Cruise tours questions and guidance

[california and cruising]

We have been to Alaska and love it. We would love to take a pre tour. What is the best one to take? I am on overload looking. Also, the best ship to experience it as well. 

Thank you

[CruiserBruce]

Lots of general questions here with little definition. First, what port/city are we asking about?

 

Second, "best" is an extremely subjective definition. What does "best" mean to you? 

 

To help you narrow some things down, take  look around the board. There are many threads on desirable options for land tours, routes and itineraries, and tons of other info.

[wolfie11]

DIY - It’s not like you can get lost.

[kchamp27]

After much research we decided to DIY the land portion. That way we can pick what we like, stay at the less crowded places and control our itinerary. With that being said I definitely don't think it is saving $ this way but at least we can tailor it for us! Then we are taking the southbound cruise from Whittier to Anchorage which seems to have the most time in port and more time to see Alaska since it does not have to go "round trip". Planning has been a blast!

 

[california and cruising]

Which is the best tour to do and cruise line in Alaska?

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

6 hours ago, california and cruising said:

Which is the best tour to do and cruise line in Alaska?

 

 

You have some responses already...including asking for more specifics. 

[california and cruising]

I was looking at Denali and perhaps a little longer to take in something else. We love the scenery and maybe some animals in their natural habitat.

[AKStafford]

2 hours ago, california and cruising said:

I was looking at Denali and perhaps a little longer to take in something else. We love the scenery and maybe some animals in their natural habitat.

In my opinion, the best option is to explore Southcentral and Interior Alaska with a rental car. It's easy to put together a plan, and you can get help here or at the TripAdvisor forum for Alaska travel: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28923-i349-Alaska.html

[AKJonesy]

How many days are you dedicating to your DIY land portion?  It makes a huge difference. 

[pattyj 1204]

We took a ship sponsored pre cruise on Celebrity to the Canadian Rockies on the train. It was fun, beautiful, and mostly relaxing. But due to the hotels we stayed at the food was expensive. Be sure to budget more $$$ than you think as all the meals were more expensive than we thought. But you are on vacation, so you can splurge.  The overnight  accommodations were beautiful and elegant. We even saw some elk grazing on the hotel grounds. So fun.  On a different cruise we took the land tour including Denali in Alaska. It was super nice that we didn't have to worry about driving and still getting to see the scenery. We saw the Northern Lights from our hotel room in late Aug/Sept. No worries about where we would stay/ where to buy gas/food. It was worth the money.  There are lots of beautiful scenery to see and fun times to be had so I hope you enjoy your trip to Alaska.