Ultimate Denali & Alaska’s Inside Passage

Arrive in Vancouver where you have 2 nights pre cruise to explore the city

Once a trading post and a rough-and-tumble sawmilling settlement, today modern Vancouver, Canada is many things. Cruise to Vancouver and visit this bustling seaport. This city is a hub for outdoor enthusiasts looking for active things to do in Vancouver an ethnically diverse metropolis, and Hollywood of the North. Hemmed in by mountains and sea, Vancouver seduces visitors with its combination of urban sophistication and laid-back attitude against a backdrop of glass towers and modern sights and plentiful green spaces.

Enjoy local attractions, fun filled outdoor activities, and an innovative culinary scene on a Vancouver cruise excursion. Vancouver’s culinary and cocktail scene is on the rise—and its excellent restaurants and hopping bars have a distinctively local stamp on them. If you are looking for where to go in Vancouver for music, theatre and the arts, they are thriving in the city’s many museums, galleries and performance venues. Beyond the downtown attractions in Vancouver, days of exploration and sightseeing await among the colourful suburbs, unspoiled islands and the vast, rugged wilderness.

Today you join your cruise in Vancouver.

Relax and enjoy a full day of scenic Inside Passage cruising and immerse yourself in Holland America Line elegance.
Alaska’s Inside Passage is a renowned cruising route through a protected network of waterways, featuring glacier-cut fjords, lush rainforests, and diverse wildlife. Stops along the route showcase Alaska’s rich history, including Native Alaskan culture in Ketchikan and Skagway’s Gold Rush era legacy. Here’s how to experience the best of the Inside Passage.

Take an adventure and cruise to Ketchikan, Alaska. Alaska’s “First City” of Ketchikan is so named because it’s the first major landfall for most cruisers as they enter the picturesque fjords of the Inside Passage, where the town clings to the banks of the Tongass Narrows, flanked by green forests nurtured by abundant rain.

Ketchikan has long been an important hub of the salmon-fishing and -packing industries. Visitors can try their luck on a sportfishing or simply savor the fresh seafood at one of the local restaurants on a cruise to Ketchikan excursion. Ketchikanis also one of the best spots along the Inside Passage to explore the rich cultural sights of Native Alaskan nations like the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. You can see intricately carved totem poles at the Totem Heritage Center and Totem Bight State Park, while the attractions of Saxman Village just outside of Ketchikan offers the chance to see Tlingit culture in action, with working carvers and a dance show in the clan house. On an Alaska cruise to Ketchikan don’t forget to leave time to explore the sights in the town itself, including historic Creek Street, a boardwalk built over the Ketchikan Creek, where you can shop for souvenirs, smoked salmon and local art, while exploring gold rush­–era tourist attractions like Dolly’s House Museum.

Cruise to Juneau, Alaska and visit the most remote, most beautiful and strangest state capital in the United States. Surrounded by water, forest and mountain sights, visitors seeking things to do in Juneau indoors and outdoors can hike a glacier, eat fresh-caught fish on a seaside patio and tour a grand capitol building all in one day.

Juneau is known for its outdoor recreation, fresh seafood and fine dining. The city itself is pleasant, but the real highlight of a visit to Juneau is tracking down some wildlife. You can hike up Mount Roberts to chance upon wild deer and bald eagles. Most sightseeing and whale-watching tours head north to Auke Bay—bring a good pair of binoculars to get the best view of these majestic and surprisingly graceful creatures. If you prefer land mammals, catch a floatplane to a nearby wildlife reserve such as Chichagof or Admiralty Island to spy some bears lolling around on Alaska cruise excursion.
The sleepy, misty city of around 32,000—mostly fishermen and small-business owners—has a frontier town vibe, but welcomes more than a million visitors each summer to its natural attractions, cementing Juneau as Alaska’s number-one tourist destination. Experience this breathtaking city on an Alaska cruise.

At the height of the Klondike Gold Rush, the port town of Skagway served as the primary gateway to the legendary gold fields, and quickly grew into Alaska’s largest settlement. It was then a raucous frontier hub packed with trading posts, saloons and guesthouses. As the gold rush faded into the 1900s, so did Skagway—but today it has been reinvigorated as a gateway for a new kind of visitor: those looking to explore Alaska’s colorful history, pristine wildlife and unrivaled natural beauty.

Set sail on an Alaska Cruise and take an adventure in Skagway. At every turn, you’ll find yourself immersed in gold rush lore, from the infamous Red Onion Saloon that still keeps a pistol that Wyatt Earp left behind en route to the Klondike, to the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, a classic narrow-gauge railway that traverses rugged mountains and passes cascading waterfalls and towering glaciers as it connects Skagway to Whitehorse deep in the Yukon. Known as the “Garden City of Alaska,” Skagway is filled with beauty and nature. Explore the town on a Skagway excursion. Much of the town has been preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, where rangers offer free walking tours around the historic district. Take an Alaska Cruise to Skagway and you’ll also find a vibrant local community, home to a rich collection of local galleries, curio shops and restaurants serving seafood plucked fresh from nearby waters.

With the serene majesty of snow-flecked and forested mountains defining its shores, Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve offers some of the most dramatic scenery and wildlife experiences in the world. Glacier Bay National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve, is home to the mile-wide Margerie Glacier, highlight of your scenic cruise up this Alaskan fjord. Watch for breaching humpbacks alongside your ship, bears along the beaches, and so much more as Holland America Line and National Park Service Rangers guide you through the best Alaska Glacier Bay cruise adventure you’ll ever have.

There is a spot in College Fjord where you can see eight glaciers at once. The fjord pokes into the Chugach Mountains at the north end of Prince William Sound and its the only place in Alaska that surrounds you on three sides with glaciers, five of which terminate at the water. The Harriman Expedition that explored College Fjord in 1899 was funded by Ivy League colleges, and all of the glaciers were named for the various schools in their honor. As you travel into the Fjord, the glaciers on the left are named for womens colleges and those on the right are named for mens colleges. Harvard Glacier is the biggest – its face is a mile and a half across.

Disembark and head to Seward, with the afternoon free to take an optional excursion or tour around this picturesque seaside town.
The Whittier, Alaska cruise port is a unique stop on a Holland America Line cruise tour. Home to stunning wildlife and a high concentration of glaciers, it offers outdoor activities like fishing, hiking, and kayaking. With its small-town charm and practical layout, where most town services are under one roof, Whittier promises a memorable experience.

Explore on your own or take optional excursions with an entire free day in Seward. Don’t miss the chance to visit the Sealife Center or take an excursion into Kenai Fjords National Park.

Seward is ground zero for the Klondike Gold Rush’s Iditarod National Historic Trail, a dogsled route that connected the Kenai Peninsula’s ice-free port with Nome during frontier-era winters. Though the modern race makes a ceremonial start in Anchorage, it’s inspired by the famous run of 1925, which dashed along parts of this older path. It allowed 20 mushers to carry urgently needed diphtheria vaccine more than 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) in just over 127 hours.

Native Alaskans and explorers from Russia, Britain and the United States frequented this area before Seward’s official founding in 1903. The early settlement included a colourful neighbourhood known as Homebrew Alley which was erased by a 9.2-magnitude megathrust earthquake. Known as the Good Friday earthquake, it was the second most powerful ever recorded and dropped the shoreline nearly six feet in 1964.

Today this mellow town welcomes visitors to Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords National Park, along with the impressive 204-kilometer (127-mile) Seward Highway—honoured as an All-American Road—stretching north to Anchorage. On a Seward cruise tour, visit some of the town’s most popular sites such as the Alaska SeaLife Center, a research aquarium open to the public, and the steep, stony 920-meter (3,018-foot) Mount Marathon, which hosts one of America’s oldest footraces each Fourth of July.

After a morning at leisure, take the small ship cruise to Portage Glacier on the way to Anchorage – Alaska’s largest city. With its national parks, scenic trails, and abundant wildlife—from city moose to majestic whales—Anchorage is a must-visit. Savour local cuisine, and immerse yourself in the vibrant culture.

Board the luxurious domed rail cars of the McKinley Explorer to Denali for a two night stay at this magnificent national treasure. Don’t miss the chance to visit Denali Square and immerse yourself in the Denali experience. Denali is the number one reason to book Alaska cruisetours into the state’s rugged wilderness and it’s easy to understand why. At an impressive 20,310 feet above sea level, Denali isn’t just any mountain; it’s the centrepiece of Alaska’s interior, a shining jewel rising above pristine Alaska wilderness. Good news if you want more than just a glimpse of “the Great One.”

Today features the unforgettable Tundra Wilderness Tour. This 5 – 6 hour, fully narrated sightseeing excursion takes you into the heart of Denali National Park. The tour will go to mile 43 because of road construction but will continue to offer the best opportunity to view Denali’s iconic wildlife and North America’s tallest peak. (snack included) *Tundra Wilderness Tour may change times or date.

After a morning at leisure in Denali, today you’ll head to Fairbanks – Alaska’s Golden Heart City. Fairbanks, Alaska’s second-largest city, offers a mix of modern attractions and rich history. Known as the Golden Heart, it’s a gateway to the arctic, boasting lively festivals, river cruises, and the chance to see the awe-inspiring Northern Lights. Explore restored gold rush buildings, savour local cuisine, and immerse yourself in the vibrant culture.

Take a step back in time aboard the sternwheeler Riverboat Discovery (lunch included), and pan for gold at the historic Gold Dredge 8.

Your holiday comes to an end today. Interested in seeing more? Ask us about Rocky Mountaineer packages or other touring and accommodation packages for the USA & Canada.