American Queen Voyages has announced a new partnership with Rocky Mountaineer to offer a pre- and post-cruise luxury rail City Stay Package for the inaugural season of its Ocean Victory.
According to a press release, the add-on option is available for six sailings between May and September 2022, with travels through the Canadian Rockies between Calgary and Vancouver.
“The inaugural expedition season of the Ocean Victory in Alaska, made even more special with the Rocky Mountaineer program, is a magnificent add-on to our new expedition experience,” said Shawn Bierdz, chief operating officer at American Queen Voyages, which is part of the Hornblower Group.
“This partnership is a wonderful way to kick off American Queen Voyages’ 10th anniversary year, combining the adventure of expedition cruising in Alaska and the romance of rail travel through the Canadian Rockies,” Bierdz added.
According to the press release, the Landscapes & Luxury Rocky Mountaineer City Stay Package is available as a six-day rail pre-cruise option for guests booked on the Ocean Victory on May 2, 23; June 13; July 4, 25; Aug. 15; Sept. 5, and as a five-day post-cruise on May 28; June 18; July 9, 30; Aug. 20; and Sept. 10, 2022.
Expedition highlights include a two-day Rocky Mountaineer train experience with GoldLeaf Service; hotel nights in Banff, Kamloops and two nights in Vancouver; either one or two half-day tours in Vancouver (Grouse Mountain and Capilano, Vancouver City Tour); a National Parks pass; luggage handling at hotels; and train station and airport transfers.
The pre-cruise package includes an additional hotel night in Calgary and a full day sightseeing tour from Calgary to Banff, American Queen Voyages said.
“We are thrilled to add American Queen Voyages as a cruise partner, offering our iconic luxury rail journeys through the Canadian Rockies to their guests,” said Jonathan Hope, managing director for sales at Rocky Mountaineer. “Rocky Mountaineer journeys are the perfect complement to an Alaska cruise, offering guests views of breathtaking scenery while enjoying delicious cuisine, friendly service, interesting storytelling and the social atmosphere from our luxury glass-domed trains.”
The 186-guest Ocean Victory sails 12- and 13-day journeys through Alaska’s Inside Passage led by an expedition team. Cruisers can deploy kayaks and zodiacs with expedition guides, view wildlife from sliding observation platforms, witness marine research by California Polytechnic State University students in real-time and talk to First Nation leaders.
The focus of the Ocean Victory’s expedition program is “exploring Alaska up close,” according to American Queen Voyages.
The Ocean Victory will sail between Vancouver, B.C. and Sitka, Alaska on 13-day journeys and feature ports of call that larger ships cannot access, including Baranof Island’s eastern coast. The itinerary features: a pre-cruise hotel stay in Vancouver, B.C.; Canadian Inside Passage; Fiordland (Kynoch Inlet); Ketchikan/Metlakatla; Misty Fjords National Monument; Wrangell/Stikine River Wilderness; Waterfall Coast/Baranof Wilderness; Petersburg/Le Conte Glacier; Tracy Arm/Endicott Glacier; Kake/Frederick Sound/Five Finger; and Sitka, Alaska. Sailings are available in May-September 2022.
The Rocky Mountaineer offers luxury train journeys that showcase North America’s scenery, with four rail routes: three that connect Vancouver to the Canadian Rockies towns of Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper in Western Canada; and a fourth route that travels between Denver, Colorado and Moab, Utah in the Southwest U.S. The journeys take place in spacious glass-domed train coaches.
Prices for the Landscapes & Luxury Rocky Mountaineer City Stay Package start at $3,799 per person, American Queen Voyages said.
