Spectacular Alaska! with Alaska Cruise

Meet your Tour Director between 3 pm and 7 pm in the hotel reception area.

Meet your fellow travel companions at this morning’s welcome orientation. Travel through Palmer in the Matanuska Valley, where cabbages can grow to an amazing 70 pounds in the 24-hour daylight. Venture up over Tahneta Pass for wonderful vistas of Matanuska and Worthington Glaciers. Stop at Bridal Veil Falls before arriving in the seaside port of Valdez.

This morning, [LF] meet a local Alaskan fishing expert to learn more about the industry, the equipment used, and their daily lives. Then board your boat for a cruise on Prince William Sound. Before returning to Valdez, see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Terminal, where supertankers are loaded with crude oil from Prudhoe Bay.

Enjoy great scenery all the way as you travel along Richardson Highway. Stop at Delta Junction Roadhouse, a living history homestead with a museum, original roadhouse, and farm animals. Then, head west on the Alaska Highway to Fairbanks, the state’s second-largest city. Enjoy a free evening.

Visit Gold Dredge #8 and ride the narrow-gauge railroad. Then, try your luck as you pan for gold. Later today, board the Sternwheeler Discovery for a cruise on the Chena River, with a stop at the Chena Village to learn about Athabascan Native culture. You will also have the chance to meet Iditarod mushers and their famed dog teams to learn about breeding, training, and the big race! This evening, enjoy a special Alaska salmon bake.

Board the world-famous Alaska Railroad for a journey through untamed wilderness. Today’s ride ends at Denali National Park, where North America’s highest peak, 20,320-foot Denali, (formerly known as Mount McKinley) majestically dominates the park’s 6 million acres. The afternoon is free. This evening, enjoy dinner at the Murie Science & Learning Center followed by an [LF] exclusive presentation on Denali National Park by a local Naturalist.

Morning at leisure. Consider an optional float trip down the Nenana River or a helicopter ride over the park. Then, prepare for an adventure of a lifetime with a Tundra Wilderness tour into the park with a Naturalist Driver Guide.

Travel south toward Anchorage stopping at Happy Trails Kennels, home of four-time Iditarod Champion Martin Buser and his dogs. Continue to Anchorage for a visit to the Alaska Native American Heritage Center. This evening, your Tour Director hosts a special farewell dinner. Over dessert, enjoy a [LF] special presentation by an Alaskan bush pilot.

Witness one of the world’s most scenic drives as you follow the south shore of lovely Turnagain Arm. Upon arrival in Seward, board your vessel for a cruise on the glacial waters of Kenai Fjords National Park.

Travel to Whitter, a remote village nestled along breathtaking Prince William Sound, home to a stunning array of wildlife, including bald eagles, sea otters, and Orcas! Embark on a 7-Night cruise south through the Inside Passage to Vancouver, BC.

Scenic cruising through the Gulf of Alaska.

Cruise through Glacier Bay National Park (A UNESCO World Heritage Site).

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 rich history, pristine wildlife, and unrivaled natural beauty.

NOTE:
Haines may be an alternative port and will be determined by Holland America onboard.

Cruise to remote and spectacular capital city of Juneau.

Take an adventurous cruise to Ketchikan —Alaska's "First City,” so named as the first major landfall for most cruisers entering the picturesque fjords of the Inside Passage. Ketchikan clings to the banks of the Tongass Narrows, flanked by green forests nurtured by abundant rain.

Alaska’s Inside Passage is a protected network of waterways that wind through glacier-cut fjords and lush temperate rain forests along the rugged coast of Southeast Alaska.

Scenic cruise.

Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning. Schedule flights departing from Vancouver International Airport after Noon.