Need opinions - Fairbanks Discovery cruise and city tour

Would like opinions about the quality of the Riverboat Discovery and City of Gold tours in Fairbanks. Our cruise line has us booked on both tours in one day. We are thinking of cancelling one of them, and exploring on our own a bit. Appreciate all feedback.

We had low expectations for the Discovery cruise and ended up absolutlely loving it.

Can't help you on the other trip, but they're run by the same company, I think.

We were on RCCL cruisetour #15 and the first day of the tour, we had the Discovery II tour/lunch in the City, and then the Gold Mine tour. We loved it all and I wouldn't want to miss any of it.

Fairbanks is a VERY small area and easy to traverse. Where are you staying in Fairbanks? Are you arriving early into Fairbanks?

We are arriving the night before our two scheduled tours.

How much time did you have for lunch inbetween the two tours, and do you think the "city tour" will be interesting for a nine-year old girl?

If memory serves me correctly, we had about 1.5 to 2 hours between tours. The "downtown area" is VERY tiny. You'll have plenty of time to take in the downtown area, eat lunch, and visit the Vistor's Center.

We are just back from our cruisetour and cruise and we had both included in our tour and they did them and let me tell you it's a great time and not to be missed. The cruise is just awesome and the gold mine you go to is not just some little premade goldpanning venture like in the Wisconsin Dells. Fairbanks is easy to get around and doesn't take a lot of time. We were there for their Midnight Sun Festival and they dropped us off downtown for lunch after the Discovery Cruise and we did all of downtown, the festival and ate and still had time before the bus came back for us for the Goldmine Tour. If we wouldn't have had those tours we would have been extremely bored there!

Hope you have a great time as well!

We are arriving the night before our two scheduled tours.

 

How much time did you have for lunch inbetween the two tours, and do you think the "city tour" will be interesting for a nine-year old girl?

if the city tour includes the gold mine, it is perfect for a 9 year old girl. You get to do a little gold panning and then can get it weighed and made into a piece of jewelry - they pu it in various shaped vials and make necklaces, earrings, etc.

The riverboat was great - we had very low expectations.

Fairbanks "downtown" took us all of 5 minutes.

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Fairbanks "downtown" took us all of 5 minutes.

I disagree, the Ice Museum is excellent and gives people a look at something they probably will never see. I've been to Fairbanks in the winter and to see the ice sculptures is fantastic, but I also greatly enjoyed this museum. Also the Public Lands building has a fantastic visitor center. They also run the Aurora movie along with others for free. Again, more people are never going to see it and this provides an opportunity.

Would like opinions about the quality of the Riverboat Discovery and City of Gold tours in Fairbanks. Our cruise line has us booked on both tours in one day. We are thinking of cancelling one of them, and exploring on our own a bit. Appreciate all feedback.

We're also booked for these. Like others who've posted here, we also will be going in with low expectations... and I expect, like others who've posted here, we'll be pleasantly surprised and pleased. :)

One tip-off is that, if you go into a bookstore and pick up a Fodor's, Frommer's, or the like, and look under Fairbanks, they all mention the Riverboat and City of Gold tour as being something good to do. Apparently, it's been run by the same family for years and is quite popular.

We're staying at the Princess Lodge (unless they change it on us), which apparently is "near the airport and on the Chena River". However, if you look at a map of Fairbanks, it doesn't really narrow it down, LOL, as the whole area seems to be situated on the Chena. I'm hoping we can walk from the hotel and check out Alaskaland or something. (Not that we'll have much time; we'll probably do nothing the first night except recuperate from the flights, and the second day will be taken up mostly by the two tours...)

I disagree, the Ice Museum is excellent and gives people a look at something they probably will never see. I've been to Fairbanks in the winter and to see the ice sculptures is fantastic, but I also greatly enjoyed this museum. Also the Public Lands building has a fantastic visitor center. They also run the Aurora movie along with others for free. Again, more people are never going to see it and this provides an opportunity.

the Ice Museum was something we had planned to see, but didn't and I can't remember why - but there was some very specific reason. The Public Lands building was what took us 5 minutes.

We did enjoy the museum at the University and several things at Pioneer Park/Alaskaland, just not downtown Fairbanks.

We're also booked for these. Like others who've posted here, we also will be going in with low expectations... and I expect, like others who've posted here, we'll be pleasantly surprised and pleased. :)

 

One tip-off is that, if you go into a bookstore and pick up a Fodor's, Frommer's, or the like, and look under Fairbanks, they all mention the Riverboat and City of Gold tour as being something good to do. Apparently, it's been run by the same family for years and is quite popular.

 

We're staying at the Princess Lodge (unless they change it on us), which apparently is "near the airport and on the Chena River". However, if you look at a map of Fairbanks, it doesn't really narrow it down, LOL, as the whole area seems to be situated on the Chena. I'm hoping we can walk from the hotel and check out Alaskaland or something. (Not that we'll have much time; we'll probably do nothing the first night except recuperate from the flights, and the second day will be taken up mostly by the two tours...)

we stayed at the Princess Riverside Lodge - which was in a beautiful riverfront location. We got in very late our first night (10PM ish) so we ate dinner and lounged on the terrace until 1:30AM or so... We had the next day free and took a Princess shuttle bus to Alaskaland, then hired a shuttle to take us to downtown Fairbanks, then called him back to take us to the museum at the University. A friend and I walked to Fred Meyer's from the lodge, but I think Alaskaland is a little too far.

The day we did the touring through Princess we got back early enough that you could go to Alaskaland after that.

BQ -- how much time should we allot for the ice museum? Is it in the area where they will be dropping us off for lunch in between our two tours?

If we don't have enough time then, what time is the museum open until? Maybe we will have time at the end of our two tours.

Any opinions about Pioneer Park and the salmon bake? Is it cheesey?

Also, do we have any chance of seeing the Northern Lights On August 31st or Sept. 1st?

BQ -- many thanks for all of the great info you have given out. I had already booked and paid for my cruisetour before getting all the great info this board has to offer, so it was too late to cancel the land portion and do it on our own. However, I already know we will be going back to Alaska again, and next time we will do it independently.

We had a great time on the Riverboat Discovery. I wasn't expecting too much, but it turned out to be a blast and very informative all at once. We didn't do a city tour, but went to the Gold Mine and it was OK...I could have lived without it, but it was kinda fun. If you have time I highly reccommend a meal at Gambardella's Pasta Belle (downtown) if you like Italian. It was YUMMILICIOUS...

We're staying at the Princess Lodge (unless they change it on us), which apparently is "near the airport and on the Chena River". However, if you look at a map of Fairbanks, it doesn't really narrow it down, LOL, as the whole area seems to be situated on the Chena. I'm hoping we can walk from the hotel and check out Alaskaland or something. (Not that we'll have much time; we'll probably do nothing the first night except recuperate from the flights, and the second day will be taken up mostly by the two tours...)

One of the best pictures we took all trip was of the River from the back of the lodge, early in the morning. The river was hardly flowing and looked like glass (this was just last month). We also ate our first "off-ship" meal in the dining room at the lodge (not counting the food on the riverboat), and it was the best tasting meal we had had to date -- we like the food on the Princess ship, but it's hard to do it perfectly when you're cooking for 2600 people. They did it right at the lodge, so go for it!

Would like opinions about the quality of the Riverboat Discovery and City of Gold tours in Fairbanks. Our cruise line has us booked on both tours in one day. We are thinking of cancelling one of them, and exploring on our own a bit. Appreciate all feedback.

We did this same thing two years ago or so (both booked on the same day)---we basically just had the one day in Fairbanks. Having never been there before, it was a decent overview of the area. I would have to say, however, of all of the excursions/sights we saw on our Alaska cruise tour, these two excursions were the least interesting.

we stayed at the Princess Riverside Lodge - which was in a beautiful riverfront location. We got in very late our first night (10PM ish) so we ate dinner and lounged on the terrace until 1:30AM or so... We had the next day free and took a Princess shuttle bus to Alaskaland, then hired a shuttle to take us to downtown Fairbanks, then called him back to take us to the museum at the University. A friend and I walked to Fred Meyer's from the lodge, but I think Alaskaland is a little too far.

The day we did the touring through Princess we got back early enough that you could go to Alaskaland after that.

We are have an extra day in Firbanks. We are also staying at the Princess Riverside Lodge. We were wondering how we would get around. How do you find the shuttle to take you places?

Debbie

We are have an extra day in Firbanks. We are also staying at the Princess Riverside Lodge. We were wondering how we would get around. How do you find the shuttle to take you places?

 

Debbie

You are far better off with a rental car, you can see and do much more rather than being in wait mode for shuttles and poor routings.

We're staying at the Princess Lodge (unless they change it on us), which apparently is "near the airport and on the Chena River". However, if you look at a map of Fairbanks, it doesn't really narrow it down, LOL, as the whole area seems to be situated on the Chena. I'm hoping we can walk from the hotel and check out Alaskaland or something. (Not that we'll have much time; we'll probably do nothing the first night except recuperate from the flights, and the second day will be taken up mostly by the two tours...)

It is not walkable to Pioneer Park, unless you have extended time.

BQ -- how much time should we allot for the ice museum?Is it in the area where they will be dropping us off for lunch in between our two tours?

 

If we don't have enough time then, what time is the museum open until? Maybe we will have time at the end of our two tours.

 

Any opinions about Pioneer Park and the salmon bake? Is it cheesey?

 

Also, do we have any chance of seeing the Northern Lights On August 31st or Sept. 1st?

 

BQ -- many thanks for all of the great info you have given out. I had already booked and paid for my cruisetour before getting all the great info this board has to offer, so it was too late to cancel the land portion and do it on our own. However, I already know we will be going back to Alaska again, and next time we will do it independently.

At least an hour, they also will have a carver that you can spend more time with. It is walkable from downtown, without mobility limitations. http://fairbanks-alaska.com/fairbanks-ice-museum.htm unless they have lowered their price??? I paid about double this listed price last year??

I disagree, the Public Lands exhibit is well worth more than a few minutes. They nicely describe the vastly different areas in Alaska and the reading information is very interesting. They have some videos with some exhibits and the movies are worthwhile, again if of interest. Can spend an hour here if you wish.

Pioneer Park is a gem, especially if you take some time to read some of the history of the buildings, they really do a nice job with the brief descriptions.

I have my clear opinions of the salmon bake- it is excellent, BUT with the large number of endless groups they now serve, I will ALWAY go only when they first open and be on one of the first though the buffet lines. They no longer exchange dirty plates and I can not even think about eating contaminated food which WILL definately happen. The Palace theater production is a great show also to consider.

Yes you do have a chance for northern lights. But viewing in Fairbanks is less than ideal and you will need a strong showing. IF a priority, I suggest DAILY checking The Fairbanks U geophysical web site for daily predictions. Also do this in Denali Park, Talkeetna etc, if in these areas. Expand your chances. If possible request a call from your hotel deck, but not always reliable. You will need clear dark nights, meaning clear view of stars and no cloud cover. http://www.gi.alaska.edu/predict.php3

We are have an extra day in Firbanks. We are also staying at the Princess Riverside Lodge. We were wondering how we would get around. How do you find the shuttle to take you places?

 

Debbie

Princess had a shuttle that leaves from the lodge, but they had very specific hours and weren't running at all when we wanted to leave Alaskaland - we had gone there first and then wanted to go to downtown Fairbanks.

One of the wonderful young people at the park gave us a paper with the shuttle company's name and number on it (she was at the information desk at the park entrance). There are phones all over Fairbanks - well, at Alaskaland, the university museum, downtown that I definitely used - that you can make local calls for free. We ended up with the same driver all the time and he was a blast - gave us a couple of free "tours" with all his commentary. They charged us $5 round trip every where they went.

You could also rent a car. We had six of us and all 6 didn't always want to do the same thing at the same time - for instance, after downtown Fairbanks, 4 of us went to the museum, the other 2 went back to the lodge to relax.