jodymc

I hope your cruise goes in Oct. I also have a cruise booked in Oct. Departing for southern Caribbean from NY. I am thinking it probably won't go but I am still holding out some hope it will go...crazy as that might be. 🤞

I have used SAS a few times and they have been great. I highly recommend them.

We are using the Hilton Garden Inn in Ridgefield Park, NJ this fall - the NYC Park, Ride and Cruise special. Room rate includes parking for the duration of your cruise, breakfast and a ride to the pier.

I booked the Hilton Garden Inn in Ridgefield Park for my son's cruise. One of the few hotels that will drive you into NYC.

Here is a link to the review I wrote of the NCL Sun from Vancouver to Whittier followed by the Authentic Alaska landtour.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2079999&highlight=alaska

I also had thought about doing a DIY tour but didn't due to the number of people we had going. Now that we went I have to say I wouldn't do anything different. The land tour was excellent and I feel that we would have missed a lot doing it on our own. Our guide Andy was great as was our driver Mike. Yes, there is a lot of driving however there will be whether you do it yourself or not because of the vast size of Alaska. We never got bored on the bus. Also, on the train from Talkeetna to Denali we had a private domed car for our tour group with a dining car below us and a private bar on the train with us, along with a private tour guide from the train. Pretty much any where we stopped was inc. in price other than whitewater rafting in Denali or helicopter ride in Denali and plane rides in Fairbanks to the Arctic Circle. I know the rides to the Arctic are about $400-500 and I believe the whitewater rafting was between $80-100. There is not a lot of time for added excursions however you do have some time to explore....for example we went to Homer and after checking in the bus took us to Homer Spit which is really fun. We had a cpl of hrs there but if you wanted to stay longer our guide gave us the name and no. of a taxi to call.

As for the ship, we did not stay in a balcony as that would have been an added $1600. WE stayed in a midship inside cabin on deck 9 and it was perfect, good size and great location. As for the ship, I would not say I loved it...I prefer the bigger ships like Epic which have a lot more to do but understand that it is the smaller ships that need to go into Alaska.

WE took Beyond Skagway Tours all the way up to Emerald Lake. It was fantastic. It is a family owned company and all tours are private. Since we had 11 people we were in the large van. Brian was our guide and he was great. Once we went by and realized there was a bear on the side of the road. Brian turned around so we could see it. We made many stops for photo ops and to see the views. Charge by the hour however we booked 6 hrs. and at some point Brian said he lost track of time...we ended up being on for almost 7 hrs. but charge was still the same as we booked.

Last minute we booked Ketchikan Taxi Tours. Very reasonable, they charge by the hour. We did a 3 hr tour and he took us all over inc. Totem Bight. He was very informative and we learned alot about the way of life there. We then met up with our husbands who had gone on a fishing charter and walked around Creek St. Since there were 7 of us in the van it was very affordable.

I just did the Northbound. While I agree it would be nicer to get the long flight out of the way early, I'm glad we went this way. the landtour we took was spectacular and I feel that the cruise sort of set the tone for this. Either way, Alaska is beautiful and Im sure you will enjoy it.

We returned a couple of weeks ago from Alaska and it was wonderful. We flew into Seattle on a Fri. night and spent 2 nights at the Hampton Inn Southside. A bit of a distance from downtown but the price was right and they provided free shuttles from the airport and to and from the lightrail. It was very easy to get into the city and back to hotel. We went to Pikes Market, did the Duck Tour, some of us did the ferris wheel and space needle. I would recommend this hotel if you dont mind staying outside the city.

Sunday morning we had Sabra Limo pick us up and take us to the Amtrack station as we were booked on the Cascades Express from Seattle to Vancouver. Sabra Limo was right on time and brought an extra car due to our numbers and luggage. Beautiful scenery and a very relaxing rideon the Cascade Express...took about 4 hrs.

In Vancouver we stayed at the Blue Horizon, located right downtown so very convenient. Large rooms and nice hotel, staff very helpful. Some of our group did Capillano Suspension Bridge. We walked to the pier and did the ride "Fly Canada", very fun, just like Soaring at Epcot. Just a tip pay the extra $2 so you are not in general admission, you pretty much just walk on.

Left Monday on the NCL Sun. Yes the ship is starting to show its age but is still very nice. I felt the entertainment somewhat lacked, for example there was a comedian who had shows at 7 and 9...what happened to the late show. I have been on other NCL ships in the Caribbean and there was much more entertainment. Maybe it is just the nature of this trip and an older crowd. Food was ok, not the best I have had, but I never complain :)

First stop was Ketchikan on Wed. where some of the husbands did a private fishing charter with Ken from Northern Light Charters. They really enjoyed it and highly recommended Ken. The rest of us did Ketchikan Taxi tours with David. Very informative and really got a feel for Ketchikan, saw tons of eagles. We then went and shopped on Creek St.

Thursday we were in Juneau and did a whale watch with Orca Enterprises (Capt. Larry). Saw a lot of whales, nice ship and not too crowded. We then got dropped off at Mendenhall Glacier...one mistake we made was to follow the trail the bus driver told us about, basically just took us into the woods when we really wanted to get to Nugget Falls....if you want to gt to falls I believe you follow trail from the visitors center.

Friday was Skagway and we went with Brian from Beyond Skagway Tours. Beyond Skagway Tours is a private tour and we had a van for 11 of us. Brian was fantastic, we saw bear on the side of the road and if we went by some wildlife Brian would turn around so we could see it. I highly recommend Beyond Skagway Tours.

Sat we were on the ship going thru Glacier Bay, unfortunately it was pouring rain but still beautiful. Sun we were at Hubbard Glacier. I have to say by Sunday I was def. ready to get off of the ship.

NCL was very organized and we had special luggage tags and met our landtour in a specific area. WE basically just walked off of the ship and onto the bus. All of our luggage was transferred for us. The land tour is run by Alaska Premier tours and was fantastic. Our tour guide was Andy and our driver was Mike....both were fantastic, cant say enough about them. So off we went from Whittier to Homer. We stayed at the Best Western in Homer...some of the reviews were not so good but we thought it was really nice, large clean rooms, free breakfast, friendly & helpful staff...what more could you ask for. It is not a 5* hotel but I have to say I didnt see any of those in Homer...haha. At night we got dropped off at Homer Spit, fun shops and places to eat...a real beachy type of community with fishing charters all coming in....alot of fun.

Tuesday we left for Anchorage. We were orig. booked at the Sheraton downtown but got moved to the Millenium...glad we did, again a very Alaska feel to the hotel and right on the water. Big deck outside and can sit and watch the seaplanes coming in and out.

WEdnesday we left Anchorage and headed to Talkeetna...wish we had more time there, it is not even on the tour, other than catching the train there but luckily we arrived about 1/2 hr early so had the opportunity to walk around a bit.

We took the train from Talkeetna to Denali. The tour has private cars and yes they are domed on the railroad. It was awesome. So you go in the car and the downstairs is the dining car and you go upstairs to your seats. There is a tour guide in your car and a bartended with a full bar set up...best Bloody Mary I ever had :) Anyway when you are ready for lunch they take you down to the dining car to eat...excellent food and reasonably priced. Got to Denali about 3pm and checked into hotel...I think it was called Denali Village...nice hotel, again an Alaska feel to it. WE signed up for the white water rafting which was worth every penny. We met at 6pm and they took us to the villge where we put on dry suits and off we went. I highly recommend this. Orig. I was going to do the "float" which is a level 1 rapids but I let Andy talk me into the white water rafting which is level 3-4, and I am so glad I did. I thought I would be really scared but I wasnt and it was amazing. I think it was about $80pp.

The next day, Thursday we went and saw the iditerod puppies and then on to Denali park. We took the 6-8 hr. tour that was included. It was fascinating but a bit scary. You are on a glorified school bus which are the only vehicles allowed past the paved area. So it turns into basically a gravel one lane road that circles the mountains....and let me just say there are no guardrails!!!!! We saw alot of wildlife and the views are amazing but at times dont look out your side window or you will just see a stright drop down.

On Friday we left for Fairbanks, stopped along the way at the Alaska Pipeline which was fascinating. Once we got to Fairbanks we checked in and then did the River Tour which was alot of fun and quite educational. We stayed at Rivers Edge and the rooms are all seperate cottages along the river. Very quaint and nice. Loved this hotel and they had a great restaurant.

I recommend reading as much as you can on these boards....every excursion I booked was due to what I read from others. I also recommend taking half the clothes you plan and twice the money you plan. I had read this on the boards too....I did listen to the part about money but I def. overpacked. Many of us shipped some stuff home because it would have been way over in lbs. on the plane. Hope this helps those that are already booked or planning to book this trip. I highly recommend it.

We returned last week from our trip to Alaska which inc a cruise on NCL Sun followed by the Authentic Alaskan land tour. The entire trip was fabulous. I will write a full review soon but I have been sick since I got home so as soon as I feel better. I just wanted to get a note out that if you are considering an ncl cruise and land tour don't hesitate....I would do it again in a second. :)

Just off the sun to Alaska and lobster tails were served in main dining room first night.

I have used them a couple of times, once got picked up at FLL and taken to port and once picked up at hotel and taken to port. Very reliable, I would def. use them again.

Thank you so much for the info on Ketchikan Taxi Tours. We will be there next week and husbands are going fishing and we had no plans. I emailed David and he responded right away and they have availability so we are booked.

I believe we are on same cruise....NCL Sun leaving Vancouver on mon July 7. Our first Alaska cruise too although have cruised southern itineraries on NCL. NCL is very casual and from what I read Alaska is even more casual. From everything I have read on these boards it looks like bring clothes to layer as weather can be very changeable. We are doing a land tour after so will be away for over 2 weeks so need quite a bit. Basically bringing some pants, capris, maybe a pair of shorts, short and long sleeve shirts, jacket, hat and gloves for day in Glacier Bay and comfortable shoes. I'm sure I will pack and repackage numerous times...haha. Just an FYI we have a roll call going so you may want to check that out. Also have set up a meet and greet...details are on the roll call if you are interested.

Bio jeep......

Our hotels are as follows

Homer - Best Western Bidarka

Anchorage - Millenium Hotel

Denali - McKinley Village Lodge

Fairbanks - Rivers Edge

In my pkg it lists the itinerary with times and optional tours in Denali and Fairbanks.

Denali tours inc Helicopter-Mt McKinley by air (approx cost $350 pp) and whitewater rafting or scenic float adventure (approx cost $89 pp)

Fairbanks - Arctic Circle air adventure (approx cost $460), Alaska Salmon bake (approx cost $33) and can add Golden Heart review with the salmon bake (approx cost $20).

There is time on your own where you can prob. Book things on your own too.

I don't think this is NCL's first year doing the cruisetours in Alaska -- because there was a brochure from 2013. It may be the second year; whatever the # of years, it isn't that many.

 

So far, I think they have a lot to do to better integrate with the tour companies. We haven't been able to find anyone who can answer a question that is not in the 2014 brochure or on line, and they need 5 days to investigate any issue. However, my dad (who booked the tour) tracked down someone in sales at the tour company, and she has been very very helpful in confirming things for us. So that is good...

 

Still, we are looking forward to it. We are on the Denali Express starting in Anchorage 6/27 then on the Sun 6/30. I will post a review (or at least a thumbs up or thumbs down and what to look for) when I return in July.

Sorry my mistake, I guess they did start the one way cruises last year, I knew it hadn't been long though. I have found the tour company very helpful whenever I called. Awhile back I called to get a basic itinerary because NCL had told me it wouldn't be out for awhile. The next day I had an email from NCL with general itinerary so I am assuming that tour company forwarded my message with an itinerary to NCL. Then I called tour company yesterday to confirm hotels and if our group was kept together and they confirmed everything. I did ask about booking side trips because white water rafting in Alaska is def on my bucket list :) and i was told to just go through your tour director to book.

Biojeep - I will def. post a review when I get back. There are not alot because I believe this is the first year that NCL started doing the one way cruises with the land tours. I cannot wait for this trip, we actually booked it over a year ago and cant believe it is finally almost here.

WE (a group of 13) are on the Authentic Alaska tour following our cruise on July 7th and our hotels had also changed. I just called Premier Alaska tours and they went through everything with me and confirmed the hotels and that we were all together. You may want to try calling them again for confirmation of hotels, etc. They were very helpful.

We are booked on this tour in early July. Had very good reviews on TripAdvisor.

I've been looking at Alaskan tours and booking some that are not booked through Carnival. "Beyond Skagway Tours" looks like they offer great tours and are much less expensive than ones purchased through the cruise. Has anyone used them and will offer their experience with them? Trip Advisor gives them good marks

We are traveling up there in July and have booked beyond Skagway tours for a group of 11. They were easy to deal with and got right back to me when i emailed them. They had very good reviews on tripadvisor also.

We are also northbound on the Sun and doing the authentic Alaska land tour but we are going in July. My confirmation lists the following hotels however it does say subject to change. In Homer we are at Ocean Shores, in Anchorage at the Sheraton, in Denali at Grand Denali Lodge and in Fairbanks at RiversEdge. :):)

Thanks for the information. I hope you will post a review of the land portion of your tour. I still have found very few evaluations or reviews of the NCL Alaska Cruisetours for 2013. I too would like more detailed information for each stop so we could plan accordingly.

I will be happy to post a review but it will not be until next year as I am going July, 2014.

I am going on the authentic Alaska cruise tour next summer. When we got our confirmation it listed the hotels but not details. I called NCL to get itinerary and they did not have it yet. Down the road I read on these bds that Premiere Alaska tours run the land tours for NCL so I emailed them. Soon after I rec'd an itinerary from NCL. Below is a summary, if you want more details send me your email and I will forward you what I received.

Day 1 of tour...leave Whittier in morning, stop in Soldotna for lunch. Arrive in Homer late afternoon, dinner on own in Homer Spit. Overnight at Ocean Shores Inn.

Day 2 of tour....in am visit to Alaskan islands and ocean center. After lunch leave Homer for Anchorage by motor coach. Stop at the Alaska wildlife conservation center. Arrive in Anchorage for dinner. Overnight at Sheraton Anchorage resort & spa.

Day 3 of tour....motor coach from Anchorage to Talkeetna then board Alaska railroad for Denali. Arrive Denali late afternoon then overnight at Grand Denali Lodge.

Day 4 of tour....husky homestead kennel tour in morning then afternoon starts the tundra wilderness tour (7 hrs). Tours may get reversed. Overnight again at grand Denali lodge.

Day 5 of tour....motorcoach to Fairbanks. Upon arrival take a short city tour with a stop at the Alaska pipeline. Afternoon is a riverboat discovery cruise. Overnight at Rivers Edge Resort.

Thanks for all the replies. We are def. going to the musuem and I will talk to the others in our group to see what else everyone wants to do.

We have a full day in Fairbanks before flying out later in the evening. Any ideas what to do? Some of our group would like to go ziplining and since we are already booked on other excursions in ports we were hoping they had ziplining in Fairbanks...does anyone know of any? If not any other suggestions for Fairbanks would be helpful.