Ponant is heading back to Alaska for a 2024 summer program, with four itineraries and 10 sailing dates on offer.

With departures from Vancouver, Seward, and Sitka, the sailings will range from seven to 11 nights, the company said making it possible for guests to be acquainted with Alaska’s vast beauty and glimpses into Alaska’s history. A

ll itineraries will feature a crew of naturalists specializing in geology, ornithology, glaciology, marine mammals, botany, and ethnology. For even more on-board discovery, travelers can opt for two co-branded expeditions in alliance with Smithsonian Journeys—the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex—providing a deep-dive on Alaska’s history, landscapes, and wildlife.

The seven- and eight-night sailings will explore the Inside Passage, with local boat landings and outings, humpback whale sightings, and tours of natural areas teaming with ancient conifer and resinous trees.

A 10-night sailing departing from Sitka — with its eclectic blend of Alaska, Russian and American history — to Vancouver will offer all the highlights of the shorter voyages, with more of an emphasis on community experiences, such as conversations with a local of Elfin Cove, who will speak to the local way of life in the quaint fisherman settlement.

Finally, the 11-night voyages (from Seward to Vancouver/Vancouver to Seward) offer a complete Alaska experience. Expect chatting with local fishermen in the “Little Norway of Alaska;” meeting the Tlingit peoples of Kake, home to one of the largest totem poles in Alaska; diving into the gold rush history in Skagway; glimpsing mighty peaks like Mount Saint Elias, the second-highest mountain in Canada and the United States; and cruising the Prince William Sound—the jewel in the crown of the Pacific Northwest—to spot orcas, grizzly bears and humpback whales and marvel at the Harvard and Bryn Mawr glaciers.