TPotthast Posted March 10 #1 Share Posted March 10 We are planning a trip to Alaska July 2025 that will be land and cruise. We have chosen Sapphire Princess and are trying to decide between the following 2 itineraries: CHOICE # 1 13 Day 6 nights on land 7 nights on the ship Land first: July 13th Arrive in Anchorage Hotel Captain Cook for overnight stay July 14th Princess Rail from Anchorage to Talkeetna to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge afternoon at leisure July 15th Motorcoach to Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge afternoon at leisure July 16th Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, Natural History Tour, remainder of day at leisure July17th Sightsee by motorcoach to the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge July 18th Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge full day of leisure July 19th Motorcoach to Valdez, catamaran to Whittier. July 19th Motorcoach to Pier, ship sails at 8:30pm Cruise: July 19th ship sails at 8:30pm July 20th Hubbard Glacier 3:00pm - 8:00pm Scenic cruising July 21st Glacier Bay 9:15am - 7:30pm Scenic cruising July 22nd Skagway 7:00am - 8:30pm July 23rd Juneau 6:30am - 4:00pm July 24th Ketchikan 10:00am - 6:00pm July 25th At Sea July 26th Vancouver 7:30am CHOICE # 2 12 day 5 nights land 7 nights on ship Land first: July 14th Fairbanks July 15th Cruise on Sternwheeler down the Chena River Motorcoach to Denali National Park and Princess Wilderness Lodge, afternoon at leisure July 16th Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge Natural History Tour, remainder of day at leisure July 17th Princess Rail to Talkeetna, motorcoach to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge July 18th Motorcoach across Kenai peninsula to Cooper Landing, Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge. Remainder of day at leisure. July 19th Motorcoach to Whittier to embark and sail at 8:30pm Cruise is the same as above. The land portion is the only part that is different and I don't know if one choice is better than the other? Anyone who can share any advice would be greatly appreciated! I need to get my reservation secured and I just don't know which would be the better option, or if there is a better option. This will be our first trip to Alaska and most probably our last. We will fill as much leisure time as we can with excursions. We are in our early and mid sixties so don't plan to do any big hiking excursions (don't want to kill my hubby, lol) also don't plan to fish. Probably more on the lines of Whale/wildlife watching, glacier tours. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare dickinson Posted March 10 #2 Share Posted March 10 I vote for choice #2 because land first and then rest up a bit on the cruise. We have been to Fairbanks and Denali . We upgraded to Tundra Wilderness tour which I would advise to do as it goes further into the park. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Hag Posted March 10 #3 Share Posted March 10 I would vote for choice #1. The bus trip across Alaska between Denali and Copper River is great. We did it in the other direction, and we agreed that it was one of the major highlights of the cruisetour. Also, the Copper River area is gorgeous. You can take a shuttle up to Wrangell St. Elias park. Nice visitor center there and nice trails around said visitor center. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted March 10 #4 Share Posted March 10 You asked a little earlier and have two opinions. Look a bit further down the page. EM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare azbirdmom Posted March 10 #5 Share Posted March 10 I would pick #1 if only because it includes the catamaran to Whittier. It's a shame that you can't get further into Denali but they may not be able to run tours beyond the natural history tour until 2027! Here's the latest: https://www.nps.gov/dena/getinvolved/polychrome-plan.htm . By the way you don't have it as a choice but our favorite is to take the train from Denali all the way to the ship in Whittier. We've done that 3 times and while it's a 9 hour trip it is just amazing to sit back and watch Alaska change before your eyes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrak Posted March 10 #6 Share Posted March 10 We have done 2 Alaska cruisetours. #1 gets my vote. Definitely. The park road in Denali is closed not at mile 43 due to a major land slip that took the road with it. The estimate for when it will open again is Summer 2026. Pictures of the "road" (slide) and info on what is planned for the fix. https://www.nps.gov/dena/getinvolved/polychrome-plan.htm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribill Posted March 10 #7 Share Posted March 10 #1 because two of the stays include a full day at the site. When you are at a lodge for only one night, most of the day is spent traveling between lodges. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capriccio Posted March 10 #8 Share Posted March 10 Whichever one you chose (I prefer the first too), if you can't see Denali when you arrive at the Talkeetna Lodge make sure you leave your room number at the reception desk for a wake up call if it 'comes out' while you are sleeping. We had just gone to sleep around 11 pm (still light out since it was mid-July) when the phone rang with the message. It was interesting to see people still pulling on clothes and grabbing camera equipment rushing to the lovely large deck facing the mountain. We stayed there until after 1 am (still light out) just enjoying the view. We were also lucky to see it again the next morning, especially since we had booked an excursion flight over the summit (one of the top 3 excursions we've ever done). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotRoot Posted March 10 #9 Share Posted March 10 Not your first or second choices. We like the land trip that goes to Dawson City. We have done it twice and are considering it again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebeccac Posted March 10 #10 Share Posted March 10 I would pick the choice with 2 days at Denali because generally when you are only there one day it is much harder to upgrade to the Tundra Wilderness tour (which, while it doesn't go as far into the park right now as it used to, still goes farther than the Natural History tour). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babyfat101 Posted March 10 #11 Share Posted March 10 Valdez. Do the trip to see Valdez, which I think is the most beautiful place in all of Alaska. And the drive about 15 miles into Valdez is spectacular. If you don’t see the town on this trip, do once in your life, preferably sooner than later, since it’s rapidly “evolving” (NOT for the better). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arizona Wildcat Posted March 10 #12 Share Posted March 10 Would do neither prepackaged tour. Have organized multiple tours all are similar except for duration. Fly to Anchorage. 2 nights. Alaska State Museum and various sights Drive to Healy. Tour Denali on the way there. Overnight BnB in Healy Drive to Fairbanks. 2 nights. Lots of attractions. Cleary Summit and Chena Hot Springs get a taste of rural Alaska. Return to Fairbanks either direct or via North Pole,Glenallen (overnight) to Anchorage. Return car. Shuttle to Whittier. I note Seward is a great town with lots to do. We cruise other lines to cruise our of Seward and native full day boat your, Exit Glacier etc. Very pretty. Need 2 nights. Pier 5 minutes from town center. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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