As it marks its 80th Alaska year in 2027, the cruise line looks to the past to give guests a richer view of the Great Land.
Alaska has never done things by halves. Its peaks dwarf cruise ships. Its glaciers stop people mid-sentence. And its bears care far more about lunch than your holiday plans.
Now Holland America Line has found one more reason to go: the past.
The cruise line announced Alaska Heritage Tours on 21 October for its 2027 season. The range spans more than three dozen trips. Guests can ride gold-rush rail tracks, spot wildlife, and see glaciers up close. Some tours follow routes that have drawn visitors for decades. Others use new comforts to bring old stories to life.
This is more than a birthday promotion. It gives travel advisers fresh ways to sell the shore, not just the ship. For clients, it means a trip with a tale worth telling long after they get home.
Eighty years, but not quite the story you might think
Voyages that begin or end in Whittier offer Heritage Tours that highlight the natural beauty of Southcentral Alaska. – Image courtesy of Carnival Corporation
The 80-year claim needs some context. As CLIA Alaska records, Holland America’s Alaska roots date to 1947. That year, Chuck West set up Arctic Alaska Tours in Fairbanks. It later became Westours. Holland America built on that legacy when it acquired Westours as a subsidiary in 1979.
So the 2027 birthday marks eight decades of linked tour history. That doesn’t mean the cruise line has run the same ship trips since 1947. The true story is better than the neat sales line.
West saw what others had missed. A trip to Alaska could mean more than a view from the sea. His tours joined ship travel with roads, rail and flights into the north. That mix laid the groundwork for today’s cruise-and-land holidays.
Carole Biencourt, the line’s vice president of onboard revenue, says the tours “continue to offer guests an authentic connection to Alaska’s landscapes, wildlife and communities”.
The link to the past remains, even as much has changed. Guests now have fine coaches, warm lodges and trains with wide glass roofs. A dash of hardship can make a good tale. You don’t need to book it as part of the fare.
Gold rushes, grand views and ice with attitude
McKinley Explorer Railroad – Journey through Alaska’s interior aboard the glass-domed train that connects guests with some of the state’s most spectacular scenery. – Image courtesy of Carnival Corporation
At Skagway, the White Pass Summit Scenic Railroad follows a route tied to the Klondike Gold Rush. The steep climb brings high bridges, deep valleys and bold views. In the old days, gold seekers faced mud, cold and a hard haul north. Today’s guests can sit back and enjoy the view. Progress has its charms.
Then there is the McKinley Explorer. Its glass-domed cars roll through the heart of Alaska towards Denali. They give guests a wide view of the peaks and vast land beyond. The train itself is not 80 years old. It is a fresh take on the rail trips that helped open up the region.
In Juneau, guests can head to Mendenhall Glacier. Here, great walls of ice and the marks they leave on the land tell a far older story. The Kenai Fjords National Park Cruise offers more thrills on the water. Watch for sea otters, whales and ice at the water’s edge. As ever, the whales have not signed a contract to appear.
Fairbanks adds the Riverboat Discovery, a nod to life on Alaska’s rivers. Denali adds the Tundra Wilderness Tour. Guests can look for moose, bears, caribou and Dall sheep while guides explain the land they call home.
There is good news at Denali, too. The US National Park Service says it expects full bus access along Denali Park Road in summer 2027. The Pretty Rocks Bridge was built after a landslide shut down part of the route in 2021. Guests should still check the final path and length of their tour.
Six ships, with plenty to see on land
White Pass Summit Scenic Railroad – Follow the historic Klondike Gold Rush route through the mountains above Skagway. – Image courtesy of Carnival Corporation
Holland America has named six ships for Alaska in 2027. They are Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam, Westerdam and Zaandam. The season will run from April to September, with sailings from Seattle, Vancouver and Whittier.
For clients keen to see more of the state, a Cruisetour may be the best fit. The line says all of its Alaska Cruisetours include the McKinley Explorer. They also include either the Denali Natural History Tour or the Tundra Wilderness Tour. Some add Fairbanks or Seward. Yukon trips also feature the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad.
Shorter sea trips can still pack a punch. On Alaska Explorer and Inside Passage trips that call at Juneau, guests can visit Mendenhall Glacier. Glacier Discovery trips from or to Whittier put Southcentral Alaska within reach. For those with time to spare, the 28-day Legendary Alaska Arctic Circle voyage is the grand option. Its calls include Haines, Valdez and Anchorage.
Holland America says its full Alaska range has more than 200 shore tours. It also promotes local and Alaska Native voices, features talks with experts, highlights regional food, and offers visits to famous ice fields. In 2027, the line plans to add rooms and upgrade parts of its Denali Lodge. Not every tour or event is offered on every sailing, so the fine print still matters.
The Australian sales opportunity
For Australians, Alaska is no cheap weekend dash. A long flight and a big holiday budget raise the stakes. Clients need good reasons to choose one trip over the next.
The Heritage Tours give advisers a clear place to start. Ask what matters most. Is it the gold rush? A train ride through the peaks? A day in search of bears? Or the sight of a glacier that makes the world feel very small?
Then build the cruise and land stay around that wish. Check shore time, tour cost, how hard the trip may be and whether seats are still on sale. Nature does not obey a timetable. Nor does bad weather care what the brochure promised.
Yet that is part of Alaska’s pull. It does not need a new theme each year. The old stories are still out there, beside the tracks, along the rivers and under a sky that seems to go on forever.
Holland America is dusting them off for 2027. The gold rush may be history, but treasure remains for those who know where to look.
Alaska Heritage Tours are open for booking on selected 2027 sailings and Cruisetours. See Holland America’s Alaska Heritage Tours, the 2027 Alaska programme and Denali Park updates.
By: Sandra Jones – © 2026.
Read Time: 5 minutes.
Author Bio:
Sandra has spent a working lifetime quietly rescuing journeys, one itinerary, one anxious caller, one impossible connection at a time. Years at Australia’s finest travel agencies taught her the art of calm: how to find a flight in a fog of cancellations, soothe a traveller when luggage wanders, and turn nine frantic days in Europe into something resembling sense. Qualified, seasoned, endlessly patient, she learned that good travel advice is part logistics, part listening.
But the storyteller in her was always waiting its turn. Writing offered a new map, a way to turn experience into reflection, detail into delight. At EGT Media, Sandra now writes the truths only insiders know: the mishaps, the laughter, the grace found between gates and goodbyes. She reminds us that travel, for all its fuss, is still one of life’s better ideas.
