What Cruise Ships Go To Denali?

Denali National Park is home to the tallest mountain in North America, Denali at 20,310 feet, and over six million acres of land. Holland America Lines Alaska cruisetours offer full immersion in Denali, with each land and sea cruisetour including up to three nights at their beautiful 60-acre riverside resort. If you’re confused about the best way to visit Denali National Park, consider booking a cruise with a tour director at an Holland America Line.

There are several options for visiting Denali National Park, including the 10-Day Double Denali: Tour D6l, which takes you directly to Denali for a two-night stay, and the 10-Day Signature Denali D6l, which includes an included Tundra Wilderness Tour. The 9 Night Destination Denali Cruisetour 11A (Post Tour) visits Vancouver Cruise Port, Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Sitka, and Skagway.

To book your next Alaska Cruisetour package, choose from four unique tour options that take you deep into Alaska’s wilderness wonderland. Alaska is huge, and major cruise lines sail Southeast Alaska ports. The shortest cruise tour by Holland America is the 9-day Holland America Land Sea Journey Cruise Tour.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers a land program to tour Denali National Park in Alaska on a land program, offering an unparalleled adventure through Alaska’s majestic landscapes. They also offer guided tours through Alaska, including the Fairbanks city tour, riverboat discovery cruise, Alaska Railroad – Dome Class – Fairbanks to Denali National Park, and the Tundra wilderness tour. Departing from either Seward or Whittier cruise ship terminals, passengers can explore Denali National Park onboard the Alaska Railroad, traveling in style and comfort.

How many nights to stay in Denali?

How Long To Stay?. If you’re visiting from Anchorage, you can’t really do Denali in a day, because it takes 5.5 hours to get there by car or 8 hours by train. We recommend staying 2 nights, if you stay near the Park entrance or camp. This gives you one full day in the park to take a bus tour along the Denali Park Road, or experience the park in another way such as hiking or biking. Plan on 3 or 4 nights if choose a lodge in Kantishna, deep inside the park. If you’re visiting from Fairbanks (2.5 hours by car or 4 hours by train), you could spend a few hours exploring the visitor center and nearby trails, but we still recommend staying at least one night.

Favorite Activities in Denali National Park. Most independent travelers explore Denali by taking one of the bus tours, each of which covers varying lengths of the Park Road. You can compare different Park Road tours to see which is best for you, but keep in mind that you don’t have to stick with a bus. Rent bicycles and go solo—or use the hop-on, hop-off Park Shuttle to hike sections of the park on your own. Go rafting, flightseeing, take a rowdy ATV tour, ziplining, or join a guided hike. If you stay at one of the lodges deep inside Denali you can hike, bicycle, canoe and experience Denali National Park away from the crowds.

While in Denali, practice Leave No Trace ethics. Choosing reusable bags, water bottles, and recycling are easy ways to reduce waste while you travel. Check out these sustainable travel tips.

What side of ship is better for Alaska cruise?

Northbound Alaska cruises sail up the coastline through the Inside Passage and along Hubbard Glacier, so your best view of Alaska’s scenic landmasses are likely on the starboard side of the ship.

Southbound Alaska cruises are the opposite. They sail down the coast, so the port side of the ship will face the coastline and the starboard side will face the Gulf of Alaska.

Of course, your cruise ship will rotate a complete 360 degrees at some of the cruising ports like Dawes Glacier and Hubbard Glacier, so you can enjoy incredible views no matter where you’re staying on the ship. Don’t forget that while you’re en route to other destinations, the view from the open sea remains the same no matter what side of the ship you’re on. Plus, you can view Alaska’s majestic glaciers from any of the ship’s viewing decks.

Part of the magic of setting sail on a cruise is the sunrises and sunsets you’ll see each day of your vacation. Many travelers choose staterooms with verandas so they can sip coffee from their stateroom early in the morning, or enjoy a golden-hour cocktail as the day wanes.

Why is Denali closed?

Some park operations are currently altered due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide. The closure of the Denali Park Road at Mile 43 is expected to remain in place through summer 2026, while the Polychrome Area Plan is implemented.

Some park operationsare currently altered due to the Pretty Rocks Landslide. The closure of the Denali Park Road at Mile 43 is expected to remain in placethrough summer 2026, while the Polychrome Area Plan is implemented.

The details below supersede all other trip-planning information. If you encounter discrepancies between other parts of our website and this information, go with what you see below.

Summer 2024. The summer season begins on May 15 each year. Summer operations are affected by the ongoing Pretty Rocks Landslide and the associated closure of the Denali Park Road at Mile 43. To learn more about plans to address the landslide, see the Polychrome Area Plan.

What is the closest port to Denali?

Can I see Denali from a cruise?. Yes and No. you won’t see Denali from your cruise ship, but you can book a tour with your cruise line that will take you to Denali National Park. Whittier is the closest cruise ship port to Denali National Park, and you can take the Alaska Railroad from Whittier to Denali National Park. It’s a long train journey and most train itineraries will have you stop for a night in Talkeetna before continuing on to Denali.

So yes, you can arrange to see Denali from your cruise, but you will need to book a Gulf of Alaska cruise that starts or ends in Whittier or Seward.

To see pre and post cruise tour options visit our Tours Page.

Where do Holland America passengers stay in Denali?

Relax in an Exclusive Alaska Retreat. In the heart of our 60-acre McKinley Chalet Resort is Denali Square, the perfect place for guests to soak up the Alaska experience. Guests can dine, relax, connect, explore and be entertained in their own private retreat.

Gateway to a National Treasure. On the shores of the Nenana River, near the entrance to Denali National Park, McKinley Chalet Resort is the comfortable base camp for all adventures at the Park, including flightseeing, ATV exploring, hiking trails, river rafting and more.

Denali Square Amphitheater. At the center of Denali Square is an amphitheater with a covered performance stage and bench seating, where guests can attend presentations by National Park rangers, lectures, locally themed demonstrations, talks and live music.

Is Celebrity a high end cruise?

Royal Caribbean, a standard mainstream line, has lower-priced entry-level cabins, larger ships, more emphasis on family travel and less emphasis on service. Meanwhile, as a premium line, Celebrity has slightly higher priced entry-level rooms and greater emphasis on a refined experience, especially elevated service and dining.

But bottom-line pricing and service levels aren’t the only differentiators. To help you decide which cruise line is the right fit for you, Cruise Critic pits Celebrity vs. Royal Caribbean, comparing everything from fleet size to cabins.

Celebrity Edge is the first of Celebrity Cruises’ wave of Edge-class ships (Photo: Celebrity Cruises)

Celebrity is a fashionable cruise line with an emphasis on trendy culinary, entertainment and spa experiences, premium cabins and suites and a modern onboard vibe. It’s also becoming more contemporary with each new ship.

Does celebrity cruise go to Denali?

All of our Alaska Cruisetours have an overnight in Denali and include an excursion into the breathtaking Denali National Park as part of the Cruisetour package.

When booking your Alaska cruise, why not see everything The Last Frontier has to offer? When you decide to take one of our Alaska cruises, you have the option to select a Cruisetour (also known as a land and sea package), which extends your cruise vacation with a 2 to 6 night adventure into Alaska. With our Alaska Cruisetours, you can travel further inland and visit even more beautiful destinations like Anchorage, Fairbanks, and of course, the unforgettable Denali National Park.

When you’re looking into one of the many Alaska cruise itineraries we’ve carefully crafted, don’t forget to book a Cruisetour and create the ultimate land and sea adventure. Cruisetours must be booked when you’re booking your cruise. Unlike shore excursions where you can book excursions at anytime, our Cruisetours serve as land and sea packages to help you fulfill your dream Alaskan adventure, both on land and onboard our ship.

All of our Alaska Cruisetours overnight in Denali and include an excursion into the beautiful Denali National Park as part of our Cruisetour package. Depending on whether you choose to take a southbound or northbound Alaska cruise, you will be taking the land portion of your Cruisetour before or after your cruise. Southbound Alaska cruises start in Seward and have the land portion of the Cruisetour before setting sail. Northbound Alaska cruises start in Vancouver and have their land portion of the Cruisetour after the cruise docks in Seward.

What is the best month to cruise to Alaska?

Temperature & Daylight Hours. For the warmest temperatures, cruise between mid-June and mid-August.

For the most Midnight Sun, come 3 weeks before or after the summer solstice and longest day of the year, June 21.

Want to see the northern lights? That’s a long shot during cruising season. It does get dark enough at night to see them by the second week of September, but it’s still not as brilliant as what you’ll see on a winter, land-based Alaska aurora viewing vacation.

Alaska Cruise Highlights By Month. This table can help you pick the best time to cruise Alaska.

• Spring flowers
• Big waterfalls
• Few Bugs
• Season begins 2nd week

How many visitors does Denali get?

600,000 tourists On average, more than 600,000 tourists visit Denali National Park annually. The park was established as Mt. McKinley National Park in 1917.

Traveling to Alaska and not visiting Denali National Park is like flying all the way to Poland and not tasting locally-made Pierogi (I was born in Poland, so you understand the analogy).

Denali National Park is the most famous and one of the most visited National Parks in our beautiful state of Alaska, so if you have more than a long weekend to spend in Alaska, you should definitely include this in your itinerary. Nevertheless, Denali National Park and Preserve is very unique. Because the park is very seasonal, there is one road with restricted access for private vehicles and a limited number of tours; make sure to plan your trip well in advance.

To make the most of your visit to Denali National Park, read Our Guide to Denali National Park in 2023!

Which cruise line is best for Alaska?

Best Overall: Holland America Line and Princess Cruises.Best for Families: Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International.Best for Couples: Celebrity Cruises.Best Luxury: Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Silversea Cruises.Best Small-Ship Expedition Line: UnCruise Adventures.