Pacific Northwest: the cool new cruise destination | Travel

A humpback whale was breaching under the Golden Gate Bridge as if for pure joy. It leapt right out of the water, again and again, landing with a terrific splash. The evening sun reflected pale gold off the foamy waves and the vermilion towers of the bridge framed the image perfectly. Thrilled at such an auspicious welcome to northern California, the passengers on deck whooped and cheered.

I was on an expedition cruise through the Pacific Northwest aboard the 144-passenger Silver Explorer. Not to the well-trodden ports of Alaska, but further south, along the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington state, a land of virgin forest, vineyards and volcanoes.

Big cities such as San Francisco and Vancouver may not seem like classic expedition destinations, but…