Princess landtours? 2 part question!

Hi, back again, slightly revised question!... am hoping to get some feedback on any of the landtours offered by Princess. My Mum (62) and I (39) are looking to cruise either NB or SB Vancouver/Whittier. We have looked at the landtour options and at the moment favour those involving Denali (and Kenai if we take a longer one) We are flying from the UK. What have your experiences been?

Alternatively, I'm struggling to persuade Mum that independent travel is another option! Can anyone offer the "ultimate" post that will allay her worries, which are: that it must be really difficult to organise, that she'll be heaving heavy bags around(!) that only younger people are going DIY(!) how do the flights work out, will we still meet other people if we're travelling in a car on our own...! It sounds as if she's a "doddery oldie!" which she's not...she just hasn't done indepdnt travel before!:)

So...there's a challenge!

One last thing...is using the train at any stage a good idea?

(I don't have a problem driving on the other side of the road...especially when they are usually twice as wide as ours!!):)

Huge thanks in advance!

allsaints

I'll offer my suggestion- :) Independent is really simple to arrange. Extremely few cruisetours do a good job at both Denali Park and Seward. Most often there is not enough time in Seward for the best tour- Kenai Fjords boat tour. Princess is 40 miles away where they put you up.

If you make some B&B choices your mother will have the splendid opportunity to get to know some wonderful Alaska people and experience a very personal vacation.

Traveling interior Alaska is pretty stright forward. Only one road to destinations, stops and overnights very easy to figure out, touring options readily available. Point to point group fixed scheduled travel is way less than ideal, for such a vast place that is so unpredicable in it's beauty and interest.

Since you are also going, if of interest, I could give you a detailed itenerary if you wish. Once looked at side by side with a cruisetour- the benefits will be very clear. email if your preference budgetqueenalaska@yahoo.com

I agree with Budget Queen. We arranged our own and found that it was far less expensive and we had more time on our own than we would have with the Princess land tours. I'd also suggest you get on your internet and find the visitor's centers and have them send you brochures of things to see and do in the areas you're most interested in before you make your tour arrangements. Roads are easily identifiable and difficult to get lost at best. People are friendly everywhere you go. We had some wonderful experiences and so easy to communicate. Look at everything to do in the areas you're most interested in and then plan from there. By all means - be sure to go on the Kenai Fjords Nat'l Park tour out of Seward. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

Hi, back again, slightly revised question!... am hoping to get some feedback on any of the landtours offered by Princess. My Mum (62) and I (39) are looking to cruise either NB or SB Vancouver/Whittier. We have looked at the landtour options and at the moment favour those involving Denali (and Kenai if we take a longer one) We are flying from the UK. What have your experiences been?

 

Alternatively, I'm struggling to persuade Mum that independent travel is another option! Can anyone offer the "ultimate" post that will allay her worries, which are: that it must be really difficult to organise, that she'll be heaving heavy bags around(!) that only younger people are going DIY(!) how do the flights work out, will we still meet other people if we're travelling in a car on our own...! It sounds as if she's a "doddery oldie!" which she's not...she just hasn't done indepdnt travel before!:)

So...there's a challenge!

 

One last thing...is using the train at any stage a good idea?

(I don't have a problem driving on the other side of the road...especially when they are usually twice as wide as ours!!):) Huge thanks in advance!allsaints

There is not much to add after Budget Queen's expertise and advice. She has probably been to Alaska more than most if not all of us who post on this board. I would heed her sage advice.

I have done three independent land trips to AK, one of which was before a cruise, and am planning another one for next summer. I would definitely encourage you to organize it on your own. It really is not that hard. You will see more and it will cost you less than Princess' cruisetour. Take BQ up on her offer to assist you. You will NOT be disappointed. And read through 5-10 pages of posts in this forum. You will learn a ton. My main suggestion would be to not shortchange your time in Denali. Stay there at least two nights and go deep into the park - I strongly suggest a shuttle bus to Wonder Lake, even early in the summer. Just be prepared with DEET insect spray since mosquitoes can be bad through July.

Train travel between Anchorage and Whittier or Seward is possible, but if you are already renting a car and going to Seward, I think you would make better use of your time to rent from Avis and return the car to Whittier just before you board the ship. I know that means a hefty drop-off charge. But the train for two from Anchorage to Whittier will cost you $100 or more.

I find that driving on the "other" side of the road in Britain is easier than expected since the steering wheel is also on the other side. You won't have any problem here I am sure.

Book things like lodging and car rental early - you can usually change or cancel them later on for no penalty if your plans change or if you find a cheaper/better alternative. Just check the cancellation policies before you book.

When booking the Avis car rental, you might have to book it to return to Anchorage then next spring change the drop off location to Whittier. Some on this board have mentioned that Avis won't book the Whittier drop off for next summer until later in the year. If you do a NB and want to pick up in Whittier then I am not sure you can book that right away. Doing SB is a bit more popular (and therefore about $100/person more expensive). Many people, myself included, prefer to do the land portion first. It seems a bit more intensive and then you can have a bit more 'down' time on the cruise, especially since the first two days of the SB cruise with Princess are usually College Fjord and Glacier Bay - you don't get off the ship.

we did a cruise tour(6 of us total) and really loved it (and if I was going back with 6 or more again I'd still do a tour), but if we were going to just be 2 people we would go independently.

Other than on the train, we didn't really talk to anyone on our cruise tour. Since there were 6 of us, dh & I were seated with people we didn't know and thoroughly enjoyed it on our different train legs.

But, if your Mom is interested in speaking to other people, there will be plenty of opportunities to do so when you are not in your car.

I'm not an out-going person, but I ended up striking up conversations with people all over Alaska. We all chatted with people every where we went. Every store we went to, every spot we stopped at, everywhere. In fact, those random conversations are some of our fondest memories.

Thanks for quick replies, keep them coming! :)