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Your cruise ship has just eased up to the dock, shadowed by the towering Mt. Marathon. You’ve arrived in Seward, the cruise gateway to Alaska’s heartland.
Seward hugs the coast at the edge of a vast wilderness. Impossibly tall, snowcapped mountains loom high above deep, verdant valleys; massive, blue-ice glaciers creak and groan towards the sea; and miles and miles of rugged hillsides run riot with blazing wildflowers.
But you won’t see it. As you step off your ship in Seward, your cruise is over and so is your vacation.
Big mistake.
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| Had you extended your cruise vacation to include Denali National Park – a wilderness so stunning, and so impressive in scale and beauty that Native Americans consider its vast acreage sacred land – you’d be beginning your adventure, not ending it. |
| Over the eons, massive plates of earth (they’re still moving!) have transformed Denali National Park from a flat plain into a region that now includes North America’s tallest peaks. Mt. McKinley – the Continent’s loftiest – is even taller than Mt. Everest when measured from its base. This is Denali National Park – home of the most popular cruise tour in the state of Alaska. |
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Which cruise lines offer Denali National Park cruise tours:
• Carnival
• Celebrity
• Crystal
• Holland America
• Princess
• Royal Caribbean |
Where the land portion of your cruise tour usually begins:
• Seward (for northbound cruises originating in Vancouver)
• Fairbanks (for southbound cruises terminating in Vancouver) |
Where the land portion of your cruise tour usually ends:
• Fairbanks (for northbound cruises originating in Vancouver)
• Seward (for southbound cruises terminating in Vancouver) |
Length of your cruise tour:
• Cruise: 8 days/7 nights
• Land: 5 days/4 nights |
| Tour lengths vary depending on tour extensions chosen |
Highlights of your cruise tour:
• 7-Night Gulf of Alaska cruise (all cruise tours)
• Seward Highway – a beautiful, “National Forest Scenic Byway”
• Turnagain Arm – named by a frustrated Captain Cook
• Denali National Park – home to the majestic Mt. McKinley
• Rustic lodge overnight(s) within Denali National Park
• Scenic domed train ride through Alaskan wilderness
• Anchorage or Fairbanks overnight(s)
• Gold panning, gold mine tour and sternwheeler cruise on the Chena River |
Optional Activities on your cruise our:
• Dinner aboard scenic domed train
• Sport fishing
• River rafting -- from mild to wild!
• Horseback riding
• Glacier hiking
• Mountain biking
• Heli-hiking
• Flightseeing over glaciers
• Kayaking
• Dog sled kennel tour
• Wagon ride
• Bungee jumping
• Hang gliding |
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Cruise tour destinations and attractions:
While each cruise line succeeds in offering a well-rounded list of sights and attractions for its tours, no tour can do it all. Every Denali National Park tour includes at least some of the destinations listed alphabetically below. |
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Alyeska: Alyeska is a year-round resort (this is where Anchorage comes to ski in the winter) nestled at the base of Mt. Alyeska, about 40 miles east of Anchorage. The best views are available from the top of the mountain, but you won’t need skis to see them – the summit and its restaurant are accessible via the popular Alyeska Resort Tramway. |
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| Anchorage: Alaska’s biggest city is big on attractions. Stand inside a bubble or touch exotic reptiles at the Imaginarium (great fun for kids), visit the Earthquake Museum (the city “hosted” a massive earthquake in 1964), or spend time at any of the big-city attractions found nowhere else in Alaska, including the zoo and the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Because of the city’s hotel and restaurant offerings, Anchorage is a popular stop on route to or from Denali tours. |
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Are you sure about that?It might come as a surprise, but Mt. Aleyska, Alaska’s prime ski resort, claims the lowest base elevation (250 ft.) of any major ski area in the United States.
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| Denali National Park: It’s often shrouded in clouds, but with any luck, you’ll see the towering Mt. McKinley as you enter the national park. You’ll spend at least one night here, “roughing it” at a deluxe, but rustic-looking lodge not far from the park’s entrance. Shuttle buses will operate between your lodge and the park for optional tours and nature walks. Plus, you’ll have plenty of time (if not the nerve) to try some white water rafting or kayaking, do some bungee jumping, or maybe take a helicopter ride to a remote corner of the park for a hike over a glacier or two. If your idea of adventure is a little less aerobic, then consider that warm, roaring fire and a big, soft, wingback chair in the lodge’s lobby. |
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| Fairbanks: Here’s a city that’s so far north, there are almost 22 hours of daylight in the summer, but payback time comes around each winter when the sun comes up around 11 AM and sets before 3 PM. In-town attractions include the Fairbanks Ice Museum (you’re surprised?) and the Fairbanks Community Museum, which reminds visitors of the town’s Gold Rush days. But most tours focus on out-of-town attractions. If hopping aboard a sternwheeler for a narrated tour down the Chena River and trying your hand at gold panning appeals to you, then choose a tour with two nights in Fairbanks. |
| Portage Glacier: Some cruise tours include a short boat excursion to Portage Glacier. A visitor’s center is located a few miles off the Seward Highway (the road that connects Seward to Anchorage), but if you want to see the glacier up close, you’ll have to take the boat out into the iceberg-filled sea. Don’t worry – the boat’s hull has been designed for bumping icebergs. |
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Scenic Dome Railway: You’ll never confuse this train with any rail experience that you’ve had in the lower 48. Regardless of the cruise line operating your tour, if there’s a rail segment included, the train will feature two-level cars with glass domes and 360-degree views. There’s no rush – the trains proceed at a leisurely pace through the wilderness, so there’s plenty of time to have a delicious meal in the dining car or stand on the outdoor viewing platform, watching the moose watch you as the train rolls down the track. The Alaska Railroad operates a train making the 12-hour run between Anchorage and Fairbanks, with stops in Talkeetna and Denali National Park. The various cruise line companies attach their custom-built rail cars to that train. |
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| Seward: For many cruise passengers, Seward is the gateway to Alaska’s vast wilderness. But that wilderness isn’t just some vague, distant land -- it’s a frontier that begins within minutes of leaving the dock. Just a few miles north of Seward positions you – maybe for the first time in your life – just about in the middle of nowhere. Mt. Marathon, site of the annual 4th of July Mount Marathon Race (bring your water bottle), rises above the town. |
| Seward Highway: The 127-mile stretch of highway from Seward to Anchorage is the primary route for most land tours heading north towards Denali National Park. You’ll pass fjords, skirt crystal-clear lakes, and witness incredible mountain vistas (check those video camera batteries) of rugged peaks and blooming valleys. Along the way you’ll see Dall sheep, beavers, moose, bald eagles, and maybe even a black bear. The route includes Turnagain Arm (see below), where you may spot beluga whales. |
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| Talkeetna: If your reason for coming to Alaska is to challenge Mt. McKinley – here’s your base camp. If your reason for coming to Alaska is just to see Mt. McKinley – you’ve got a better chance of seeing it from Talkeetna than just about anywhere else on earth. The mountain is just over 100 miles away, and on a clear day the view is truly spectacular. If mountain climbing isn’t your thing, Talkeetna is also your “base camp” for flightseeing (you can land on glaciers that carve their way alongside Mt. McKinley), river boat cruises, whitewater rafting, and mountain biking. And don’t worry about your “camp”-- if your tour includes an overnight in Talkeetna, it’s deluxe. |
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Adult male deer have antlers; females don’t, right?Wrong. Female Caribou have antlers – the only member of the deer family to be so equipped.
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Turnagain Arm: A hopeful Captain Cook sailed up this arm of water back in 1778, believing it might lead to the Northwest Passage. It didn’t, so he had to turn around again and keep looking, hence the inlet’s name. Most tours that lead from Seward to Alyeska or Anchorage pass through Turnagain Arm. Have your camera ready. If your timing is good, you may glimpse a wall of water coming into the arm with the tide. The “bore tide,” as it’s called, can be from two to six feet high and travel up to 15 mph. |
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It’s big. It’s beautiful. And it’s in your backyard.
Alaska & Canada!
Find the best tour price by calling one of our Cruise Specialists at: (800) 242-1781 |
CELEBRITY CRUISES 12-night “Denali Explorer” – a Denali National Park cruise tour featuring the Celebrity Summit – is yours for just $2,399 (Inside Cabin). Outside Cabins begin at just $2,849! Ask for Celebrity’s Tour 11!
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PRINCESS CRUISES 12-night “Heart of Alaska” – a Denali National Park cruise tour aboard the beautiful Dawn Princess – begins at only $1,899 (Inside Cabin)! Mini-suites start at just $2,799! Ask for Princess’ Tour 17R!
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HOLLAND AMERICA 11-night “Denali & Alaska Highway” – a Denali National Park cruise tour featuring the line’s beautiful Ryndam – can be yours for only $1,499 (Inside Cabin). Suites start at just $1,949! Ask for Holland America’s Tour 6!
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