Holland America just announced another wowzer of an Alaska itinerary
Holland America is out with yet another epic Alaska itinerary that is unlike anything we've seen before.
The 18-night "Great Bear Rainforest and Alaskan Explorer" voyage, as the line is calling it, will bring an extended sailing up the coast of Alaska to small towns that most cruise lines never visit. It will also include a rare multiday passage along the western coast of Canada.
Among the most unusual calls planned for the voyage, which will kick off Sept. 16, 2026, in Vancouver, British Columbia, will be day visits to the small fishing town of Homer, Alaska, known as the halibut capital of the world, and mountain-ringed Valdez, Alaska.
Neither of the towns, which are home to populations of just 6,040 and 3,805 people, respectively, draws many cruise ships — in part because of the time it takes to reach them from Vancouver and other Alaska cruise hubs.
The remote Alaska town of Kodiak, on Kodiak Island, is also on the itinerary. The island is particularly known for its large population of Kodiak bears — the largest subspecies of brown bears.
The trip also will include an overnight stop in Anchorage, Alaska's largest city. Few ships on Alaska cruises ever visit Anchorage due to the distance of travel required to reach it through the Cook Inlet.
All the above destinations are too far north to reach on a typical seven-night cruise to Alaska out of Vancouver or Seattle. Only far longer sailings to Alaska, which are rare, typically include them.
Holland America's new itinerary, which will take place on 1,432-passenger Zaandam, also will include stops in the relatively little-visited Alaskan town of Wrangell, as well as Sitka, Juneau and Ketchikan, the latter three being more common stops on Alaska cruises.
Visits to two of Alaska's iconic glacier destinations, Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve and Hubbard Glacier, also are on the schedule.
Related: The 6 best Alaska cruise shore excursions — from heli-hiking to whale watching
Still, perhaps the most impressive piece of the voyage will take place as Zaandam begins the voyage northward to Alaska.
The ship will spend two full days exploring the immensely scenic narrow channels that cut through the western edge of British Columbia — most notably, the super-tight Grenville Channel (so narrow you feel like you can reach out and touch its sides as you cruise through it), as well as the Seymour Narrows.
They are waterways that once formed the heart of what was known as the "Inside Passage" to Alaska, but they have been mostly bypassed by cruise vessels for decades.
As it sails the region, Zaandam will pass by the Great Bear Rainforest, Bella Bella and Princess Royal Island, among the region's best-known sites.
On the way back southward to Vancouver, Zaandam also will call for the day at Prince Rupert, British Columbia, allowing passengers time for shore excursions into the Great Bear Rainforest.
The Grenville Channel and the other narrow waterways through which Zaandam will travel formed the safe route to Alaska during the gold rush days of the 1800s, when the passage was plied by steamboats. But it fell out of favor with Alaska-bound vessels over time as ships became bigger and were willing to brave the open ocean to reach Alaska faster.
Cruise ships sailing to Alaska in recent decades have almost always bypassed this old route in favor of arriving in Alaska more quickly and spending more time there.
For the most part, the only time cruise vessels have entered these old Inside Passage channels recently has been when there have been storms affecting the seas in the open ocean outside the passage.
The new trip is just the latest from Holland America that includes added time in the Great Bear Rainforest region. Two other shorter sailings announced earlier this year for 2025 and 2026 also will explore the area.
Fares for the newly announced voyage start at $3,029 per person, including taxes, fees and port charges. More information on the new sailings is available at Holland America's website.
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