Star Seeker: 33-Night N/A

Kobe is a port city of about 1.5 million people on the southern coast of Honshu, wedged between the Rokko Mountains and Osaka Bay.

Tokyo is one of the world's great cities, a metropolis of nearly 14 million people (37 million in the greater metro area) that layers cutting-edge technology, ancient temples, obsessive food culture, and distinctive neighborhood personalities into a dense, efficient urban landscape. The Tokyo cruise port is primarily at Harumi Passenger Ship Terminal or the newer Tokyo International Cruise Terminal in the waterfront area, both on Tokyo Bay with the city skyline in the background.

Seward is the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park and serves primarily as a turnaround port for one-way Alaska cruises between Anchorage/Whittier and the Inside Passage. The small town of about 2,800 residents sits at the head of Resurrection Bay on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, surrounded by mountains, glaciers, and the cold waters of the northern Gulf of Alaska.

Sitka sits on the outer coast of Baranof Island, facing the open Pacific rather than the protected Inside Passage. This gives it a different character from other Alaska cruise ports: more exposed, more wild, with ocean swells and offshore islands visible from town.

Icy Strait Point is a privately developed cruise destination adjacent to Hoonah, a Tlingit village of about 800 people on the northern shore of Chichagof Island. Unlike most Alaska ports, this is a purpose-built cruise facility operated by Huna Totem Corporation, the local Tlingit Alaska Native corporation, meaning tourism revenue stays in the indigenous community.

Juneau cruise port is the capital of Alaska and one of the main stops on Inside Passage itineraries. The town sits on a thin strip of coast at the foot of Mount Roberts and Mount Juneau, backed by the 1,500-square-mile Juneau Icefield and surrounded by the Tongass National Forest.

Ketchikan cruise port is the first major stop on most Alaska Inside Passage itineraries coming up from Seattle or Vancouver. The town sits on Revillagigedo Island in Alaska's southernmost panhandle, wedged between the ocean and steep forested mountains.