Alaska Land and Sea cruise package or separate?

We are thinking about taking an Alaskan Cruise for our family vacation next May and wonder if it would be better to just book a one way cruise and book the land part ourselves? Would that be more cost effective? Are the options the cruise lines offer as good? Please help!

Coszmo,

We have done 3 self tours prior to the southbound cruise. Ck on line, there are several Alaska tour companies in Anchorage, the one we worked with will ask your interests, driving, bus, train, wildlife, or rafting etc, then they work with your budget to get you the best over all. They use vouchers, and everything went smoothly every time for us. FYI you MUST do the train to Denali either going up, or back, or both directions. It is well worth the cost for the "Golden" class. Good luck.

It is worth the time, effort and money to go.

Hey Dad.

We took a Princess cruise tour a couple of years ago. Princess has worked out the details so that things flow very smoothly. We were lucky to book a last-minute bargain. Usually the price of cruise tours doesn't get discounted that much.

I would not do the inside passage without seeing the "Real Alaska". The 7 day cruises are so commercial with little insight into Alaska.

We have done two cruise/tour journeys to Alaska, both on Royal Caribbean and loved them both. The first started in Fairbanks and the second in Anchorage. For us it was a benefit to have the whole trip in the hands of one company.

Two main recommendations no matter which method you choose. First, do the land tour portion first and then the cruise. Second, make sure that your tour in Denali is the "wilderness" tour. There are multiple tours offered there but the one you want is the one that goes deep into the park, not just the first 17 miles or so.

No matter what you choose, Alaska is a magnificent place.