards of Tracy Arm as it calved,” says Maryland-based Donald Wilhelm, who sailed with Silversea in 2011. “That’s significant.” With a maximum of 382 passengers on board (and almost as many crew members), the Silver Shadow is the most intimate of the major lines trawling Alaskan waters. Seven-night itineraries start at $3,600 per person; silversea.com.