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Alaska 2018 on Golden Princess


pumpkin30
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Doing an Alaska cruise tour on the Golden Princess, land first, on 8/12/18. Looking forward to hearing from others doing this cruise. I was torn between starting the land portion in mid-August or the end of August. Any thoughts on this? I live in Florida, so I'm looking forward to seeing wildlife and autumn scenery.

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I just returned from a July sailing to Alaska. The weather is always changing. We had cool temps. I don't think the temp got above 63 during our time in alaska. We had rain one day; so that was good; the rest of the trip was partly sunny but not too warm. We wore jackets in every port. Scenery was beautiful and so were the excursions. We did not do land portion, only cruise; did not have enough time off to do both. You will enjoy it

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I'll be following this thread; looking at Alaska in summer 2020, so starting my research now. We cruised on the Golden Princess in June 2011, cruise only. For 2020, I'm looking at adding a land portion too.

 

My first question is regarding the land portion. An online cruise website that I looked at showed the land portion as being bus transportation. But I'm looking for a land portion that includes train travel. Is there some place specific I need to look to research that? @pumpkin30, which land tour are you considering?

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I'll be following this thread; looking at Alaska in summer 2020, so starting my research now. We cruised on the Golden Princess in June 2011, cruise only. For 2020, I'm looking at adding a land portion too.

 

My first question is regarding the land portion. An online cruise website that I looked at showed the land portion as being bus transportation. But I'm looking for a land portion that includes train travel. Is there some place specific I need to look to research that? @pumpkin30, which land tour are you considering?

 

Go to princess.com and look at cruisetours. You'll be able to see which ones include train travel. The train from Denali to Anchorage (or the other way around) is great!

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Thanks, @Sea Hag, that's where I saw the train travel included in tours. I guess my question should be rephrased as "are the Princess cruise tours the only ones that include the trains?" And if Princess owns the trains, then the answer is most likely yes. A train would definitely be more fun than a bus!

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On our cruise tour we took the train from Anchorage to Denali/Mt. McKinley, a bus from McKinley to Copper River, a bus from Copper River to Valdez where we boarded a smaller boat to meet our Princess ship in Whittier. We had fun on all types of transport and really enjoyed the bus portions.

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Doing an Alaska cruise tour on the Golden Princess, land first, on 8/12/18. Looking forward to hearing from others doing this cruise. I was torn between starting the land portion in mid-August or the end of August. Any thoughts on this? I live in Florida, so I'm looking forward to seeing wildlife and autumn scenery.
You will not see any autumn scenery in August....Anywhere...It is the middle of September and the leaves have not changed in Anchorage yet. the Southeast is very much like Seattle weather so you won't see it there either. If you want to see autumn leaves, you need to do your land portion the 2nd week in September...Usually....Denali peaked this past weekend and it was spectacular. I have some of the photos posted in the Alaskan Cruises with Princess FB site...In fact, lots of people post photos there...
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I'll be following this thread; looking at Alaska in summer 2020, so starting my research now. We cruised on the Golden Princess in June 2011, cruise only. For 2020, I'm looking at adding a land portion too.

 

My first question is regarding the land portion. An online cruise website that I looked at showed the land portion as being bus transportation. But I'm looking for a land portion that includes train travel. Is there some place specific I need to look to research that? @pumpkin30, which land tour are you considering?

Hi, Kellie. We're doing the 13 night Denali Explorer, land portion first.

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You will not see any autumn scenery in August....Anywhere...It is the middle of September and the leaves have not changed in Anchorage yet. the Southeast is very much like Seattle weather so you won't see it there either. If you want to see autumn leaves, you need to do your land portion the 2nd week in September...Usually....Denali peaked this past weekend and it was spectacular. I have some of the photos posted in the Alaskan Cruises with Princess FB site...In fact, lots of people post photos there...

How was the weather the 2nd week of September? Is it very different from August?

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We are doing a cruisetour on The Golden Princess, land first. Tour starts on May 22. We are taking the 10 hour train ride back from Denali on the Princess Train to the ship. Will post a review when we get back.

 

Be advised for anyone considering a future cruisetour. The one we are on departing May 22, 2018 sold out almost a year in advance. Good idea to book early.

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How was the weather the 2nd week of September? Is it very different from August?

 

I would not do the cruise that late. Potential for bad weather. Maybe land would be safer (cruise first and then land). Hopefully others/locals will post

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I would not have a problem with doing a cruise in September....especially with the land portion last. Downsides are, glacier dog operations are mostly closed down, tourist things in Anchorage are starting to close down...plus side....if you are lucky enough to watch the tundra change...it will be life changing. There are absolutely no words for the beauty..downside, it usually only lasts a few days. If you have never seen snow, there is a good chance you will see snow in Denali in September. August is our rainy month....this summer has been our rainy year...

 

PS. the train only goes from Seward to Fairbanks. No other place. Only way you can get from the other Princess lodges is by car or their bus.

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I would not have a problem with doing a cruise in September....especially with the land portion last. Downsides are, glacier dog operations are mostly closed down, tourist things in Anchorage are starting to close down...plus side....if you are lucky enough to watch the tundra change...it will be life changing. There are absolutely no words for the beauty..downside, it usually only lasts a few days. If you have never seen snow, there is a good chance you will see snow in Denali in September. August is our rainy month....this summer has been our rainy year...

 

PS. the train only goes from Seward to Fairbanks. No other place. Only way you can get from the other Princess lodges is by car or their bus.

Thank you! I gather you live in Alaska. Nice firsthand info.

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The truth is - May has the least amount of rain and as the summer goes on, each month has more rain with September having the most rain for the tourist season. Look it up if you need historical information. A few years ago, the storms in Whittier in September were so bad, the ship had to stay in port for a few days. There are several sites where you can look at weather in Alaska averages.

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First of all, we have been to AK from May to Sept. If it's animal you want to see (I'm talking like Yoda), don't go after the middle of August. The animals are not moving but simply bulking up for winter. Good in July. Do land first. WRT fall foliage, go to New England. It's AK is pretty but...

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First of all, we have been to AK from May to Sept. If it's animal you want to see (I'm talking like Yoda), don't go after the middle of August. The animals are not moving but simply bulking up for winter. Good in July. Do land first. WRT fall foliage, go to New England. It's AK is pretty but...

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First of all, we have been to AK from May to Sept. If it's animal you want to see (I'm talking like Yoda), don't go after the middle of August. The animals are not moving but simply bulking up for winter. Good in July. Do land first. WRT fall foliage, go to New England. It's AK is pretty but...
It depends on what animals you are talking about. Brown bears and Black bears are best seen during Salmon season because that is actually when they put on weight. Blueberries do not have the calories...Caribou follow migrations so you see them when they migrate through an area. Probably will never see wolves but it is possible. Most people come for bears. If bears are really important do your research if you are taking a bear excursion from the ship. If it is really important to you, fly out to see bears from Anchorage or Homer. Animals do move around in September. Ask any hunter up here. We have 800 bears in the city of Anchorage but it is likely that you won't see one from your hotel, but you might as they cross 4th Avenue frequently when the salmon are running in Ship Creek. The are opportunistic animals and go where the food is. Summer is our rainy season. It rains a lot...More in the South East...less in the interior. We stretch the same distance as the ND/Canadian border to almost the Arkansas/LA border...The Aleutians hand out over CA., and the South East hangs out over Jacksonville. The weather is as varied as it would be outside where you live.
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  • 1 month later...
I am booked on the golden princess land tour first at the end of August. Does anyone know if meals are included on land? Also have the sip and sail promo is that only for the cruise portion?

 

Only the connoisseur tours and they cost more. Some tours may have a salmon baked thrown in but I wouldn't count on it.

 

You can buy meal plans if you want. Sip and Sail is only for the cruise portion.

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Go to princess.com and look at cruisetours. You'll be able to see which ones include train travel. The train from Denali to Anchorage (or the other way around) is great!

We are on a Golden Princes cruisetour in the June, 2018 timeframe which includes train travel from Denali to the port. Really look forward to the train part of the trip.

Be advised that out cruisetour sold out more than a year in advance. Book early, especially if you want to do the train ride.

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We will be on the Golden Princess northbound from Vancouver in June, followed by DIY land portion renting a car from Anchorage and flying home from Fairbanks. We will be staying in Girdwood, Denali, and one night in Fairbanks before returning home to the east coast. Needless to say we can't wait for our DREAM vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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mkcoombe;54578867]We will be on the Golden Princess northbound from Vancouver in June, followed by DIY land portion renting a car from Anchorage and flying home from Fairbanks. We will be staying in Girdwood, Denali, and one night in Fairbanks before returning home to the east coast. Needless to say we can't wait for our DREAM vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hope you are planning to spend a couple of days in the park (Denali) It takes most of the day to drive up to it...and it is basically a 2 lane road in most of it, and most of the excursions leave very early in the am....and take all or a good part of the day....and it takes 2-3 hrs to drive to Fairbanks depending on where you are staying. That said, that is the way to do it. If you have to cancel Girdwood, to spend more time in the park do it....as it is only about 45 minutes or so south of Anchorage. You could see what you want to see in a few hours including a tour of the Wildlife Conservation Center. On your way out of town going north (Anchorage) you can stop in the Native Heritage Center...it is only 100 yards so off of the exit (muldoon North) and then see the the very interesting cemetery in Ekunltna...The graves along with the oldest Russian Orthodox church in Alaska, again, is only a 100 yards off of the Ekluntna exit. Lots of interesting places to see on the drive up if you do it yourself...

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mkcoombe;54578867]We will be on the Golden Princess northbound from Vancouver in June, followed by DIY land portion renting a car from Anchorage and flying home from Fairbanks. We will be staying in Girdwood, Denali, and one night in Fairbanks before returning home to the east coast. Needless to say we can't wait for our DREAM vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hope you are planning to spend a couple of days in the park (Denali) It takes most of the day to drive up to it...and it is basically a 2 lane road in most of it, and most of the excursions leave very early in the am....and take all or a good part of the day....and it takes 2-3 hrs to drive to Fairbanks depending on where you are staying. That said, that is the way to do it. If you have to cancel Girdwood, to spend more time in the park do it....as it is only about 45 minutes or so south of Anchorage. You could see what you want to see in a few hours including a tour of the Wildlife Conservation Center. On your way out of town going north (Anchorage) you can stop in the Native Heritage Center...it is only 100 yards so off of the exit (muldoon North) and then see the the very interesting cemetery in Ekunltna...The graves along with the oldest Russian Orthodox church in Alaska, again, is only a 100 yards off of the Ekluntna exit. Lots of interesting places to see on the drive up if you do it yourself...

 

I wanted to spend an extra day in Girdwood to get in a glacier sightseeing day cruise before heading to Denali. I would also like to take our time on the way up to Denali so we can stop along the way as you suggested. Once there we will be spending 3 nights in Denali (Healy) with the full 95 mile bus trip on our first day in the park and an evening ATV tour on another day there. We won't see everything but then we'll have an excuse to return!!!!

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  • 2 months later...

Hello! Any experience with the following excursions:

 

Skagway - Yukon Expedition and White Pass Scenic Railway or Best of Skagway

 

Juneau: Mendenhall Glacier Guide Choice Train Hike or Mendenhall Glacier Explorer

 

Is the hike strenuous and would you say you have to be an experienced hiker for the excursion?

 

Appreciate hearing about your experiences.

 

Thanks!

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