In the event you’re planning your first huge journey to Alaska, chances are you’ll have already got heard of an Alaska cruisetour — an organized journey that mixes a cruise with overland touring.
In Alaska, in contrast to in most locations, cruisetours are a quite common factor.
Of the 3 million or so vacationers who go to Alaska yearly, roughly two-thirds go by cruise ship. And, of these, a big proportion join an prolonged journey that features each cruising and land touring.
These are a lot increased percentages than those that take cruises and cruisetour-type journeys in virtually some other a part of the world.
This isn’t by chance.
For causes I’ll clarify in additional element under, a cruise — and significantly a cruisetour — is one of the simplest ways to see a broad cross-section of Alaska’s most well-known sights in a single, easy-to-arrange journey.
Even when you’re not the kind of one who usually indicators up for a cruise or a land tour when visiting most locations, you simply would possibly wish to make a cruisetour the best way you see Alaska. A minimum of on your first go to.
This information will clarify why a cruisetour of Alaska is sensible for a lot of Alaska-bound vacationers and every part that you must know to plan and e-book one.
What’s an Alaska cruisetour?
First, let’s begin with the fundamentals. A cruisetour to Alaska is a visit that mixes a cruise alongside the coast of Alaska with a multiday overland tour into the state’s rugged inside. It’s each a cruise and a land tour of Alaska — therefore the identify.
Usually, these are journeys that mix a seven-night cruise alongside the southeastern coast of the state (usually referred to as Gulf of Alaska sailings) with three to 10 nights of overland touring.
The ensuing cruisetours thus vary in size from 10 to 17 nights.
A cruisetour is not the one option to do a cruise-related trip to Alaska. You can also join a cruise-only journey to the state, and lots of cruise-loving vacationers excited by seeing Alaska do exactly that. All the most important cruise strains that function in Alaska supply cruise-only choices, and as I’ve skilled firsthand over a few years of writing about Alaska cruises, they’re fantastic journeys.
Nonetheless, for causes I’ll clarify under, a cruisetour is arguably one of the simplest ways to get a broad Alaska expertise in a single journey.
Why select an Alaska cruisetour?
Alaska is a giant place with comparatively few folks, restricted infrastructure and plenty of hard-to-reach wilderness — all points that make it tough to go to as an unbiased traveler. A minimum of if you wish to see a broad cross-section of its most well-known sights in a single journey.
As an example, one of the vital well-known locations to go to within the state, Glacier Bay Nationwide Park and Protect, is not reachable by automobile. You possibly can’t drive there. For most individuals, the one sensible option to get deep into Glacier Bay (and see its beautiful tidewater glaciers) is on a cruise vessel.
One other prime vacation spot in Alaska, the mountain-backed metropolis of Juneau — a hub for whale-watching, glacier flights and different bucket-list Alaska experiences — can also be inaccessible by automobile. You possibly can fly there, however for most individuals, a cruise is one of the simplest ways to succeed in it.
Different main Alaska locations are reachable by automobile, however are so far-flung that arranging a highway journey to see a number of of them in a single journey is impractical. For instance, the driving distance between Denali Nationwide Park and Protect, and the favored vacationer city of Ketchikan is greater than 1,100 miles. You’d want a minimum of 40 hours to make the journey.
It’s only by means of a cruise tour that mixes journey by ship, rail vehicles and motorcoaches that seeing all the above and extra in a single journey turns into doable for most individuals. And it is not simply doable — it is easy. On a cruise tour, anyone else has discovered all the very difficult logistics of getting you across the vastness of Alaska. All you need to do is sit again, calm down and benefit from the experience.
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As talked about above, even when you’re the kind of one who typically stays away from group journey, a cruisetour continues to be your greatest guess if you wish to see plenty of Alaska.
It’s going to get you each to the favored locations within the southeastern a part of the state which can be simply accessible by ship — equivalent to Juneau, Ketchikan, the historic mining city Skagway and Glacier Bay — in addition to to the enduring locations within the inside of the state which can be greatest seen through overland touring — equivalent to Denali Nationwide Park, Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Which corporations supply Alaska cruisetours?
5 massive cruise strains account for practically all cruisetours in Alaska, with common departures all through the Alaska vacationer season:
Moreover, two small cruise strains identified for small-ship sailings — Windstar Cruises and Azamara Cruises — supply cruisetours to Alaska on a extra sporadic foundation. One different small-ship specialist, American Cruise Strains, very often operates Alaska cruisetours.
Of those, by far the largest Alaska cruisetour operators are Princess Cruises and Holland America. The 2 manufacturers (that are sister corporations owned by cruise big Carnival Company) had been the pioneers in providing excursions to Alaska that mixed cruise journey and overland journey. They proceed to dominate the marketplace for such journeys.
Princess, notably, affords a whopping 28 Alaska cruisetour itineraries, every a bit of completely different. The following greatest Alaska cruisetour operator, Holland America, affords 18 completely different cruisetour itineraries.
Royal Caribbean, Movie star and Norwegian are smaller gamers within the Alaska cruisetour market, with a smaller vary of cruisetour itineraries. However they nonetheless every have 12, 11 and 9 completely different cruisetour itineraries, respectively.
That is all to say that you’ve rather a lot of various Alaska cruisetours from which to decide on.
Discovering one of the best one for you
The excellent news is that the large quantity of selection means you may seemingly discover a tour that aligns completely along with your pursuits. There are journeys that target land tourism and revolve virtually solely round visiting Denali Nationwide Park, however then there are others that add plenty of stops at different outdoorsy areas, together with lesser-known Wrangell-St. Elias Nationwide Park — the largest nationwide park within the U.S.
Some cruisetours will carry you to such off-the-beaten-path cities as Homer, Alaska, often called the world capital of halibut fishing. Others carry you to Fairbanks or Anchorage. A few of Holland America’s cruisetours will even take you throughout the border into Canada to the wild and sparsely populated Yukon Territory and its capital, Whitehorse.
Reserving could be exhausting
The dangerous information is that, due to all these decisions, the method of reserving an Alaska cruisetour could be complicated for first-timers.
Relying on which itinerary you decide, the general size of the journey, the locations you may go to and the stuff you’ll see can fluctuate significantly.
You may additionally get a unique expertise relying on which cruisetour firm you decide.
Princess, which is by far the chief in cruisetours to Alaska, has constructed up an array of unique company-owned infrastructure within the state that you’ll solely expertise by reserving a Princess journey. These embody:
- Two custom-built Princess wilderness lodges at Denali Nationwide Park which can be among the many greatest locations to remain within the space
- Three extra custom-built Princess lodges in different components of Alaska
- A fleet of luxurious glass-domed Princess rail vehicles that present direct-to-the-wilderness service
- A fleet of luxurious Princess Excursions motorcoaches
Holland America additionally owns a wilderness lodge in Alaska — only one, at Denali Nationwide Park — in addition to a number of accommodations in different components of Alaska and the Yukon Territory. It additionally owns its railcars and motorcoaches.
By their father or mother firm Carnival Company, Princess and Holland America even personal a part of the White Move and Yukon Route railroad in Skagway — one of many greatest vacationer sights within the state — in addition to a part of Skagway’s historic port and retail operations.
Moreover, each Princess and Holland America will show you how to e-book day excursions out of their Alaska lodges to discover the Alaska wilderness. These excursions embody every part from flightseeing excursions and whitewater rafting outings to guided hikes, fishing journeys and a go to to a copper mine.
In contrast, Royal Caribbean, Movie star and Norwegian don’t personal their very own lodging in Alaska. As a substitute, they contract with native accommodations to rearrange lodging for his or her cruisetour prospects.
Royal Caribbean, Movie star and Norwegian additionally do not personal railcars or motorcoaches in Alaska; they contract out that portion of their cruisetours to native operators.
What’s included in an Alaska cruisetour?
Once you join a cruisetour to Alaska, you are signing up for a trip the place your cruise line will prepare virtually each side of your journey, each on land and at sea.
For starters, there’s the cruise portion of the journey. As famous above, each cruisetour in Alaska features a cruise that’s usually a one-way, seven-night crusing alongside the southeastern coast of Alaska. These journeys usually embody day stops at common southeastern Alaska cities equivalent to Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan, together with a number of visits to a glacier space for glacier viewing.
Cruisetours additionally embody nightly lodging throughout the land portion of the journey and overland transportation across the state, both on motorcoaches or rail vehicles.
Your cruise line can even normally prepare your flights to and from the journey (for an additional cost) and airport transfers.
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In the event you’re touring to or from Denali Nationwide Park by prepare as a part of a cruisetour, the price of the tour normally consists of transfers to and from the rail depot close to Denali and lodging.
Within the case of cruisetours operated by Princess, the precise lodging included within the tour is usually in one of many 5 custom-built Princess lodges talked about above; these lodges play a giant position within the land portion of most Princess cruisetours. Notably, they serve not simply as lodging for the evening however as a base for exploring a few of the state’s best-known sights.
Meals throughout the land portion of the journey usually are not included with many cruisetours. That stated, some higher-end cruisetours do embody them.
Excursions whereas visiting ports on the cruise portion of the journey are usually not included in cruisetour fares. Excursions throughout the land portion of the journeys, together with whereas staying at cruise line-owned lodges, are included in some cruisetours however not all. (Extra on that under.)
The place do Alaska cruisetours start?
Almost all cruisetours start in certainly one of three locations: Anchorage, Alaska; Fairbanks, Alaska; or Vancouver, British Columbia.
You may additionally often discover cruisetours that begin in Seattle — all of that are operated by Norwegian Cruise Line.
Cruisetours that start in Anchorage or Fairbanks begin with the overland touring portion of the journey first, adopted by the cruise portion of the journey. Cruisetours that start in Vancouver or Seattle begin with the cruise portion first, adopted by the overland touring.
In each instances, the cruise portion will usually be a one-way, seven-night crusing between both Whittier or Seward in Alaska and both Vancouver or Seattle.
That signifies that whenever you e-book flights on your cruisetour, you may be reserving an “open jaw” ticket that brings you into Alaska in the beginning of the journey and residential from Vancouver or Seattle — or vice versa.
Notice that you may e-book your individual air for these journeys (many TPG readers like to make use of Points and miles) or let the cruise strains e-book flights for you thru their add-on air applications.
If reserving by yourself, simply make certain that you’re reserving by means of the correct airport in Alaska. Journeys that begin in Fairbanks, as an illustration, are greatest reached with a flight to Fairbanks Worldwide Airport (FAI) versus a flight to Anchorage Worldwide Airport (ANC), despite the fact that Anchorage is a far larger airport. It’s because transfers between Anchorage and Fairbanks could be time-consuming and costly.
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What are the itinerary decisions for Alaska cruisetours?
As famous above, Princess is the largest Alaska cruisetour operator, and it affords 28 completely different cruisetour itineraries. The following 4 greatest Alaska cruisetour operators supply one other 50 itineraries between them.
That is plenty of completely different cruisetour choices to sift by means of when you’re planning a visit.
Selecting the proper Alaska cruisetour for you does not should be fairly as tough because it might sound.
Relying on how lengthy you wish to keep in Alaska and what kind of expertise you’re in search of, you may slender down the alternatives fairly shortly.
For starters, ask your self in case your most important aim for the land portion of the journey is to see Denali Nationwide Park, Alaska’s most well-known attraction. For many individuals, seeing Denali is the primary motive so as to add just a few days of land touring to an Alaska cruise. Or, would you relatively see a broader cross-section of the state, together with locations like Fairbanks or lesser-visited pure sights like Wrangell-St. Elias Nationwide Park?
You may additionally wish to ask your self whether or not you desire a full-service, guided expertise when on the land tour portion of the journey, with plenty of inclusions (like meals) and excursions. Or would you like to do extra of the exploring by yourself?
Relying in your solutions to those questions, you may slender down the listing of accessible cruisetours considerably.
Princess Alaska cruisetours
Princess, as an illustration, makes selecting from its array of 28 Alaska cruisetour straightforward by breaking them down into 4 broad classes that every enchantment to a unique sort of traveler:
- Denali Explorer journeys (10-13 nights)
- Off the Crushed Path journeys (13-15 nights)
- Connoisseur journeys (12-17 nights)
- On Your Personal journeys (10-11 nights)
Along with a seven-night cruise, the Denali Explorer journeys supply a go to to Denali because the core aspect of the land portion of the expertise; some additionally add further days to see Fairbanks and Anchorage.
In the event you’re seeking to see much more of the state’s most well-known sights, and you’ve got a bit extra time, the Off the Crushed Path journeys are much like the Denali Explorer journeys however add a go to to the Kenai Peninsula or Wrangell-St. Elias Nationwide Park (or each).
Due to these additions, these journeys usually final two to a few days longer than Denali Explorer journeys. As a substitute of three to 6 nights, you may spend six to eight nights on the land portion of the journey.
The Connoisseur journeys are much like the Off the Crushed Path journeys however with a way more full-service design.
On the land portion of the Off the Crushed Path excursions (and Denali Explorer excursions), you’re by yourself for meals and do not have a full-time tour director accompanying you from place to position as your information. On the land portion of the Connosseur journeys, against this, most meals are included, and you will be escorted by a tour director.
In the event you’re the kind of traveler who likes full-service excursions the place each little element of your journey, together with the place you eat, is organized by the tour firm and there’s an always-present tour chief, the Connoisseurs journeys are going to be the correct selection for you.
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For vacationers on the alternative facet of the spectrum — those that prefer to be extra on their very own when vacationing — the On Your Personal itineraries are the journeys particularly designed for you.
The land portion of On Your Personal journeys consists of all the essential preparations — lodging and transportation between locations — however no pre-scheduled excursions, meals or tour director providers.
Just like the Denali Explorer journeys, the On Your Personal journeys are among the many shorter Alaska cruisetours that Princess affords and have a specific concentrate on Denali Nationwide Park for his or her land parts.
The opposite main corporations with Alaska cruisetours usually supply the same array of journeys, although not as broad a variety as Princess. Every of those corporations does issues a bit of in a different way.
Holland America Alaska cruisetours
Holland America, particularly, affords one thing that no different Alaska cruisetour firm does: the possibility to cross the border into Canada to see the Yukon Territory.
Holland America breaks its Alaska cruisetours down into two teams:
- Alaska and Denali cruisetours
- Alaska, Denali and Yukon cruisetours
The land portion of the Alaska and Denali cruisetours entails two to seven nights of overland touring, together with one to a few nights at Holland America’s lodge at Denali Nationwide Park.
The land portion of the Alaska, Denali and Yukon cruisetours entails six to eleven days of overland journey, with two to a few nights at Holland America’s Denali lodge and two to a few nights within the Yukon Territory.
If seeing the Yukon Territory is of curiosity to you, the latter excursions are the best way to go.
Royal Caribbean Alaska cruisetours
Royal Caribbean does not supply as broad a variety of Alaska cruisetours as Princess and Holland America. However like each of these manufacturers, its 12 Alaska cruisetour itineraries embody shorter (10-night) journeys the place the land portion is generally centered on seeing Denali Nationwide Park, in addition to some longer journeys (as much as 13 nights) that add on extra sightseeing.
The land portion of Royal Caribbean cruisetours ranges from three to 6 nights, and all however one embody a keep at Denali Nationwide Park.
Among the journeys embody a keep in Anchorage, whereas six of the 12 itineraries add on a go to to Fairbanks.
Fairly just a few of the journeys embody a keep in Talkeetna, which is a number of hours south of Denali Nationwide Park and a base for adventure-type outings equivalent to float journeys and jet boat rides.
Royal Caribbean additionally features a keep at certainly one of Alaska’s best resorts, the Alyeska Resort, with a handful of its cruisetours. Situated south of Anchorage within the Chugach Mountains, Alyeska is a high-end retreat with a spa, positive eating, wooded paths and trails that begin on the property’s grounds; there’s even an aerial tram that can take you up 2,300 toes to the summit of Mount Alyeska.
Movie star Cruises Alaska cruisetours
Movie star’s 11 cruisetour itineraries vary from 9 to 13 nights, with all 11 together with a minimum of one evening at Denali Nationwide Park.
As with the Alaska cruisetours that Royal Caribbean (a sister firm) affords, most embody a keep in Anchorage; some additionally add stays in Fairbanks, Talkeetna or on the Alyeska Resort.
Norwegian Cruise Line Alaska cruisetours
Norwegian’s 9 cruisetour itineraries vary from 9 to 13 nights, and all embody a minimum of one and generally two nights at Denali Nationwide Park.
Like Royal Caribbean and Movie star, Norwegian’s excursions normally embody stays at a number of of the next locations, too: Anchorage, Fairbanks, Talkeetna and the Alyeska Resort.
In an uncommon twist, some Norwegian cruisetours additionally embody a two-night keep in fishing hub Homer, identified for its world-leading halibut catch, to offer tourgoers an opportunity to signal on for an all-day (further cost) fishing tour. In the event you’ve at all times dreamed of experiencing halibut fishing, this is perhaps the Alaska cruisetour for you.
One other uncommon providing from Norwegian is a “Denali Valdez Explorer” cruisetour, which features a motorcoach journey south alongside the Richardson Freeway to Valdez, the terminus of the Alyeska Pipeline. This journey additionally features a day cruise throughout the pristine waters of glacier-lined Prince William Sound.
When can I do an Alaska cruisetour?
The season for cruisetours in Alaska is a comparatively brief one, lasting from Could to September.
For the 2026 season, the earliest cruisetours to Alaska start Could 7 and eight; the journeys are operated by Windstar and Movie star, respectively. The primary Princess cruisetours begin on Could 9. Holland America and Norwegian kick off their cruisetour seasons on Could 10 and Could 12, respectively, with Royal Caribbean getting a late begin on Could 15.
The final cruisetours of the 2026 season start virtually precisely 4 months in a while Sept. 11.
For the 2027 season, the beginning dates for the primary and final cruisetours are Could 10 and Sept. 8.
What do cruisetours price?
The price of a cruisetour to Alaska varies broadly relying on the kind of tour you select and its size, in addition to the kind of cabin you need on the cruise portion.
For instance, the least costly cruisetour accessible on Princess for 2026 on the time of this information’s publishing was a 10-day On Your Personal cruisetour. It began at $1,693 per individual, or about $169 per day. That is for a visit that features a seven-night cruise and three nights of overland touring centered on Denali Nationwide Park.
On the excessive finish of the worth vary for 2026 Princess cruisetours was the 17-day Connoisseurs excursions talked about above; they began at $6,023 per individual or about $354 per day.
Notice that these beginning charges get you the least costly cabin sort for the cruise portion of the journey, which is an “inside cabin” with no home windows. The cruisetour price could be considerably extra in some instances if you’d like an even bigger and extra amenity-filled cabin on the cruise portion of the journey.
For the 10-day On Your Personal Princess cruisetour talked about above, as an illustration, the beginning charges for the journey rose to $1,875 per individual — or about $188 per day — when you selected a cabin with a window (often called an “ocean-view cabin”) on the cruise portion of the journey. The beginning charges jumped to $3,178 per individual when you selected a cabin with a balcony and $3,724 when you wished a set.
Typically, cruisetours with fewer inclusions are priced decrease than cruisetours with extra inclusions. At Princess, for instance, the On Your Personal cruisetours price lower than the Denali Explorer excursions, as they’ve fewer inclusions. Whereas 10-day On Your Personal excursions for 2026 began at $1,693 per individual on the time of this information’s publication, the 10-day Denali Explorer excursions began at $1,803 per individual.
Princess’ least costly Off the Crushed Path tour (a 13-day journey) began at $2,223 per individual or about $171 per day.
Remember that, as is typical for cruise-related journeys, the pricing for all of those excursions is “based mostly on double occupancy.” That’s, you’ll solely get the costs listed above if there are two folks touring collectively in the identical room, every paying the acknowledged fare.
Backside line
Alaska generally is a tough place to tour, given its big dimension and lack of infrastructure, together with roads in some areas. However there’s a simple option to prepare a visit to Alaska that can embody stops at a few of its most well-known sights: an Alaska cruisetour. Combining a seven-night cruise alongside the southeast coast of the state with a land tour into the state’s rugged inside, a cruisetour can get you to such iconic Alaska sights as Denali Nationwide Park, Glacier Bay Nationwide Park and the Juneau Icefields multi functional journey.
