18 day Ultimate Alaska & Canada on Celebrity

[bethtex]

I am debating this cruise/tour for 2022

anyone done it?  what did you like best/least?

hard to tell from the description exactly what is included on the land portion as far as tours and meals, but sounds pretty inclusive (a few meals on your own and soe free time but tours/activities most days)

 

We have never been to Alaska so want to do it all.  This trip seems to cover it.  Also always wanted to see that part of Canada.

I looked at similar trips on a couple of other lines but this seems a little less expensive (pricing includes drinks, tips and wifi on the cruise portion too)

 

appreciate any insight

 

[don't-use-real-name]

Was there a LINK or reference to this cruise/tour in 2022 ?

Maybe it was a one time end of or beginning of season trip ?

 

Meals on the ship are a given - - -

Meals on the tours hotel/lodging breakfast - brunch - continental breakfast ?

and box lunches ?

evening dinner on your own dime ?

 

Then there are possibly brunches snacks provided by the tour provider ? 

 

Read more about the details if any are provided - ask questions ?

If just a nibble is being provided - maybe consider packing a package from the ships buffet ?

If on a medical diet - definitely get the answers !

[GTJ]

I did find the listing for this cruise/tour, and offer these observations.

 

In Alaska, the tour includes all the standard interior Alaska tourist destinations, so to that extent it is inclusive. The tour has a railroad segment between Denali and Anchorage aboard the Wilderness Express, a private car attached to the regular Alaska Railroad passenger train that operates daily between Fairbanks and Anchorage (the single journey broken at Talkeetna into two separate days). Otherwise you're on a bus. If you're a rail enthusiast you would likely prefer other arrangements, but if indifferent as to travel by train or bus the tour is just fine.

 

In Canada, there is a brief half-day city tour of Vancouver. The train ride between Vancouver and Jasper is aboard Via Rail Canada's regularly scheduled "Canadian," and is an overnight journey. The train uses standard 1950s era railroad cars, including Vista-Dome "Skyline" and "Park" cars. Some of the best scenery will be at night when you asleep (and if not asleep then difficult to observe given the darkness). For that reason, some travelers prefer instead travel about the Rocky Mountaineer, a private car train that travels only in daytime (overnights are at one or more hotels enroute), and uses more modern Ultra Dome cars similar to the Wilderness Express cars. There are two routes for the Rocky Mountaineer between Vancouver and Jasper: one is a two-day journey along the Canadian Pacific route, the same as that used by Via Rail Canada's "Canadian"; the other is a three-journey along the former British Columbia Railway route between Vancouver and Prince George (a route no longer otherwise hosting passenger train service), and between Prince George and Jasper along the Canadian National route, the same as that used by Via Rail Canada's "Skeena." At Jasper, the tour is by bus to all the standard tourist sites within Banff National Park.

 

The description of the tour states directly: "Tours and activities as described, other than optional activities and meals, are included in your Cruisetour vacation." The word "optional" could be a modifier for either "activities" alone or for both "activities and meals," so confusion over whether meals on the land portion are included or not is legitimate. However, elsewhere in the description it is stated that dinner and breakfast are included on board the "Canadian" (which is a standard practice when traveling in "Sleeper Plus" class), and so given that these meals are specifically described as "included," I would expect that all other meals are excluded and are at your own expense.

 

The accommodation on the Via Rail Canada "Canadian" is in "Sleeper Plus" class, which is really a misnomer since "Sleeper Plus" covers all sleeping accommodations (other than the most luxurious "Prestige" class); there is "Sleeper" without "Plus" class. Without further description, "Sleeper Plus" could be a bedroom, a roomette, or even just a section, though the use of the term "private cabin" (a term that makes me cringe) suggests either bredroom or roomette, not section. Overall, comfortable but standard sleeping accommodations on the train.

 

There is no notation as to the motor carriers used for the bus transportation. The largest player in Alaska is Carnival (primarily its Princess Cruises and Holland America Line subsidiaries), and it controls much of the land portions of its cruises: the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad, Princess Rail private rail cars, Royal Hyway Tours motorcoach service, and many hotels are all corporate subsidiaries of Carnival. Royal Caribbean Cruises, which operates cruises to Alaska primarily through its two corporate subsidiaries, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, is a competitor to Carnival, but has much infrastructure in Alaska. Wherever possible it will avoid using any facilities owned by Carnival. I would expect that the bus portions in Alaska would be by a motor carrier other than Royal Hyway Tours, but without being named it is difficult to judge the quality or safety record of the motor carrier(s) it relies upon. I don't particularly like the use of the term "deluxe motorcoach," which is a term frequently used by many tour operators. It usually means just a standard modern motorcoach, like a Greyhound Lines bus, nothing special (I would reserve the term "deluxe motorcoach" to mean an executive class motorcoach, with 2+1 seating and extended legroom, such as the motorcoaches used by Pacific Western on their Red Arrow service between Edmonton and Calgary). Perhaps others can chime in on the carrier name(s). In Banff National Park I would hope and expect that transportation would be provided by Brewster Transport, a long-established name and reputable company (until a few years ago it was a corporate subsidiary of Greyhound Canada). And in Vancouver I would expect that the city tour would be by some local motor carrier, of which there are many that are capable (but a few who are not). I don't particularly like the fact that the motor carriers are not named.

 

The entire tour is not generally escorted, and would not have the same people on all the various segments. It is, in effect, a package of independent segments, packaged together for convenience. Celebrity Cruises has done a good job in ensuring that participants on this tour will have gone to all the standard tourist sites, and seen all the standard tourist sights. But if you have interests that are particular, such as places that are beyond the standard tour, have affinity for rail over bus travel, etc., then you might want to consider other arrangements.

[GTJ]

Minor correction: The Via Rail Canada (and Rocky Mountaineer) trains to and from Jasper are on the Canadian National, not the Canadian Pacific (except near Vancouver where the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific tracks are one-directionally paired). The Rocky Moutaineer service to and from Banff does use the Canadian Pacific between Banff and Kamloops.

[bethtex]

7 hours ago, GTJ said:

Minor correction: The Via Rail Canada (and Rocky Mountaineer) trains to and from Jasper are on the Canadian National, not the Canadian Pacific (except near Vancouver where the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific tracks are one-directionally paired). The Rocky Moutaineer service to and from Banff does use the Canadian Pacific between Banff and Kamloops.

Thanks for all the insight.  A lot to think about.  

[AKStafford]

At least for the Alaska land tour portion, there's nothing they are offering that you can't book on your own, sometimes for cheaper. The cruisetour option is nice in that you don't have to plan anything, but you have very little control over what happens. You spend a lot of time waiting for people to get back on the bus. Dining options are limited. If you see a nice view you'd like a picture of, the bus won't/can't just stop for you.

So it's up to you, but my preference for an Alaska land tour is to get a rental car and do it on your own. If you book your rental car in about November of this year, you can get some decent deals on it.

[oaktreerb]

The Denali segment of the Natural History Tour will not actually get you into the park.  You will need to upgrade to the Tundra Wilderness Tour or take the park busses.  See the Denali National Park website for tours offered.

[GTJ]

4 hours ago, AKStafford said:

At least for the Alaska land tour portion, there's nothing they are offering that you can't book on your own, sometimes for cheaper. The cruisetour option is nice in that you don't have to plan anything, but you have very little control over what happens. * * * So it's up to you, but my preference for an Alaska land tour is to get a rental car and do it on your own. If you book your rental car in about November of this year, you can get some decent deals on it.

 

I think you are correct in your large picture picture assessment, of being able to put together the same collection of items as this package tour (possibly even being less expensive). Personally, I like choosing what I want to do, and not be stuck with packaged arrangements (of which some items I likely care little about). The "rental car" option, however, is of limited use, as it would require someone to be licensed and knowledgeable about operating a motor vehicle themselves (having neither such a license or skill, not a choice for me!). Generally, my preference is to use regularly-scheduled public transportation, for it offers the greatest flexibility to come and go as one would like (and indeed, that's one of the great benefits is choosing to "cruise" via the Alaska Marine Highway, instead of a mass market cruise line itinerary, i.e., the ability to stop off for as long as one desires in any intermediate port). but it requires much greater planning effort, and greater risk of unforeseen things going wrong, compared to a packaged tour where someone else takes on those responsibilities. As well, in parts of Alaska public transportation is sparse, so a packaged tour can sometimes be the only practicable option (other than a private vehicle, either self-drive or chartered).