Please critique my precruise itinerary Anchorage/ Talkeetna/Knai Peninsula

[Lisa Waverley]

I have got a little further in planning my precruise visit with the help of your suggestions and board information. Please let me know any thoughts on my itinerary so far. I have not yet got as far as planning the activities in each place beyond a very general idea. At this point, I want your thoughts on whether what I have booked so far in terms of towns and whether I am trying to fit in too much and whether I will be able to fit in the must see activities in each place. Because I have left the actual reservations so late a lot of places had limited or no availability.

Two teenage sons and myself
Day 1:Arrive in Anchorage late evening. One night stay in Anchorage- Hawthorn suites.

Day 2 and 3: Rent car and drive to Mt McKinley Princess Lodge for 2 night stay.
( activity that I am thinking about - fly over /to Mt McKinley: am not interested in tour into Denali by bus or shuttle)
Day 4 drive to Kenai Princess Lodge
Day 5 Ocean Shores Motel- Homer
Day 6. DH takes train/bus down to join us, Overnight at Swan nest Inn or Seward Windsong Lodge.(kenai fjord cruise)

Or should I skip Homer and find accommodation for 2 nights in Seward?

Day 7: Drive to Whittier to meet cruise ship.

[Budget Queen]

My opinion only- I wouldn't stay at the Princess McKinley lodge- there is NOTHING to do there that doesn't require back tracking 50 miles to Talkeetna. I would consider an overnight there instead. If you want a similar lodge- Talkeetna Alaska lodge is nice. Again- nothing but fishing at the Kenai Princess lodge-I would spend time seeing Anchorage, and seeing sights along the way from Talkeetna. Homer is not a one night stop- again my opinion only and your time will be mostly in transit getting back and forth. If you husband is taking the train- it arrives about 11am. Plenty of time to meet for a Kenai fjords boat trip leaving at 11:30am. Kenai fjords tours will store your husband's bags. There are plenty of activities in Seward to keep you occupied- and I would recommend 2 nights there, but determine why you are staying at Cooper Landing??? If going fishing - great, if not rethink this since it is only 40 miles from Seward. Be sure you get a copy of THE MILEPOST- read the Seward Highway, Parks Highway and Glenn Highway log. See what is of interest. A great side trip your kids would enjoy- glacier trakking with MICA guides.

[Lisa Waverley]

Great advice, BQ I was really looking for this kind of specific info.
Princess McKinley lodge. When I tried booking this a while ago, they were the only ones who had availability. I don't remember if I tried the Talkeetna Alaska or not. Plus, I could use the toursaver coupon and get the second night free. We are driving straight up from Anchorage to the Talkeetna aero services for our flightseeing trip on Day 2. (1st day in Talkeetna) I will check again about the Talkeetna Alaska lodge.

So Kenai princess lodge is not such a good idea. We are not big on fishing and we will be doing one fishing trip on our cruise, so I should rethink Kenai.I had initially chosen Kenai as I thought it would be quicker to drive to Homer from there than to backtrack from Seward.

Regarding your advice on Homer, "Homer is not a one night stop- again my opinion only and your time will be mostly in transit getting back and forth." Should we then skip Homer and spend an extra night in Seward?


Your advice about the train was perfectly timed. My husband and I are just sitting here trying to work out whether he would ahve enough time to do the Kenai fjords cruise.

Any further thoughts?

[Lisa Waverley]

Okay, Talkeetna Alaska lodge has availability for only one night so that is no good.
Seward Windsong lodge just e-mailed me to say that they have only one night availability (the second night) as did Swan Nest Lodge. What is your opinion if I spend 2 nights in Homer?

[lmcd]

If you are going to do the Kenai Fjords tour with the Kenai Fjords tour company, they have lodging and tour packages. The lodging is at Seward Windsong. Try to get your 2 nights that way.

Larry

Fantasy 08/99
Ecstacy 05/00
Westerdam 04/01
Legend of the Seas 08/02
Zaandam 04/03
Carnival Spirit 08/03

[Palomino]

Larry's idea is a good one. Alaska Heritage Tours [url="http://www.alaskaheritagetours.com"]www.alaskaheritagetours.com[/url] is the company that owns Windsong and Talkeetna Lodges as well as the Kenai Fjords Tours. They may hold some rooms back to sell with their packages.

You could also stay somewhere in town in Talkeetna. We'll be staying at the Chinook Wind Cabins which is walking distance to restaurants, shops, the river, and our flight. I know the town is small, but since we are traveling with a group, I thought it would be an advantage if everyone could be in walking distance.

We will be in Homer for 4 nights this year, but I wouldn't miss Seward if I were you. Maybe go to Homer if there is something specific you want to do there. This is what we have planned: Kayaking with True North Kayaking Adventures, Halibut fishing, horseback riding, Pratt Museum, visiting the art galleries, and tidepooling.

[Lisa Waverley]

Thanks Larry and Palomino for your replies. I checked into availability with Alaska heritage tours and they are full for those dates. In addition the package was about $300 more than what I am paying for hotel and car hire.

I can get availability in Seward for 3 nights at 6 Mile B & B which looks very spacious. What opinions are there on going with 3 nights in Seward? I do prefer staying in 1 place for 3 nights rather than packing up and checking in and out every night.

Does anyone know this B and B?

[lininak]

If I understand your itinerary correctly, you are going to have one very long drive if you're driving from Talkeetna to either Cooper Landing or Seward. There are often traffic delays due to road work plus slow moving rv's. I would consider spending the night in Anchorage or at Alyeska and then continuing on the next day.

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[Palomino]

I would do 1 night Alyeska and 2 nights Seward. I haven't heard of 6 Mile B&B

[GlacierLady]

I have never heard of 6mile B&B here in Seward.You don't state what your dates here are,(if July4th will be very hard to find but not impossible)but there are alot of nice places to stay alot closer to town.Swans nest has great location along with Edgewater,New Seward,Harborview(great place) Breeze,Murphy's,Van Gilder...plus alot outta town..just a start.Have you thought about camping?Get the milepost.It's Alaska's road bible!!Seward has alot to offer.Sealife Center,Exit Glacier,Kayaking,widlife cruises,great fishing.Enjoy!!

[Palomino]

We stayed at the Harborview last year for 1 night and it met our needs; not luxurious, but clean and convenient. I would stay there again.

[Budget Queen]

Re: your lodging- what are your requirements??? Do you have to have luxury?? If not, then definately try a B&B- more Alaska experiences with the owners. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] I always stay in Talkeetna, just a great town. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[Lisa Waverley]

Thanks so much for all your suggestions and advice. I really appreciate all of you who took the time to answer. On your recommendations, I tried most of the places you all mentioned and so far, everything that I tried, is full. (our dates precruise are July 18th (arrive in Anchorage) and leave on the SB Coral Princess on July 24th. As we leave on a (different) cruise tomorrow [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] I will just stay with what we have for the time being and perhaps try again we we get back.

If you have any more suggestions that would be great. I probably will access my e-mail while onboard and will see posts as they are sent directly to my e-mail.

[StillLooking4Adventure]

We like staying in more Alaskan type places and loved every place we stayed. We stayed at [url="http://seward-alaska.com/renfros/"]Renfros[/url] which is about 89 miles outside of Seward. We spent two nights there. We loved staying in the cabins on a beautiful lake. my son and I took the paddle boat out into the lake. We put coins on the track on the Alaska Railroad that runs right near the entrance. When we came back they were beautifully flattened.

We also loved staying at [url="http://seward-alaska.com/renfros/"]EarthSong Lodge[/url] in Denali. It is above the tundra.

In Talkeetna there is a fantastic bed and breakfast overlooking Denali with wonderful hosts and a great breakfast. You can check their web site at [url="http://www.denalioverlook.com/"]Denali Overlook[/url]

I think these places are so much nicer to experience the real Alaska for those people who have the freedom of rental cars. The hosts are always fantastic.

If you wold like to see pictures of some of these places here is a link to our pictures of our trip last summer> [url="http://community.webshots.com/user/kaplanmd"]Alaska Trip 2003[/url]


Have a great time.

Mike

Christmas in Alaska 2003
CARNIVAL SPIRIT (Alaska) 2003
NCL SUN 2002
CARNIVAL PARADISE 1999
CARNIVAL SENSATION 1996
CARNIVAL ECSTASY 1995
CARNIVAL FANTASY 1992
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SKY PRINCESS 1989
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DOLPHIN 1986
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[This message was edited by mkaplan on 06-17-04 at 07:29 PM.]

[This message was edited by mkaplan on 06-17-04 at 07:30 PM.]