Fairbanks, Alaska's second-largest city, offers a mix of modern attractions and rich history. Known as the Golden Heart, it's a gateway to the arctic, boasting lively festivals, river cruises, and the chance to see the awe-inspiring Northern Lights. Explore restored gold rush buildings, savor local cuisine, and immerse yourself in the vibrant culture on an Alaska cruise to Fairbanks.

In the morning take a beautiful river cruise tour on an American Riverboat.  In the afternoon board a short flight to Dawson.     

Once the pulsing heart of the Klondike Gold Rush, Dawson City today is a cluster of wooden sidewalks and charming frontier-era shops on the banks of the Yukon River. There are plenty of reasons to take cruise tours to Dawson City, Yukon. Though gold rush lore is the main draw, it has a rich history well before the discovery of gold and subsequent stampede in 1896. The Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin or "people of the river" have frequented the area for thousands of years and there’s much heritage to learn and appreciate. The town was also a muse for literary legends, Robert Service and Jack London.

Present-day Dawson still has active gold mining and a thriving tourism and arts scene. Many adventurers stop in Dawson to stock up on supplies before heading to the ragged peaks of the Yukon’s Tombstone Territorial Park.

Here, you can step into the shoes of a prospector and pan for gold. Explore Dawson City, Yukon on Alaska Cruisetours.

After a brief flight from Dawson to Fairbanks, enjoy lunch on your own.  Followed by boarding the luxury scenic motor coach from Fairbanks to Denali National Park, offering a direct, scenic route through Alaska’s interior. 

The Denali Lodge is a luxurious lodge with a true wilderness feel without "roughing it".  Spend a leisurely day choosing from a variety of activities such as enjoying the Denali Square™, exploring gentle walking trails, and much more. Enjoy stunning views across the Nenana River into Denali National Park from virtually anywhere on the grounds, as well as upscale dining, quality entertainment, and local shopping. Denali is a towering mountain that will linger in your memory forever.

This amazing half-day excursion allows an excellent way to spot the "Big Five" wildlife (grizzly bears, caribou, moose, Dalls sheep, wolves) and offers sweeping views of the subarctic landscape! The afternoon is yours to explore on your own. There are countless bucket list opportunities—such as river rafting, flightseeing (including the chance to land with a ski plane on Denali itself), or meeting an Iditarod dog musher and getting a sloppy kiss from a sled dog.

The McKinley Explorer offers a spectacular glass-domed train journey from Denali National Park to Whittier.  The train consists of two-level dome cars, with all passenger seating located on the upper deck under expansive dome windows. The glass domes and outdoor observation platforms offer excellent views of the wilderness. Overall, the McKinley Explorer offers a unique and luxurious way to explore Alaska's natural beauty, combining comfortable travel with excellent dining and informative commentary.

An Alaska cruise toward Hubbard Glacier feels like you’re approaching another planet in a tiny space craft. It is that big and that otherworldly. Among all the vanishing Alaska glaciers, Hubbard has a rapidly advancing ice margin— up to seven feet in one day—earning it the nickname, “the Galloping Glacier.”

Hubbard Glacier cruises are so popular because of the glacier’s three-story icebergs that cannon into crystal waters, a process called calving. It’s also colorful. On clear days, Hubbard turns a stunning deep blue and on cloudy ones, its many ripples and icebergs shimmer in soft light.

This glacier dwarfs the other glaciers in Alaska. It is the longest tidewater glacier in North America and starts 122 kilometers (76 miles) back, pouring down off the shoulder of Mt. Walsh. It has an impressive terminal face that is 11 kilometers (7 miles) long and 106 meters (350 feet) above the water line, making its regular audience of Alaska cruise ships look like toy boats.

It’s a giant, but it’s not sleeping. Hubbard Glacier is one of the few Alaska glaciers that’s advancing and not succumbing to climate change. It sounds uplifting, but many fear that the expanding glacier will block the entrance to the fjord.

With the serene majesty of snow-flecked and forested mountains defining its shores, Glacier Bay National Park offers some of the most dramatic scenery in the world. Keep your binoculars and camera on hand as you cruise Glacier Bay to the mile-wide Margerie Glacier, where you may have a chance to witness ice calving. Wildlife abounds in Glacier Bay, so stay ready—you never know when you will see the fluke of a humpback rise out of the water or spot a lone brown bear wandering a wind-swept beach.

Glacier Bay with the Experts

On our Glacier Bay cruises and Alaska Land+Sea Journey cruise tours, local experts come aboard for an experience that is both filled with natural wonder and enriching. As a proud Authorized Concessioner for Glacier Bay National Park, we partner with rangers and local Huna Tlingit guides who provide expert insight into this diverse ecosystem and millennia-old culture. You will not only leave Glacier Bay with a shorter bucket list, you will have a deeper understanding and appreciation of this 3.3-million-acre UNESCO World Heritage Site.

​

The Taste and Tone of Alaska Onboard Your Glacier Bay Cruise

Dine on savory local salmon and other regionally produced foods, wines, and spirits from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest before catching evening entertainment. Enjoy jaw-dropping footage and rousing scores of BBC Earth's "Alaska In Concert", and the Alaska Stage Show; a captivating, animated stage experience bringing to life the cultural history of Glacier Bay and Tlingit traditions.

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 colorful history, pristine wildlife and unrivaled natural beauty.

Set sail on an Alaska Cruise and take an adventure in Skagway. At every turn, you’ll find yourself immersed in gold rush lore, from the infamous Red Onion Saloon that still keeps a pistol that Wyatt Earp left behind en route to the Klondike, to the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad, a classic narrow-gauge railway that traverses rugged mountains and passes cascading waterfalls and towering glaciers as it connects Skagway to Whitehorse deep in the Yukon. Known as the "Garden City of Alaska," Skagway is filled with beauty and nature. Explore the town on a Skagway excursion. Much of the town has been preserved as part of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, where rangers offer free walking tours around the historic district. Take an Alaska Cruise to Skagway and you’ll also find a vibrant local community, home to a rich collection of local galleries, curio shops and restaurants serving seafood plucked fresh from nearby waters.

Cruise to Juneau, Alaska and visit the most remote, most beautiful and strangest state capital in the United States. Surrounded by water, forest and mountain sights, visitors seeking things to do in Juneau indoors and outdoors can hike a glacier, eat fresh-caught fish on a seaside patio and tour a grand capitol building all in one day.

Juneau is known for its outdoor recreation, fresh seafood and fine dining. The city itself is pleasant, but the real highlight of a visit to Juneau is tracking down some wildlife. You can hike up Mount Roberts to chance upon wild deer and bald eagles. Most sightseeing and whale-watching tours head north to Auke Bay—bring a good pair of binoculars to get the best view of these majestic and surprisingly graceful creatures. If you prefer land mammals, catch a floatplane to a nearby wildlife reserve such as Chichagof or Admiralty Island to spy some bears lolling around on Alaska cruise excursion.

The sleepy, misty city of around 32,000—mostly fishermen and small-business owners—has a frontier town vibe, but welcomes more than a million visitors each summer to its natural attractions, cementing Juneau as Alaska’s number-one tourist destination. Experience this breathtaking city on an Alaska cruise.

Take an adventure and cruise to Ketchikan, Alaska. Alaska's "First City" of Ketchikan is so named because it’s the first major landfall for most cruisers as they enter the picturesque fjords of the Inside Passage, where the town clings to the banks of the Tongass Narrows, flanked by green forests nurtured by abundant rain.

Ketchikan has long been an important hub of the salmon-fishing and -packing industries. Visitors can try their luck on a sportfishing or simply savor the fresh seafood at one of the local restaurants on a cruise to Ketchikan excursion. Ketchikanis also one of the best spots along the Inside Passage to explore the rich cultural sights of Native Alaskan nations like the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. You can see intricately carved totem poles at the Totem Heritage Center and Totem Bight State Park, while the attractions of Saxman Village just outside of Ketchikan offers the chance to see Tlingit culture in action, with working carvers and a dance show in the clan house. On an Alaska cruise to Ketchikan don't forget to leave time to explore the sights in the town itself, including historic Creek Street, a boardwalk built over the Ketchikan Creek, where you can shop for souvenirs, smoked salmon and local art, while exploring gold rush­–era tourist attractions like Dolly’s House Museum.

Alaska's Inside Passage is a renowned cruising route through a protected network of waterways, featuring glacier-cut fjords, lush rainforests, and diverse wildlife. Stops along the route showcase Alaska's rich history, including Native Alaskan culture in Ketchikan and Skagway's Gold Rush era legacy. Here's how to experience the best of the Inside Passage.

For some, the journey ends here as they take flight back to reality. For others, an extended stay in Vancouver will allow the perfect combination of urban meets nature. Here lovers of the great outdoors can enjoy picturesque views of the mountains while exploring the city’s local hot spots like Stanley Park, Granville Island, Gastown and more. Don’t forget to sample the best of the local culinary and cocktail scene for something truly unique. Enjoy your stop at the Hollywood of the North.