First Time: Land/Sea to Alaska

[BlondeBookworm]

Hello! My husband and I are researching our first trip to Alaska and want to do a land/sea trip. I've read these forums and others, and have found that Holland America and Princess are two of the most recommended (we've only cruise with Royal Caribbean in the past). I am trying to find an itinerary that goes to Sitka but no luck yet.

 

So far, these are the two options I found that are land-first, leave from Anchorage, and are more than 10 days. The biggest differences are time of year, price, and days in Denali. Is one program/company/ship/excursion options better? Any other advice, trip ideas to consider, etc?

 

1) Princess ($6115) - Mid May 2023. Starts in Anchorage, then two days at Mt. Mckinley Lodge, two days at Denali Wilderness Lodge, then to Whittier to board the cruise. Ports include cruising around Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay, stopping at Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan before docking in Vancouver. Ship will either be the Sapphire or Grand Princess.

 

2) Holland America ($7366) - Mid September 2023. Basically the same itinerary except HA lodging and 3 days in Denali as opposed to four.

[oaktreerb]

Much to my surprise it looks like HAL only includes Sitka on the round trip Seattle cruises for 2023.  They should rethink that!  There is a 14 day round trip Vancouver cruise that stops in Sitka and is highly rated but for some reason only sails on May7 and Sept 17, 2023.  It does not go to Denali.  On Holland America website you can find Alaska e-brochures for 2022 and 2023.  Plan to be in Denali in June 2023 or later for the park  road to (hopefully) fully open.

 

I am not familiar with Princess but do know that the McKinley Princess Lodge is a remote location outside Talkeetna, nearer Denali State Park.  Denali Wilderness lodge is the National Park location close to the Holland America Chalets.  If I had a choice I would prefer 3 nights at the Holland America McKinley Chalets resort.  

 

If you have to choose May or September for your trip to Denali you should choose September.

[Nataliea621]

I know you stated Princess or HAL but NCL has one on the Bliss for 14 days. And goes to Sitka.

• Arrival into Fairbanks
• Fairbanks
• Fairbanks / Denali
• Denali / Anchorage
• Anchorage/Seattle

6 PORTS OF CALL

• Seattle,Washington
• Sitka,Alaska
• Juneau,Alaska
• Icy Strait Point,Alaska
• Ketchikan (Ward Cove),Alaska
• Victoria,British Columbia
• Seattle,Washington

[AstoriaPreppy]

22 hours ago, BlondeBookworm said:

Hello! My husband and I are researching our first trip to Alaska and want to do a land/sea trip. I've read these forums and others, and have found that Holland America and Princess are two of the most recommended (we've only cruise with Royal Caribbean in the past). I am trying to find an itinerary that goes to Sitka but no luck yet.

 

So far, these are the two options I found that are land-first, leave from Anchorage, and are more than 10 days. The biggest differences are time of year, price, and days in Denali. Is one program/company/ship/excursion options better? Any other advice, trip ideas to consider, etc?

 

1) Princess ($6115) - Mid May 2023. Starts in Anchorage, then two days at Mt. Mckinley Lodge, two days at Denali Wilderness Lodge, then to Whittier to board the cruise. Ports include cruising around Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay, stopping at Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan before docking in Vancouver. Ship will either be the Sapphire or Grand Princess.

 

2) Holland America ($7366) - Mid September 2023. Basically the same itinerary except HA lodging and 3 days in Denali as opposed to four.

 

A few thoughts: Holland America has a hotel on the river just outside of the entrance to Denali National Park. The Princess hotel is next door. Both are expansive, with multiple restaurants, bars, a dinner show, etc. You can walk between them. They're on the main road outside of Denali (aka, there's a Subway and bars/restaurants walkable across the street). They're located here because of the access to the park, where you'd take the tour on the park road. You can't see Denali (the mountain) from either of the cruise line hotels at Denali National Park, but you might see it from your tour IN the park.

 

The Princess Mt. McKinley lodge is totally different. It's located in Denali *State* Park, about a half hour by bus outside of Talkeetna. It's kinda just plopped in the middle of the wilderness, specifically so you have incredible views of Denali (the mountain) from the hotel. It's similar to the other two hotels with bars/restaurants, but it's much more remote... you can't just walk across the street to get a sandwich. There's a wide range of excursions, but they're not in Denali Nat. Park.

 

Some people hate the Mt. McKinley lodge, but we loved it for the remoteness and the spectacular views when the mountain came out. It's a very different vibe from the almost manic nature of the hotels immediately outside of Denali.

[rstephenrrtx]

Researching the same thing @BlondeBookworm  Our 1st and possibly only Alaska tour?  We certainly want to do it "right".

 

I also keep seeing Princess and Holland as top choices.  I see RCCL includes a tour that has rail all the way (no bus transfers) and that interests me.  I just worry about how RCCL hasn't been in Alaska as long as the other two.  But they are bound to be good, right?

 

I didn't know about NCL with cruisetours @Nataliea621.  Only experience with NCL was in Hawaii.  Honestly didn't like the layout of the ship but we were there for the islands. 🤷‍♂️

 

$ will keep us planning for 2024 although a lot can happen between now and then.

 

Did you make your choice yet?

 

[Mom&MeCruiseAL]

Mom and I went on HAL for a 12 day with 2 nights in Denali ending in Fairbanks back in 2018.  We did cruise first at the end of August with the land portion being in September.  We loved every minute of it.  We did disembark in Sitka and rode the train into Anchorage maybe 4 hours.  Next morning we rode the train about 8 hours, ending up at the HAL Denali Lodge.  Both rides were incredibly beautiful.  I would recommend the train anytime.   

 

We unknowingly ended up in Denali during their peak fall colors which is completely different than fall on the eastern part of the country.  In Alaska, only a few trees change colors.  It's more the ground vegetation that changes to red, orange, and yellow.  It was really gorgeous.  We got lucky between the colors and being gifted with the entire Denali mountain range view from the train.  It was a perfectly clear day.  They say only 30% of visitors get to see Denali without cloud cover and less than 5% get to see the whole mountain range.  It was spectacular and honestly an emotional experience.  It was so rare that even the train staff was going outside to take pictures.  I know I won't be that lucky a second time.  When we did the Denali Wilderness Bus tour the next day, we couldn't see Denali at all.  If they didn't tell you where the mountain was, we wouldn't have known.  

 

This time around my husband and his siblings/significant others are taking Princess on a similar 12 day tour but with one night at McKinley Lodge and only the train from McKinley Lodge to Denali Lodge in mid-July.  This is the first time we are trying Princess.  My husband's one sister and brother-in-law did the Alaskan cruise without the land on Princess about 8 years ago.  They said it was there favorite vacation ever even over a trip to Australia to visit a good friend.  

 

Even if you decide to book another cruise line, you can book the train and land portion on your own.  The land is more expensive than the cruise portion so figure out what your priorities are and go from there.  As far as excursions, we only saw 3 or 4 whales on our boat trip in Juneau that late in the year.  Being July this time, I'm hoping to see more.   We only had one day of rain on the cruise and otherwise it was partly or mostly sunny.  The temperatures were fine if you had a light jacket.  The only cold day we had was cruising into Glacier Bay.  We stood on the bow for a couple hours to get a railing spot for viewing the glacier.  The ship was moving pretty fast.  We had our winter coat and gloves on for that.  The wind from the speed of the ship was the worst part.

 

Whatever you decide to do, keep checking the current pricing for drops and added perks.  We booked with $100 OBC originally in an interior mid-ship room for the new cruisers that are going with us.  Six months later, the price was the same but the perks went to $200 OBC and free specialty dining.   I decided to move two cabins away for a reduction in fare of $80 per person.  I save a good bit by rebooking but no one else did.  All 4 couples got upgraded to obstructed view balcony rooms.  I got a better deal since no one else thought it was worth rebooking for the extra credit plus dining at a reduced fare.  

[donaldsc]

2 hours ago, Mom&MeCruiseAL said:

Mom and I went on HAL for a 12 day with 2 nights in Denali ending in Fairbanks back in 2018.  We did cruise first at the end of August with the land portion being in September.  We loved every minute of it.  We did disembark in Sitka and rode the train into Anchorage maybe 4 hours.  Next morning we rode the train about 8 hours, ending up at the HAL Denali Lodge.  Both rides were incredibly beautiful.  I would recommend the train anytime.   

 

 

 

I know that you did not really mean this but your error might confuse people.  Sitka is on Baranof island and is accessible only by ship.  Your post sort of implies that you took the train from Sitka to Anchorage which is not possible.  You probably meant to say either Whittier or Seward.

 

DON

[GTJ]

Do keep in mind that Princess Cruises and Holland America Line are the same company, both being subsidiaries of Carnival and differing only in their branding. They're not going to compete against each other, and on land both brands generally use the same facilities within Alaska. Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line are each separate and apart from Carnival and each other, and are more likely to offer attributes distinct from those of the Carnival brands.

[Mom&MeCruiseAL]

On 6/23/2022 at 12:25 PM, donaldsc said:

 

I know that you did not really mean this but your error might confuse people.  Sitka is on Baranof island and is accessible only by ship.  Your post sort of implies that you took the train from Sitka to Anchorage which is not possible.  You probably meant to say either Whittier or Seward.

 

DON

You are correct.  I was thinking Seward not Sitka.  Sorry for the confusion.

[itsanita]

We have done 2 cruise/tours in Alaska, one on Celebrity and the other on RC. 

 

We thought they were both amazing..... just saying you might want to look at other ship itineraries.  To me, sometimes that is more important than the ship.  

[tetleytea]

You might want to do a land-first in mid-May?   I love mid-May, but in May I would do a land-last.    But then, I don't like the cruisetours, either.  I do the land portion self-guided.

[Cali Viajera]

We returned from Princess Majestic Princess cruise. We did the land tour first; Fairbanks to Denali, Mt McKinley lodge to Kenai. Land first is one way to get the fast paced, lodge to lodge travel out of the way to then unpack and Relax for the cruise🛳. Each Princess lodge served it’s purpose. Yes, Mt. McKinley is remote, but what a view of Denali if you are one of the 30% who can see her. The bus to Talkeetna was not problem. Denali lodge is centrally located to the action, and the Fairbanks Riverside is not near town but located right on the river.

Look into Kenai, the Kenai Fjord boat trip was a highlight of our trip. The captain was informative and they keep each other informed about where the wildlife are. Bubble feeding of humpback whales, seals, orcas, puffins. A highlight for sure.

[PhotoGal07]

Normally I like doing land first and then cruise.  But without knowing what covid protocols will look like, I would highly recommend doing sea first, then land, so that you have the negative covid test to board the ship out of the way and less chance of having a positive test prevent you from boarding.  

Princess and HAL are the two big Alaska tour providers.  A few things to note:

In Alaska itinerary is king.  Pay attention to port call times even if they have the same itinerary.  If you are coming in from the East Coast, earlier port times are more beneficial, and of course the number of hours you are in port can differ. 

Ship size is another thing to pay attention to.  Smaller ships mean less people in port, and the ability to get closer to the glaciers.  So you'll want to compare that as well.

 

If the itineraries and ship size are still about the same, and you are trying to decide between them I would recommend looking at the room layout for the room you want, and the typical menus offered on each line.  For our family of four I found the Princess menus to be slightly more appealing for our picky eaters than HAL.  But since food is so subjective, your mileage may vary.  

I can't speak to the Sapphire, but we were just on the Grand in June and found it to be a very nice ship despite being a bit older.  I did compare the Sapphire and the Grand when making our cruise plans, and I recall the itineraries were mostly the same which left me trying to decide based on ship features.  They "seemed" pretty comparable for a lot of the things I looked for, both had the type of room we wanted, both had a covered pool, and were approximately the same size.  Grand has The Crown Grill, and Sapphire has Sterling (both seemed to be equally "steakhouse-ey).

The big difference I noticed was that the Sapphire had the thermal suites, and the Grand had the little Coffee and Cones restaurant with free soft serve, and then the for pay frappuccinos and ice cream sandwiches.  If it had just been adults, we would have likely gone for the Sapphire for the thermal suites.  But we had the kids so I picked the Grand with the Coffee and Cones, which seemed to be a big hit, as the kids went by themselves for ice cream every single day, and is still one of the things they talk about. 

Edited July 6, 2022 by PhotoGal07

[rstephenrrtx]

On 6/21/2022 at 11:10 PM, rstephenrrtx said:

Researching the same thing @BlondeBookworm  Our 1st and possibly only Alaska tour?  We certainly want to do it "right".

 

I also keep seeing Princess and Holland as top choices.  I see RCCL includes a tour that has rail all the way (no bus transfers) and that interests me.  I just worry about how RCCL hasn't been in Alaska as long as the other two.  But they are bound to be good, right?

 

I didn't know about NCL with cruisetours @Nataliea621.  Only experience with NCL was in Hawaii.  Honestly didn't like the layout of the ship but we were there for the islands. 🤷‍♂️

 

$ will keep us planning for 2024 although a lot can happen between now and then.

 

Did you make your choice yet?

 

After discussion and a look at $, went ahead and booked the KB6 Denali Explorer tour on Princess for June 4, 2023 on Grand Princess.  (It's only $, right? 😉 )  This will be our 1st trip to Alaska and 1st on Princess.

 

The land tour looked the best for what we wanted based on in-laws similar trip before (main reason we chose Princess).  2 days Fairbanks, 2 days Denali lodge, 2 days Mt McKinley lodge before the cruise.  Will get 1 extra day in Fairbanks as the flights I saw all seemed to get in very late and we don't want to be too tired to start the trip.

 

Chose Grand over the Sapphire and Majestic.  We wanted Skagway vs Icy Strait (on Majestic) and needed the earlier June date vs a couple of weeks later on Sapphire.  Would have liked the newer ship - maybe next cruise.

 

Love all the descriptions and options listed.  Will keep reading to pass the 11 months or so.