Rocky Mountaineer guests can expect ever-changing scenery, attentive service, chef-prepared meals paired with local wines and craft beers, the opportunity to connect with like-minded travelers, and the ability to create personalized itineraries for exploring your destination—the perfect complement to what you can expect on an Alaska cruise. Just as there are parts of Western Canada and the Canadian Rockies that can only be reached onboard Rocky Mountaineer’s luxury trains, there are incredible Alaskan landscapes that you can only experience on a cruise ship. If you want to see whales and glaciers along with moose and mountains, or simply want to enjoy a vacation where everything has been taken care of in advance, then a rail and cruise vacation is a great choice.

The experience onboard Rocky Mountaineer has been described as “cruising on the rails,” so it’s no surprise that 60 percent of the train’s guests have taken a cruise in the past five years, and 40 percent will combine an Alaska cruise with their Rocky Mountaineer journey to Banff, Lake Louise or Jasper. Enjoying these two experiences back-to-back allows you to fully explore the rugged beauty of Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States: soaring eagles and breaching orca whales; calving glaciers and temperate rainforest; cosmopolitan cities, fishing villages, and mountain hamlets.

Rocky Mountaineer offers three rail routes, each traveling between Vancouver and the Canadian Rocky Mountain towns of Banff, Lake Louise or Jasper. As you gaze out of the oversized windows with a glass of wine in your hand, you might take in temperate rainforest, rugged canyons, dusty desert plateau, and mountain alpine. Squint a little and turn to your fellow travelers to excitedly ask, “Is that a black bear or is it a Grizzly?” To make sure you won’t miss a minute of these views, the train only travels during daylight, which means you’ll overnight at comfortable hotels along the way.

An Alaska cruise is the perfect complement to a Canadian Rockies rail journey. The Inside Passage, stretching from Washington State, through British Columbia and up to Alaska, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising a network of waterways winding between glacial fjords and temperate rainforests. Alaska also boasts some of the prettiest ports of call around, including the Klondike gold rush town of Skagway; the state capital, Juneau; and Ketchikan, with its historic fishing industry and strong ties to Indigenous Culture.

With Vancouver being the western departure point for Rocky Mountaineer, as well as the home port for many Alaska cruise sailings, bringing together these two experiences into one amazing vacation couldn’t be easier. Coordinate your train experience with Alaska sailings on any cruise line departing from Vancouver. And Rocky Mountaineer works with local partners to curate personalized itineraries that feature tours, activities and extended stays in the destinations, so you can experience even more of Western Canada.

Contact your Covington vacation advisor for package rates and dates.

Disclosure: Covington Travel is pleased to recognize Rocky Mountaineer as a valued partner and sponsor of this blog post.