It’s been a big week for Alaska cruises.
As part of Holland America Line’s newly announced partnership with O, The Oprah Magazine, the line will be offering a special Alaska cruise this July with Oprah Winfrey and O The Oprah Magazine editor at large Gayle King onboard. Four additional Oprah-inspired cruises will take place onboard select Holland America line ships in North America through 2018, with exclusive onboard programming developed with the magazine’s creative team.
The magazine will kick off the partnership with a contest in March 2017 awarding three deserving readers the chance to join the inaugural cruise to Alaska with Oprah and Gayle, followed by a high impact unit in the April 2017 issue, with in-book, online and broadcast integrations running throughout the remainder of 2017 and 2018.
In luxury news, Oceania Cruises has announced a series of 14 Alaska cruise departures setting sail from San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver between May and September 2017.
Highlights will include a tour of Astoria’s Ale Trail for beer lovers, a trip on the crab boat from “Deadliest Catch” in Ketchikan and, for foodies, a walking tour to establishments as Sticky Wicket, Hanks’s BBQ, 10 Acres bistro and Bon Macaron Patisserie in Victoria, British Columbia. Guests will also have the chance to go dog-sledding or glacier-trekking in Juneau, as well as go wildlife spotting in the remote Spasski River Valley outside of Hoonah.
The voyages will take place between May and September onboard the Regatta, the flagship of Oceania Cruises’ fleet.
Finally, for guests looking for a longer voyage, Carnival Cruise Line has announced a new 14-day Carnival Journeys cruise to Alaska roundtrip from Long Beach, CA, including a stop at the Hubbard Glacier and a day-long visit to Icy Strait Point.
The new itinerary onboard Carnival Splendor will depart Long Beach August 25, 2018, returning September 8.
In addition to a full day at Hubbard Glacier and Icy Strait Point, the 14-day cruise will include the destinations of Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau and Sitka, Alaska, along with a day-long call at Victoria, British Columbia. A wide variety of shore excursions, ranging from helicopter flightseeing and rainforest canopy tours to hiking, canoeing and kayaking expeditions, and alpine lake snorkeling, will be available.
Other Alaska cruises from Carnival include
a two-week-long voyage roundtrip from Long Beach aboard Carnival Miracle in September 2017 and 38 seven- and eight-day voyages aboard Carnival Legend in summer and fall 2017-18. Several of the seven-day cruises include a day cruising Glacier Bay National Park, a UNESCO Heritage Site.
All of Carnival’s 2017-18 Alaska cruises aboard Carnival Splendor, Carnival Legend and Carnival Miracle are currently open for reservations.
Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for the latest cruise industry news, trends and updates.