Alaska Cruisetour Questions

I am looking to book a cruisetour in Alaska during June 2019. Specifically the Denali Explorer, Tour GA4, which has a 4 night land tour.

I noticed that while it includes the direct to the Wilderness rail service, it also says "Motorcoach may be substituted for rail on some departures". Does this happen often? I am traveling with a friend who has the rail trip as a "bucket list" kind of tour.

Also, does the rail travel follow the same route as you would take with the Alaska Railway? So it essentially travels to Anchorage and then on to Talkeetna?

I also noted that the ships vary by sailing date: Golden Princess, Royal Princess and Coral Princess. Is there any reason to choose one ship over another?

Finally, one of the reasons we are considering Princess is I have heard they are the best for having guest speakers related to Alaska. Is that true?

Thanks to anyone who can help me out.

I have no idea how often the motorcoach is substitued for the train. The train is one and the same as the Alaska Railroad. Princess and HAL have special cars and for some routes the Alaska Railroad will run a special schedule for the cruiselines.

Since the trip you are planning is 2019, you have ample time to compare the price of a cruisetour with doing the land portion DIY. I suspect it would be cheaper, even with the same transportation and comparable accommodations. One of these days, I am going to figure that out!

I have lived in Alaska all my life, and I enjoy the guest speakers on Princess.

As to which ship, IMHO I think it would be more important to look at time spent in port, as well as which ports and route. But then, I cruise for the destinations, not the ship.

I have taken a 3-day Princess land tour as well as an 8-day Princess connoisseur escorted land tour. On each tour, one move between Princess lodges was on a train and the rest were on motor coaches. My opinion is that the connoisseur tour is well worth the time needed and the cost.

I have also done an Alaskan vacation where I rented a car and hotel room myself. I will never do that again. You need to make your hotel reservations well in advance or you may have a hard time getting lodging where you want. A Princess connoisseur tour takes all the hassle and stress out of the vacation.

As to which ship you take-----if they all have the same itinerary, I would take the Coral Princess as it has bigger balconies and fewer passengers.

We have done two cruise tours with rail from Denali to Whittier and have read lots of posts about cruise tours during my time on Cruise Critic. I have never heard of them substituting the coach for the train. I'm guessing they are just covering themselves just in case there's a problem with the train, but it does seem very unlikely.

The guest speakers and presentations have all been wonderful, from having National Park Rangers board at the mouth of Glacier Bay to Libby Riddles and one (or more) of her dogs while in Juneau. There will be opportunities to pet puppies in the piazza and to listen to a local folk singer. Lots of immersive experiences no matter what ship you choose.

As for the ships, the Coral is smaller and has lots of good outdoor space, including forward and aft "secret" viewing areas on many of the decks.

The Golden has a nice Promenade deck and is larger than the Coral with plenty of outdoor space for all. We've enjoyed three Alaska cruises on her sister the Star.

The Royal is the largest of the three and also one of the newer Princess ships. We love the amenities on this ship and are planning on cruising her next year to Alaska. The only knock is that there is no wraparound Promenade deck which will somewhat limit viewing while in Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier, so the upper decks will likely be quite crowded.

Each ship has its charms and you'll probably get lots of opinions, but it's really a matter of what your interests are.

I would vote for the Coral, Royal and Golden in that order.

Princess has excellent guess speakers in Alaska

If you look you will find maybe 20 different land tours. Some use buses, some use train, some both. The reason the price is different is mainly the travel option. You will know when you book. Technically they would substitute a bus if the rail is blocked but doesn't happen that much. There is only one rail line and the road runs near it except in a nice gorge just north of Denali. There is also one back road between McKinley and Denali - we had to take it once when the road between McKinley and Talkeetna was blocked by a major accident.

Train is fun, although food is just ok and very expensive. You do spend a lot of time waiting for the train. On a cruise-first itinerary expect to get on the train about 6:30 in the morning.

Coral was designed for this type of cruise. Golden and Royal were not, although at least Golden has an indoor pool and lots of outside viewing areas. Although Royal has the best buffet it would be my last choice for Alaska. Limited protected viewing areas, smaller balconies, smaller rooms, too many people.

 

Thanks to anyone who can help me out.

Cruisetours include some activity at Denali....very often they schedule you on the Natural History Tour. It is worthless.

When you book make sure that they will modify your itinerary to include the Tundra Wilderness Tour. There may be a little upcharge, but it will be very worth it.

Cruisetours include some activity at Denali....very often they schedule you on the Natural History Tour. It is worthless.

 

When you book make sure that they will modify your itinerary to include the Tundra Wilderness Tour. There may be a little upcharge, but it will be very worth it.

Thank you for this information. We are currently booked for the Natural History Tour and will work to get it changed.

Thank you for this information. We are currently booked for the Natural History Tour and will work to get it changed.

Your travel agent or Princess (if you booked direct with them) can change it to the Tundra Wilderness tour. We've done that one twice and agree that you won't see the best sites if you stick with the included Natural History tour. There's also a longer tour upgrade option to Kantishna which looks very interesting. Whichever you chose, do it quickly as the spaces for the longer tours book up quickly.

 

The Royal is the largest of the three and also one of the newer Princess ships. We love the amenities on this ship and are planning on cruising her next year to Alaska. The only knock is that there is no wraparound Promenade deck which will somewhat limit viewing while in Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier, so the upper decks will likely be quite crowded.

 

The Royal has over 1500 more passengers than the Coral. Although that is not really a problem when at sea, in an Alaska port it means an additional 1500 people in a town already overcrowded with passengers from other ships in the port that day.

For that reason alone I would not take the Royal for an Alaska cruise.

John Hall's Alaska sounds very good They include everything for the price. All meals and all excursions. kissalaska.com