Alaska Cruise Tour - 12 Days
Day 1: Depart MSP - Arrive in Anchorage
Welcome to Alaska! Arrive into Anchorage, Alaska's largest city. Meet your Tour Director and transfer to your hotel.
Day 2: Anchorage - Denali
This morning board a deluxe motorcoach to Talkeenta. Next, enjoy travelling along the rails of the Alaska Railroad to Denali with 360-degree views from your Deluxe Dome Railcar seats. As the gorgeous scenery of Alaska rolls past, watch for a glimpse of the majestic Denali Hotel and check-in for a two night stay. This evening is at leisure for optional activities such as whitewater rafting, helicopter flightseeing, hiking, or one of the park services programs.
Day 3: Denali Nat'l Park - Tundra Wilderness Tour
Awake in Denali, a region of unspoiled beauty, home to awe-inspiring Denali, the highest point in North America. Travel deep into Denali National Park on the Tundra Wilderness tour with an opportunity to see Denali. Search the vast wilderness for brown bears, moose, caribou, Dall sheep on the mountainsides and eagles soaring above. This journey is narrated allowing insight into the animals and flora of the spectacular region. A light snack is included. Return to the hotel in the afternoon with free time to relax or explore this pristine area at your leisure.
Day 4: Denali - Girdwood
Today travel from Denali via motorcoach to Alyeska. Stop enroute at an Iditarod Sled Dog Kennel and learn about the Last Great Race. Enjoy a brief city tour of Anchorage this afternoon then on to the deluxe Alyeska Resort in Girdwood.
Day 5: Girdwood - Seward - Board NCL Jewel
This morning enjoy free time in the resort to hike on the trails, enjoy the swimming pool, or take an optional tour. This afternoon, transfer via motorcoach to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where you will see the animals of Alaska in a natural setting. Continue via motorcoach to Seward, gateway of the Kenai Fjords National Park to the cruise terminal for cruise embarkation to begin your seven night cruise aboard the elegant NCL Jewel. Onboard amenities include a Las Vegas style casino, movie theatre, pools and a library. While onboard, enjoy breakfast, lunch and fine dinners daily, as well as nightly entertainment in the theatre.
Day 6: Cruising - Hubbard Glacier
This "Galloping Glacier" made history in 1986 when it surged forward at a rate of up to 130 feet a day, blocking off Russell Fjord. The ice dam was eventually broken, but Hubbard Glacier continues to surge forward, carving icebergs into the water. Keep your binoculars handy as you cruise through the glacier's home waters -- the wildlife-rich Yakutat Bay.
Day 7: Cruising - Icy Strait Point
If it's tranquility and nature you seek, Icy Strait Point is your destination. Hosting only one ship at a time, Icy Strait Point is located fifty miles west of Juneau and at the mouth of Glacier Bay. Travelers have the opportunity to experience Tlingit culture, superior wildlife viewing and Alaskan history.
Day 8: Juneau - Scenic Glacier Cruising
Today the ship arrives in Alaska's capital, Juneau, nestled between mountains and sea with a rustic charm that's both cosmopolitan & frontier. Maybe visit the Alaska State Museum to see a native clan house and a birch-bark canoe, gold rush memorabilia and Russian Orthodox relics. A short drive out of Juneau takes you to the impressive Mendenhall Glacier. Later prepare to experience all the beauty and majesty of the Alaskan wilderness. Travel through Endicott Arm Fjord and witness the Awe-inspiring beauty of the Dawes Glacier.
Day 9: Cruising - Skagway
The frontier spirit is alive and well in the gold-rush town of Skagway, the northernmost point of Alaska's Inside Passage. Relive the city's past in lively saloons, rousing dance hall revues and on vintage street car tours. Maybe board the historic White Pass & Yukon Railway or take the Klondike Summit drive to pan for gold.
Day 10: Cruising - Ketchikan
Today visit Ketchikan, "Salmon Capital of the World" and ancestral home of the Tlingit Native Americans. The rustic waterfront village has the world's largest collection of totem poles. Maybe learn the meaning behind totem pole imagery at the Saxman Native Village.
Day 11: Cruising - Inside Passage
threading along the scenic coast of Canada and Alaska, the Inside Passage offers spectacular close-up views of rain forests, sparkling glaciers, steep-walled fjords and snowcapped mountains. Watch closely for whale, sea lion, bears and other wildlife as the Inside passage is home to more than 100 species of animals.
Day 12: Vancouver, B.C. or Seattle - Return Home to MSP
Disembark and transfer to the airport for your flight home with memories of your Alaskan Cruise tour.
