Newbie planning 1st cruise.... Alaska

Apologies for the somewhat long introduction, but here's where I am and why I joined this community for some knowledgeable input :)

Looking at late July 2016 so airfares aren't available yet.

We're narrowed down (if you can call it that) to a Princess Cruise/Tour.

Touring first.

Right now I think we'll be going for Denali Explorer JB6 (from the new 2015-2016 book)

We started out looking at the connoisseur level which was an HB5 (2015 book) starting in Anchorage. Then my wife told me she REALLY wanted to see Fairbanks and do the riverboat and gold dredge excursion so.....

I am 95% sure we're dropping the connoisseur and just doing the explorer package. I know that means we'll pay for land meals, but honestly, I didn't want to be locked in to scheduled breakfast and dinners and we couldn't get a definitive answer when we asked..."What if we don't want to go on the pre-planned and included excursion? What if we just want to go horseback riding?". Couldn't get an answer and that seemed like a simple question.

Wife wants the riverboat in Fairbanks, I want a trail ride and maybe one of the jetboat excursions. We really won't be doing any of the expensive stuff like flightseeing tours as this is already getting pretty expensive. We would be flying out of Buffalo, NY to Fairbanks and then from Vancouver back to Buffalo.

I'd like time to do what WE want ... or do nothing but gawk at nature :)

One of the places we really wanted to spend some time in is Talkeetna. Does Princess offer any kind of "shopping excursion" or something from the Mt McKinley Lodge? Or.... can you arrange transport to Talkeetna just to stomp around for a couple of hours? It almost looks like Princess has positioned their lodges so you can't spend money unless it's with them! :)

Cruise portion...

Looks like all of the ships do the same route with the same stops going down to Vancouver. We want a Balcony cabin and I'm thinking a mid-ship balcony and I want to avoid having a bar or restaurant above/below me. So which deck will depend on which ship once we finalize on a date.

And since we've never cruised before, we really don't have anything to compare to.

Haven't done air yet, obviously, but I think I'd like to arrive in Fairbanks the day BEFORE the tour starts. It's 2 full days in Fairbanks (leaving the morning of the third day) but day 1 kinda looks like a "check-in" day so do they really do anything?

We'd also like to add a couple days in Vancouver at the end. My wife's had Vancouver on her bucket list since she saw it on the Olympics. I'm not sure what we'd do there so.... landing day (get off the ship) instead of transferring to the airport.. we'd go to a hotel and spend a night or 2 before leaving for home.

How am I doing so far?

I am VERY open to suggestions and I have a lot of reading to do on here. I will appreciate and listen to the voice of experience :)

oh... and my wife and I are 58 and 62 respectively. So we won't be doing major hiking. We both have minor mobility issues (car accidents... separate one!) so too much walking will carry a price. A couple hours of shopping is ok, but a half day spent hiking would have at least ONE of us out of commission for a day or 2 for sure.

THANKS! for reading this far.

--- yardbird

Four our first Alaska cruise we sailed from Vancouver to Whittier, transferred to Anchorage and rented a car for a week. Had a wonderful time in Denali area as well as Seward.

Our next cruise will be much the same except this time we will have two weeks with the rental car. Being herded just doesn't work for us so having the freedom of planning our own days works well.

Four our first Alaska cruise we sailed from Vancouver to Whittier, transferred to Anchorage and rented a car for a week. Had a wonderful time in Denali area as well as Seward.

Our next cruise will be much the same except this time we will have two weeks with the rental car. Being herded just doesn't work for us so having the freedom of planning our own days works well.

Completely understand not wanting to be herded. That's kind of why we dropped the connoisseur for the explorer package. Connoisseur had everything just a little TOO planned. Explorer has a mix of planned stuff and yet entire days free. I've planned all of our vacations for 35 years :) We've just never gone on any kind of cruise before. She still wants to go to Hawaii at some point.

But for this one, the goals are to see some highlights of Alaska and do a cruise. I looked at what it would cost me to do the land portion myself and honestly it looks like it'd cost me more on my own. By the time we do her "couple of extra days" in Vancouver, I'm probably in the $10k to $12k range for this pretty easily. And that's if we take it easy on the extra excursions :)

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Go over to the Princess board here, under Cruise Lines P-Z, and ask your Princess specific questions there. Also visit the Ports of Call board for Alaska for additional Alaska specific information. Lots of good people/resources there. EM

My husband and I just did the Royal Caribbean Alaska cruise in June. We took my parents, who are in their 60's. We decided against the cruise co. land tours, and we did everything on our own.

We flew into Anchorage on the 13th and spent a few days, then took the train to Seward for a couple days before boarding the ship. We did the south bound cruise ending in Vancouver, where we stayed 4 days before flying home.

Getting off the ship in Vancouver was easy. They have everything well organized, so it's easy to find your stuff and they have lines for taxis so you aren't just out there competing with hundreds of people! We stayed in Coast Plaza Hotel & Suites - it's really close to the beach and Stanley Park, plus it has great views from the balconies. There are tons of places to eat and shop within walking distance, and as a bonus there is a grocery store under the hotel!

I'd suggest Capillano Suspension Bridge Park, it is a lot of walking and stairs though. My dad uses a cane and two knee braces to get around and he made the whole park, granted he spent the rest of the day with his legs propped up...

The Olympic Cauldron is near the cruise port, and I would definitely check out Gastown and the Steam Clock which is just a few blocks away from that.

You can get around by cab, or they have a great bus system. I think you can buy a 3 day pass... or you have to have exact change.

You should go out to Granville Island too, lots of shopping and things to see.

We loved Vancouver, I think we could have spent 2 weeks there and still not have done everything!

I'm beginning to wonder if we shouldn't skip the land tour and just do the cruise. Depending on what date we cruise I could save over $3000.

'Course the darling missus would probably spend it in Vancouver.....

Seriously though... if we skip the land tour we'd have more money for shopping and excursions on the cruise. I'm just not sure if I'd regret the decision.

I can take her to Hawaii for a week... air, hotel and car... for a touch over HALF of what this Alaska trip will cost us if we leave it as is.

Trip of a lifetime? Or being extravagant?

I think I need to talk to her and see what SHE wants to get out of this. If the cruise is more important and she really doesn't care one way or the other about the land portion.... that might decide it.

JMO -- but I would go to Alaska. You may not have the chance to get there for some years.

The scenery is so beautiful.

Go for it!!

The first time we went we did a Princess cruise out of San Francisco -- back in the 80's for 12 days. We were so thrilled with Alaska that in a couple of years we did the land tour first (flew into Anchorage and toured from there) and then the cruise from Seward down to Vancouver.

JMO -- but I would go to Alaska. You may not have the chance to get there for some years.

The scenery is so beautiful.

Go for it!!

The first time we went we did a Princess cruise out of San Francisco -- back in the 80's for 12 days. We were so thrilled with Alaska that in a couple of years we did the land tour first (flew into Anchorage and toured from there) and then the cruise from Seward down to Vancouver.

I so agree with this. Our first Alaska cruise, I was completely thrilled that I found a cruise that included both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm, as I KNEW I'd never be returning to Alaska (I don't do "cold" well).

Well, 3rd day onboard (Tracy Arm day) we decided that a cruise/tour was in our future plans (and we hadn't even gotten to Glacier Bay yet).

2 1/2 years later, we were on our cruise/tour. And, we're probably going back again.

Yeah, well, so I just live in my down parka for the whole trip, but I can't give it (Alaska) up.

I think you need to go back several times, to get your money's worth out of that down parka! EM

It is absolutely beautiful there. No amount of pictures or video can prepare you for the scenery! If you decide not to do a land tour, you should at least fly into Anchorage and take the train. It was the most beautiful portion of our entire trip!

So still going through the tour book.... :)

Oh.... and is it normal to have the bridge cams running like 24/7 so I can see where they are?

Anyways.... in the interests of saving money and still giving both the wife and I a taste of what we're after, I'm looking at the CB3 cruisetour.

Touring first. Land in Fairbanks (a day early),

1st day, get oriented I guess since we arrived a day early. I'm looking at this as "check-in" day for the cruisetour but nothing as far as excursions is planned for that day. Maybe because we arrived early we could just stomp around Fairbanks a bit and explore.

2nd day there she gets her riverboat ride, panning for gold, Athabascan fishing village and dog sled kennels (sounds like a really full day!).

3rd day, motorcoach to Denali Wilderness Lodge. Natural history Tour (the shortened ride in the park) and relax a little. Spend the night.

4th day we'd get on the train for the ride all the way to Whittier for the ship.

Only excursions we both know we want on the cruise portion is in Skagway, the rail and bus tour to the Yukon. Looks cheaper to book this direct through Chilikoot than through the cruise line.

Arrive Vancouver and go to a hotel and stay 2 nights in Vancouver. So much on Granville Island, I'm not sure what all else the wife would crave. :) And we'd be there mid-week and leaving on Friday for home.

Right now.... not being able to see airfares that far out (3 more weeks or so before they show up) it looks like I could do this for $10k or a bit under.

So... she gets her Fairbanks excursion. I get the train. Vancouver is a bonus. And we don't spend over $12k like we were looking at originally.

This might work.

If money gets short and we need to tighten up, we can cut Vancouver and save another thousand or so... probably a little less.... but I'm seeing fares all over the place from BUF to YVR for $300 or less. So it's conceivable we could just go to Vancouver at another time. Maybe combine Vancouver and Seattle, which is another place on her list. :)

If money gets short and we need to tighten up, we can cut Vancouver and save another thousand or so... probably a little less.... but I'm seeing fares all over the place from BUF to YVR for $300 or less. So it's conceivable we could just go to Vancouver at another time. Maybe combine Vancouver and Seattle, which is another place on her list. :)

There are so many things to see and do in Vancouver, even after 4 days there we plan to go back and combine it with Seattle as well.

Have you looking in the whale watching as an excursion? It was amazing!

I'm reading horror stories about getting through Vancouver airport. :)

Is a 12:45pm flight easily doable after getting off the ship?

I can't even fathom trying to get out the next morning on a 6am or 7am flight.

I'm reading horror stories about getting through Vancouver airport. :)

Is a 12:45pm flight easily doable after getting off the ship?

 

I can't even fathom trying to get out the next morning on a 6am or 7am flight.

A flight before 11am might turn into a horror story; with a 12:45pm flight even the worst case circumstances (3 ship day, last disembarkation group, wait 30 mins for a cab, huge security and US Customs queue) you should still manage fine. If you're remotely concerned, ask for an early disembarkation group - and make sure you have a good book for when you need to kill four hours sitting around YVR!

We had a 6 am flight out of Vancouver, so we arrived a little after 4am. By the time we made it through the lines (yes, LONG lines at 4 am!! :eek:), through security and customs, our plane was boarding! As we rounded the corner for our sitting area there was already a line moving out the door to the plane!

So I wouldn't take any chances because I would imagine during the day is even busier than the early morning hours!

We had a 6 am flight out of Vancouver, so we arrived a little after 4am. By the time we made it through the lines (yes, LONG lines at 4 am!! :eek:), through security and customs, our plane was boarding! As we rounded the corner for our sitting area there was already a line moving out the door to the plane!

 

So I wouldn't take any chances because I would imagine during the day is even busier than the early morning hours!

4am-4:30am is likely the single busiest time because US CBP staff don't start working until 4:30am, therefore you can't go through to any of the US departure gates before then. Anyone who obeys the usual advice of 'arrive three hours early' for a flight at 7am or earlier causes a 30+ minute backlog that needs dealt with. This is the main reason I show up at c.5:15am for early flights - the queue is already disappearing.

I'd also guess that you traveled before the new kiosks were put in - these seriously cut down on the CBP bottleneck, enabling them to have far fewer and shorter in-person dealings with travelers. US/Canadian citizens scan passports, look into a camera, answer the standard questions on a screen and get a printout which is handed over - as long as you aren't over duty free limits and don't have any of the potentially-forbidden items like fruit you will sail right through now unless you're part of the small random sample for secondary screening.

I'd also guess that you traveled before the new kiosks were put in - these seriously cut down on the CBP bottleneck, enabling them to have far fewer and shorter in-person dealings with travelers. US/Canadian citizens scan passports, look into a camera, answer the standard questions on a screen and get a printout which is handed over - as long as you aren't over duty free limits and don't have any of the potentially-forbidden items like fruit you will sail right through now unless you're part of the small random sample for secondary screening.

This was a month ago, there were lines for the kiosks.... lol

Just updating because we haven't actually BOOKED anything yet.... *sigh*...

We've gone round and round and we're back to one of the longer cruisetours (Princess JB6).

Flying Buffalo to Fairbanks. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that we should plan on getting there the day before the tour starts even though Day 1 of the tour looks like more or less a "check-in" day.

2 nights Fairbanks (plus one extra night)

2 nights Denali

2 nights McKinley

Then Southbound cruise and right now it's looking like Island Princess (yes, the ship with the bad surgery job on its butt)

Land Vancouver, go immediately to Granville Island for the day. Spend one night in Vancouver and then head for the airport for a 1pm return flight home.

We're getting back up towards that 10-12k mark, but.... man, we've been talking about this for years. I'm going to call our TA tomorrow and have her price it out and see if this new sale gains us anything at all. I did notice a couple days ago that this exact cruisetour price went up 50 bucks. Air fares aren't available yet, but I put $1600 in the budget for them so.... we'll see.

And I have to say thanks for all of the helpful people on CC. The n00bs appreciate the help! :)

signed,

a n00b

You should look into an airline rewards credit card.

We signed up for the Alaska Airlines credit card a month before the trip. They offer your second person a one way $99 flight once a year; that added with the bonus points you get for signing up and adding a second person to your account (spouse card) basically cut our flight price in half.

I paid full price for my 2 tickets, and only $150 for his.

I empathize with your leisure anxiety. My mother wanted to do an Alaska cruise, and I was pushing for the Denali land tour with coastal excursion. Like you, I balked at the price. We were all first time cruisers. Because other family was involved, we ended up doing a Seattle RT to Glacier Bay (airfare for others in the family was a big part of it).

A cruise on a 2,000+ ship is much more about relaxation, enjoying the views from the ship than it is exploring & adventure. If I were to go back to Alaska, I would do a land-based trip, not a cruise. I could always take a boat trip view the coastline from the sea or a kayak tour to see more aquatic and coastal wildlife.

I would talk to friends whose travel preferences are similar to yours and see if any of them have taken a similar cruise and what they liked about it. If you wife really wants to do Hawaii and Hawaii is 1/2 what Alaska would cost you, then I'd do Hawaii first.

If Princess has good airfare deals, great, but airlines generally charge more for open-jaw itineraries.

I empathize with your leisure anxiety. My mother wanted to do an Alaska cruise, and I was pushing for the Denali land tour with coastal excursion. Like you, I balked at the price. We were all first time cruisers. Because other family was involved, we ended up doing a Seattle RT to Glacier Bay (airfare for others in the family was a big part of it).

 

 

A cruise on a 2,000+ ship is much more about relaxation, enjoying the views from the ship than it is exploring & adventure. If I were to go back to Alaska, I would do a land-based trip, not a cruise. I could always take a boat trip view the coastline from the sea or a kayak tour to see more aquatic and coastal wildlife.

 

I would talk to friends whose travel preferences are similar to yours and see if any of them have taken a similar cruise and what they liked about it. If you wife really wants to do Hawaii and Hawaii is 1/2 what Alaska would cost you, then I'd do Hawaii first.

 

If Princess has good airfare deals, great, but airlines generally charge more for open-jaw itineraries.

I appreciate your insights and experience. We did book the land and sea tour. So we get some of each. If my wife's brother can't spend this much, I completely understand and maybe they can join us for just the cruise portion.

Regarding airfares:

I can't see the DATES yet because we're too far out. Best I can do is July 2016 (not August) and select the DAY (like Thursday or Monday or whatever) to get a rough idea what to expect. Right now... today... I am encouraged because I see airfares from Buffalo to Fairbanks for $335 (each) and Vancouver to Buffalo for $210. Flight times that we can handle and would actually fit what we're doing. If those prices hold for another month or so, I'll be way ahead of the budget :) ... I budgeted a lot more than that when planning this. Like..... double those prices and with the thought it could STILL go over budget. So.... so far I have my fingers crossed.

We just returned last week from a two-week Princess cruise tour. Like you, we left from the East Coast and flew in a day early. It was a last-minute change of plans, and I'm really glad we did it that way. It gave our bodies a chance to adapt to the four-hour time change and also provided time to see a little of Fairbanks, which you won't do on the tour. There's a shuttle from the Princess lodge for $5 pp for unlimited trips all day. I had suggested renting a car and driving up to the Arctic Circle, but DH didn't want to. Maybe when I return with my next DH. . .

We really enjoyed the riverboat. You see a demonstration by the late Susan Butcher's DH's with their dogs and there's a stop at a recreated Athabascan village. The tour guide was very good, with a great voice, and when we turned on the nightly news, there he was anchoring the news. That's not something you see here in the NY metropolitan area.

If you go to the Alaska board, they will tell you that the longer Denali Park tour is much, much better. It was the only disappointment of our trip. It seemed most of the animals we sighted were on the opposite side of the bus, and I got some fabulous pictures of the rear ends of the people on that side of the bus. We saw a couple of bears, but they were two or three football fields away. The ranger did have a video camera and broadcast the animals on the TV screen on the bus; it was almost as good as a show on the Animal Channel. I had some popcorn crumbs on my fleece that were as big as the Dall sheep on the hillside appeared.

There's a shuttle into Talkeetna from the Princess Lodge, which was, IIRC, $10 pp.

Be forewarned; food is fairly expensive in Alaska, and there are few opportunities to get fast food to save a few dollars.

We're glad we booked the land tour first because, after traipsing from one hotel to another and unpacking and packing, it felt nice to settle in on the ship. Glacier Bay was amazing. I was disappointed that we didn't have more time in Juneau. We took a Mendenhall Glacier/whale-watching excursion through the ship and only had one hour at Mendenhall. It was a one-hour hike to the glacier, so we only took pictures from the visitor's center. It seemed futile to hike out there only to have to turn around immediately and return to the bus. The whale-watching, however, was the highlight of our trip.

Vancouver Airport was very organized and efficient. Canadian Immigration and Customs was quick, and the personnel were very pleasant. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the U. S people. We had the Princess transfers and an 8:45 departure from the ship. We actually got off about 9:15 and had absolutely no problem making our 11:45 flight.

Jump on those air fares if you can. They are very, very good. We had a connection in Chicago, and paid extra for bulkhead seats. I'm so glad we did. It was a 7.5 hour trip, and we sat on the tarmac for an hour because a storm came in. Th e return flight was only 4.5 hours, so it was much easier.

I'm glad you decided to do AK first. Hawaii will look much the same in a few years as it does now, but the way climate change is affecting AK, that won't be true there.

It is a magnificent trip. I hope you have a great time.

We just returned last week from a two-week Princess cruise tour. Like you, we left from the East Coast and flew in a day early. It was a last-minute change of plans, and I'm really glad we did it that way. It gave our bodies a chance to adapt to the four-hour time change and also provided time to see a little of Fairbanks, which you won't do on the tour. There's a shuttle from the Princess lodge for $5 pp for unlimited trips all day. I had suggested renting a car and driving up to the Arctic Circle, but DH didn't want to. Maybe when I return with my next DH. . .

 

We really enjoyed the riverboat. You see a demonstration by the late Susan Butcher's DH's with their dogs and there's a stop at a recreated Athabascan village. The tour guide was very good, with a great voice, and when we turned on the nightly news, there he was anchoring the news. That's not something you see here in the NY metropolitan area.

 

If you go to the Alaska board, they will tell you that the longer Denali Park tour is much, much better. It was the only disappointment of our trip. It seemed most of the animals we sighted were on the opposite side of the bus, and I got some fabulous pictures of the rear ends of the people on that side of the bus. We saw a couple of bears, but they were two or three football fields away. The ranger did have a video camera and broadcast the animals on the TV screen on the bus; it was almost as good as a show on the Animal Channel. I had some popcorn crumbs on my fleece that were as big as the Dall sheep on the hillside appeared.

 

There's a shuttle into Talkeetna from the Princess Lodge, which was, IIRC, $10 pp.

 

Be forewarned; food is fairly expensive in Alaska, and there are few opportunities to get fast food to save a few dollars.

 

We're glad we booked the land tour first because, after traipsing from one hotel to another and unpacking and packing, it felt nice to settle in on the ship. Glacier Bay was amazing. I was disappointed that we didn't have more time in Juneau. We took a Mendenhall Glacier/whale-watching excursion through the ship and only had one hour at Mendenhall. It was a one-hour hike to the glacier, so we only took pictures from the visitor's center. It seemed futile to hike out there only to have to turn around immediately and return to the bus. The whale-watching, however, was the highlight of our trip.

 

Vancouver Airport was very organized and efficient. Canadian Immigration and Customs was quick, and the personnel were very pleasant. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the U. S people. We had the Princess transfers and an 8:45 departure from the ship. We actually got off about 9:15 and had absolutely no problem making our 11:45 flight.

 

Jump on those air fares if you can. They are very, very good. We had a connection in Chicago, and paid extra for bulkhead seats. I'm so glad we did. It was a 7.5 hour trip, and we sat on the tarmac for an hour because a storm came in. Th e return flight was only 4.5 hours, so it was much easier.

 

I'm glad you decided to do AK first. Hawaii will look much the same in a few years as it does now, but the way climate change is affecting AK, that won't be true there.

 

It is a magnificent trip. I hope you have a great time.

When you got there a day early, did you stay at the Princess lodge, did you have them add a day onto the trip? We are doing the land before the cruise and trying to decide if we should get there the day the land tour starts or the day before? How mush cost was added on for staying one night more?

Don't take the train to the Yukon ...it's slow. Book a private tour with Trail of '98 up to Carcross from the dock in Skagway. You get expert commentary from the husband/wife owners and stops for pictures, even binoculars to search for sheep on the mountainsides. We stopped to drink glacier water, built inukshuks (sp) and saw a bear. We had a delicious lunch at Carcross and stamped our passports. We also visited the old cemetery above the town. And, we were treated to sparkling juice for our 40th by Emerald Lake, one of the prettiest places on earth. The water is really that color.

It's one of the best trips I've ever taken. And I'm ready to do it all over again.