Flightseeing & Tundra Tour Denali

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here, my wife and I last cruised about 20 years ago and we taking a Princess Cruise tour to Alaska in late August '15.

Question 1) I'm looking for any input on Flightseeing Denali. We will be spending one night at McKinley Princess Lodge arriving after noon and two nights at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. Princess offers through K2 a Glacier Landing flight, is Talkeetna a better option and is it worth the trouble arranging it ourselves?

Question 2) The cruise includes the Tundra Wilderness Tour but I'm leaning towards taking the park bus instead. Is that a good choice considering we will lose the Tundra Tour funds? Thanks in advance!

Question 2) The cruise includes the Tundra Wilderness Tour but I'm leaning towards taking the park bus instead. Is that a good choice considering we will lose the Tundra Tour funds? Thanks in advance!

Even if you do loose the money, how much will it be? What is the percentage of the total cruise cost? Is it worth taking a really lousy tour just to save a few bucks?

I know that my answer to the last question would be a definite NO. Take the better tour.

DON

I don't understand your 1st question ...you want to compare flightseeing at Denali vs Talkeetna ?

Talkeetna is a popular place for sightseeing because it's much closer to the mountain. (there is little else to do in Talkeetna).

As for your 2nd question, Princess has always provided refunds on their tours. You need to call and ask if they're doing so in 2015. Even it they don't refund, the shuttle to Eielson Visitor Center only costs about $35pp ... it's an 8 hr ride as is the TWT, but it goes to Mile 66 instead of 52 and Eielson is a lovely destination. Keep in mind that when you take the shuttle vs the tour, you'll need to buy sandwich and drinks. (there's a Subway in Glitter Gulch or most hotels will make a boxed lunch).

Don, your answer has me confused, which do you consider the lousy tour, the one offered by Princess?

Mapleleafs, No, my question is should I look to outside flight companies or stick with those offered through Princess.

my question is should I look to outside flight companies or stick with those offered through Princess.

If you can book the same flight with K2 but at a better price why book thru Princess? Is it their cancellation policy?

There are several vendors in Talkeetna; look at the itineraries offered by each vendor, type of aircraft, glacier landing, price, etc.

(check out the Alaska Toursaver and Northern Lights coupon books to see if there are discounts.)

Don, your answer has me confused, which do you consider the lousy tour, the one offered by Princess?

 

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The Princess tour.

DON

Even if you do loose the money, how much will it be? What is the percentage of the total cruise cost? Is it worth taking a really lousy tour just to save a few bucks?

 

I know that my answer to the last question would be a definite NO. Take the better tour.

 

DON

I haven't gone yet but from what I have read in a lot of research and seen at a travel meeting TWT is not a really lousy tour. Natural history tour is, however. Those that have gone several times and been on both might prefer the shuttle but putting down the TWT so harshly is lousy in my opinion!

For those of us first timers on a cruisetour their are advantages to TWT. Even if loosing at least $100 per person is not an issue scheduling the shuttle might be. Some cruise ships do not give details of the land tours with exact times before arrival in Alaska. Therefore it would be difficult to know if/when you can do an eight-hour tour on your own! Also is nice the first time to have a guided tour, with tv screens and some food.

I think you're entitled to your opinion and preference but so are others. It's not helpful to just shoot ideas down.

Fire away, but that's my 2 cents!

Don, your answer has me confused, which do you consider the lousy tour, the one offered by Princess?

With all due respect, on multiple occasions Don has confused the Tundra Tour with the Natural History Tour (even admitting so himself). Seems like he has done so again.

The TWT is not "lousy." In fact it almost always goes to mile 62 (Stony Overlook). Same road and same wildlife as the shuttle bus. The shuttle bus does go 4 miles further and costs a fraction. Plus, you can spend more time at Eielson VC if you want or get off the bus to do some walking/hiking. The main difference between the TWT and the shuttle is the food, as was mentioned above. Even the snack box on the TWT is not enough for many people so they bring their own food anyway.

With all due respect, on multiple occasions Don has confused the Tundra Tour with the Natural History Tour (even admitting so himself). Seems like he has done so again.

 

The TWT is not "lousy." In fact it almost always goes to mile 62 (Stony Overlook). Same road and same wildlife as the shuttle bus. The shuttle bus does go 4 miles further and costs a fraction. Plus, you can spend more time at Eielson VC if you want or get off the bus to do some walking/hiking. The main difference between the TWT and the shuttle is the food, as was mentioned above. Even the snack box on the TWT is not enough for many people so they bring their own food anyway.

Thank you for your positive insight. I'm on a Celebrity cruisetour and can easily and will upgrade to TWT but can't cancel and have no idea what the timing is on our 2 nights in Denali. Don't even know hotel name for sure yet!

We decided to go ahead and use the Princess Talkeetna Glacier Landing. When I checked, it was 30$ more than going through K2 and included transportation to the airport. Can anyone confirm the rumor that Princess will charge for the shuttle to Talkeetna next summer? Heard the same charge rumor for the Denali shuttle.

We decided to go ahead and use the Princess Talkeetna Glacier Landing. When I checked, it was 30$ more than going through K2 and included transportation to the airport. Can anyone confirm the rumor that Princess will charge for the shuttle to Talkeetna next summer? Heard the same charge rumor for the Denali shuttle.

The princeslodges.com web site says $10 for the shuttle at McKinley and $5 at Denali.

The princeslodges.com web site says $10 for the shuttle at McKinley and $5 at Denali.

Thanks Mapleleaves.

Thank you for your positive insight. I'm on a Celebrity cruisetour and can easily and will upgrade to TWT but can't cancel and have no idea what the timing is on our 2 nights in Denali. Don't even know hotel name for sure yet!

With two nights at Denali you can go pretty much anytime on the TWT that second day you are there. Check directly with Celebrity since they would then book you from the hotel you are staying at and the TWT picks up directly at the hotels.

Everyone can have a different opinion and post it here. I for one would NOT want to get out and walk in an area I had just seen moose, caribou or bear walking around. It is wild country and while I enjoyed our Tundra Wilderness Tour immensely, I was very happy to be in a bus. Many of us were even very careful and mindful of wild animals when we stopped at the numerous restroom spots. The video camera and drop down screens were helpful in seeing some of the animals as they were on mountainsides or far away on the tundra. The camera brings them close-up.

I'm not sure which stop we went to and don't really care. We saw prairie dogs, moose, caribou, Dall sheep, a lone wolf, a Golden Eagle, multiple bears and a million rabbits. Our tour was a full 8 hours and that was plenty for me. And McKinley showed through the clouds just before dark. So I considered we had a GREAT TWT.

I specifically chose a HAL cruisetour that did include the TWT. Even though we only stayed one night in Denali, we did arrive approximately 12:00 noon and were scheduled for the TWT at 3:00. We arrived back at the lodge approx. 11:00 pm. Then the next morning we did the Husky Homestead Tour as I wanted to meet and see Jeff King. Then back to the lodge for transfer to the train depot for departure to Anchorage.

Only OP can possibly know what they want to do. Everyone else can only state what was best for them. We all travel differently, and thank goodness there are choices to please everyone. Enjoy Alaska, it is an awesome destination!

We did the Royal Caribbean cruise tour this past May. We did the K2 flight seeing and glacier landing from Talkeetna , Very cool. We live in Florida so it was really awesome to land on snow. The K2 van dropped us off in town to walk around and we had dinner. There is a shuttle back to the lodges, but if you miss the shuttle, and eat or drink at Denali Brewing Co..they call Joe the taxi to take you back for free. (We tipped of course)

In Denali. We arrived around noon. We had lunch at the visitors center diner. And walked around a little. Then RCI contracted a TWT bus to take our group through 8 hour tour. We saw a lot: Grizzly with a baby, Moose, Caribou, Dall Sheep and babies, ptarmigan, eagles some were up close. Some really hairy cliffs were too close for comfort. Awesome views. The driver knows her stuff.

Then she dropped us off at our hotel. We had time for the Puppy Homestead tour in the morning, and then took the train back to Anchorage.

Highly recommend the cruise tour. They did the driving and we stayed in awesome hotels. They also handled the bags.

For a first time to Alaska, Cruise tour worked for us.

Spent lots of money...well worth it.

Have a great time.

Lynn

Talkeetna flightseeing is very good, there are also several excellent vendors to choose from. ALL will require a shuttle IF you are at the McKinley Lodge. A timesaving option, if the Alaska RR is involved in the transit- would be to schedule the flight so you aren't shuttling back and forth Talkeetna and the lodge any more times than necessary. This is easily done independent.

More important, in my opinion, is to compare the different flightseeing tours. Many people don't do this. Be sure to be informed and select the tour you want. For me, the summit tours are my only option. :) Denali flightseeing is also available from the Denali lodges. So take a good look at time and schedule where it fits best. IF a priority, then schedule at your first opportunity.

Thank you Budget Queen, although I am new here, I have read quite a few of your replies and they are always well thought out. Princess offers a Glacier Landing Explorer that would avoid backtracking on the shuttle; leave from Talkeetna and then shuttle to McKinley lodge. Talkeetna Air offers a 15 minute longer flight for a forty dollars less but we would have to shuttle back and forth. Do you know if the shuttle from Talkeetna takes the same route as the train or will we be missing some great scenery? Travel agents always tell you to use the ships excursion because if there is a problem - it's on them but if a problem occurs with an outside company - it's on you. So I guess my question is, do you think the private excursion is worth the hassle?

Thank you Budget Queen, although I am new here, I have read quite a few of your replies and they are always well thought out. Princess offers a Glacier Landing Explorer that would avoid backtracking on the shuttle; leave from Talkeetna and then shuttle to McKinley lodge. Talkeetna Air offers a 15 minute longer flight for a forty dollars less but we would have to shuttle back and forth. Do you know if the shuttle from Talkeetna takes the same route as the train or will we be missing some great scenery? Travel agents always tell you to use the ships excursion because if there is a problem - it's on them but if a problem occurs with an outside company - it's on you. So I guess my question is, do you think the private excursion is worth the hassle?

If you minimize the shuttling back and forth with a Princess excursion, you would minimize it in the same way with an independent excursion (after arrival by train take the flightseeing or before the departure by train take the flightseeing). There is no train from Talkeetna to the McKinley Princess - it is all by coach bus.

If you read quite a few of BQ's replies (and others) you will see the myth about ship excursions vs. independent excursions is easily debunked. Tell me what "hassle" there is with private excursions? They are usually longer, usually fewer people and more personal, sometimes less expensive. Seems like a win-win to me.

Also, another myth to be debunked is that the ship sponsored excursions "guarantee" you won't miss the ship. But I have never, ever, ever heard of someone missing a ship in Alaska due to an independent excursion. Missing the ship due to shopping after an excursion for example? Yes. But not because the vendor didn't get the people back in time.

......Also, another myth to be debunked is that the ship sponsored excursions "guarantee" you won't miss the ship. But I have never, ever, ever heard of someone missing a ship in Alaska due to an independent excursion. Missing the ship due to shopping after an excursion for example? Yes. But not because the vendor didn't get the people back in time.

We have had several occasions where a ship's tour was late getting back, but never once had an independent tour get back late, at any port.

That is because the ship's tour operators know that the ship will wait for them, so they can be more lax about cutting the timing close.

The independent tour operators cannot afford to take that risk because their reputations depend on getting you back on time.

They know very well that if any of their customers should ever miss the ship, it would be all over the internet, reported on cruise forums like this one, and would ruin their business.

The independent tour operators are also very good about having "just in case" backup plans and they typically work in cooperation with one another.

Another reason why some passengers miss the ship is that they sit in a bar drinking and lose track of time.

Like Frugaltraveler, in all the years that I have been following Cruise Critic, I also never once heard of anyone missing a cruise ship because an independent tour operator got them back late.

Thank you Budget Queen, although I am new here, I have read quite a few of your replies and they are always well thought out. Princess offers a Glacier Landing Explorer that would avoid backtracking on the shuttle; leave from Talkeetna and then shuttle to McKinley lodge. Talkeetna Air offers a 15 minute longer flight for a forty dollars less but we would have to shuttle back and forth. Do you know if the shuttle from Talkeetna takes the same route as the train or will we be missing some great scenery? Travel agents always tell you to use the ships excursion because if there is a problem - it's on them but if a problem occurs with an outside company - it's on you. So I guess my question is, do you think the private excursion is worth the hassle?

I certainly agree with the above posts. :) For further info. depending on your itinerary- IF you are arriving by train- I suggest you book your flightseeing at that time. Go with the vendor's schedule- they know what they are doing, as long as you fully disclose your mode of arrival. You still should have a free transfer to the McKinley lodge when you return. It is about an hour bus ride in each direction. There is only one road and as already mentioned, everyone will get off the train in Talkeetna. Your lodge is not in Talkeetna. IF you happen to be getting to/leaving the McKinley Lodge by road, then you would have a shuttle fee.

As I already mentioned, in my opinion, it isn't enough to just randomly pick a "flight" of "McKinley". there are different routes and altitudes involved along with add on ski planes. So I strongly recommend you go to the vendor web sites and fully understand the differences so to be able to make a more informed choice.