With no end in sight to the cruise-tourism boom Alaska has experienced in recent years, Holland America Line is taking steps to significantly upgrade and expand Denali Lodge, the centerpiece of the line’s Denali cruisetours.
The cruise line revealed it will invest $70 million in the property during the next three years, enhancing guest rooms, public spaces, and restaurants. Denali Lodge was previously called McKinley Chalet Resort.
Located at the entrance to Denali National Park, the property sits on 68 acres adjacent to the Nenana River. All Denali cruisetours offered by Holland America feature land accommodations at the lodge.
The cruise line in 2025 will start adding improvements to the lodge’s riverside trail, such as scenic overlooks, wayfinding signage, an upgraded menu at restaurants, and refits of public spaces at the property’s Cottonwood and Canyon Lodge accommodations.
In 2026, the investment will fund the remodeling of 48 rooms in Denali Lodge and new indoor and outdoor seating at the Karstens Public House restaurant. A coffee shop will be added, too.
The improvement project will wrap up in 2027 with the construction of a new accommodations wing, adding 120 rooms and suites, along with a full renovation of the main lodge. The refit will add a new restaurant, bar, and coffee shop.
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“It’s truly special that we can bring guests to a lodge at the doorstep of Denali National Park,” said Beth Bodensteiner, president of Holland America Line.
“Enhancing and expanding the Holland America Denali Lodge will help meet the growing interest in combined land and sea Cruisetours for our 49th state and further support the Alaska tourism industry,” added Bodensteiner.
Holland America Line’s cruisetours combine an at-sea experience with a land exploration to Denali National Park and Canada’s Yukon Territory. More than two-dozen cruisetours are offered, and programs for 2025 and 2026 are open for sale.
In addition to owning a series of hotels in Alaska, the cruise line also operates luxury railways, making overland journeys easy to book.
Among its hotel holdings in Alaska are several Westmark brand properties, including those in Whitehorse and Dawson City, Yukon, plus Anchorage, Fairbanks, Skagway, and Girdwood, Alaska.
All cruisetours to Denali National Park include overland transportation and hotel nights at Denali Lodge.
A new cruisetour set to debut in summer 2025 is the 14-day “Ultimate Denali,” featuring land explorations in Denali National Park, Fairbanks, and Homer, plus a 7-night voyage.
Four Holland America Line Ships Operating Cruisetours in 2025
In 2025, 17 unique cruisetours are offered on four ships — the 2,650-guest Koningsdam, the 2,527-guest Nieuw Amsterdam, the 1,924-guest Noordam, and the 1,432-guest Zaandam.
Guests can choose a pre- or post-cruise land option with up to 3 nights at Denali Lodge. An add-on package to the Yukon is offered on all Denali packages, with visits to the gold-rush town of Dawson City and Whitehorse.
All of the line’s cruisetour itineraries include transport on the glass-domed McKinley Explorer train, and guests who book Yukon visits can travel by train on the Yukon Route Railroad from Skagway.
Guests who plan to book a cruisetour to Denali will dine at two restaurants at the lodge, Karstens Public House and Canyon Steakhouse, and both were recently honored for their commitment to sustainable seafood.
The venues in June 2024 received certification from Marine Stewardship Council and unveiled new menus as well.
