Depart Friday, Saturday or Sunday and travel through Seattle's beautiful Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca on your way to Alaska’s deep green islands, ice-blue glaciers and charming frontier towns.
Choose the Glacier Bay route and watch in wonder as whales, puffins and the park’s massive tidewater glaciers come into view. Go fly-fishing in pristine wilderness in Juneau, explore the “St. Petersburg of the Pacific” in Sitka, flightsee over Misty Fjords National Monument in Ketchikan and enjoy a spot of English tea in Victoria, British Columbia. View 7-Day Explorer Video
If you didn't know any better, you'd think Glacier Bay ostentatious for the way it flaunts its ice. The glaciers practically terminate in your lap. A cruise to Glacier Bay National Park with Holland America Line will show you a UNESCO World Heritage Site that protects a unique ecosystem of plants and animals living in concert with an ever-changing glacial landscape.
When a monumental chunk of ice splits off a glacier and thunders into the sea the impact shoots water hundreds of feet into the air. You hold your breath as you catch the moment on film. Then you wait for it all to happen again. And it does: Glacier Bay has more actively calving tidewater glaciers than anyplace else in the world.
Come face to face with a gigantic wall of ice that fills your view and extends for miles in either direction. Hubbard Glacier is a titan on the move, advancing faster than almost any other glacier on the continent. When it begins to disgorge its ice, by this point 400 years old, into the salt water at Disenchantment Bay, this behemoth is five miles wide and 40 stories high. It dwarfs ships. As you glide along, watch for seals basking on ice floes, listen for the loud, deep rumble and wait for the mighty crack and thunderous crash.
No roads lead to Juneau, which gives the Alaskan capital a misty inscrutability. You need to come by air or water, but when you arrive, the place will delight you with its bounty of water, forests, and mountains. Squeezed between the Gastineau Channel and Coast Mountains, Juneau offers a lot of variety in close proximity. The massive Mendenhall Glacier and the immense Juneau Icefields are at its back door. The vast Tongass National Forest stretches away to the northeast. You can shop downtown or get out and kayak, dogsled, raft, hike, whale watch, flightsee or fish. The adventures are as bountiful as the daylight.
Tour Highlights
Photo Safari by Land and Sea: Capture everything from glaciers to whales on this excursion that features a professional naturalist photography guide.
Ketchikan clutches the shores of the Tongass Narrows, with many shops and houses built right out over the water. The stairways are weathered and the vibe is cheerful in the town that calls itself the Salmon Capital of the World. Besides the main attractions – Creek Street, the Tongass Historical Museum, Totem Bight State Park and Saxman Village – try a flightseeing trip to Misty Fjords National Monument. These deepwater fjords were gouged out by retreating glaciers, leaving granite cliffs towering thousands of feet above the sea and countless waterfalls plunging into placid waters.
The onion domes of St. Michael's Cathedral are your first clue that Sitka was once a key Russian settlement. Indeed, it was capital of Russian America, seat of the bishop of Kamchatka, and the most important port on the West Coast for the first half of the 19th century. Catch a performance by the New Archangel Dancers, be greeted by native Tlingit people, then stand on the spot where the United States took possession of Alaska in 1867. The dramatic setting in the shadow of Mt. Edgecumbe is one of the loveliest in the Great North.
Jet-Cat Wildlife Quest & Beach Exploration: Combine luxury and excitement aboard an expedition jet boat as you search for whales, otters, puffins, bald eagles and even brown bears.
Hello, England. Fancy meeting you here! Victoria is a city that started as Salish Village, spent a roustabout adolescence as a main port for gold prospectors and opium traders, and then transformed itself into an icon of British gentility after the completion of the trans-Canada railroad put neighboring Vancouver in the ascendant. Two events were seminal: the opening of Butchart Gardens in 1904 and the completion of the Empress Hotel in 1908. Butchart is a collection of gardens more than a single garden -- highlights for cruise visitors include the Sunken Garden (built from a former limestone quarry), the Italian Garden, the Japanese Garden, and the Rose Garden (breathe deeply). The Empress Hotel is merely a national icon. Come in for high tea.
Victoria Ale & Brewery: Sample some of the finest brews in Canada on this tour of three pubs.
Protection Plans
Do You Offer A Cancellation Protection Plan?
A Small Price for Peace of Mind
Holland America's Cancellation Protection Plan (CPP) is designed to protect your vacation investment from loss-no matter what. And like other plans that protect things of great value, it's a small price to pay for peace of mind. Be it illness, family matters, unforeseen work events-anything, CPP is your assurance that your vacation can be cancelled before you leave for any reason for a refund. To add our Cancellation Protection Plan to your new or existing cruise booking, please call us at 1-877-932-4259.
Four reasons to choose the Holland America Line Cancellation Protection Plan:
YOU CAN CANCEL BEFORE DEPARTURE FOR ANY REASON. Even if it's up to 24 hours before departure under our Standard Plan or right up to departure with our Platinum Plan. For any reason whatsoever, your reservation may be cancelled with ease.
YOU GET MONEY BACK. Only Holland America Line refunds 80-90% of eligible amounts paid, regardless of your reason for canceling, as long as you cancel more than 24 hours prior to departure (right up to departure with the Platinum Plan).
SAME PRICE FOR ALL AGES. We offer the same excellent protection for everyone, at the same cost.
NO PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS. Our Standard and Platinum Plans do not contain pre-existing condition exclusions.
Our Standard and Premium plans at a glance
Unforeseen events do happen. When you book your next cruise, be sure to ask about our Cancellation Protection Plans for the utmost peace of mind.
CPP Standard Plan – Provided by Holland America Line
Our Standard Cancellation Protection Plan (CPP Standard Plan) will allow you, for any reason, to provide written cancellation up to 24 hours prior to the scheduled cruise or cruisetour departure and receive a refund equal to 80% of the eligible amounts paid.
In addition, Holland America Line (HAL) automatically assumes an additional $500 (USD) of liability for lost, damaged or delayed baggage of guests who purchase the CPP Standard Plan still subject, however, to the limitations in our baggage policies. For example, we do not cover losses while baggage is in the custody of airlines. Please review our Baggage Policy.
The CPP Standard Plan is not insurance, and is administered by Holland America Line Inc.; it provides no rights other than those explained above.
Our Platinum Cancellation Protection Plan enables you to supplement the benefits provided under the CPP Standard Plan with enhanced cancellation protection. CPP Platinum also provides insurance coverage for trip delays and interruptions, medical expenses and much more. In addition, CPP Platinum includes 24-hour worldwide emergency assistance services. CPP Platinum may not be available for purchase in some locations outside the U.S. and Canada
CPP Platinum
Our Platinum Cancellation Protection Plan enables you to supplement the benefits provided under the CPP Standard Plan with enhanced cancellation protection. CPP Platinum also provides insurance coverage for trip delays and interruptions, medical expenses and much more. In addition, CPP Platinum includes 24-hour worldwide emergency assistance services. CPP Platinum is comprised of the following:
SECTION I Cancel for Any Reason Waiver Provided by Holland America Line You may cancel for any reason prior to the scheduled cruise/cruisetour departure and receive reimbursement equal to 90% of the eligible amounts paid to Holland America.
SECTION II TRAVEL INSURANCE PROGRAM Underwritten by Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company
Trip Interruption: Enables you to cancel or interrupt your cruise vacation for illness, injury or death to you, an immediate family member or a traveling companion, as well as certain other non-medical reasons affecting you or your traveling companion, and receive up to 150% of your cruise vacation cost.
Trip Delay: If you miss the departure of your cruise due to carrier-caused delays or other specified reasons, you will be reimbursed up to $500 for additional accommodations, meals and “catch-up” transportation expenses.
Baggage Protection: If your baggage or personal property is lost or damaged, you will be reimbursed up to $1,000. If your bags are delayed or misdirected by a common carrier for more than 24 hours, you will be reimbursed up to $500 for the purchase of necessary personal effects.
Medical Expense Coverage: Should you become injured or sick during your vacation, you will be reimbursed up to $10,000 for medical expenses.
Emergency Evacuation/Repatriation: In the event that serious illness or injury requires air or ground transportation to a specialized facility or to return home, you will be provided up to $50,000 in covered medical services and supplies (coordinated by our 24-hour assistance provider) to help ensure your safe transport. Repatriation coverage provides for shipment of remains in the event of death during the cruise vacation.
The Travel Insurance Program is underwritten by Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company, an AEGON Company, Columbus, Ohio; NAIC #10952 (all states except as otherwise noted) under Policy/Certificate Form series TAHC5000. In CA, HI, NE, NH, PA, TN AND TX, Policy/Certificate Form series TAHC5100 and TAHC5200. In IL, IN, KS, LA, OR, OH, VT, WA AND WY, Policy Form #’s TAHC5100IPS and TAHC5200IPS. Certain coverages are under series TAHC6000 and TAHC7000.
SECTION III WORLDWIDE EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE SERVICES Provided by On Call International Provides 24-hour assistance services including: pre-cruise health, safety and weather information; assistance with travel changes; lost luggage assistance; emergency cash transfer assistance; emergency medical and dental assistance; lost travel document assistance; and emergency medical payment assistance.
IMPORTANT: This is a summary. Please refer to the CPP Platinum Plan Description for complete terms, conditions, and exclusions. Note that the benefits and services provided in CPP Platinum are available only to guests who enroll in and pay the appropriate program cost to Holland America Line. Please note that payment of the required cruise deposit does not automatically activate enrollment in CPP Platinum Protection. In order to activate enrollment, you must pay the appropriate program costs in addition to the required cruise deposit amount. The CPP Standard and CPP Platinum Plans are optional and must be purchased prior to the date on which cancellation fees begin to accrue. Payment for the plan is due at time of purchase and is non-refundable. The per person, per cruise costs for both plans are listed with the cruise fares.
CPP Platinum Protection was designed and is administered by BerkelyCareSM. IN CALIFORNIA: BerkelyCare is a service mark of Aon Direct Insurance Administrators, CA Insurance License #0795465. IN ALL OTHER STATES: BerkelyCareSM is a division of Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. in all states other than CA, except AIS Affinity Insurance Agency, Inc. in MN and OK and AIS Affinity Insurance Agency in NY