Denali Princess Lodge

[Luckyroot]

Still researching, researching, researching (Boy this is SO different from a Caribbean Cruise!) and trying to find somewhere to stay in the Denali area. Seems the Denali Princess Lodge would be nice, but it's currently sold out. They told me it's not really, but they hold back inventory for future cruise tour bookings.

 

So my question to the smart people on CC - any idea when they release inventory at the Denali Princess or should we just book elsewhere, and if so, where? Suggestions GREATLY appreciated for decent accommodations near Denali.

 

Thank you!

[Glaciers]

Have stayed at both Princess and Grande Denali Lodge and prefer the Grande Denali.

[mapleleaves]

Here's a list from the Chamber of Commerce depending on whether you want a B&B, cabin, hotel, etc. I recommend Aspen Haus cabins based on recommendations from 2 different friends who have stayed there.

http://denalichamber.com/plugins/yellowpages/yellowpages.php?1.1

[Budget Queen]

Main question- will you have a car?? I find nothing special about the Denali Princess. The area is very busy.

 

If of interest I highly recommend the Touch of Wilderness B & B. If looking for a bargain, I really like Denali Park Hotel. :)

 

A more important issue- is to have great plans made for this wonderful area. :)

[Luckyroot]

Main question- will you have a car?? I find nothing special about the Denali Princess. The area is very busy.

 

If of interest I highly recommend the Touch of Wilderness B & B. If looking for a bargain, I really like Denali Park Hotel. :)

 

A more important issue- is to have great plans made for this wonderful area. :)

 

We are still undecided on the transportation.

 

There are 6 of us. My parents are both 80 yrs old. In relatively good health but I also don't want to over stress them either, they ARE 80 yrs old!

 

My BIL did a Princess cruisetour last year and said it was very arduous, which is why we're doing it on our own. I thought maybe a car would be a good option to let us travel at our own speed, but a train or bus allows us the option to get up - move around a bit and enjoy the view (with driving, someone's going to miss the scenery so they can keep their eyes on the road).

 

I see you're somewhat of an expert on Alaska (and budget - my kinda gal!) what would you recommend?

[Budget Queen]

We are still undecided on the transportation.

 

There are 6 of us. My parents are both 80 yrs old. In relatively good health but I also don't want to over stress them either, they ARE 80 yrs old!

 

My BIL did a Princess cruisetour last year and said it was very arduous, which is why we're doing it on our own. I thought maybe a car would be a good option to let us travel at our own speed, but a train or bus allows us the option to get up - move around a bit and enjoy the view (with driving, someone's going to miss the scenery so they can keep their eyes on the road).

 

I see you're somewhat of an expert on Alaska (and budget - my kinda gal!) what would you recommend?

 

A point to consider with the train, Anchorage/Denali is 8 hours, and a lot of trees and more trees. It is not the most scenic segment. Having your own car is superior for lodging, touring and meal freedom. :) Think the 80 year olds. :) A bus, is a bus. There is no "walking around, and frankly, little "getting up".

 

I drive all over Alaska. It isn't the I 95. It's two lane roads, and I don't miss anything. I can pull over all I want and the expansive beauty lays out in front of me. It's a fantastic EASY drive. :)

[Luckyroot]

Exactly what I wanted to know, thank you!!

[wolfie11]

I see a number of comments that people don't want to drive because they might "miss the scenery."

 

People, you can't miss the scenery even if you are driving. That mountain ahead of you and to the left rises well over 3 miles into the sky and dominates the landscape. Even if you are driving, it's pretty hard to miss. Not to mention that you can pull off virtually anywhere and look to your heart's content. There's almost no traffic past Willow heading north. You might see a dozen cars an hour, and a few cruise line busses stuffed full of people will pass you while you are stopped taking pictures of the moose on the side of the road or the cool-looking clouds over the mountains. Wave to the poor people, they chose badly....

[Luckyroot]

I see a number of comments that people don't want to drive because they might "miss the scenery."

 

People, you can't miss the scenery even if you are driving. That mountain ahead of you and to the left rises well over 3 miles into the sky and dominates the landscape. Even if you are driving, it's pretty hard to miss. Not to mention that you can pull off virtually anywhere and look to your heart's content. There's almost no traffic past Willow heading north. You might see a dozen cars an hour, and a few cruise line busses stuffed full of people will pass you while you are stopped taking pictures of the moose on the side of the road or the cool-looking clouds over the mountains. Wave to the poor people, they chose badly....

 

I guess scenery was not quite accurate. I am more afraid of missing wildlife sightings. I don't expect them to wait till I can pull over for a photograph, but I'm hoping they might!

 

Thank you to all the natives who are so encouraging!! I can't wait to come visit your beautiful home!

[wolfie11]

I guess scenery was not quite accurate. I am more afraid of missing wildlife sightings. I don't expect them to wait till I can pull over for a photograph, but I'm hoping they might!

 

 

Sorry, I wasn't meaning any criticism by my comments, but wanted to emphasize that people who don't live here just don't realize how "in your face" Alaska is and how easy the driving can be. Most of the wildlife you will see along the roads is moose, and they usually don't move for much of anything. They just munch on the grass on the side of the road and stare at you as you go by. Having totaled two cars to moose, I just want them to STAY on the side of the road!

 

I was coming home the other night late and it was very dark when I spotted my neighbor jogging down the road in front of my property. I thought it was a bit strange that my neighbor would be jogging that late and that he seemed to have put on a bit of weight on the back side when I realized it wasn't my neighbor, but a moose jogging down the middle of the road!

[Assateague Island Princes]

Wolfie - you make me laugh every day! :D Thanx!

[Luckyroot]

Sorry, I wasn't meaning any criticism by my comments, but wanted to emphasize that people who don't live here just don't realize how "in your face" Alaska is and how easy the driving can be.

 

Oh no worries, I didn't take it as criticism at all, it was exactly the kind of comment I wanted to hear.

 

Planning for Alaska is NOTHING like planning for a Caribbean cruise, so it's all new to me. And I rely on the members of CC and their valuable knowledge. I appreciate everything you have said, and thank you for it! :)

[mapleleaves]

Not to mention that you can pull off virtually anywhere and look to your heart's content. There's almost no traffic past Willow heading north. You might see a dozen cars an hour, and a few cruise line busses stuffed full of people will pass you while you are stopped taking pictures of the moose on the side of the road or the cool-looking clouds over the mountains. Wave to the poor people, they chose badly....

 

This is sooo true. My last visit was the latter part of August so we had several moose sightings, usually cows with calves. The hwys are only 2 lanes and not too busy so each time we saw moose we just pulled over and watched for awhile. The bus drivers slowed down a little but they didn't stop for 15 minutes like we did. We had an RV so we couldn't stop on a dime but still it was easy to pull onto the shoulder.

Driving in Alaska is so much easier than people think. Anchorage is a little congested at rush hour and there were 4 lanes until you got to the suburbs but other than that, there wasn't much traffic. On the Richardson Hwy driving from Fairbanks to Valdez it seemed like we had the road to ourselves.

[pizzalady1]

We drove from Anchorage to Denali and really enjoyed it. We had plenty of time to stop at turnoffs to see whatever we wanted. It also allowed us to stay in Healy, about 15 minutes north of the Denali Park entrance. Much, much nicer than being trapped in Princess Land and Glitter Gulch. We stayed at the Hotel Nord Haven http://www.motelnordhaven.com/ and ate next door at Rose's Cafe http://www.rosescafealaska.com/.

[smwg]

How long will it take to drive from Fairbanks to Anchorage? Just driving the speed limit and not stopping. Is this a two lane highway? Just trying to get an idea. Thanks.

[mapleleaves]

7 hrs by car; 12 hrs by train. See the mileage chart in this link.

http://alaska.org/gettingaround/alaska-transportation-guide.htm

[wolfie11]

How long will it take to drive from Fairbanks to Anchorage? Just driving the speed limit and not stopping. Is this a two lane highway? Just trying to get an idea. Thanks.

 

The speed limit is 65 and it's 367 miles. You will have to slow down considerably once you hit Willow until you get to the freeway from Wasilla to Anchorage. I usually do it in about 6 hours with potty stops, but I do 70 on the open roads.

[smwg]

Thanks. That helps. :D

[Budget Queen]

I recommend allowing 8 hours for Anchorage/Fairbanks. You can NOT count on there not being delays at some point. And I never suggest a tight timeframe anyway, which becomes a marathon trip.

[CruisingGoddess]

We are still undecided on the transportation.

 

There are 6 of us. My parents are both 80 yrs old. In relatively good health but I also don't want to over stress them either, they ARE 80 yrs old!

 

My BIL did a Princess cruisetour last year and said it was very arduous, which is why we're doing it on our own. I thought maybe a car would be a good option to let us travel at our own speed, but a train or bus allows us the option to get up - move around a bit and enjoy the view (with driving, someone's going to miss the scenery so they can keep their eyes on the road).

 

I see you're somewhat of an expert on Alaska (and budget - my kinda gal!) what would you recommend?

 

Wasn't sure if you were aware of it but you can book the train & hotel package through Princess without doing the whole cruisetour. Maybe you'd have better luck with that as I'm assuming they would save hotel rooms for that package as well. This is what we did in July during our trip. You can read the details on my blog:

 

http://moonprincess.com/travel/category/cruises/alaska-2010/

 

Click on the link for Day 2 and I give the details about booking the package.

[smwg]

Wasn't sure if you were aware of it but you can book the train & hotel package through Princess without doing the whole cruisetour. Maybe you'd have better luck with that as I'm assuming they would save hotel rooms for that package as well. This is what we did in July during our trip. You can read the details on my blog:

 

http://moonprincess.com/travel/category/cruises/alaska-2010/

 

Click on the link for Day 2 and I give the details about booking the package.

 

 

 

Thanks. See that is sort of the thing. There are 8 adults (my parents, sister, BIL, Aunt, Uncle, and friends) and they really want to go to Fairbanks before the cruise, but they don't have a lot of time. The main issue I am having is finding a big van to rent one way (think we are going to have to settle for 2 cars). A train/hotel package would be great if I could get that lined up. We are going RCCL. Not sure if they offer that. And I'm not having much luck on the hotel thing either. :(

 

Some how I always seem to get stuck doing all the planning and I hate it when things don't fall into place.

[arizonaperson]

I am just doing research on cruise tours for AK as well.Thanks for all the helpful info.

[Budget Queen]

Thanks. See that is sort of the thing. There are 8 adults (my parents, sister, BIL, Aunt, Uncle, and friends) and they really want to go to Fairbanks before the cruise, but they don't have a lot of time. The main issue I am having is finding a big van to rent one way (think we are going to have to settle for 2 cars). A train/hotel package would be great if I could get that lined up. We are going RCCL. Not sure if they offer that. And I'm not having much luck on the hotel thing either. :(

 

Some how I always seem to get stuck doing all the planning and I hate it when things don't fall into place.

 

Do "they" have touring plans for Fairbanks?? I round trip there all the time, it isn't difficult with time. Otherwise, I would suggest Fairbanks be skipped, if you are going there at the expense of shortening other locations.

 

Fairbanks is a 2 night stop in my opinion. Great if you have a week, and include Denali Park and your cruise port activities (Whittier/Seward). If you have less, it is a lot of driving.

 

In the past, Thrifty and Avis had one way Anchorage/Fairbanks cars. Expect big drop charges. The train is very limited in what is offers you for "Alaska" touring, you miss all the areas in between. Research CAREFULLY and do not underestimate time and distances required.