During Comedy Showtime on-board Coral Princess, the comedian Don Ware cracked the joke, "Did you know that while you were asleep, the Regal Princess steamed in circles until the staff in Ketchikan reversed signs to read Juneau and then we went back in." Certainly what is on offer is similar. Juneau, though, is the capital of Alaska. It is the second biggest city in the world in area, but it is easy to think of it more as a small town for all that is visible. The population is only around 30, 000. Like Ketchikan, it also sits on an island, and everything must enter by air or sea. It is home to the famous "Red Dog Saloon," the oldest tourist attraction in Juneau or Alaska.

Across the Gastineau Channel from Juneau is the Glory Hole, the cavernous entrance to a gold mine where so many of the miners went to glory due to frequent accidents. Joe Juneau and Richard Harris found gold here in 1880 and put Juneau and the territory on the map.

Juneau is complete with beautiful iced-capped mountain views, the Mendenhall glacier, and other small glaciers. The Mendenhall Glacier is a huge ice flow 13 miles from the city centre. It’s a beautiful natural wonder, both when the sun shines on it and when the sky clouds and the ice becomes a deep blue. There’s a visitor centre near the glacier’s face, with displays, film presentations, and several hiking trails around the glacier.

We snapped away with the help of a professional photographer on the "Photo Safari by Land & Sea" excursion offered by Princess. A flexible itinerary allows the tour to catch seasonal highlights, such as changing light and weather conditions. Guides provide photo tips for all skill levels and take the groups to prime destinations to capture the area’s scenic wonder. Our guide was Melissa Kenney, a bubbly guide full of good humour and advice. She made me explore parts of my camera that I hadn’t known existed.

Following viewing the glacier, we went whale-watching. There were only six of us, so we had plenty of room to move around in the boat. The whales were busy – both the humpbacks and the orcas. The ancient cry of "tha’ she blows" sounded often. It called for split-second timing on shutter buttons. My 10-times zoom lens proved useful.

The humpbacked whales can range upwards to 50 feet and weigh 40 tons. They have a mottled white underside and knobs and bumps on their head and flippers. Often they congregate in currents running around a point. Orcas are large dolphins conspicuous by their tall black tails. They are often to found in Lynn Canal between Juneau and Skagway.

I enjoyed the whale-watching so much that I joined the crew of a yacht as soon as I got back to Scotland, and the first time out I was fortunate enough to see dolphins leaping around on the bow wave from a ferry.