Cunard Adds Rail Cruisetours to Alaska Sailings

Luxury line Cunard this summer will introduce pre- and post-Alaska cruise add-on tours aboard the iconic Rocky Mountaineer train. The multi-day excursions are offered to guests sailing on Queen Elizabeth’s Alaska voyages starting with early June departures.

All Aboard Rocky Mountaineer

Two well-known travel brands will come together in the summer of 2024 when Cunard teams up with the luxury Rocky Mountaineer train to offer a series of add-on rail tours to cruisers sailing aboard Queen Elizabeth. The Vista-class ship, carrying 2,092 guests, will cruise roundtrip from Vancouver, B.C., on 7- to 12-day voyages along the Alaskan coast.

Guests can choose a 4-night pre-cruise rail trip or a 3-night post-cruise tour, depending on the sail date. The pre-cruise option travels westbound from Vancouver to Banff, while the post-cruise trip heads east to Calgary.

Matt Gleaves, VP Commercial, Cunard, North America, said, ”We are excited to partner with Rocky Mountaineer so our passengers can enjoy the spectacular scenery and Alaskan wildlife in the utmost of luxury both by land and by sea.”

A High-End Rail Itinerary Awaits

The Rocky Mountaineer train offers a high-end experience and is the only passenger rail service on the western Canadian rail routes offered with the Cunard cruise.

Guests will enjoy expansive views from the train’s glass-domed windows as they pass by mountains, lakes, canyons and other scenery. Cunard guests who book the trip will receive the train’s GoldLeaf Service, which includes gourmet cuisine and full bar service.

Queen Elizabeth’s 7-night cruises call at Sitka, Juneau and Ketchikan, and her 12-night sailing visits those ports and adds Hubbard Glacier, Haines, Glacier Bay National Park, Tracy Arm Fjord and Ice Strait Point.

The 11-night cruise visits the same destinations as the 12-night except for Hubbard Glacier and Haines, while the 10-night sailing visits Hubbard Glacier, Skagway, Glacier Bay National Park, Juneau and Ketchikan.

Onboard Enrichment Programs for Guests

On Queen Elizabeth, which entered service in 2010, guests will travel and interact with experts from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and well-known maritime archeologist and explorer Mensun Bound.

Three service-level stateroom categories are offered on Queen Elizabeth – Britannia, Princess Grill and Queens Grill.

Cunard operates three ships, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria. A fourth ship, Queen Anne, is under construction at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy and is due to enter service in 2024. Her maiden voyage is tentatively set for May 3, 2024, roundtrip from Southampton, with port calls in Lisbon and La Coruna, Portugal.

The line is celebrating two 100-year anniversaries: The successful conclusion of Cunard’s first world voyage, aboard the RMS Laconia in 1922, and the introduction of professional photographers onboard its ships. The latter is the subject of the “Sea Views” exhibition debuting this year.