Princess Denali - upgrade to Tundra Wilderness Tour

[firsttimecruiser88]

Has anyone done this? I called princess customer service to upgrade from Denali Natural History to Tundra Wilderness and it’s so hard!! None of the staff I spoke to  has any clue what I’m saying or any clue how to upgrade my booking.

[roupa]

That doesn’t sound correct.  We took the “longer” tour several years ago… Princess excursion.  More $$ , but so worth it!   I wonder if perhaps a recent rock slide that apparently blocked the road at one point, might be a cause to limit the tundra tours.  
Keep investigating… repeat your inquiry with another Princess agent perhaps.

[roupa]

Hmmm, just read on another post that there is still a roadblock, so that may be the final answer.  But why not get in touch with the National Park Service for updates.

 

Denali ( the park and the mountain on a clear day/evening) is beautiful, so be thankful to see whatever you can.

[AKStafford]

The Tundra Wilderness Tour is still operating and going to the road closure at mile 43 of the park road. A much cheaper option is the transit bus. It travels the same road with the same views and is much cheaper: https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm

[wolfie11]

Princess Cruises and the land operations are two different companies each of which doesn't know what the other is doing.  When you get to land, go to the hotel desk to ask for an upgrade.

[GTJ]

55 minutes ago, AKStafford said:

The Tundra Wilderness Tour is still operating and going to the road closure at mile 43 of the park road. A much cheaper option is the transit bus. It travels the same road with the same views and is much cheaper

Cruise line representatives that answer the telephone are there to generate sales for the company, read from a script, and generally are not very knowledgeable about transportation operations (whom the cruise lines shield from public access). The information here is more reliable, as is information posted on the tour operator's website, http://www.reservedenali.com/tours-transits/the-denali-tour-experience/tour-information. The same company also operates the transit buses, with parallel information on a distinct page, http://www.reservedenali.com/tours-transits/transits/transit-information. All of these services are available and can be purchased directly from the tour operator's websites linked above.

 

I suspect that the transit service does not offer the same level of commissions as do the tour services, and for that reason Princess Cruises does not appear to offer transit bus service to its passengers. "Better value" options many times are able offer that better value by not paying high commissions to third parties, such as Princess Cruises. Consider whether the failure of Princess Cruises to offer transit bus service as an option constitutes a matter of business ethics. Nonetheless, it is curious that the script used by Princess Cruises does not include information on how passengers can upgrade from the basic Denali Natural History Tour to the more expensive Tundra Wilderness Tour, given that the more expensive tour would, presumably, provide a higher commission to Princess Cruises. Given the seeming lack of training, or possibly even the lack of empowerment, given to Princess Cruises representatives, I would likely investigate to possibility of forgoing any tour arranged by Princess Cruises (assuming this would lower the cost of the Princess Cruises travel arrangements) and just arrange a tour or transit bus use independently on my own.

[firsttimecruiser88]

6 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

Princess Cruises and the land operations are two different companies each of which doesn't know what the other is doing.  When you get to land, go to the hotel desk to ask for an upgrade.

I will try to call again today, see if any luck. I called 3 times already and spoke to 3 different people who had absolutely no clue. In the end all they cared about was to upswell me the premium/plus add on, or Champaign in the room for special celebrations lol!! It’s so frustrating!

[3Green3]

5 hours ago, firsttimecruiser88 said:

I will try to call again today, see if any luck. I called 3 times already and spoke to 3 different people who had absolutely no clue. In the end all they cared about was to upswell me the premium/plus add on, or Champaign in the room for special celebrations lol!! It’s so frustrating!

 I am having the same issue. We will be there early September. To complicate matters I am in France and so I have been transferred to other teams and brushed off with the lie that this other team should have all answers to my question as it is a Euros booking. Each person has no idea. A question that is not understood at all it seems. I have been on hold for a total of 3 hours 10 mins! across 3 phone calls and I still have no answer. But probably a weighty telephone bill! I finally asked to please remove the tour so I can book directly from the provider but that also led to more holds before a gentleman asked if we would like a birthday package then on noticing we had a pre cruise hotel with transfers already he cut me off as he could not finish a sell on transfers that I have no doubt he must do to satisfy his lead and keep his employment.  

 

A most frustrating experience this week. I think we will just wait and try to upgrade at the lodge if possible. 

 

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by 3Green3

[ngrund]

I know op/thread is about Princess, but I'm booked for RCL pre-cruise land tour next year. For the Denali day, the itinerary just says to let the tour guide know you want to upgrade and pay the additional amount.

[firsttimecruiser88]

7 hours ago, 3Green3 said:

 I am having the same issue. We will be there early September. To complicate matters I am in France and so I have been transferred to other teams and brushed off with the lie that this other team should have all answers to my question as it is a Euros booking. Each person has no idea. A question that is not understood at all it seems. I have been on hold for a total of 3 hours 10 mins! across 3 phone calls and I still have no answer. But probably a weighty telephone bill! I finally asked to please remove the tour so I can book directly from the provider but that also led to more holds before a gentleman asked if we would like a birthday package then on noticing we had a pre cruise hotel with transfers already he cut me off as he could not finish a sell on transfers that I have no doubt he must do to satisfy his lead and keep his employment.  

 

A most frustrating experience this week. I think we will just wait and try to upgrade at the lodge if possible. 

 

 

Were you able to cancel? Because I tried that too and they said it’s part of the package (natural history tour) and cannot be cancelled for credit or refund.

[3Green3]

3 hours ago, firsttimecruiser88 said:

Were you able to cancel? Because I tried that too and they said it’s part of the package (natural history tour) and cannot be cancelled for credit or refund.

 

I was not. They simply said it was not possible and without drawing breath tried to sell me on a birthday package and transfers 😀

 

I do see old threads where both upgrading and cancelling for credit were possibilities so it may require calling and calling until one finds an agent of some tenure who is familiar with this tour. 

[firsttimecruiser88]

14 hours ago, 3Green3 said:

 

I was not. They simply said it was not possible and without drawing breath tried to sell me on a birthday package and transfers 😀

 

I do see old threads where both upgrading and cancelling for credit were possibilities so it may require calling and calling until one finds an agent of some tenure who is familiar with this tour. 

Sounds like you and I had the same experience then. I’m also in Europe (UK), don’t know if it has anything to do with that? I called their US customer service line (expensive phone bill!) but that was also no help.

[SightCRR]

In addition to making the tour change make sure that you understand how to get to where to catch the bus if the time changes very much. Some hotels are miles away from start of bus ride. 

[Coral]

Princess seems to outsource their call center outside of the US. Most call center agents are brand new. I think this is the main issue, unfortunately.

 

It does help to use a travel agent as they know the ins and outs of doing this but you would have had to do this from the beginning.

[GTJ]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

It does help to use a travel agent as they know the ins and outs of doing this . . . .

I would insert the word "good" immediately before "travel agent." Too many travel agents only know how to push the keys on a keyboard. Too many travel agents are in the business only because they, themselves, like to travel, and they want discounts, but have never worked within the operations of a transportation company. In other words, many travel agents are not much better--if at all--than the cruise line representatives themselves. But if you find a good travel agent, then that person can be well worth more than his or her service fees. A good travel agent knows the workings of both transportation companies and tour operators, including how the services of each are planned and scheduled, and the legal relationships among the parties participating in the planned travel. A good travel agent has a knack for attention to details--loves numbers, times, places, and codes. A good travel agent must know geography very well, and be facile with maps, timetables, and navigating. A good travel agent knows more than just commissionable services (including, e.g., access by public transportation and public ferries that offer parallel service to cruise lines) and will possess the professional ethics not to sell based on commission alone. A good travel agent is well-traveled, not to just beaches but to all the places where travel occurs, and has paid attention to the logistics while travel and not just frolicking themselves. A good travel agent strives to travel on a variety of carriers, utilize various classes of accommodations, and to otherwise sample the full spectrum, without "loyalty" to a favored service provider. Yes, I am demanding of those who call themselves travel agents, but there are good ones out there, and if you're persistent, or perhaps just lucky, you may find one.

[Coral]

5 minutes ago, GTJ said:

I would insert the word "good" immediately before "travel agent." Too many travel agents only know how to push the keys on a keyboard. Too many travel agents are in the business only because they, themselves, like to travel, and they want discounts, but have never worked within the operations of a transportation company. In other words, many travel agents are not much better--if at all--than the cruise line representatives themselves. But if you find a good travel agent, then that person can be well worth more than his or her service fees. 

I call those who just push keys order takers, not agents.

 

I agree about a good travel agent.