Last year, at the 20th annual Alaska Media Roadshow — a professional
event sponsored by the Alaska Travel Industry Association — travel
journalists and influencers congregated to learn what’s new in the
destination for 2024.
The roadshow offers an insider’s perspective on Alaska tourism, and
while I’ve covered the destination for decades,I always leave the event
having learned something new. Here’s what I learned about the latest
news in cruising, touring and events in Alaska.
Alaska cruise updates
Alaskan Dream Cruises is offering the new, eight-day Ice of the
Inside Passage tour, which lets visitors explore seven glaciers:
Margerie, Grand Pacific, Mendenhall, Sawyer, South Sawyer and Dawes, as
well as LeConte Glacier, via a high-speed, jet-boat excursion. Clients
can choose from seven sailings in 2024, with departures available May
through August.
Holland America Line has announced a new 28-day Arctic Circle
itinerary that includes 12 Alaska ports. There’s a sailing set to depart
this June, and more to come in 2025.
Lindblad Expeditions’ new Nome to Tokyo: Ring of Fire cruise departs
this August. The 21-day cruise visits western rookeries home to more
than 1 million birds, plus massive seal colonies on the remote Pribilof
Islands, all while following the northern Ring of Fire’s 51 volcanoes
from Alaska to Japan. The cruise is front-loaded with myriad
presentations on the geology, wildlife, ecology and oceanography of the
destinations highlighted on the trip, all delivered by experts and
scientists onboard.
National Geographic Resolution, one of Lindblad Expeditions’ two new ships expressly built for polar waters.
Alaska tour updates
Juneau Lighthouse Tours has expanded its 2.5-hour whale-watching
adventure to include a land-based segment. The operator has exclusive
permission to explore the Sentinel Island Lighthouse, a historic
landmark steeped in Alaska history and lighthouse lore. Their boat, the
MV Beacon, has been also updated to include individual leather seats
that recline and USB chargers.
Juneau Food Tours has partnered with Breathe Alaska to offer
Mindfulness in the Wilderness, a programme that focuses on using
breathwork to enjoy the Alaska wilds and to consciously connect to
nature and the food it produces. The experience is led by a trained
guide and includes a gourmet lunch provided by an award-winning chef.
John Hall’s Alaska has announced the new Black Label Experience which
includes under 20 passengers per trip traveling in state-of-the-art
motorcoaches. CEO Elizabeth Hall also invites agents to visit the
company’s enhanced and completely redesigned website.
Alaska hotel updates
The Veilbreaker Tour by Alyeska Resort.
Borealis Basecamp outside Fairbanks has announced a new main lodge,
dining center and the addition of an in-suite private sauna to its glass
dome accommodation designed for aurora watching. The property has also
added tours that include ski excursions, fat-tire biking, reindeer
walks, snowmobiling and dog-sledding adventures.
Within the Wild’s Tutka Bay Lodge is offering a new four-day,
all-inclusive package that includes ocean snorkelling, a Homer-based art
tour, a forest and ocean wellness programme, bear viewing and
helicopter adventures. Also new is the lodge’s million-dollar catamaran
for exploring isolated coves of the lower Kenai Peninsula.
Alyeska Resort debuted The Veilbreaker Tour last year, and it’s a
great offering to recommend for thrill-seeking clients. The tour is
simple, yet incredible: Participants take a ski lift to the top of
Alyeska’s slopes, then hike several rocky promontories and a pair of
suspension bridges. Christmas Bridge (54m long) and New Year’s Bridge
(71m long) are anchored 700m above the valley floor and wobble as
visitors cross. They’re also honeycombed, see-through metal bridges just
a tad wider than two human feet placed side by side, creating the
optical illusion of walking across the clouds in midair, with the valley
in the distance.
Source: TravelAge West