Land tour or cruise first???

We are planning an Alaska Sea and Land tour. In your opinion, which is best to do first and why???? Thanks in advance.

A few years ago, we took the land/cruise tour with Princess. We chose the land portion first which I am very glad we did!!! The land tour is pretty constant go, go go so we were very pleased to finish the land tour so we could just relax on the cruise and enjoy the views.

But each to his/her own!

The land tour is pretty constant go, go go

But each to his/her own!

One way to avoid the go, go, go of the cruise line's pre-packaged tour is to rent a car and do your own trip at your own pace. Alaska travel is easy to plan using Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor.

But, as said, to each their own.

If you're travelling a great distance I think it would be easier to get the long flight out of the way first. Do the land travel, then the cruise then have a shorter flight home.

If you're considering a cruisetour, be VERY mindful of the details. On the shorter tours , most of your time is spent in transit. ie if you only have one night at Denali you won't have time to actually get into the park and enjoy the scenery and wildlife. So learn about the details....what time do you depart each day, what time do you arrive, is the hotel isolated therefore a shuttle is needed to get anywhere , and will you be visiting places that support your interests.

There are a number of cruisetours in past trip reports (see STICKYs above). Some of them are detailed photojournals that will give you good idea of what to expect.

The Denali park road doesn’t open until May 20 and the Eielson shuttle doesn’t operate until June 1. Wonder Lake/Kantishna operates beginning June 8. If going early and Denali is on your itinerary you’ll need to consider this. Most recommendations suggest you go at least as far as Eielson. If you’re cruising in May you may want to do the land portion after the cruise. There are certainly other considerations as well. Weather, wildlife sightings, light.

As mentioned, a car rental is a good way to go in Alaska.

We are leaving in a few weeks on a cruise first, land second cruisetour. One reason is price as the same itenarary going south is more expensive. Second pur daughter lives in Vancouver and we want to visit her and her husband while still fresh. We are spending two nights at both Denali and two in McKinley to ease the rushing from place to place. We believe this is the beat for the cost for us. Everyone needs to look at all aspects of the trip for their circumstances and cruise whichever way meets their desires.

You might want to check the itinerary on the cruise portion in case doing it first or last (northward or southward) makes a difference in what you see/which ports you stop at. We did a Holland America cruisetour last summer and on our version (Y3) there was a notable difference in the cruise -- southbound did Glacier Bay; northbound did not. Southbound was a day longer which did make doing land first/cruise last more expensive.

We are doing our second southbound cruise from Seward to Vancouver this year on Celebrity. The first time we added a land tour with them prior to the cruise. This time, we're doing the land portion on our own prior to the cruise. As others have pointed out, the cruise allows you to relax after days of driving, touring, although you can be busy in port, as well. But, all the packing, unpacking is out of the way and once you're back on the ship in the evening, you are done for the day and know where you are dining, etc. In our case, our last day will be spent cruising the Inside Passage into Vancouver. It is a relaxing, beautiful final day and we end up with a shorter flight home.

We did two northbound cruises followed by 9 days in Alaska with a rental car. Our land trips weren't rushed, and our cruises weren't particularly relaxing - with several early morning port arrivals. I loved having more hours of daylight as we sailed north, and the WOW factor also increased as we traveled that direction. The non-stop flight to Chicago is ~ 2 hours less from Vancouver vs. Anchorage. I don't fly Air Canada or United, the airlines with the non-stop YVR-ORD flights. Therefore, it's a long day of flying for me - whether I return from Anchorage or Vancouver.

There are itinerary differences on Princess and HAL's one-way cruises. Princess's northbound cruises go to Glacier Bay and College Fjord, and the southbound go to Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. HAL goes to Skagway on their northbound cruises and to Haines on the southbound. All HAL one-way cruises go to Glacier Bay.

As mentioned, if you want to visit Denali prior to your cruise - you will be limited as to how far into the park you can travel with a May southbound cruise.

Having said the above, some day I'd like to do a land trip only, or land trip followed by a southbound cruise. However, I have b2b one-way cruises booked on Radiance of the Seas for May 2017, so it won't be next year.

I loved doing it first. We had tons of things to do to keep us busy and we were ready to relax once we boarded the ship.

It worked out perfectly.

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I always vote for the land portion and then the cruise due to the fact that my DH and I feel that a cruise can be much more enjoyable...but if your itinerary is port intensive with long tours, this might not be the case. Decide what works best for you. Doing your own tour IMO is always better than with the ship, although some don't want to do all the work involved.:cool:

We did cruise first, self planned land tour second.

There were two reasons for that:

-The NCL trip fit our schedule, and the northbound NCL itinerary was superior to the southbound (included Glacier bay).

-There is little flexibility to rearrange things if the weather changes your cruising plans. We prebooked cruise excursions (on our own, not through the ship) and then had a little more flexibility based on what we were really enjoying on the land portion.

We cruised first and then did the land portion. For me, it was easier to pack for the land trip after the cruise and ship the rest on to Fairbanks than trying to pack for a flight, then have to switch things around for the land tour. I figured after 5 nights, everything would be pretty wrinkled in the suitcases sent to the ship.

Can you please tell me your itinerary for your land tour since you planned it yourself?

We are considering this for next summer but I am completely overwhelmed. We have been on 2 cruises to Alaska but only the cruise - thanks so much

Can you please tell me your itinerary for your land tour since you planned it yourself?

We are considering this for next summer but I am completely overwhelmed. We have been on 2 cruises to Alaska but only the cruise - thanks so much

It's a good idea to start your own thread if you want itinerary help. But indicate NB/SB, how much time you have, month, and if you have any priorities.

I also suggest that you go to the Alaska forum of tripadvisor.com and look under Top Questions for past trip reports. The reports will give you lots of first hand information as well as suggestions on where to go, where to stay, sights, activities, etc.

Can you please tell me your itinerary for your land tour since you planned it yourself?

We are considering this for next summer but I am completely overwhelmed. We have been on 2 cruises to Alaska but only the cruise - thanks so much

Here's a DIY land trip following a cruise. They had an additional 5 days and spent debarkation day in Seward, a day in Anchorage, plus the 3 days needed to visit Denali.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2227152

No need to be overwhelmed by DIY travel. Start with the number of days you have .... due to the distance between popular destinations, travel time will be a determining factor for your travels. ie if you have 3 days, you can make a quick turnaround trip to Denali, or, concentrate on the Kenai Peninsula depending on your interests.

Chart for travel times: http://www.alaska.org/advice/mileage-chart

We did 4 days land first. Thru Princess. Good choice for us. Cruise was definitely more relaxing and less time constrained.

BUT we would do land on our own next time for sure. Easy to do and more relaxing. We didn't get to spend time doing everything we would have liked. A full week to 9 days land would have been perfect.

Did Princess 4 day land followed by cruise on Island Princess. Would definitely do the land portion first and would seriously consider doing the Land portion on my own next visit. The land tour was hectic and was looking forward to relaxing on the cruise. We cruised from Whittier to Vancouver and I think it is easier to fly out of Vancouver than Anchorage or Fairbanks.

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We liked doing the land tour after the cruise, since as you move north, things just get better and better. If you do the land tour first then the glaciers on the ship, the end of the cruise is a bit of a downer.

Also, renting a car is not a bad choice. However, I discovered that renting a car in Seward and dropping it in Anchorage is very expensive, since only Hertz offers that.

What you can do is book a bus to Anchorage from Seward, rent your car at the Anchorage airport and return it to the same place.

We are planning an Alaska Sea and Land tour. In your opinion, which is best to do first and why???? Thanks in advance.

With a caveat that is probably depends on how early or late in the season that you plan on traveling...

I would do the land portion first because the cruise part seems to be more restful. (You are not stuck on a train/but for hours - you can wander about the ship...)

I've seen many discussions on this topic, and it seems that most people say something about doing the land portion first, followed by a relaxing cruise. I'm sure this works for all those nice folks who aren't cruising with my DH. There's not much relaxing on a cruise with him! Not complaining, but he's definitely "go, go, go" on the cruise part. :D

We did a northbound first followed by a land trip, this time we're doing a land part first and then the cruise. Just depends on your timing I think. In our case the land part is visiting with amity in Anchorage first. Either way is all good!

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