cpizzull

That is great to hear! Thank you so much for responding!! I was starting to think nobody wanted to reply, lol. . So, your answer would apply to the basic pre-paid meal plans too I assume. Having said that, since we may only have 4 days on land (probably doing 3 nights at Denali), do you think the Connoisseur is still really worth it? Do you feel restricted with time, knowing you'll need to eventually eat at a restaurant, which I believe usually require reservations?? . Oh, unrelated to food.......do people who have the Connoisseur pkg get assigned better rooms (with view, etc)? Just curious. . Thanks again!!

Hi All! Planning 1st Alaska cruise, and actually 1st cruise since becoming celiac. Research seems to show I'll basically be feasting on gluten free pizza at Denali Lodge so I'm trying to get confirmation that I shouldn't waste time thinking about the Connoisseur Pkg. True? Thx for any advice! Chet

That's what I was wondering too after I tried to find it. Bummer.

Thank you! That's exactly the type of post I wanted to read (someone who has been to both and would still decide to do Denali for a specific reason). Did you book the Kantishna tour thru Princess? And if one does the Tundra Wilderness tour, does it make sense to also do the Kantishna one? Thanks again!

Exactly what I'm talking about! Will be tired and not have much time to do much with the time you do have. And if you want Talkeetna, you spend basically another 2 hours in travel it seems (incl. prepping and waiting), based on what I read. And you would do all that in the 10% chance you get a view of the mountain, as amazing as it would be. I've seen Mt. Ranier quite a bit and been on top of the Continental Divide so it's not like it would be earth shattering experience. LOL (trust me, if I knew I'd see the mountain, I'd go thru the grief). 😉

Well, unpacking and packing with a cpap (and I assume I can get distilled water somewhere) adds to it being a pain if not even 12 hours of free time. 😉 Thanks for the link too. I haven't gotten there yet.

Thanks all for the replies so far. Much appreciated! . It still seems like the only reason(s) to go thru that huge hassle of unpacking and packing within 17 hours is 1)for that 10% chance I can see the mountain (which may not mean anything anyway if I can see it on an excursion during the 3 nights at Denali lodge, right), and 2)if there's something in Talkeena we want to (but between Denali lodge and cruise excursions, it seems I could do almost everything outside of Talkeena anyway, heh). . Again, if this was probably more than 24 hours or even just 12 hours of 'free' time, we'd probably stay the night, but I'm still not really convinced it's going to be worth the extra headache. But that's just me. 😉 I will keep on researching and would still love to hear reasons.

First cruise to Alaska and first on Princess. Planning/Researching for a June 2025 trip so I can at least narrow down my choices. We are leaning toward the 11-night cruisetour DB4, with 3 nights at Denali Lodge. We hate unpacking and packing more than we have to. With the other tour (EB4 for example) doing 1 night at McKinley, then 2 nights at Denali, we were wondering if we really miss out on anything if we don't do McKinley lodge at all. From what I can see also, you basically arrive late afternoon there, will be busy trying to do dinner and settle in, and then all you have is the morning to go do something before you leave for Denali. Is that true? If so, it seems like a no-brainer to just do Denali for 3 nights and get 2 full days. What am I missing cause they obviously give this choice for a reason? lol Thank you! Chet PS. Is there a place that has the itinerary with specific times? I haven't searched too hard yet so would love to save time if anyone has at the ready.