How to Plan Your Own Excursions for Alaska "on your own" Cruisetour

[luvtocruise52]

Our family (3 couples in their 50's-70) are trying to choose an Alaskan cruise tour, and one of the options is an "On Your Own" plan that appears to include nights in the various Princess lodges and transportation from one to the next, but no tours (such as the trip into Denali). We are primarily interested in seeing the scenery and (we hope!) wildlife. If anyone has done an "On Your Own" cruise tour, what kinds of outings or excursions are available to arrange on your own? How do they compare in cost to those available through Princess? How difficult is it to book them? We don't want to just sit around the lodge but are all on budgets and can't afford the expensive excursion options.

 

We have cruised in the Caribbean a few times and almost always arranged our own excursions using information we found on cruisecritic but don't know how it works in Alaska.

 

Thanks for your feedback.

[Sea Hag]

Have you seen the info on the Alaska board here about the Denali park shuttle? That's a great thing to when you're at Denali. We've done it twice. Second time it was rainy, so not so good. But the first time was spectacular! We saw moose, grizzlies, caribou. We had a good driver who would stop anytime somebody saw something good.

[samscruiser]

Our family (3 couples in their 50's-70) are trying to choose an Alaskan cruise tour, and one of the options is an "On Your Own" plan that appears to include nights in the various Princess lodges and transportation from one to the next, but no tours (such as the trip into Denali). We are primarily interested in seeing the scenery and (we hope!) wildlife. If anyone has done an "On Your Own" cruise tour, what kinds of outings or excursions are available to arrange on your own? How do they compare in cost to those available through Princess? How difficult is it to book them? We don't want to just sit around the lodge but are all on budgets and can't afford the expensive excursion options.

 

We have cruised in the Caribbean a few times and almost always arranged our own excursions using information we found on cruisecritic but don't know how it works in Alaska.

 

Thanks for your feedback.

 

We took a tourist bus from Whittier into Anchorage and rented a car. Drove to the Denali area and stayed at Earthsong Lodge in Healy, just a little north of Denali. Princess lodges don't get real good reviews or the Glitter Gulch area around Denali. Saw moose on the road going into EarthSong. Folks were really nice, accomodations are cabins, no TV or radio, but they do have internet access, free coffee in mornings, etc. We did the Denali park service bus tour the next day. It was wonderful, saw lots of bear, including a momma bringing 2 cubs down mountain and right behind our bus. 9 bear in total that day. Saw mama moose chasing two grizzlies away from her calf. Many reindeer, golden eagle, etc. Some buses that day saw wolves, we didn't.

Then drove to Seward, a beautiful drive, expecially south of Anchorage. Stayed at Bear's Den there, highly recommended on Trip Advisor. Did a Kenai Fjords day cruise that was highly recommended, but we didn't see anything there we hadn't seen on cruise stops. Did do the Seavy's Dog Sled ride, the Seavy's are the 1st family of Iditorod champions. Drove back and flew out of Anchorage. All in all was very enjoyable on our own, no crowds, much less expensive.

[AKman2495]

Also check out this group: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

[luvtocruise52]

We took a tourist bus from Whittier into Anchorage and rented a car. Drove to the Denali area and stayed at Earthsong Lodge in Healy, just a little north of Denali. Princess lodges don't get real good reviews or the Glitter Gulch area around Denali. Saw moose on the road going into EarthSong. Folks were really nice, accomodations are cabins, no TV or radio, but they do have internet access, free coffee in mornings, etc. We did the Denali park service bus tour the next day. It was wonderful, saw lots of bear, including a momma bringing 2 cubs down mountain and right behind our bus. 9 bear in total that day. Saw mama moose chasing two grizzlies away from her calf. Many reindeer, golden eagle, etc. Some buses that day saw wolves, we didn't.

Then drove to Seward, a beautiful drive, expecially south of Anchorage. Stayed at Bear's Den there, highly recommended on Trip Advisor. Did a Kenai Fjords day cruise that was highly recommended, but we didn't see anything there we hadn't seen on cruise stops. Did do the Seavy's Dog Sled ride, the Seavy's are the 1st family of Iditorod champions. Drove back and flew out of Anchorage. All in all was very enjoyable on our own, no crowds, much less expensive.

 

I checked out both accommodations and they look good. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[luvtocruise52]

Have you seen the info on the Alaska board here about the Denali park shuttle? That's a great thing to when you're at Denali. We've done it twice. Second time it was rainy, so not so good. But the first time was spectacular! We saw moose, grizzlies, caribou. We had a good driver who would stop anytime somebody saw something good.

 

I have now, thanks to your suggestion! I have just begun looking at the possibility of traveling independently rather than booking a tour after the cruise so I am appreciative of any suggestions.

[luvtocruise52]

Also check out this group: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

Checked it out! Thanks! I am just getting reacquainted with how cruisecritic boards work. Hope to get up to speed soon!