Which cruisetour would you recommend?

[allisons]

We need your advice! Which cruisetour would you recommend? Differences in price of flights is not a consideration. Thank you so much!

[frugaltravel]

How about "none of the above" and I vote for independent touring. Also, without knowing how long in each place it is impossible to say which most people would prefer.

[allisons]

How about "none of the above" and I vote for independent touring. Also, without knowing how long in each place it is impossible to say which most people would prefer.

 

Really? We can do it independently? I don't think I want to deal with that. We're going to stick with booking through the cruise line.

 

They're all 3-night tours. Option #1 is 1 night in Talkeetna, 1 night in Denali, and 1 night in Anchorage. Option #2 is 1 night in Denali and 2 nights in Fairbanks. Option #3 is 1 night in Talkeetna, 1 night in Denali, and 1 night in Fairbanks.

[mapleleaves]

as frugaltravel suggested, it's important to know how long you'll be at each location. The 3 day tours are mostly transit time with little time at the destination. ie 1 night in Denali usually means you arrive at midday one day and leave at midday the next, which doesn't give you time to get into the park.

In order to determine which tour is best for you, you need to know how long you will be at each location and what you'll do at each location. What are your interests and priorities? Which tour will support those interests? What would you do in Talkeetna? or with 2 nights in Fairbanks?

[frugaltravel]

One night in Denali. I assume you might get the Natural History Tour if you are lucky. That means you go to Denali and in reality never really see the park. That would be a crying shame.

[allisons]

as frugaltravel suggested, it's important to know how long you'll be at each location. The 3 day tours are mostly transit time with little time at the destination. ie 1 night in Denali usually means you arrive at midday one day and leave at midday the next, which doesn't give you time to get into the park.

In order to determine which tour is best for you, you need to know how long you will be at each location and what you'll do at each location. What are your interests and priorities? Which tour will support those interests? What would you do in Talkeetna? or with 2 nights in Fairbanks?

 

They're all 3-night tours. Option #1 is 1 night in Talkeetna, 1 night in Denali, and 1 night in Anchorage. Option #2 is 1 night in Denali and 2 nights in Fairbanks. Option #3 is 1 night in Talkeetna, 1 night in Denali, and 1 night in Fairbanks.

[zqvol]

I vote for none of the above. You can arrange exactly the same thing on your own, using the same trains, buses and lodging that princess uses but you will be able to maximize your time in Denali and Talkeetna, and get much better value for your money. For example on #2 you are going to arrive at Denali at approximately 4:00 p.m. and it will be after 5 before you are at the hotel and ready to get out on your own. The next morning you will have until about 1:00 to do things before it is time to head to the train station to head to Fairbanks.

[Budget Queen]

You clearly could benefit from doing more research and at least comparing what you are looking at with what you "actually" get. It likely is not what you may be assuming.

 

Overall 3 day cruisetours are poor choices. All the time is in transit, with too little at destinations.

 

It is a SIMPLE matter to go on your own, maybe at the least. Read some trip reports, get the details of touring Alaska, understand the time and distances involved, look at what touring options are of your priority. THEN take another look at traveling interior Alaska.

[allisons]

I vote for none of the above. You can arrange exactly the same thing on your own, using the same trains, buses and lodging that princess uses but you will be able to maximize your time in Denali and Talkeetna, and get much better value for your money. For example on #2 you are going to arrive at Denali at approximately 4:00 p.m. and it will be after 5 before you are at the hotel and ready to get out on your own. The next morning you will have until about 1:00 to do things before it is time to head to the train station to head to Fairbanks.

 

Really?! We can use the same trains, buses, and lodging as the cruise lines?! Wow! How?!

[allisons]

You clearly could benefit from doing more research and at least comparing what you are looking at with what you "actually" get. It likely is not what you may be assuming.

 

Overall 3 day cruisetours are poor choices. All the time is in transit, with too little at destinations.

 

It is a SIMPLE matter to go on your own, maybe at the least. Read some trip reports, get the details of touring Alaska, understand the time and distances involved, look at what touring options are of your priority. THEN take another look at traveling interior Alaska.

 

Thank you! That is very helpful! I will go to the bookstore tonight and purchase (a) travel guide(s). Is there one that you recommend in particular?

[Assateague Island Princes]

Fodors and Frommers both provide excellent information. Request free visitor's guides from Anchorage, Fairbanks, or the Kenai Peninsula to narrow down your choices even more. Visit Denali's website too. Very simple to self-plan, just do your homework. I think you'd be much more satisfied getting the best bang for your buck once you know what it is you are interested in seeing and doing, and the logistics of travel time between those particular venues going DIY vs. cruisetour, which spend way too much time (atleast for me!) transitting, without really seeing what I wanted to see.

[Larry22554]

Really?! We can use the same trains, buses, and lodging as the cruise lines?! Wow! How?!

 

You're doing great so far; here is a link to the train schedule.

 

http://alaskarailroad.com/Schedules/tabid/98/Default.aspx

 

If it was my trip and if I didn't want to rent a car and if my primary interest was Denali Nat Park...

 

I would consider spending the day in Seward after disembarking, do a Kenai Fjord Tour and take the 6PM train to Anchorage.

 

Stay overnight in ANC and take the AM train to Denali NP. You have a wide range of lodging there, from the cruise line lodges to B&B's.

 

Two nights there and catch the train to either ANC or Fairbanks for your flight home.

 

As stated above, determine where your interests lie and go there. If time allows consider extending your stay by a day or two.

 

Larry

[allisons]

Fodors and Frommers both provide excellent information. Request free visitor's guides from Anchorage, Fairbanks, or the Kenai Peninsula to narrow down your choices even more. Visit Denali's website too. Very simple to self-plan, just do your homework. I think you'd be much more satisfied getting the best bang for your buck once you know what it is you are interested in seeing and doing, and the logistics of travel time between those particular venues going DIY vs. cruisetour, which spend way too much time (atleast for me!) transitting, without really seeing what I wanted to see.

 

Thank you! That is very helpful! I just checked and the 2013 Alaska cruise guidebooks are not out yet. I'll have to wait a little while for those to be published.

[allisons]

You're doing great so far; here is a link to the train schedule.

 

http://alaskarailroad.com/Schedules/tabid/98/Default.aspx

 

If it was my trip and if I didn't want to rent a car and if my primary interest was Denali Nat Park...

 

I would consider spending the day in Seward after disembarking, do a Kenai Fjord Tour and take the 6PM train to Anchorage.

 

Stay overnight in ANC and take the AM train to Denali NP. You have a wide range of lodging there, from the cruise line lodges to B&B's.

 

Two nights there and catch the train to either ANC or Fairbanks for your flight home.

 

As stated above, determine where your interests lie and go there. If time allows consider extending your stay by a day or two.

 

Larry

 

Thank you so much! That is incredibly helpful! I appreciate it so much! I just needed some advice as a starting point!

[Budget Queen]

Thank you! That is very helpful! I will go to the bookstore tonight and purchase (a) travel guide(s). Is there one that you recommend in particular?

 

You also may want to consider heading to your library. Many have travel guides. I would suggest, Frommer's Alaska, and Fodor's Alaska. Alaska By Cruiseship and Ports of call books may also be of interest.

 

It is a simple matter to tour Alaska independently. By car, gives you the most freedom and best use of time. Take a look at a map, only one road between destinations, no way to get lost.

 

You can clearly see and do twice as much independently compared to a cruisetour. Especially valuable with short amounts of time.

[allisons]

You also may want to consider heading to your library. Many have travel guides. I would suggest, Frommer's Alaska, and Fodor's Alaska. Alaska By Cruiseship and Ports of call books may also be of interest.

 

It is a simple matter to tour Alaska independently. By car, gives you the most freedom and best use of time. Take a look at a map, only one road between destinations, no way to get lost.

 

You can clearly see and do twice as much independently compared to a cruisetour. Especially valuable with short amounts of time.

 

Thank you! That is so helpful! I will head straight to the library tonight! We really had our heart set on the glass-domed train. But after looking at the train schedules, I can see how renting a car is our best bet.

[mapleleaves]

Thank you! That is so helpful! I will head straight to the library tonight! We really had our heart set on the glass-domed train. But after looking at the train schedules, I can see how renting a car is our best bet.

 

There is no need to give up your train ride! The ride from Seward to Alaska is the most scenic so easy to fit into your itinerary. You could spend the day sightseeing around Seward after you disembark then take the 6pm train to Anchorage.

I HIGHLY recommend a car for denali. Without a car you're stuck at the large generic hotels near the Park entrance. With a car you can drive 10 miles to Carlo Creek or Healy where there are many nicer options for cabins, B&B's and hotels.

It's about 240 miles to Denali so a 6 hr drive. This chart is quite acccurate for travel times. Talkeetna is about halfway between and a popular place to stop for flightseeing trips. Fairbanks is a 2 hr drive north of Denali.

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

[Budget Queen]

I HIGHLY recommend a car for denali. Without a car you're stuck at the large generic hotels near the Park entrance. With a car you can drive 10 miles to Carlo Creek or Healy where there are many nicer options for cabins, B&B's and hotels.

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Although, I too, find a car rental WAY superior. A budget hotel, in Healy that I have used several times, now has their own shuttle buses, to/from the train station and park shuttle buses.

[frugaltravel]

There is no need to give up your train ride! The ride from Seward to Alaska is the most scenic so easy to fit into your itinerary.

 

The last I looked at a map, Seward was in Alaska. :D

 

OK, I know you meant Seward to Anchorage, but I couldn't let that slip by :)

[NancyIL]

Are you planning to go in 2012 or 2013? If it's this summer, have you already purchased your plane tickets? If you haven't, stay longer so you can spend more time on the land trip.

[Larry22554]

There is no need to give up your train ride! The ride from Seward to Alaska is the most scenic so easy to fit into your itinerary. You could spend the day sightseeing around Seward after you disembark then take the 6pm train to Anchorage.

 

And the rental car will be less expensive in Anchorage versus Seward.

[klmorg]

Really?! We can use the same trains, buses, and lodging as the cruise lines?! Wow! How?!

 

Yep! That's what we're doing. Booked Princess Denali lodge on our own, using Toursaver coupon;), booked rail from Anchorage to Denali on our own thru Gray Line (I think, its the same lovely domed cars) using coupon, booked independent tours, such as Eilesen shuttle bus into Denali, Alaska RR from Anchorage to Whittier, etc. We've saved ALOT of money booking on our own, and having a bit more independence as well. Can.not.wait.

[allisons]

There is no need to give up your train ride! The ride from Seward to Alaska is the most scenic so easy to fit into your itinerary. You could spend the day sightseeing around Seward after you disembark then take the 6pm train to Anchorage.

I HIGHLY recommend a car for denali. Without a car you're stuck at the large generic hotels near the Park entrance. With a car you can drive 10 miles to Carlo Creek or Healy where there are many nicer options for cabins, B&B's and hotels.

It's about 240 miles to Denali so a 6 hr drive. This chart is quite acccurate for travel times. Talkeetna is about halfway between and a popular place to stop for flightseeing trips. Fairbanks is a 2 hr drive north of Denali.

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

 

Thank you so much! This is so helpful! This is what we'll do! I'm going to start planning!

[allisons]

Are you planning to go in 2012 or 2013? If it's this summer, have you already purchased your plane tickets? If you haven't, stay longer so you can spend more time on the land trip.

 

2013. No, we haven't purchased plane tickets yet. We'd love to stay longer. Unfortunately, I do not have enough vacation time.

[allisons]

And the rental car will be less expensive in Anchorage versus Seward.

 

Good tip! Thanks!