Alaska Cruises: A Denali Vacation

We spoke with an experienced cruiser to Alaska about her recent Celebrity Cruises voyage to Alaska, which also featured an inland tour of Denali. Here are some highlights:

DENALI

When I asked our traveler for her one tip for anyone considering an Alaskan vacation, it was this:

“If you can take the time, at least get to Denali, you are so close once you get to Anchorage it’s something to experience. It’s not about the town, it’s the magnificence of the views!” In fact, the town itself is only open May to September and after that everything is closed, even the gas station!! The hotels pull the sheets off the beds, the restaurants put things away in storage…shop is closed!

While every Alaskan vacation is going to be filled with magnificent views, every once in awhile you’ll be on a vacation that is truly blessed with clear skies making Mount Denali visible throughout the entire trip.

Great weather made it possible for them to see this beautiful site from morning to night. Or technically even at 1 AM as they were heading home from a great evening because it was during the midnight sun!

In fact, if you tend to believe Alaska is always snowy and cold, you’ll be amazed to hear it was 90 degrees throughout their trip in May!

TRAIN RIDE

In order to reach Mount Denali, guests don’t hop on a motor coach, no no this trip is done in amazing style with a train that includes almost 360 degree views thanks to a clear ceiling.

Throughout the ride they could see animals in the river and Mount Denali in the distance!

While there was no cruise line buffet, the food served during this ride was wonderful. It was a sit down meal of fairly basic foods, but everything felt very fresh and was better than she’s experienced on so many other train rides!

ANCHORAGE

Not to be out done by the mountain, Anchorage offers some things of interest as well.

In fact, the must-see for this trip is the Indian Heritage Center, just 12 minutes outside of town, which has been expanded in recent years to be far more than just a museum. It’s a living history site!

Behind the large center is a lake where each Indian tribe is represented with a section that showcases how their houses were built, from a hole in the ground to log cabins. College students from the tribe in the exhibit provide more insight about life in the village.