Anyone taken an Alaskan Cruisetour? Would like to discuss.

[CecilCtyCruiser]

I am booked on HAL Alaska/Yukon Cruisetour #10 in early June, and I have some questions. We will spend 9 days on the land portion, with a 4 night cruise at the end. I haven't seen many postings from people who've taken cruisetours...mostly just cruises, but I'm hoping there's someone out there who has been on one, or who can give me advice.

 

How early do the tours start each day? Will it be a case of "up at 6 am" each day? What time did you generally get to the hotel each night?

 

The majority of our trip will be on land, and I'm assuming this portion is informal - is this correct? If so, I don't want to haul around alot of dress clothes. Is there just one formal night on the 4 night cruise portion? What is the dress like the other nights?

 

I read something that made it sound like some of your luggage gets sent ahead to the ship, and you only take a small bag with you on the land portion. Since the land piece is the majority of our trip, I'm hoping this is not true? Does anyone know?

 

What are the hotels like? We will be in Anchorage, Denali, Fairbanks, Beaver Creek, and Whitehorse.

 

Anything else I need to know to make the trip more enjoyable?

 

I'm looking forward to talking to someone who has been on one of these. I've wanted to go to Alaska for years, since before it became popular, and I'm so excited!!

[RuthC]

It's been more years than I care to count, but, yes, I've been on an Alaska cruise/tour. Maybe I can help with some of your questions.

 

I remember being up early enough to wake the roosters. Well, maybe that's a bit of an exageration, but close. I do remember saying something about getting up so early wasn't mush of a vacation and being told "you're not on vacation; you're on tour".

Generally bags had to be put out maybe 7:00-ish, sometimes later. There was then plenty of time before actually boarding the bus.

Arrival times varied from late afternoon to later. Sometimes there was barely time to find our hotel room, wash hands, and get to the dinner/show. Other nights were more relaxed.

My tour went from Fairbanks to Anchorage with the overnight in Denali. We could take only a small bag for that overnight---the major portion of our luggage did not go on the train; it went by truck. Otherwise we had it with us.

Hotels then (1993) were fine. There was no air conditioning in most of them---in Alaska air conditioning is opening the window! Unfortunately, the temps were in the 90's and it was hot! :eek:

I don't want to discourage you. In spite of the long days and short nights I would not have missed the opportunity to see the interior of Alaska. I had done a 2-week cruise previously, and did a 1-week cruise followed by independent touring a few years later.

Just can't get enough of that state.

If the cruise portion follows the tour you can rest then.

You will get info in your documents listing out the number of formal, informal, and casual nights on the cruise portion. I'm betting one formal and the rest casual. Bring a dressy cocktail dress, or fancy Mother-of-the-Bride-type dress for the formal night and you should be o.k.

Enjoy Alaska.

[Time2sail]

Most of my questions about Alaska were answered on the Alaska Board. Lots of good information there.:)

[Budget Queen]

Generally yes, you do get early starts. A lot of your tour involves long bus rides, if you have any two night same location- this is ideal. :) Lodging with HAL is nice, no worries there. :) Budget 50% more for food than you would at home for a cushion.

[CecilCtyCruiser]

Thanks so much for the replies. The info you provided is very helpful! Sounds like long days, but I suspect the excitement of being in Alaska, with all the beautiful sights, will help alleviate some of the tiredness. Luckily we do have several two-night stops, so this should help too.

 

Thanks for the tip on the Alaska boards...I have been reading them for a while, and found lots of useful info there. I just didn't see much on cruisetours there.

 

Any other tips anyone can provide will be welcome. Has anyone done the Glacier hike in Kluane Nat. Park? I would love to do it, but wondered just how strenuous it will be.

 

Thanks again to all who answered.

[Doogen]

Potholes !!!!!!!!

[CecilCtyCruiser]

What about potholes?

[obriendan]

We did a 13 day Alaska cruise tour in 1999. We began with a four day cruise from Vancouver to Skagway on the ms Neuiw Amsterdam. After a night in Skagway, we took the White Pass Rail (a very scenic trip) and then bussed to Whitehorse. Whitehorse to Dawson City, then a night in Dawson City. This was followed by one of the highlights of the trip, a 104 mile trip down the Yukon from Dawson City to Eagle, Alaska. Then Eagle to Tok and Tok to Fairbanks by bus.

 

The hotels on this portion, in Whitehorse, Dawson City, and Tok were run-of-the-mill motels, although the hotel in Dawson City was somewhat better. Along the highway, the conveniences were less than modern. In the Yukon and Alaska, they are proud of their outhouses! A gfood tip is to bring a good supply of hand sanitizer.

 

As I remember it, the days started early and the drives were long. However, the scenery was well worth the rigors of the trip.

 

The riverboat trip in Fairbanks was another highlight. The train ride from Fairbanks to Dinali and from Dinali to Anchorage was spectacular and relaxing (compared to the long bus rides). The 53 mile bus trip into Dinali was the highlight of the land tour, if a little scary. The bus driver (the bus was a typical yellow monster school bus, but brown) assured us that they had yet to lose a passenger. We had the front seat right by the door and could see over the edge everytime the driver made a broad turn on a dirt road without guard rails.

 

I'm sure you will greatly enjoy the land tour. Having the cruise after the land portion is a real advantage because it gives you a chance to relax.

[obriendan]

Oops. Posted twice.

[JLT]

I took an Alaska cruisetour in 2002. Sailed from Vancouver to Seward, spent 5 days on the Kenai Peninsula in Seward and Homer. If you get the chance to go to Seward, take the Kenai Fjords boat trip. It is spectacular. We picked up the tour in Anchorage (sp?) for 9 days. We followed pretty much the itinerary of the previous poster with 2 nights in Denali, and 2 nights in Dawson City. The bus was very comfortable and each person could have a double seat. All our luggage went with us to each overnight but in Fairbanks we had the option to send luggage to the ship in Skagway. The hotels were fine, but not spectacular, likewise the food. The visit to the gold dredge and the Discovery boat trip were wonderful. I also loved the trip up the Yukon to Dawson City, and the train ride down to Skagway. We took the whitewater rafting trip on the Nenana River on our extra day in Denali and be sure to see the sled dog demonstration. Then we had a 4 day cruise back to Vancouver. I agree that it's best to have that at the end. It was a wonderful trip but 9 days on a bus tour, getting up early every morning, was enough. We met people from Great Britain who were on a 30 day tour. Half way through they were exhausted. We put our luggage out the night before to give us a few extra minutes in the AM.

 

Have a wonderful time.

[slineberry528]

We did an Alaska cruise/tour in Auguust 2004. We sent the total of 12 days. We did a land tour first that started in Fairbanks. The only suggestion I can make is if you don't have 2 days in Fairbanks, going for one day isn't worth it. By the time you get there it is about 5pm or later and you really can't do much there in the evening the first day. We did have the whole next day to do the tours in Fairbanks and then the following day we took the train to Denali. YOu are on the go for the day touring and you don't see much of your hotels, but you are paying to see Alaska not the motel rooms. We were up early but we were ready to travel, we were all excited about just being there. It was starting to get light a little after 5 and stayed light until amost 11.

Susan