Princess Alaska cruisetour question

[JP-Cruise]

Hello, I just returned 2 weeks ago from an Alaska cruise tour with Norwegian cruise line. It was by far the best vacation of my entire life. I now have the Alaska bug and is now my favourite place on earth and am already planning to go back next summer. This time with Princess as I hear the princess is the best for Alaska cruise tours. Can anyone recommend which one the enjoyed the best?

[Tina G]

Everybody wants to see Denali National Park, but you won't see much of it on the basic tour. The park entrance in crowded with buses and tourists at the outer lodges. I have seen less traffic in major cities. The Lodges are not really inside the park, but on the edge. Don't expect to see a lot of wildlife withh all that noise.

You need to pay for an extended excursion that goes deep inside the park. Years ago, we stayed at the privately owned Kantishna Roadhouse, a six hour bus ride inside the park each way. Now that was a wonderful experience, but VERY pricey! (Check Trip Advisor - prices include the transportation and food.)

 

You won't really see much wildlife unless you are driven above the tree line, and this is a long ways inside the park. Car traffic is not allowed, so you have to buy excursions. Expect to spend several hundreds of dollars per person, and it will take the entire day. Spending more is worth it.

If you just want to see Mount McKinley, the best view if from the main lodge patio in Denali State Park, at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge can be spectacular, but you only have a 30% chance of seeing the mountain due to weather issues. The lodge is NOT inside the Denali National Park, and the other Princess Lodge that is, is only near the park entrance. Food is very expensive at both lodges, but it is everywhere in Alaska, and moreso, here.

I would strongly recommend that you spend a day on one of the expensive optional excusions that go deep inside the park, or you may be disappointed.

[JP-Cruise]

Everybody wants to see Denali National Park, but you won't see much of it on the basic tour. The park entrance in crowded with buses and tourists at the outer lodges. I have seen less traffic in major cities. The Lodges are not really inside the park, but on the edge. Don't expect to see a lot of wildlife withh all that noise.

You need to pay for an extended excursion that goes deep inside the park. Years ago, we stayed at the privately owned Kantishna Roadhouse, a six hour bus ride inside the park each way. Now that was a wonderful experience, but VERY pricey! (Check Trip Advisor - prices include the transportation and food.)

 

You won't really see much wildlife unless you are driven above the tree line, and this is a long ways inside the park. Car traffic is not allowed, so you have to buy excursions. Expect to spend several hundreds of dollars per person, and it will take the entire day. Spending more is worth it.

If you just want to see Mount McKinley, the best view if from the main lodge patio in Denali State Park, at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge can be spectacular, but you only have a 30% chance of seeing the mountain due to weather issues. The lodge is NOT inside the Denali National Park, and the other Princess Lodge that is, is only near the park entrance. Food is very expensive at both lodges, but it is everywhere in Alaska, and moreso, here.

I would strongly recommend that you spend a day on one of the expensive optional excusions that go deep inside the park, or you may be disappointed.

 

Oh I completely agree with you Tina about Denali. My Norwegian cruisetour included the tundra wilderness your. I upgraded to the kantishna tour. This was the best decision and a highlight of my entire trip. I would definitely do it again! I considered myself lucky just to see the peak of Denali lol. I also chose to do white water rafting on the nenana river. I stayed a the Denali park village which was amazing! I would definitely love to stay at the Princess wilderness lodge. It looks like all the cruise tours have that option on all their packages

[geoherb]

We did a cruise tour that started in Fairbanks (2 nights), then Denali (1 night), Mt. McKinley Lodge (1 night), and finally Anchorage (1 night) before getting on the ship for 7 nights. I'm glad we went with Princess. They have worked out the details so that you don't have to worry about much. For instance, you can send a large piece of luggage ahead to the ship and send another large piece from your room at one hotel to your room at the next.

 

At Denali, Princess usually includes the Natural History Tour. You'll want to upgrade to at least the Tundra Wilderness Tour. Even better is to be there for more than one night and have time to take one of the shuttles even farther into the park. It's a long day but so well worth it.

 

The lodges have menus posted for the different restaurants. There's a more casual option at most of them. I did not think the prices were too outrageous.

[frugaltravel]

You could just take the transit shuttle bus at a fraction of the cost to the tour buses. The main difference between the tour buses and the transit shuttle buses is that the tour buses have a video camera and video screens. But if you wanted to see wildlife on a video screen, you could just stay home and watch Discovery Channel :D.

 

Some say the tour buses have commentary and the shuttle buses don't but that is inaccurate. Most people who say that have not taken the shuttle buses. Most all shuttle bus drivers give narration, most talk a LOT.

 

Most Princess cruisetours only include the Natural History Tour. In order to change that, you need at least 2 nights in Denali.

 

Doing the land tour portion on your own would be more flexible and less expensive vs. a cruisetour.

[caribill]

If you decide on a Princess cruisetour, I suggest you pick one which has two nights at each lodge.

 

If you spend only one night there you will spend most of each day traveling to the next lodge. With two nights, you will have a full day for sightseeing.

[Thrak]

We chose the connoisseur cruise tour last year. Be aware that you may not see Denali. There were folks in our group who were there for the 5th time. They had never had a clear view of the mountain until last year when we were there. On our last day at the McKinley Wilderness Lodge ALL of the clouds went away from the mountain. It was amazing. Many who visit never really get to see the mountain like that.

 

We enjoyed the freedom of the connoisseur tour as we were free to order whatever we wanted to eat and everything was taken care of for us.

 

We are currently in the 7th week of a land trip that took us from Northern California to Montana (5 days in Glacier National Park) and then up through Canada into Alaska and quite a few places there. We did revisit Denali but, unless you book a tour, you can only go a fairly short distance into the park. We also stopped and ate (and drank ;p) at the Princess lodge at Copper River. We were camping nearby and it was rainy so we just tooled on over to the lodge and hung out for a while. Excellent Irish Coffee. :cool:

[JP-Cruise]

We chose the connoisseur cruise tour last year. Be aware that you may not see Denali. There were folks in our group who were there for the 5th time. They had never had a clear view of the mountain until last year when we were there. On our last day at the McKinley Wilderness Lodge ALL of the clouds went away from the mountain. It was amazing. Many who visit never really get to see the mountain like that.

 

We enjoyed the freedom of the connoisseur tour as we were free to order whatever we wanted to eat and everything was taken care of for us.

 

We are currently in the 7th week of a land trip that took us from Northern California to Montana (5 days in Glacier National Park) and then up through Canada into Alaska and quite a few places there. We did revisit Denali but, unless you book a tour, you can only go a fairly short distance into the park. We also stopped and ate (and drank ;p) at the Princess lodge at Copper River. We were camping nearby and it was rainy so we just tooled on over to the lodge and hung out for a while. Excellent Irish Coffee. :cool:

 

Thanks Thrak for all your information. I did first look at the connossieur cruisetour and that did catch my eye. Then I saw that they offer a 15 day one where it includes St Elias national park. I heard that is the largest national park in the US so I was thinking since I've been to Denali already this summer. Then I would be going again next summer. Include seeing glacier bay, that's 3 national parks I would see which to be would be pretty incredible. I know only 30% of people get to see Denali. When I was on the kantishna tour a couple weeks ago I felt I was lucky to have seen the peak of Denali

[Sacto Rick]

You might look into the cruise tour HAL does. It takes you from anchorage, up to Denali on the train. There are several to choose from as to how long you spend in Denali. Then you bus to Fairbanks and visit a dredge and the Alaska pipeline.

 

Next day, you fly to Dawson City in the Yukon and stay a couple of days. Dawson is a very cool place to visit. We rode a riverboat down the Yukon as a provided excursion there as well.

 

Then you follow the Yukon to Whitehorse where you will spend the night before boarding the White Pass RR into Skagway where you spend the night before boarding the ship. If you have ever spent the night in Skagway, it's a different town when the ships leave. It's almost erie.

 

At any rate, after boarding the ship you cruise to Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, the inside passage and debark in Vancouver.

 

It's a great itinerary and we really enjoyed it.

[JP-Cruise]

You might look into the cruise tour HAL does. It takes you from anchorage, up to Denali on the train. There are several to choose from as to how long you spend in Denali. Then you bus to Fairbanks and visit a dredge and the Alaska pipeline.

 

Next day, you fly to Dawson City in the Yukon and stay a couple of days. Dawson is a very cool place to visit. We rode a riverboat down the Yukon as a provided excursion there as well.

 

Then you follow the Yukon to Whitehorse where you will spend the night before boarding the White Pass RR into Skagway where you spend the night before boarding the ship. If you have ever spent the night in Skagway, it's a different town when the ships leave. It's almost erie.

 

At any rate, after boarding the ship you cruise to Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, the inside passage and debark in Vancouver.

 

It's a great itinerary and we really enjoyed it.

 

That does sound pretty incredible Rick. It sounds like the ultimate Alaska vacation which includes the Yukon. I like the sound of staying in Skagway for a night and how it is gives an Erie feeling at night. Like an old Clint Eastwood western? lol. So how many days in total is this cruisetour?

[JP-Cruise]

That does sound pretty incredible Rick. It sounds like the ultimate Alaska vacation which includes the Yukon. I like the sound of staying in Skagway for a night and how it is gives an Erie feeling at night. Like an old Clint Eastwood western? lol. So how many days in total is this cruisetour?

 

And does anyone know what tour company Princess uses for their land tours? For Norwegian it is Premier Alaska Tours. Wondering if Princess uses the same?

[Sacto Rick]

That does sound pretty incredible Rick. It sounds like the ultimate Alaska vacation which includes the Yukon. I like the sound of staying in Skagway for a night and how it is gives an Erie feeling at night. Like an old Clint Eastwood western? lol. So how many days in total is this cruisetour?

 

Yes it was like an old ghost town almost. I was used to the streets being crowded with cruise ship passengers. You could almost hear that "whistle" sound from those Eastwood movies, you're right! lol

 

Anyway, the land part was 9 days. We had 28 people in our group. I was surprised when we boarded the plane from Fairbanks to Dawson. We had the whole 737 to just our group. Great flight and it was cool to fly over Dawson and see all the dredge trailings from the air.

[JP-Cruise]

Yes it was like an old ghost town almost. I was used to the streets being crowded with cruise ship passengers. You could almost hear that "whistle" sound from those Eastwood movies, you're right! lol

 

Anyway, the land part was 9 days. We had 28 people in our group. I was surprised when we boarded the plane from Fairbanks to Dawson. We had the whole 737 to just our group. Great flight and it was cool to fly over Dawson and see all the dredge trailings from the air.

 

Amazing! So was it 16 days in total? Do you remember the name of the HAL cruisetour Rick? I'm on the website now looking through them :)

[Sacto Rick]

Yes it was like an old ghost town almost. I was used to the streets being crowded with cruise ship passengers. You could almost hear that "whistle" sound from those Eastwood movies, you're right! lol

 

Anyway, the land part was 9 days. We had 28 people in our group. I was surprised when we boarded the plane from Fairbanks to Dawson. We had the whole 737 to just our group. Great flight and it was cool to fly over Dawson and see all the dredge trailings from the air.

 

Amazing! So was it 16 days in total? Do you remember the name of the HAL cruisetour Rick? I'm on the website now looking through them :)

 

The cruise was only 4 nights. We boarded the 2 day in Skagway. The next day was Glacier Bay, next was Ketchikan, then scenic cruising through the Inside Passage and next, Vancouver.

 

Our cruise doesn't seem to be listed but here is the same itinerary. The only difference was we were on the Neiuw Amsterdam instead. We also went a day early to Anchorage. We could have spent a few nights there as you can do some great excursions from that area.

 

Anyhow, here is the land/sea tour with the same itinerary.

Y4L: 13 day Yukon + Double Denali

+DOUBLE DENALI - LAND & SEA JOURNEY

[JP-Cruise]

 

The cruise was only 4 nights. We boarded the 2 day in Skagway. The next day was Glacier Bay, next was Ketchikan, then scenic cruising through the Inside Passage and next, Vancouver.

 

Our cruise doesn't seem to be listed but here is the same itinerary. The only difference was we were on the Neiuw Amsterdam instead. We also went a day early to Anchorage. We could have spent a few nights there as you can do some great excursions from that area.

 

Anyhow, here is the land/sea tour with the same itinerary.

Y4L: 13 day Yukon + Double Denali

+DOUBLE DENALI - LAND & SEA JOURNEY

 

Thanks Rick. Do you know the name of the land tour company HAL used?

[Sacto Rick]

 

Thanks Rick. Do you know the name of the land tour company HAL used?

 

As far as I know, it was HAL that does the whole itinerary. They have a HAL tour guide who is our escort. He has everything laid out and is in communication with HAL along the way to verify excursions or help with them along with having your room keys handed to you when you come to a new lodging.

 

They have been doing this for 70 years I'm told.It was very well organized and everything went as planned. Of course it might have helped that we were with a great group of people also.

[frugaltravel]

unless you book a tour, you can only go a fairly short distance into the park.

 

 

That is inaccurate. You can only drive 15 miles into the park, but you have several options to go further. The tour buses are only one of the options. The transit shuttle bus system is another much less expensive option. There are also other options like driving an RV to Teklanika campground or flying to Kantishna, but those are less often used.

 

 

And does anyone know what tour company Princess uses for their land tours? For Norwegian it is Premier Alaska Tours. Wondering if Princess uses the same?

 

No one has been doing land tours in AK for 70 years :-). But HAL and Princess do their own land tours. Premier Alaska Tours does the land tours for almost all other cruise lines besides HAL and Princess.

[JP-Cruise]

That is inaccurate. You can only drive 15 miles into the park, but you have several options to go further. The tour buses are only one of the options. The transit shuttle bus system is another much less expensive option. There are also other options like driving an RV to Teklanika campground or flying to Kantishna, but those are less often used.

 

 

 

 

No one has been doing land tours in AK for 70 years :-). But HAL and Princess do their own land tours. Premier Alaska Tours does the land tours for almost all other cruise lines besides HAL and Princess.

 

Thank you for clearing that up. I am leaning toward the land tour that includes Wrangell-st Elias national park

[Sacto Rick]

That is inaccurate. You can only drive 15 miles into the park, but you have several options to go further. The tour buses are only one of the options. The transit shuttle bus system is another much less expensive option. There are also other options like driving an RV to Teklanika campground or flying to Kantishna, but those are less often used.

 

 

 

 

No one has been doing land tours in AK for 70 years :-). But HAL and Princess do their own land tours. Premier Alaska Tours does the land tours for almost all other cruise lines besides HAL and Princess.

 

According to HAL, they have been.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/halaska70?legacy=true

[frugaltravel]

According to HAL, they have been.

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/halaska70?legacy=true

 

Would love to know more. That means since just after WWII. Hard to believe everything one reads on the internet :)

[JP-Cruise]

Would love to know more. That means since just after WWII. Hard to believe everything one reads on the internet :)

 

Well it does say that directly on their website "70 years of exploration". If people are that curious of what that means "70 years of exploration" I guess you could call them, speak to a Holland America representative and ask them to elaborate. I'd imagine in 1947 people were cruising to Alaska. Look at Titanic, sunk in April of 1912.

 

Anyway sorry I started this random thread now I am changing the subject. I just booked my next Alaska Adventure. For July 27th 2018! Booked the Connesseur SB8 cruisetour! So so pumped! And I just returned from my first Alaskan cruise 3 weeks ago with Norwegian, which was also a cruise tour! I know I'm nuts!!! Nuts for adventure that is lol

[caribill]

For July 27th 2018! Booked the Connesseur SB8 cruisetour! So so pumped!

 

Good choice.

 

Have a great cruise tour!!!

[JP-Cruise]

Good choice.

 

Have a great cruise tour!!!

 

Thanks! So it will be my second time visiting Denali national park, plus St Elias, the biggest national park in the US, plus glacier bay and kenai. 4 national parks! Yeahhhhhhhh :D