Along with the traditional Wave Season specials, Holland America Line this week announced a plan to spend $70 million over the next three years enhancing the guest experience at the sprawling, 60-acre Holland America Denali Lodge. The drawing board includes a remodel of existing rooms and the addition of a new building, restaurant, coffee bar and bar.
With tourism to the 49th state soaring—and competition for this top-selling cruise destination heated among both cruise and land suppliers— HAL president Beth Bodensteiner noted the convenience of staying at a lodge “at the doorstep of Denali National Park,” near the base of the 20,000-foot Mount Denali. Bodensteiner called the plan “a win for Alaska, our guests, and 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.”
This year, HAL will add scenic viewpoints to its riverside interpretive trail, improve on-site wayfinding, refine the menu offerings in the restaurants, and improve the public spaces in the Lodge’s Cottonwood and Canyon Lodge buildings.
In 2026, the plan calls for remodeling 48 rooms in Denali Lodge, adding a new coffee shop, and remodeling Karstens Public House with expanded indoor and outdoor seating “to provide a more immersive experience.”
A new building with 120 suites and rooms will open in 2027, with a new restaurant, a new lobby bar, and an enhanced coffee experience.
HAL’s popular Cruisetours program offers 17 itineraries that combine an Alaska cruise with a ride on the glass-domed McKinley Explorer train to Denali National Park and/or Canada’s Yukon Territory, utilizing company-owned motorcoaches, railcars, and hotels, including Denali Lodge.
For Wave Season, meanwhile, Hal’s Start Your Journey offer promises balcony upgrades, bonus amenities, reduced deposits, and other savings. Bookings made by February 28 will be eligible for an onboard spending credit of up to $400 per cabin ($US100 per person) on six- to nine-day cruises, or more for longer voyages.
Have It All premium packages on select cruises between April 2025 to April 2026 get a cabin upgrade in select categories, reduced fares for children, and a 50% deposit. And if they are booked during the offer period, by March 31, 2025, they include shore excursions, the signature beverage package, specialty dining and wi-fi.