Zephan McMillan
A high-speed catamaran skips over green waves, the deep colour of jade on a sunlit day. Dots of white appear over the surface of the water, one at a time. A few chunks of ice float past at first, but as the boat draws closer to its final destination the pieces pass more frequently and grow larger in size.
High mountains jut into the sea on either side, creating a canyon where waterfalls pour cold, clear glacial runoff into the fjord. Everywhere you look is a photographer’s dream. Dawes Glacier, however, takes the cake. An active tidewater glacier, this icy jewel of the Endicott Arm Fjord regularly calves, dropping massive pieces of ice into the water below. Its blue face towers above these small boats like an impenetrable wall.
This is the Endicott Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer experience on the first excursion of a seven-day Alaska cruise itinerary with Holland America Line—and it’s the kind of experience lifelong memories are made from.
In fact, the entire reason the ships are here is because the Tracy Arm Inlet, sister fjord to the Endicott Arm, experienced a massive landslide in 2025, when roughly 100 million cubic feet of rock slid into the water and formed a landslide-created tsunami 100 feet above the surface of the water.
HAL’s strong tour partnerships, however, enabled them to pivot and bring guests to the Endicott Arm Fjord and Dawes Glacier instead. Relationships like this are built over decades and strengthened by prioritizing traveller experiences.
For many Canadian travellers, Alaska is a bucket list destination. The rugged landscape, the glaciers, the wildlife, all make Alaska unique and yet easily accessible from British Columbia. For Canadian travel advisors seeking a reliable option for their clients, HAL has amassed almost eight decades of experience listening to what travellers want from a trip to Alaska.
“Start by understanding what clients want to experience,” says Rob Coleman, senior vice president of sales for HAL. “Are they dreaming about glaciers? Wildlife? Denali? Local culture? Once you understand what matters most to them, it becomes much easier to match them with the right Alaska experience. Holland America Line actually began inland, bringing travellers to Alaska and the Yukon for land tours in 1947 – 12 years before Alaska became a state.”
That level of experience gives the cruise line an edge when it comes to planning itineraries.
“One piece of advice I share often is to start the conversation with a cruisetour recommendation. Alaska is so much more than the coastline,” says Coleman. “The cruise is an incredible way to experience the glaciers, wildlife and coastal communities, but when you add Denali and Alaska’s interior, guests gain a much deeper appreciation for the destination. That’s why we’ve been taking guests into Alaska and the Yukon since 1947. We believe the best way to experience Alaska is to see as much of it as possible.”
Coleman states that Holland America Line offers more glacier experiences than any other cruise line, with visits to Glacier Bay National Park, Hubbard Glacier, Dawes Glacier and Endicott Arm.
“We also offer more ways to see wildlife than any other line. Alaska ships carry a wildlife expert on board, and Holland America Line offers nearly 180 shore excursions to see species of all kinds,” he shares. “From Alaska Up Close programming to our very extensive destination-inspired culinary experiences, every element is designed to help guests connect more deeply with the destination.”
As HAL marks its 80th anniversary of bringing guests to Alaska in 2027, clients can expect the cruise line to continue to do what it has done best from the start: bring guests to the real Alaska.
“That history translates into destination expertise, strong local partnerships and experiences that have been refined over generations,” Coleman adds.
Four excursions worth experiencing in Alaska
- White Pass Summit Scenic Railroad, Skagway: At the White Pass Summit, 2,865 feet above sea level, the train passes briefly through Canada, near the northern tip of British Columbia–a thrill for Canadian travellers.
- Grizzly Falls Zip-Line Expedition, Skagway: Adventure-seekers soar down ten zip-lines and across four suspension bridges, through the dense Alaskan rainforest and directly over glacially-fed waterfalls.
- Mendenhall Glacier Float Trip, Juneau: Starting with a guided motorcoach tour to Mendenhall Lake, raft past a 100-foot tall glacier and down an 8km stretch of river through the Tongass National Forest.
- Tatoosh Islands Sea Kayaking, Ketchikan: A unique way to experience the natural beauty of Alaska, this tour brings guests up close and personal with the calm beauty of the Tatoosh Islands.
