Amtrak Vacations
Alaska and Pacific Coast Rail and Sail with the Norwegian Jade®
Alaska cruise and Coast Starlight rail journey from Anchorage to Los Angeles
12 daysfrom $1,969
8% rail
Amtrak Vacations · Rail & Sail
Pacific Coast and Alaska Rail and Sail with the Norwegian Jade®
Coast Starlight rail journey plus 7-night Alaska cruise from Vancouver
Amtrak Vacations runs this 12-day, 11-night rail and cruise journey from Los Angeles to Anchorage, Alaska. The trip opens with an overnight ride on the Coast Starlight, climbing the Pacific coast past the cliffs of the Pacific Coast Highway and the peaks of the Cascade Mountains before reaching Seattle. From there, travellers continue by train to Vancouver for two nights, including a guided city tour and panoramic views from the Vancouver Lookout. The remaining week shifts from rail to sea: a Norwegian Cruise Line ship sails the Inside Passage, watching for orcas and humpback whales, before calling at Ketchikan, Juneau, and the Gold Rush era town of Skagway, then cruising past Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier. A transfer from the cruise port carries travellers on to Anchorage. This suits travellers who want a short land-based rail introduction to the Pacific Northwest before a longer, glacier-focused Alaska cruise.
What to know before you look closer
- The included list states 2 nights of hotel accommodations, but the day-by-day itinerary shows 3 hotel nights (1 in Seattle, 2 in Vancouver); confirm the exact hotel nights with Amtrak Vacations.
- The package is named for the Norwegian Jade throughout, but day 12's description says disembarkation happens from the Norwegian Jewel in Seward, while the day 12 title says Whittier; confirm the ship and disembarkation port for your sailing.
- Government taxes and fees applicable to the cruise are not included in the price.
- The evidence lists 24 accommodation options across tiers and cities, from the Holiday Inn Express to the Regent Santa Monica in Los Angeles, so the exact hotel depends on what is booked.
Day by day
- Day 1overnight: Onboard Amtrak
Overnight Onboard Amtrak
Welcome to Los Angeles! This afternoon, make your way to Los Angeles' Union Station and board Amtrak's® Coast Starlight for a breathtaking ride up the western coast of the US to Seattle. Considered one of the most scenic routes in the Amtrak system, the journey offers the very best views of the Pacific Coast, from the cliffs of Pacific Coast Highway to the peaks of the Cascade Mountains.
- Day 2overnight: Seattle
Seattle
Arrive in Seattle this evening after your scenic journey up the Pacific Coast aboard Amtrak's Coast Starlight. After checking into your hotel, take the evening to explore the Emerald City at your leisure.
- Day 3overnight: Vancouver
Vancouver, BC
Take in the views of the Pacific Northwest scenery and Cascade Mountains as you travel from Seattle to Vancouver. Once you arrive in Vancouver, check in to your hotel and begin using your included hop-on, hop-off pass to explore all the city has to offer.
- Day 4overnight: Vancouver
Vancouver, BC
This morning, enjoy a guided city tour showcasing the best of Vancouver's vibrant neighborhoods and scenic highlights. As part of your tour, you'll visit the Vancouver Lookout, where panoramic 360-degree views provide a stunning perspective of the city and surrounding mountains.
- Day 5overnight: Onboard Norwegian Jade
Overnight Onboard Norwegian Jade®
Departure on the Jade® is at 4:00 pm today! While at sea, take some time getting acquainted with many of the ship's amenities including the delicious dining options, bars and lounges, dazzling casino!
- Day 6overnight: Onboard Norwegian Jade
Overnight Onboard Norwegian Jade®
Today, sail through the islands of the Inside Passage, the longest sheltered inland waterway in the world, and get ready for amazing views and wildlife like nowhere else! Be on the lookout for orcas and humpback whales!
- Day 7overnight: Onboard Norwegian Jade
Ketchikan (Docked 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM)
Spend the day in Ketchikan. Its Tlingit Indian name, Kach Khanna, means "spread wings of the eagle." Chances are you'll see one of these magnificent birds perched atop a Sitka tree.
- Day 8overnight: Onboard Norwegian Jade
Juneau (Docked 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM)
Today you will dock in Juneau, Alaska, certainly due in part to its unparalleled glacier viewing from such places as Tracy Arm Fjord, the Juneau Icefields and Glacier Bay National Park. Kayak up one of the area's many protected waterways, go flightseeing, tour historic downtown or try your hand at panning for gold.
- Day 9overnight: Onboard Norwegian Jade
Skagway (Docked 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM)
Today, you'll sail into beautiful Skagway. In a single year from 1896 to 1897, this remote town along the Inside Passage grew from a few tents to a city of 20,000 gold seekers.
- Day 10overnight: Onboard Norwegian Jade
Cruise Glacier Bay
Today you will sail to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, a United Nations World Heritage Site. Comprised of 3.3 million acres of natural wonders, it is home to magnificent glaciers, snow-capped mountains and abundant birds and wildlife.
- Day 11overnight: Onboard Norwegian Jade
Cruise Hubbard Glacier
Get up close and personal with the gigantic Hubbard Glacier, North America's largest tidewater glacier. It's 1350 square miles of blue ice and one of the most active in Alaska!
- Day 12
Whittier to Anchorage
After disembarking from the Norwegian Jewel in Seward, Alaska, a transfer will take you from the cruise port to the Anchorage Airport.
The moments this trip is built around
- Day 1Amtrak's Coast Starlight climbs the Pacific coast from Los Angeles toward Seattle, passing the cliffs of the Pacific Coast Highway and the peaks of the Cascade Mountains.
- Day 6The ship sails through the Inside Passage, the longest sheltered inland waterway in the world, with orcas and humpback whales visible along the way.
- Day 9The ship docks in Skagway, a town that grew from a few tents to a city of 20,000 gold seekers in a single year, 1896 to 1897.
- Day 10The cruise sails into Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, a United Nations World Heritage Site covering 3.3 million acres of glaciers, mountains, and wildlife.
- Day 11The ship approaches Hubbard Glacier, North America's largest tidewater glacier, 1,350 square miles of blue ice.
Included
- One-way Amtrak® in Coach accommodations from Los Angeles to Vancouver on the Coast Starlight®
- 2 nights' hotel accommodations; 1 night onboard Amtrak; 7 nights' onboard the Jade
- Transfer from Whittier cruise port to Anchorage airport
Not included
- Government taxes and fees applicable to the cruise are additional and not included
Questions travellers ask
- Is train travel included?
- Yes, one-way Amtrak Coach-class travel on the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Vancouver, via Seattle, is included.
- Which cruise ship is used?
- Norwegian Cruise Line's 7-day Alaska sailing with Glacier Bay from Vancouver, northbound. The package title names the ship as the Norwegian Jade, though day 12's description refers to the Norwegian Jewel; confirm which vessel applies to your sailing.
- What is not included?
- Government taxes and fees applicable to the cruise are not included.
- How many nights are onboard the ship versus on land?
- The included list states 2 hotel nights, 1 night onboard Amtrak, and 7 nights onboard the ship, though the itinerary itself shows 3 hotel nights (Seattle and two in Vancouver).
- Where does the trip end?
- A transfer takes travellers from the Whittier cruise port to Anchorage Airport, though day 12's description names Seward as the disembarkation port.
