A true icebreaker, get up close and personal with bears and whales on this incredible expedition cruise through the Alaskan wilderness

When the Russians sold Alaska to the US in 1867, they thought they had the Americans. It was a vast, barren land that was expensive to maintain, and its settlers wiped out the native sea otters and brought the lucrative fur trade to a halt.

What a mistake. Alaska is pure gold. The landscapes are vast, the fjords deep, the mountains snow-capped and huge glaciers plunging into the sea.

It is twice the size of Texas and five times the size of Britain. No wonder the first inhabitants called it Alyeska, or “big land”.

I came to explore on the Ocean Victory, an American Queen Voyages expedition vessel.

Majestic: A stunning aerial view of Misty Fjords Wilderness Area

Not for us the tourist triangle of Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, favored by the hundreds of large ships that bring thousands of tourists here every summer. Instead, we’ll visit Ward Cove, Wrangell, Petersburg and tiny Kake with a population of 500, anchoring in pretty coves and near glaciers to learn about local culture and ice and hopefully get up close and personal with some wildlife.

Ocean Victory has an X-Bug front that cuts through waves instead of riding them and an extra strong hull for sailing through ice; Entertainment is a lecture or two about whales and explorers and a man at the piano during cocktail hour, and there’s a mud room where we go out together in zodiacs and kayaks to look for game and glaciers.

There are also many amenities. Service and food are excellent, cabins are spacious — and most have balconies (binoculars are scattered throughout the ship in case a whale is spotted) — and drinks are included.

The cabins on board the Ocean Victory are spacious – and most have a balcony

Jane says there is “plenty of comfort” on the Ocean Victory. Upstairs is the jacuzzi outside the ship

The ship seats 186 passengers, but there are only 85 of us on board, most of whom are Americans, from two college students who have just graduated to a 97-year-old WWII veteran who is all whisked away by Kayaks and Zodiacs.

Leading us all is a team of 18 naturalists, marine biologists and kayakers who take us on land and water.

Thanks to her encyclopedic knowledge of all things Alaskan, we learn everything from surviving in the wild to using drones to collect whale snot to analyze stress levels.

Entertainment on Ocean Victory is a lecture or two about whales and explorers and a man at the piano during cocktail hour, Jane reveals

Drinks are included on the ship and the food is ‘excellent’

Jane sees moose, deer, bear, whale, seal and bald eagles during the tour (file photo)

We sail from Vancouver to the city of Sitka in Alaska, a ten-night journey that spends much of the first two days in a narrow passage in Canada surrounded by millions of trees.

With no home or settlement in sight, loneliness abounds. Wow, it’s a big country and we’re not even in Alaska.

On day three we arrive at Ward Cove, a working dock about seven miles from the bright lights of Ketchikan, and I take an enclosed tour of the world’s largest collection of totem poles. It’s all very cultural, but I’m looking forward to the actual adventure. I don’t have to wait long because the next day we are in Punchbowl Bay, in Misty Fjords, for our first expedition. We were divided into four groups, each with kayaking, zodiac cruises, lectures and hands-on science, often with barely an hour between activities.

Jane’s cruise takes her from Vancouver to the high-altitude city of Sitka, Alaska, a ten-night journey

Jane takes a tour to see the world’s largest collection of totem poles (above) near Ketchikan

By the end of the day, I had taken a birding lesson in Alaska, attended a lecture on whales, spent nearly four hours in kayaks and animal harnesses, and tagged bald eagles, a mountain goat, and tons of starfish.

In the next few days I will be adding moose, deer, bear, whales, seals and more bald eagles to my wildlife population.

In Wrangell, Grace and I hike through the Tongass National Forest, a temperate rainforest that covers 17 million acres of Alaska.

Passengers learn about local culture as the cruise anchors in beautiful bays and towns like Wrangell (above).

A highlight is a hike through the Tongass National Forest, pictured here, a temperate rainforest covering 17 million acres of Alaska

Jane takes a jet boat ride to LeConte Glacier (above), a massive wall of ice nearly a mile wide

Jane’s cruise avoids Juneau, above, a popular spot for hundreds of large ships that bring thousands of tourists to Alaska each summer

Then there’s my icebreaker moment during a jet boat ride from Petersburg to LeConte Glacier, a massive wall of ice nearly a mile wide. Back in the Zodiacs we approach a sea otter raft and see the mothers swimming on their backs with their young on their bellies.

This is a Californian breed that was introduced to Alaska in the 1960s and judging by the numbers, they love it. I know how you feel.

Sorry Russia, you really missed a trick.