PHOTO: Glaciers can be seen from your stateroom.

Growling bears, dramatic mountain landscapes and exposure to the rugged lifestyle of “The Last Frontier” state await vacationers who book this popular combined land-and-cruise adventure to Alaska with Holland America Line (HAL).

The Land+Sea Journey (12-day Yukon+Double Denali) takes visitors from the trendy shops and hearty pubs of Anchorage to the cloud-piercing mountain peaks of Denali National Park aboard a glass-domed train, and from a gold dredge outside Fairbanks through the old gold rush towns of Northwest Canada’s scenic Yukon. The Whitehorse Pass and Yukon Route Railroad then carves through some of the trip’s best mountainous scenery from British Columbia to Skagway for the final part of the journey – boarding the MS Zuiderdam for the cruise’s remaining four days and nights through the fjords and along sunswept glaciers of southeastern Alaska, with the final stop in Vancouver.

I took this tour the last two weeks in August and was particularly impressed with HAL’s attention to detail. Luggage was moved efficiently at all times and delivered when expected. Tour guides and motorcoach drivers were knowledgeable and fun to be with. We stayed in mostly Westmark Hotels, a subsidiary of HAL, and the rooms were consistently clean and comfortable. Meal ticket packages were available for hotel stays and for breakfast and lunch aboard the McKinley Explorer train from Anchorage to Denali. And seating aboard the motorcoaches and the McKinley Explorer was roomy – even for me at 6 feet, 4 inches.

Travel agents should note, however, that the land portion was a bit hectic at times with many hours on the road and “bags out” times as early as 6 a.m. We were often traveling by 7:30 or 8 a.m. But this really can’t be helped considering Alaska’s enormity, and the comfort of the train and motorcoaches made it quite easy. Motorcoach stops every two hours or so with dramatic vistas of mountains and rivers made every lost minute of sleep well worth it – at least for me.

HAL offers the trip in both directions, starting either with the land journey in Anchorage or with the cruise in Vancouver. Given the early hours and long motorcoach rides, I would recommend the land portion first as I was later able to unwind and relax on the cruise. This 12-day trip is one of 13 such Alaska and Yukon vacations offered by Holland America, running from 10 to 20 days and using four different ships.

Also important to note, the MS Zuiderdam will cruise in the Caribbean and Europe starting in late 2014 and in 2015 before a stop in dry dock for refurbishments. It will return to Alaska for the 2016 spring and summer season. In 2015, the Zuiderdam’s sister ship, the MS Noordam, and the MS Volendam will fill in, according to Holland America.

Although expensive, flightseeing excursions in Alaska offer an excellent aerial perspective of the vast landscapes – particularly at Denali – and are available at different stops along the trip. Many excursions continue well into the evening hours as summer daylight can last until 11 p.m. and midnight.

DAY 1: Anchorage

Vacationers arriving early or on the previous day have several options for sightseeing, including city bus tours, walk tours of the downtown, and excursions beyond the city limits offered by Holland America and private tour operators.

Day and half-day excursions include a cruise to see the blue-chipped ice of the Portage Glacier, Prince William Sound cruises and flightseeing, full-day excursions by rail through the Chugach National Forest to the Spencer Glacier, and a seaplane excursion to see bears and more.

DAY 2: Train Ride to Denali National Park

This eight-hour, 230-mile ride parallels the calm-water Susitna River and the scenic Chugach and Talkeetna mountain ranges along the way – the often dramatic views seen through the train’s upper-level glass domes. Passengers are assigned upper-level seats while dining areas occupy the cars’ lower levels. A tour guide narrates the tales of Alaska’s gold rush days and offers tidbits of history of the towns along the way.

DAY 3: Denali National Park

PHOTO: Catch a glimpse of a moose in Denali.

Denali is home to the continent’s tallest mountain, Mount McKinley, with the South Peak reaching 20,320 feet. However, not everyone will see the mountain as weather conditions often smother the view more than half the time. I was one of the lucky ones, seeing the top of the South Peak shooting through the clouds while on a flightseeing adventure along the many peaks and glacier beds of the 9,420-square-mile park.

Denali is also known for excellent wildlife-viewing opportunities to see grizzly bears, caribou, moose, Dall sheep and possibly wolves. Holland America excursions include flightseeing and glacier landings by helicopter or plane, wilderness jet boat safaris, river rafting, fly-fishing, jeep and ATV adventures, hiking, dog cart rides and more.

DAY 4: Fairbanks

Motorcoaches take passengers on the three-hour trip from Denali to Fairbanks. My group spent the afternoon at Gold Dredge No. 8, one of the half-day excursions available. The dredge is a 20th-century, houseboat-like vessel with massive earth-digging machinery used until 1959. Visitors pan for gold the same way late 19th-century prospectors did. Also on the grounds is a section of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline for a close-up look. A guide and explanation boards showcase the pipeline’s operation and history.

Other excursions include a flightseeing adventure above the Arctic Circle, a riverboat cruise and a hummer adventure through the woods with wildlife-viewing opportunities.

DAYS 5 and 6: Dawson City, Yukon

From Fairbanks, Holland America charters a plane for the one-hour flight to Dawson City, Yukon, giving vacationers a day-and-a-half to explore the town with a two-night stay at the Westmark Hotel. With many century-old buildings, the town brims with gold rush history as it was once a thriving center for prospectors at the junction of the Yukon and Klondike rivers.

Excursions include visiting a sledding dog kennel and Canada’s largest dog sledding museum, a gold mine with panning for minerals, and a Yukon River cruise on the Klondike Spirit paddle-wheeler.

DAY 7: Whitehorse, Yukon

From Dawson City, travelers board a motorcoach for the nine-hour trip to Whitehorse, a now modern city and former stopover during the gold rush era. Stops along the way, however, break up the drive – one of them the expansive view of a deep valley with the so-called Five Finger Rapids.

DAY 8: Railroad to Skagway, boarding the MS Zuiderdam

After a three-hour ride to Fraser, British Columbia, travelers board the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad for a nearly two-hour train ride, starting at about a 2,800 feet elevation along tree-filled mountainsides and dropping to sea level when reaching Skagway. The train follows the old White Pass Trail once used by early prospectors.

Excursions include rides on the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad, flightseeing with a glacier walk, city tours, raft floats, bicycle rides, zip-lining, horseback riding and more.

DAY 9: Glacier Bay, Day at Sea

I awakened to the sun reflecting off glaciers just outside my stateroom along the serene waters of Southeast Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Two park rangers presented commentary for eight hours, from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. The ship stopped for a couple of hours to behold the massive Marjerie Glacier, a tidewater glacier with chunks of ice cracking and plunging into the bay.

DAY 10: Ketchikan

This bustling port of call is best known for Creek Street and for Totem poles. Creek Street is actually a boardwalk with early-20th-century buildings built over a salmon-filled creek. Former saloons and brothels are now shops and restaurants.

Shore excursions highlight lumberjack shows and Native American culture, including visits to attractions with multiple Totem poles, nature trail hikes, sea kayaking, fishing, ziplining, jeep and canoe safaris and floatplane and flightseeing adventures.

DAY 11: Inside Passage, Day at Sea

This is a perfect opportunity for passengers to enjoy the MS Zuiderdam’s many amenities and entertainment acts, including several bars (piano bar, sports bar, lounges), fine dining, specialty restaurants and more.

DAY 12: Vancouver

The ship docks in Vancouver by 7 a.m. Passengers with later flights may opt for a hop-on hop-off Vancouver bus tour with luggage delivered to the airport. I chose to stay an extra night at Vancouver’s upscale Pan Pacific Hotel at Canada Place, a quick walk from the cruise terminal.