Alaska Cruisetour Questions

[carolina_yankee]

We are planning a 2026 Alaska Cruisetour. We know we want three nights in Denali and to do the land portion first.

 

My questions:

 

1) I love trains. I hate buses. If we started in Anchorage, could we arrange to take the Denali Explorer train (our cost) to Denali/McKinley Chalet and rejoin HAL there?  If we did that, what would we miss (I’m assuming the bus stops at some places, but I’m not sure I’m *that* interested in whatever the brief stops might be). Of course, we would take the Denali Explorer back to Whittier with HAL. Doing the train twice would be heaven for me.

 

2) If we start in Fairbanks, is the Fairbanks day to Denali basically just a bus ride, or are there any stops/excursions along the way since it’s a short commute?

 

I had thought about simply booking the land portion on our own, but adding up costs, I can’t see a real savings when factoring in the efficiencies and “schlepping” HAL will do with luggage and check-ins.

 

3) Are there any significant differences between Noordam and Nieu Amsterdam apart from some speciality dining? Size? Passenger load? Entertainment? It looks like pricing is about the same. I prefer more modern looks in accommodations (balcony) and plenty of deck space/viewing space in public areas outside. Otherwise, I’m pretty low-maintenance on these things.  For point of reference, my experience is mostly Disney and I love their original two ships becuase of size, and al of them because of classic design. We did sail Celebrity Apex, which was fine, but I did not like lack of traditional promenade or inability to view over the bow.

 

4) If we do Fairbanks to Whittier instead of Anchorage-Denali-Whittier, would have have the opportunity to book a College fjord glacier excursion in Whittier either through HAL or on our own (past reviews indicate on our own might be tight, but still curious).

 

Thanks!

Edited June 14 by carolina_yankee

[Mary229]

I would select the tour that has most of the features you want or as you said do the land portion on your own. 
https://www.hollandamerica.com/en/us/find-a-cruise?destinationIds:(A)&cruiseType:(LAND_FIRST OR SEA_FIRST)&sort=duration asc,departDate asc&group.sort=duration asc,departDate asc

 

Fairbanks to Denali is a relatively short commute.  There are some excursions available from Fairbanks and some of those are included in some tours.

 

 

[PROCRUISE]

If you haven't already, google McKinley Explorer which is the train that HAL will place you on as opposed to the train Princess uses. The McKinley Explorer is phenomenal and all HAL passengers have reserves seats.Those trying to book independently can only be accommodated if excess space is available since the train is most often fully filled with HAL passengers on the land/sea tour.

Whatever you decide, as a train buff, you'll love the McKinley Explorer!!

 

[carolina_yankee]

1 hour ago, PROCRUISE said:

If you haven't already, google McKinley Explorer which is the train that HAL will place you on as opposed to the train Princess uses. The McKinley Explorer is phenomenal and all HAL passengers have reserves seats.Those trying to book independently can only be accommodated if excess space is available since the train is most often fully filled with HAL passengers on the land/sea tour.

Whatever you decide, as a train buff, you'll love the McKinley Explorer!!

 

 

Thank you for the heads up!

 

I didn’t realize there were separate trains! I think HAL just had a couple of carriages on the Alaskan Railroad Gold Star Service run. Now that I’ve looked them up, I see they are two different options.