DIY Planning for land portion

Hello there fellow cruisers. We are just starting to look into an Alaskan cruise for 2018. At this point we are considering the NCL Jewell 12 Day Denali -Aleyska Explorer - Northbound Cruisetour or 14 Day Denali/Valdez Explorer - Northbound Cruisetour. Both start in Vancouver and end flying out of Anchorage. We realize we could take just the cruise portion for a lot less money. Our question is does anybody out there care to share any contact(s) that you recommend that could help us plan an extensive land portion that would include transportation, lodging and activities. We realize our lodging will in large part depend on the activities selected and distance traveled. We are not opposed to doing a rental car and driving for all or part of the land portion, We would at least want overnights in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Denali area. We are senior citizens and are not interested in activities like rafting, major hiking or flightseeing. The activities we are considering include (Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, Prince William Sound Cruise, Riverboat Discovery Cruise and Gold Dredge #8, Fairbanks city tour, Iditarod Sled Dog Kennel Visit, Denali National Park, Tundra Wilderness Tour (53+ miles), Deluxe Dome Rail Denali to Talkeetna, Anchorage city tour)

Ken and Jan

for THIS August, 2018 ?

You're very late to be looking at reservations. The tourist season in Alaska is very short so popular lodging, vendors, etc are often booked a yr prior.

Look down the page for a trip report by OCSC Mike. They planned a DIY tour using an agent and i believe the contact info is there.

This company offers the service plus they have a bus system in Alaska.

https://www.alaskatravel.com/

OTOH since you know what you want to see and do, rent a car and make your own reservations. It's very easy to drive around alaska; few hwys and only 2 lanes for the most part. Impossible to get lost. As a fellow senior (and solo female traveler) I can attest to how easy it is .... I've rented cars and RVs.

p.s. the Alaska Dept of Tourism has info on pkg tours and planning. Look at the banner for further info,

https://www.travelalaska.com/

Thank you for your post. I am embarrassed - our cruise will be for NEXT year 2019. How can I either edit my post or delete this thread and post bit correctly?

I don't believe you can edit or delete at this point. But don't worry about it; as people read the thread they'll see you want to travel in 2019. Whew, glad it's not this yr !

BTW, if you're considering a rental car, some of the major companies will offer great prices if you reserve now for summer 2019. Watch the sites over the next 2 months and be sure to check their downtown vs airport locations as they can be quite different. Just be sure there's no cancel fee.

Good luck with your plans !

It looks like you have just made a selection from a cruisetour list, with your activities.?? There is a whole lot more, and superior in my opinion for getting the beauty and vastness of Alaska. Especially in Fairbanks it is hardly worth going there with what you have listed? Are you able to expand your time, having 10 days for main land travel is certainly superior to a 5 day add on tour. :)

I'd suggest you look further at the non cruise tour possibilities. Seward, (especially take advantage if your ship is there), Homer, Valdez, Ma Su Valley as example.

With Denali as an independent guest - take the shuttle to at least Eielson. Superior and 1/3 the cost of the TWT you have listed. http://www.nps.gov/dena

Another suggestion would be to consider an RV? Although no cost savings, it does offer freedom and is extremely simple to manage and works perfectly in Alaska. (compared to many other places)

I also suggest, not making any reservations- except a car rental, before you have your entire itinerary worked out. It's no doubt the more you find out the more fine tuning and changing you will want to make. It's a mistake to jump into reservations, and boxing yourself in.

If you leave your e-mail I'd be happy to share the consultant/company who planned the amazing DIY 10-day land tour we took last month but was asked my a moderator not to post the info.

My extremely long review can be found here if you're interested... https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2656059