The state of Alaska is huge: It encompasses 365 million acres and is greater than twice the scale of Texas. With simply 17,000 miles of public roads, a lot of Alaska is distant and reachable solely by ship or airplane.
A cruise is likely one of the finest and best methods to go to the Nice Land. Nevertheless, if you wish to discover extra of the state’s extraordinary magnificence, together with its rugged wilderness areas — similar to Denali Nationwide Park & Protect and Fairbanks, town often known as the “Golden Coronary heart of Alaska” — contemplate a cruisetour. A cruisetour is a mixed sea-and-land trip.
Some great benefits of cruise-only itineraries
Most Alaska cruises are shorter than cruisetours, usually lasting seven nights. With one extra night time on the town earlier than the cruise (as a buffer ought to journey plans go awry), you may make the journey in just a bit greater than per week. Moreover, many ships sail round-trip from main cities like Seattle or Vancouver, British Columbia, so airfare and transfers ought to be simpler (and cheaper) to guide since you will be arriving and departing from the identical place.
One other plus is that you’re going to solely have to pack and unpack as soon as (aside from a precruise lodge keep) in case you’re solely taking a cruise. You will not need to haul your baggage between inns and different modes of transportation, similar to buses, trains and planes.
Weeklong Alaska cruises
Should you’re pondering a cruise-only trip is best for you, there are a couple of widespread seven-night Alaska cruise routes that you could take to go to the south-central area of Alaska.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s “Glacier Bay, Juneau & Ketchikan” round-trip voyage from Seattle consists of stops within the coastal cities of Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan (Ward Cove) in Alaska and Victoria, British Columbia, and scenic cruising in magical Glacier Bay Nationwide Park & Protect. Numerous different traces additionally provide Seattle departures, together with Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Cunard Line, MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean Worldwide and Virgin Voyages (starting in 2026).
A seven-night, round-trip “Alaska Dawes Glacier” voyage with Superstar Cruises from Vancouver traverses the scenic Inside Passage and the Endicott Arm fjord (dwelling to Dawes Glacier). It calls on the ports of Icy Strait Level, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan in Alaska. A number of different traces provide round-trip itineraries from Vancouver, together with Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Disney Cruise Line.
You may also guide a weeklong, one-way voyage, both heading southbound or northbound alongside the coast. A number of bigger and smaller traces provide such itineraries. Should you desire a bigger ship, Royal Caribbean gives sailings from both Seward, Alaska, or Vancouver that embody two days of scenic cruising in Hubbard Glacier and the Inside Passage, in addition to visits to the ports of Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Level and Ketchikan.
For a smaller luxurious ship, Regent Seven Seas Cruises gives one-way sailings from Whittier, Alaska, to Vancouver (or the reverse itinerary). These voyages cruise the Hubbard Glacier, the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness space and the Pacific Ocean; they name on Icy Strait Level (Hoonah) and Ketchikan in Alaska, in addition to Vancouver.
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Longer cruise-only voyages, some with lesser-known ports
Since you have traveled up to now to go to Alaska, you would possibly wish to guide an extended voyage to see extra of this nice state. Prolonged itineraries, particularly on smaller and expedition-style ships, typically name on distant and lesser-visited locations.
Silversea’s 14-night, round-trip crusing from Vancouver consists of stops in a number of the extra acquainted Alaska port cities, similar to Ketchikan, Icy Strait Level, Skagway, Seward (Anchorage) and Juneau, in addition to much less frequented Valdez, Haines and Klawock. You will additionally discover voyages with a couple of traces that cease within the small cities of Wrangell on the Inside Passage and Homer on the Kenai Peninsula.
Should you’re inquisitive about a extra immersive Alaska expertise — and a crusing on a a lot smaller ship (roughly 40 to 86 company) — contemplate reserving your bucket-list journey with Alaskan Dream Cruises or UnCruise Adventures. These firms provide distinctive itineraries in wilderness areas, that includes wildlife viewing and energetic exploration in skiffs and kayaks proper from the ship. Each traces provide seven-night and longer voyages.
Nationwide Geographic — Lindblad Expeditions additionally options off-the-grid itineraries into Alaska’s wilderness on small expedition-style ships, together with locations alongside the Inside Passage. The road’s eight-night “Exploring Southeast Alaska’s ABC Islands” round-trip cruise from Juneau (on a 62-guest ship) features a Zodiac cruise by means of Alaska’s Inian Islands; you will spend six days exploring Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof islands and looking for wildlife like orca, humpback whales, sea otters, sea lions and brown (or grizzly) bears.
Cruisetours — exploring Alaska by sea and ashore
For the final word trip to Alaska, contemplate a cruisetour. A mixed sea-and-land trip gives the perfect of each experiences: crusing alongside Alaska’s picturesque shoreline and exploring its boundless wilderness within the inside.
Many giant cruise traces provide cruisetours, together with Holland America, Princess, Norwegian, Superstar and Royal Caribbean, in addition to smaller traces like Azamara Cruises and American Cruise Strains. Others, similar to Oceania Cruises and Silversea, provide cruise extensions with absolutely escorted precruise or postcruise land excursions. These add-on extensions embody a go to to Denali or a rail journey by means of the Canadian Rockies aboard the Rocky Mountaineer. Nevertheless, they are not full bundle applications just like the cruisetours.
What’s included with a cruisetour?
Relying on the itinerary, your cruise could also be firstly or finish of the journey, with the remainder of the time spent ashore. There are various variables and choices with cruisetours. Most of them start or finish with a seven-night cruise, adopted by a number of days or per week or longer touring between inns and locations, with varied excursions and sightseeing choices alongside the way in which.
A few of the land parts are escorted, whereas others will be performed by yourself. These journeys can final so long as 19 days, and so they usually embody transportation by deluxe motorcoach and a glass-domed railroad automobile with the Alaska Railroad. Some land excursions might also embody flights. Inns and journey between locations are often included within the worth. Nevertheless, meals and a few featured land excursions — similar to an Arctic air journey or northern lights viewing tour from Fairbanks — will likely be an extra value.
For instance, Princess gives a 13-day “Denali Explorer” cruisetour from Vancouver to Fairbanks. After the cruise, you disembark in Whittier and spend a night in Anchorage earlier than boarding the railcar for the Direct-to-the-Wilderness service for a two-night keep on the Mount McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, adopted by two nights on the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. Each properties are simply outdoors the doorway to Denali.
Whereas there, you’ll be able to go to the park with a tour seeking Denali’s “Huge 5”: brown (or grizzly) bears, moose, wolves, Dall sheep and caribou. Different non-obligatory excursions embody a sled canine expertise, a flightseeing or helicopter tour, fly-fishing for Arctic grayling and a night coated wagon experience full with an Alaskan feast.
The final cease in your Alaska journey is Fairbanks, the place you will have an included tour on the Chena River aboard a sternwheeler steamboat, then pan for gold and revel in a hearty miner’s lunch at Gold Dredge 8.
Norwegian gives a “12-day Denali Alyeska — Southbound Cruise Tour,” which contains a five-day land portion earlier than the seven-night cruise. This journey begins in Anchorage and consists of the Alaska Railroad domed railcar to Denali and a motorcoach experience to Girdwood, dwelling to the gorgeous Alyeska Resort, nestled on the foot of the Chugach Mountains. After an in a single day in Girdwood, you will head to Whittier to start your cruise.
You will additionally discover cruisetours with Princess that embody in a single day stays at their Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge. This lodge gives entry to distant Wrangell—St. Elias Nationwide Park & Protect (the most important nationwide park within the U.S.) and the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge, the gateway to adventures in Kenai Fjords Nationwide Park.
The final word Alaska cruise
And if you wish to head as far north as Nome, Alaska, then cross the Arctic Circle and go to Kodiak Island — dwelling to the world’s second-largest bears (subsequent to polar bears) — and do all of it whereas on a ship (no land portion included), guide the “28-day Legendary Alaska Arctic Circle Solstice” cruise with Holland America. This bucket-list journey units sail round-trip from Seattle and consists of many days of scenic cruising, 12 ports of name and the smaller cities of Valdez, Haines, Wrangell and Dutch Harbor in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.
