Alaska 13 day Connesouir Cruise Tour advice

[mrkjones61]

We booked a 13-day connoisseur cruise tour with the land portion first followed by a southbound inside passage cruise on the Coral princess for August of 2021.

 

Has anyone done this tour and what advice would you have for a first time Alaska visitor?

 

We're looking for land and cruise excursion recommendations.

 

The majority of the land portion meals are included in our package. What is the tipping policy for a connoisseur escorted tour?

 

Thank you.

 

[Thrak]

With a 13 day connoisseur tour I'm guessing you are doing Denali Lodge and McKinley Lodge. I think they have discontinued the Music of Denali dinner thing. If not - cancel it and get your money back. Some folks seemed to like it but we found it idiotic and the food wasn't good.

 

The riverboat tour in Fairbanks is surprisingly good. When they stop for lunch don't be shy. Sit near the end of the table if you want to have access to all the food before someone else takes what you want. The first time we thought "what the heck?" The second time we had first choice. Don't expect to get much gold out of the gold panning deal when you visit dredge #3 (or whatever it is). 

 

There is good pizza at the Denali lodge if you have a meal you need to pay for yourself. When you eat at the nice restaurant go for it. Don't let the price deter you. My wife has the crab. It's spendy. Order what you want - after all it's included. Across the street from the Denali lodge there are a bunch of businesses. On the far left is a good place for a beer. Try the Chuli Stout (or any other beer from the Denali Brewing Company. You will have the Tundra Wilderness Tour included. People say to take extra food but we have done it twice and the dorky snack they provide was enough for us. Then again, we aren't big eaters. (Yeah, I'm fat but I don't eat all that much. Sigh...) On the bus you will be tempted to sit in the middle or rear or somewhere. The second time we did this tour we took the front seat on the right hand side. (Not behind the driver.) Yes, there is a fire extinguisher there and you think there is less leg room. Wrong! Plenty of leg room and you see things others miss. Last time a Lynx ran across in front of the bus. The driver saw it and yelled, "LYNX!!!" and hit the brakes because it is a big deal to see a lynx. We saw it cross the road but nobody else did. The driver did stop and use his camera feed to the video screens in the bus to show folks the lynx that was now hiding in the bushes on the other side of the road but it was much cooler to see it "live" and in action. We sat elsewhere the first time we did this tour. Nope. Not again. We had the best seats.

 

At the McKinley lodge take the trip into Talkeetna. It's a funky little town to walk around and maybe buy something. (My wife has a couple of coffee mugs from Talkeetna from having been there twice. She wants another one...) Visit the Denali Brewing Company Brewpub in town. (We like beer. 😎) No input regarding the tree house at McKinley as it wasn't there when we visited. At the McKinley lodge you can ask them to call you if the mountain comes out of hiding. You have to do this each day. If you just ask them once they don't follow up on following days so the mountain may come out of the clouds and you won't be notified. Learned this the hard way but, fortunately, saw the mountain anyway. It is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more impressive in person than in this pic. We had a couple in our connoisseur group who were visiting for the FIFTH time and this was the first time the mountain had come out for them so be sure you get the view if it does come out. Usually it's behind clouds.

 

Edited February 7, 2020 by Thrak

[compozer]

Here is a fantastic review:

 

[GJCruiser]

If there is any way you can this tour when you are in Talkeetna - do it. It is the most fantastic ride you will ever go on. It is the Devils Canyon Adventure.

 

 

Edited February 7, 2020 by GJCruiser

[RRFPresident]

We did the 15 day Connoisseur tour with stops in Fairbanks, Denali, McKinley, and Kenai before doing the southbound inside passage cruise on the Grand Princess. I've been writing up our experiences at the lodges and tours on my blog, A Feast For Your Senses: Fuel for your sense of wonder and sense of humor. Will also cover our ship tours soon. Hopefully it helps answer some of your questions.

[Thrak]

Here is a link to caribill's connoisseur cruise tour review and info that initially helped us decide to do the connoisseur tour.

 

 

[jagoffee]

21 hours ago, GJCruiser said:

If there is any way you can this tour when you are in Talkeetna - do it. It is the most fantastic ride you will ever go on. It is the Devils Canyon Adventure.

 

 

We did the 12 day Connoisseur version and really enjoyed the Devil’s canyon Adventure.  
The train ride from Denali to the cruise trip was a lovely 9.5 hour trip.