Cruisetour

[gaolson]

Planning on a cruisetour with Princess this summer.  Not sure if should do the land tour before the cruise or after?  Also, we have a choice of Anchorage/Mt. McKinley/Denali or Fairbanks/Denali/Mt. McKinley.  They both sound interesting.  Would like to hear from someone that has been on both if one is better than the other?  Or from someone that has been on either one if it was worth it?  Thank you.

[AKStafford]

Instead of a pre-packaged tour from the cruiseline, would you be open to putting together your own trip with a rental car? There's nothing offered on a cruisetour that can't be booked independently.

[rma2001]

We chose to do the land tour before.  With all the car\bus\train travel involved in the land part we wanted to do that and then relax on the cruise before taking the trip from Vancouver back home.  It should be a shorter flight home too.

 

We are doing a few days in Anchorage and Seward and then hooking back up with Princess in Anchorage to go up to Denali and then to Whittier.

 

We thought about doing it all own our own, but after a few days of doing those first few days own our own, I wanted to drop the car off and let someone else deal with luggage and taking us all around (will be a group of 7).  I did some price shopping and with the price of the car rental and then time to go from Denali, to Anchorage (to drop off the car and avoid the one-way fees) and then to Whittier, it wasn't worth the hassle.

[gaolson]

We would prefer to do the land tour as a package deal through Princess.  We would rather someone else take us from Point A to Point B and be our tour guide so we don't miss out on any highlights.   We just can't decide to do the land tour through Anchorage or Fairbanks.

[Crew News]

After much research and discussions on the HAL Forum, ending a cruisetour in Fairbanks means departing flights after midnight.   Ending a cruisetour in Anchorage will leave lots of flight options.

[mapleleaves]

If I was doing a cruisetour and coming from the East Coast I would do the land portion first in order to get the longest flight out of the way.   I'd rather end my vacation with a flight home from Vancouver or Seattle.

 

As to which cruisetour, my only advice is to look VERY closely at the details.  With many tours, esp the short ones, a lot of time is spent in transit, leaving you little time to enjoy activities when you arrive at each destination.  ie you need 2 nites at Denali in order to have enough  time for the bus trip thru the park to enjoy the scenery and wildlife.  Some cruisetours arrive mid day and depart at noon the following day, which doesn't provide enough time to get into the park.   And then they might stick you in the McKinley Lodge at Talkeetna for 2 nights where there is little to see and do.   So be very mindful of the distances between each destination.  

This chart may help you with travel time: http://www.alaska.org/advice/mileage-chart

[blazer58]

On 2/26/2019 at 4:42 PM, gaolson said:

We would prefer to do the land tour as a package deal through Princess.  We would rather someone else take us from Point A to Point B and be our tour guide so we don't miss out on any highlights.   We just can't decide to do the land tour through Anchorage or Fairbanks.

We were in the same boat (Aug. will be our first trip to Alaska) and after researching thought for sure that we would do the land last.

Our TA  (she has been there many times and has done both) said do the land first, cruise last (south bound).

Her reasoning, the land portion can wear you out some (our land portion is 7 days), and you can relax on the cruise.

Also, better/shorter flights on the way home

As far as Anchorage or Fairbanks, we picked Fairbanks only because it fit better in our schedule and with flights

[ErLee]

On 2/26/2019 at 5:49 PM, Crew News said:

After much research and discussions on the HAL Forum, ending a cruisetour in Fairbanks means departing flights after midnight.   Ending a cruisetour in Anchorage will leave lots of flight options.

 

Actually we're flying out of Fairbanks this June at 1:55pm.  We do have a bit of a layover in Seattle though, and certainly won't get back to Atlanta until the next morning, but if you're not traveling as far as we are, it might be better.  

 

We are doing a 13 day connoisseur tour in June, cruise first and then land.  The schedule just worked out better for us, and I wanted to spend a couple of days in Vancouver before the trip while we were still fresh!  We, like you, wanted someone else to do the driving and schlep the bags, LOL! I haven't heard anyone that's done it in either direction say it wasn't fantastic, so I'd say just find what works best for you.  One thing about cruising northbound is the scenery just gets better and better!

 

Enjoy your planning!

 

[cltcruzer]

On 2/26/2019 at 2:41 PM, AKStafford said:

Instead of a pre-packaged tour from the cruiseline, would you be open to putting together your own trip with a rental car? There's nothing offered on a cruisetour that can't be booked independently.

 

This was the most useful advice I received for my trip last summer. The flexibility of being able to make plans for and explore what we wanted when we wanted was exactly what I wanted.... but I do understand some people prefer more structure, especially larger groups 

[donaldsc]

On 2/26/2019 at 10:26 AM, gaolson said:

Planning on a cruisetour with Princess this summer.  Not sure if should do the land tour before the cruise or after?  Also, we have a choice of Anchorage/Mt. McKinley/Denali or Fairbanks/Denali/Mt. McKinley.  They both sound interesting.  Would like to hear from someone that has been on both if one is better than the other?  Or from someone that has been on either one if it was worth it?  Thank you.

 

One quick note.  The name of the mountain was changed from Mr. McKinley to Mt. Denali back in 2015   The name Denali is based on the Koyukon name of the mountain, Deenaalee ("the high one").^[1][2] The Koyukon are a people of Alaskan Athabaskans settling in the area north of the mountain.^[1

 

Don

[Straitlover]

13 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

One quick note.  The name of the mountain was changed from Mr. McKinley to Mt. Denali back in 2015   The name Denali is based on the Koyukon name of the mountain, Deenaalee ("the high one").^[1][2] The Koyukon are a people of Alaskan Athabaskans settling in the area north of the mountain.^[1

 

Don

I'm betting the Mt McKinley in their tour options is referring to the Princess Mt McKinley Lodge, not the actual mountain.

 

I will say that lodge is a decent amount away form Denali NP, but they have the BEST view of the Mountain at the turnoff from the main road. We lucked into a clear day on our drive up last June and pulled off for pics. Gorgeous!!!

[quack2]

I looked into a cruise tour as part of my Seward to Vancouver cruise.  What I couldn't seem to find was a way to get to Seward by 11 in the morning so I could take the Resurrection Bay cruise prior to boarding the ship.

 

Resurrection Bay is a must for me when I'm in Seward.

[cltcruzer]

26 minutes ago, quack2 said:

I looked into a cruise tour as part of my Seward to Vancouver cruise.  What I couldn't seem to find was a way to get to Seward by 11 in the morning so I could take the Resurrection Bay cruise prior to boarding the ship.

 

Resurrection Bay is a must for me when I'm in Seward.

 

You can take the train (arrives at 11:05) and do the 6 hour Major Marine tour (begins at 11:30). I booked both through Major Marine so they would hold the cruise if the train was running a little late (it ended up being about 10 minutes behind schedule).  Worked out perfectly. One thing I learned on my trip last summer is that these companies all really know what they're doing. Leaving behind customers you've guaranteed you'd wait for would be a quick way to go out of business. 

[miss prairie girl]

On ‎2‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 1:41 PM, AKStafford said:

Instead of a pre-packaged tour from the cruiseline, would you be open to putting together your own trip with a rental car? There's nothing offered on a cruisetour that can't be booked independently.

 

Putting our own trip together is an interesting option after reading the replies on this thread.  AKStafford, I see that you are a resident of Alaska, and would have so much knowledge. Would you be so kind as to lay out a few options for cruisers?

 

We want to do the land tour first and then join the cruise in Whittier. Our desire is to learn about the Denali area.

Thank you for any advice you can give to beginners.

[AKStafford]

2 hours ago, miss prairie girl said:

We want to do the land tour first and then join the cruise in Whittier. Our desire is to learn about the Denali area.

Thank you for any advice you can give to beginners.

In addition to the advice you can find here on Cruise Critic, you can also do some research on the TripAdvisor forum for Alaska: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28923-i349-Alaska.html

 

For the land portion of your trip: how much time do you have? How many are in your group? And the big question: are you going to be renting a car (which is the easiest and most convenient way to do it)?

Most people fly into Anchorage, but Fairbanks is another option. From Anchorage, plan a full day for the drive to Denali National Park, plus a day back, plus at least 1 day going into the Park. So a minimum of 3 days for Denali.

To get into Denali National Park you use the shuttle buses: https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm

 

[mapleleaves]

8 hours ago, miss prairie girl said:

 

 

Any cruisetour itinerary can be easily replicated as a DIY trip.   You just need to figure out what you want to see and do in the amount of time available. 

As AkStafford said, a rental car gives you the most flexibility. You can move around at your own pace, and stop at places of interest or wildlife sightings.  As you can see in the attached link, there is really only one hwy between Anchorage and Denali, so it's an easy drive and pretty hard to get lost !!  The drive from Anchorage to Denali is around 5-6 hrs, maybe longer if you get caught up in road construction, and with the hwy being one lane in each direction, slow moving tourists can also hold you up.

http://www.alaska.org/assets/content/maps/Transportation_Map.pdf

 

If you don't want to drive, you can replicated any cruisetour by using the Alaska Railroad and/or the Park Connection Bus.  (Just make sure you choose a hotel that offers transportation to/from the depot, ie a cruisetour hotel)  The train is limiting in that there's only one departure per day. The Bus has at least 2 in peak season. 

 

p.s. this chart shows distance and travel time between popular locations  http://www.alaska.org/advice/mileage-chart

 

 

Edited March 1, 2019 by mapleleaves
p.s.

[masterdrago]

20 hours ago, quack2 said:

I looked into a cruise tour as part of my Seward to Vancouver cruise.  What I couldn't seem to find was a way to get to Seward by 11 in the morning so I could take the Resurrection Bay cruise prior to boarding the ship.

 

Resurrection Bay is a must for me when I'm in Seward.

We had the same quandary. It was looking like we were going to blow one complete day getting the rent car back to Anchorage.

Here is how our final plan has worked out this May:

Fly into Anchorage b4 2pm, rent car, over nite Lakefront Anchorage

Next day spend exploring, catch big "Bore Tide" near Beluga or Bird Point

Then 2 nites Talkeetna, Denali flight-seeing, explore Glennallen Highway

Then 2 nites Denali, ATV tours, Jeep tours highway 8 towards Paxton

Full day drive Denali to Alyeska

Then 2 nites Alyeska, full day (8-9hrs) Prince William Sound small boat tour

Then 1 nite Seward Windsong, free day drive Kenai Peninsula, possibly down towards Homer

Next day return rent car Anchorage, A.C.T. Big Bus 11am to Seward to board ship. Cruise to Vancouver.

 

This plan will allow us to leisurely "sight see" on the road to Seward by bus. We could not make the train work our schedule (My Joy does not want to get up at 4am to catch a 6:45 train - Anchorage to Seward!!

[mapleleaves]

22 hours ago, quack2 said:

I looked into a cruise tour as part of my Seward to Vancouver cruise.  What I couldn't seem to find was a way to get to Seward by 11 in the morning so I could take the Resurrection Bay cruise prior to boarding the ship.

 

Resurrection Bay is a must for me when I'm in Seward.

 

The Park Connection Bus and the Alaska Railroad will get you to Seward in time for the day cruise.  Major Marine even promotes these transportation options on their web site.

https://majormarine.com/experience/transportation/

[miss prairie girl]

21 hours ago, AKStafford said:

In addition to the advice you can find here on Cruise Critic, you can also do some research on the TripAdvisor forum for Alaska: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28923-i349-Alaska.html

 

For the land portion of your trip: how much time do you have? How many are in your group? And the big question: are you going to be renting a car (which is the easiest and most convenient way to do it)?

Most people fly into Anchorage, but Fairbanks is another option. From Anchorage, plan a full day for the drive to Denali National Park, plus a day back, plus at least 1 day going into the Park. So a minimum of 3 days for Denali.

To get into Denali National Park you use the shuttle buses: https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm

 

 

Thank you, AKStafford. These links are very helpful. We are planning for about 4 days for the land tour. There are two of us.  DH is thinking about the car rental option!

[miss prairie girl]

15 hours ago, mapleleaves said:

 

Any cruisetour itinerary can be easily replicated as a DIY trip.   You just need to figure out what you want to see and do in the amount of time available. 

As AkStafford said, a rental car gives you the most flexibility. You can move around at your own pace, and stop at places of interest or wildlife sightings.  As you can see in the attached link, there is really only one hwy between Anchorage and Denali, so it's an easy drive and pretty hard to get lost !!  The drive from Anchorage to Denali is around 5-6 hrs, maybe longer if you get caught up in road construction, and with the hwy being one lane in each direction, slow moving tourists can also hold you up.

http://www.alaska.org/assets/content/maps/Transportation_Map.pdf

 

If you don't want to drive, you can replicated any cruisetour by using the Alaska Railroad and/or the Park Connection Bus.  (Just make sure you choose a hotel that offers transportation to/from the depot, ie a cruisetour hotel)  The train is limiting in that there's only one departure per day. The Bus has at least 2 in peak season. 

 

p.s. this chart shows distance and travel time between popular locations  http://www.alaska.org/advice/mileage-chart

 

 

 

Thank you, mapleleaves. These links are very helpful! Now some thinking and planning to do......but....today is a work day for me, so it will be tomorrow's activity!

[quack2]

On 2/28/2019 at 9:29 PM, cltcruzer said:

 

You can take the train (arrives at 11:05) and do the 6 hour Major Marine tour (begins at 11:30). I booked both through Major Marine so they would hold the cruise if the train was running a little late (it ended up being about 10 minutes behind schedule).  Worked out perfectly. One thing I learned on my trip last summer is that these companies all really know what they're doing. Leaving behind customers you've guaranteed you'd wait for would be a quick way to go out of business. 

 

My point was that I have never found a packaged cruise tour that gets you into Seward in time to do Resurrection Bay.  They may be out there but I haven't seen them.