Amazing Alaska with Holland America Cruise Option

Day 1: Arrive Fairbanks (2 Nights)

Welcome to Fairbanks! A complimentary transfer is provided to the tour hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure. Located in the heart of Alaska’s interior, Fairbanks still retains its down-home frontier town feel and enjoys the midnight sun during the summer solstice.

Day 2: Fairbanks Sightseeing & At Leisure

Discover Fairbanks, rich in history surrounding the Alaska Gold Rush and Trans-Alaska Pipeline eras. Stop at an Alaskan wooden bowl mill and watch how one piece wooden bowls are crafted out of sustainably harvested Alaskan Birch. Then sail along the Chena and Tanana Rivers on the Riverboat Discovery. Along the way, you’ll visit a recreated Athabascan village where native Alaskans will explain the importance of wildlife to their culture. Next, visit champion dogs at the kennel of the late Iditarod champion Susan Butcher and hear tales from a senior handler about life on the trail. Tonight, enjoy a welcome dinner hosted by your Tour Director.

Day 3: Fairbanks - Denali National Park (2 Nights)

Head south through the northern boreal forests of the Tanana River Valley, an area made famous by the Gold Rush. The valley now provides a spectacular panorama of birch, aspen and willow trees in a tapestry of changing colors throughout the season. This afternoon arrive in Denali National Park, home to awe-inspiring Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America at 20,320 feet. Settle in for a two-night stay and revel in Denali's colorful past at a special dinner and show at the Denali Dinner Theater this evening.

Day 4: Denali National Park Sightseeing & At Leisure

Relax in the grandeur of North America's last wilderness. Maybe take an optional rafting trip on the Nenana River or a guided hike through this awesome landscape. This afternoon, venture into the heart of Denali on a guided Tundra Wilderness excursion. Travelling into the heart of the pristine wilderness, keep an eye out for moose, bear, dall sheep, caribou and other wildlife in their natural habitat while listening to the onboard naturalist's commentary on the history and geography of Denali.

Day 5: Denali - Alaska Railroad - Anchorage (2 Nights)

Time at leisure to bask in the beauty of Denali National Park until it is time to board the famous Alaska Railroad for the scenic journey to Anchorage. Relax in comfortable reclining seats with large picture windows offering prime views. Listen to the expert commentary of the staff while admiring the robust beauty outside. Relax in the vista dome car and enjoy a variety of dining options. Travel through Broad Pass, which at 2,363 feet is the highest point on the railroad and where caribou migrate through each fall. Close to Anchorage, heavy birch forests lead to the Knik and Matanuska Rivers.

Day 6: Anchorage Sightseeing & At Leisure

Join an orientation tour of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest community which popped up along the banks of Ship Creek as a tent city back in 1915. With a rich history in rail and road transportation, ample natural resources and amenities like fine dining, shopping and entertainment, Anchorage offers a big city feel with a small town atmosphere. Explore the historic downtown district and the shores of Cook Inlet. Stop at The Ulu Factory for a tour and learn about the ulu knife, a native Inuit cutting tool used for fishing and hunting. Then, continue to the Alaska Native Heritage Center, a gathering place that celebrates Alaska's Native cultures. Walk along wooded paths past indigenous villages and meet with Natives from different parts of this land. The rest of the afternoon is yours to do as you please. This evening, travelers opting for the 8-day land-only tour say farewell at a special dinner.

Day 7: Anchorage -Kenai Fjord National Park - Seward

Guests on the 14-day Land Tour and Cruise follow the same itinerary as the 7-day land itinerary, until the afternoon upon returning to Seward from the Kenai Fjords National Park sightseeing cruise. Bid farewell to your Tour Director as you board your Holland America Line cruise ship ms Statendam or ms Zaandam. This evening, set sail on an unforgettable 7-Night Glacier Discovery Alaska Cruise. (Full Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)

Day 8: Scenic Cruising - College Fjord

Some of the best glacier viewing in the state can be seen tucked into the northwest corner of Prince William Sound at College Fjord. Winding down from mountains and through valleys and fjords, these massive rivers of ice are often on the move, periodically dropping their bounty into the sea. This fjord boasts the largest collection of tidewater glaciers in the world. There are 16 glaciers named after Ivy League colleges by the Harriman Expedition that discovered them in 1899. This is the only place in Alaska where you’ll be surrounded on three sides with flowing rivers of ice: Yale, Bryn Mawr and Vassar lining up the starboard and port with Harvard at their head. With a little luck, get sight of a 40-ton humpback whale breach. During the summer, more than 2,000 of these magnificent giants of the sea feed in the waters off Alaska. (Full Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)

Day 9: Scenic Cruising - Glacier Bay National Park

In the watery wilderness of Glacier Bay National Park, witness a landscape at its literal moment of creation. Your ship becomes a time machine as you travel thousands of years back in time, witnessing the life cycle of a new land from Sitka-spruce forests alive with grizzlies and wolves, to the algae, lichens and mosses that were the beginnings of life in the region. In this isolated land the shrill noises of modern life are replaced with the deep, thunderous boom of building-size icebergs calving into the sea from vast rivers of ice. It is raw, primordial and unforgettable. (Full Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)

Day 10: Haines

Cradled at the base of the Chilkat Peninsula, the picturesque town of Haines is located on America’s longest fjord and boasts the largest annual gathering of American bald eagles. Home of the Tlingit people, this area was settled and renamed by missionaries in the late 1800s. Local highlights include the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, where upward of 4,000 bald eagles gather to gorge on spawning salmon along the Chilkat River each fall; the American Eagle Foundation, an organization which educates the public about America’s national symbol, the majestic eagle, through a variety of interesting and informational exhibits; and Fort William H.Seward, the first army post built in Alaska. Or perhaps take a high-speed catamaran to Skagway, gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. (Full Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)

Day 11: Juneau

Juneau is a place to let your imagination run wild. Stop in rustic shops offering jade and ivory sculptures, silver jewelry, wooden masks, intricate beadwork and apparel designed by native Alaskans. Visit Gold Rush-era bars such as the Alaska Hotel with its ornate Victorian furnishings or the Red Dog Saloon showcasing Wyatt Earp’s gun. Perhaps take an optional guided tour of the State Capitol or climb aboard the Mount Roberts Tramway. Follow in the footsteps of the original North Americans as you explore the Mendenhall Glacier and the immense Juneau Icefields just outside the city or trek through the lush Tongass National Forest. And don’t hurry: daylight here lasts late into the evening! (Full Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)

Day 12: Ketchikan

Welcome to the salmon capital of the world! Part of the town is built along a steep hillside, part is built on pilings over the water where bald eagles watch from waterside perches. An outstanding collection of totem poles makes the town an essential stop for anyone interested in native art. To make the most of your time ashore, consider taking an optional guided tour through town, a harbor cruise or a float plane flightseeing trip. If you prefer a more hands-on experience, you can take a sportfishing charter, kayak expedition, jeep ride or mountain excursion on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. The adventure never stops! (Full Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)

Day 13: Scenic Cruising - Inside Passage

Enter a region so isolated, it can only be accessed by sea or air. Come face to face with the grandeur of the Ice Age as you slowly glide past a maze of bays, glacier-carved fjords, channels and waterways protected from the open sea by islands and other land masses. Your ship is designed for Alaskan cruising with its airy lounges, teak decks and roomy verandahs, allowing for comfortable observation of the ever-changing panorama of unspoiled virgin forests and vast wilderness that stretch all the way from Alaska to British Columbia. (Full Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner)

Day 14: Arrive Vancouver - Departure

Sail into Vancouver Harbour early this morning. After disembarking, take your complimentary transfer to Vancouver International Airport or the tour hotel in Vancouver for passengers extending their stay in Vancouver. Please do not schedule any flights before noon.