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Alaska cruisetour itinerary


LostAgain
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I am in the beginning stages of planning an Alaska land/sea cruisetour with Princess for June 2021, and I have been doing a lot of research. Many people warn to check the itinerary carefully to see how long you will be spending traveling to/from. However, I have not been able to find an itinerary that is that detailed. I think I am interested in one of the Denali Explorer tours, but am open to further researching the On Your Own tour FBX or the Connoisseur tours. Can anyone help? Thank you in advance to all the kind folks that always have the answers and are willing to share. 

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Looks like they changed the website a bit since I last looked.   When I booked I had a vague idea of how long at each section.  But I think the precise came after booking.

 

https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/cruisetour-options/denali-explorer/index.jsp

 

Some input: it takes about 3 - 4 hours of transist time between each hotel/section.   So if you are only at Denali Princess lodge one day, then you have about a half a day to experience anything to do.

 

example:  My NB cruise, I'm going to McKinley 1 night, then Denali 2 nights.  when I disembark the ship, it'll take about 3 - 4 hours to get to the lodge.  I've decided I probably won't do anything that night other than explore, relax and enjoy the grounds.  I've then booked a very early morning flight tour the next morning before my 2 - 3 hour bus ride in the afternoon to Denali.   

i'll do nothing that night in Denali, but do have the Tundra tour into the park planned the next day.  That'll take all day.  The next day, I then take about a 3 hour motor coach to Fairbanks for the night.  There's an afternoon tour planned.

I moved my tour from a 10 day to an 11 day because I wanted to see Tundra tour.  the Natural history tour in the park only takes you to about mile 30.

 

Alaska is big, I think it just takes a bit to get to each place.   

 

Finally: the Alaska forums have some great information as well.  I'd check them out if you haven't yet.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

Edited by Jnsplace1
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I highly agree with both answers above. Yes, it takes a long time to get from one place to another in Alaska. That's how big it is. And, there is basically one road north/south. When I did a cruise tour several years ago we did it first, followed by the cruise. Besides having some time to unwind on the ship, you will probably also have formed some vacation friendships before boarding the ship.  

As far as the Denali tour, there is nothing better than the Tundra Wilderness tour. When I did it we started early enough in the day to see the full range without clouds. 

We are returning to Alaska this year and doing an eight day southbound tour and then cruise. As long as I'm in Alaska I want to see as much of it as I can. 

Edited by spirit rev
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We have an 'Off the Beaten Path' cruisetour booked for June 2021.  When I looked on the Princess website for general research, for the cruisetours it listed the general daily activities and schedule under the Itinerary tab.  However, after I finalized my booking, I realized on the Travel Summary it had a much more detailed daily schedule with specific travel times and information.  I think this is what you're really looking for if I read your post correctly.  I wonder if you do a 'courtesy hold' on the cruisetour you are interested in, then look under the Travel Summary to see if it would provide you this detailed info.  Sorry I don't have any other advice -- maybe someone else will chime in with some other suggestions.  

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We've done a couple of Alaska cruisetours and the distances between lodges aren't short. I checked the travel summaries and clipped info from them that may help you.

==================================

 

13 Day Cruise Tour - 6 Days on Land / 7 Days Southbound Cruise

 

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15 Day Cruise Tour - 8 Days on Land / 7 Day Southbound Cruise

 

image.png.fd6ccb768b804a2be3ec18044aa3994a.png

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image.png.1d0988bc7b201cfa1b2d9f61c62cafc0.png

 

 

 

 

Edited by Thrak
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My main suggestion is that you pick a land tour that has two nights at every lodge. That will give you a full day to enjoy the scenic options at each location.

 

If you only have one night at a lodge, there will be very little time to experience what is available to do.

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We did the Connoisseur cruise tour back in 2015, Fairbanks to Whittier for 8 days and 7 days on the Grand Princess to Vancouver. With Alaska cruising season coming up, I have started writing up our trip on my travel blog. Hope it helps answer some of your questions and if you think of any that it didn't, please let me know. 

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When at McKinley Lodge go into Talkeetna and visit the brew pub. Denali Brewing Company is a few miles outside of town. (We visited the brewery on a 7 week camping trip that took us all the way up to Fairbanks.) They have a brew pub in town. I love the Chuli Stout. (I also get that at the pub across the street from the Denali Lodge as well. 😎) The brew pub has good beer and good food. The also sell beer to go. It's not super cheap but nothing is in Alaska.

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Since you are in the planning stage now I would recommend that you do the land portion first just as some of the others have suggested. The land portion can be a bit stressful moving between lodging and once on the ship it will be kick back relax and enjoy the scenery. Just be aware that the train ride to Whittier could be longer. There is only one set of tracks and freight has priority. So you might be sitting on a side rail for sometime until the other train passes. We really enjoyed the train.  Good luck.

 

 

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Thanks to everyone who answered. I truly appreciate it. But I do, also, like to thank each individually --

 

Thanks, Jnsplace1, for the example. I am getting the impression everything takes longer than listed on MapQuest, and you also must allow for how long it takes to move a group. I have checked the Alaska forum, and the Princess website, but thanks for that suggestion.

 

Thanks, Potstech, we are leaning toward doing the land portion first as you and most people recommend.

 

Thanks, spirit rev. We are definitely planning enough time in Denali for that Tundra Wilderness tour. I agree that, if we went all the way there (wherever we travel), we want to fit in as much as we can. That's why I wanted to try to get as much detailed info on itinerary as possible.

 

Paula_MacFan, that’s exactly what I am looking for – the detailed schedule! It’s a good idea to put a courtesy hold on the cruisetour(s) we are considering. I hadn’t thought of that. Thank you.

 

Thrak, thank you for that info! I will cut and paste to add it to my research, and it is really helpful. Due to time constraints, I am not sure we will go to McKinley Lodge/Talkeetna. I think I want as much time in Denali as possible, but I will certainly make note of your brewery suggestion should we change our minds.

 

Caribill, yes, we are definitely looking for an itinerary with as much time to see the place as opposed to just traveling, checking in and checking out.

 

RRFPresident, thanks for the link to your travel blog! I will definitely check it out. It looks like you have done a fair amount of traveling, and I can’t wait to see all the info you provide there!

 

Alaskanb, I can’t wait to read your trip report. Thanks for the link! I read some trip reports from 2019 and I think 2018, but hadn’t gone back that far.

 

Nasa1974, I was not aware that the train ride can be longer than what is advertised.  Are you saying that, for instance, the 9.5 hour train ride from Denali to Whittier could be more than 9.5 hours?  

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I'll give another vote for land tour pre-cruise, and two nights per location as well. Did a 3-nighter (with Royal Caribbean) on our first cruisetour, in 2015. Loved the trip, but with only one night per location, we were exhausted by the time we reached the ship.

We booked Denali Explorer JB6 for 2021, about a month ago. Very much looking forward to having two nights in Fairbanks, and at the Denali and McKinley lodges. We did a Natural History Tour last time, so currently debating between the Tundra Wilderness and Kantishna Experience tours. Both sound amazing, but Kantishna will leave little time to do anything back at the lodge.

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