Princess Alaska land tour food cost question

[Northern Light]

Looking for answers from someone who has already taken a Princess land tour. We spend two nights in Fairbanks, one at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, one night at the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge and two nights at the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge. For some reason, we thought meals were included but guess that was wishful thinking on our part. LOL! Want to make sure we have enough funds with us so wonder what dining options are available at these locations (especially the three wilderness lodges) or is in-house dining at the lodges the only choice. What are prices like? Any information would be most appreciated.:)

Sandy

[wolfie11]

Food prices are significantly higher in Alaska and expect at the Princess lodges to pay about double what you would for a comparable meal in the Lower 48. The Fairbanks Princess is close to shopping at Fred Meyer or Safeway. I would suggest that you take the opportunity here to stock up on snacks and other items that will help with meal expenses, such as sandwich fixings, etc. Denali Princess is in Glitter Gulch and there are restaurants and a Subway across the street. For the other two lodges, you're pretty much in the middle of nowhere and at their mercy as far as food goes. Prices change a lot, but I would budget around $15 each for breakfast and lunch, and $20-$25 for dinner. Wine or drinks will add another $10 each to the bill. So somewhere between $50 and $75 a day for each person if you eat three meals a day with Princess.

[Budget Queen]

I always recommend people budget 50% more for food than they would at home. Gives a good ball park figure overall.

[agabbymama]

wolfie11 is pretty much on the mark for what we encountered on our HAL cruisetour.

 

The only major difference, was dinner was usually $28-30. But we usually spent the $75 pp mark for the day.

 

We did hit grocery stores in Skagway, Dawson City and Fairbanks, and kept our eye open the rest of the time for something more filling along the way. We had the best chili at a tiny little town in Alaska called "Chicken".

I'm not sure how many people actually live there, but there was only one small strip mall. Blink and you missed it.

[Northern Light]

Thank you everyone for your input. I have a friend who took a Princess cruisetour last year and she had told me 95 percent of their meals were included which is why I was surprised that ours didn't. My DH phoned Princess and apparently some tours do include meals especially if the tour includes a tour guide. However, I think the price of this cruisetour is pretty darn good so I am not complaining.

[Budget Queen]

Thank you everyone for your input. I have a friend who took a Princess cruisetour last year and she had told me 95 percent of their meals were included which is why I was surprised that ours didn't. My DH phoned Princess and apparently some tours do include meals especially if the tour includes a tour guide. However, I think the price of this cruisetour is pretty darn good so I am not complaining.

 

Actually NONE of the cruisetours include meals unless specifically mentioned. Some you can buy packages that include meals, but you would have to purchase this separately.

[Stellaglide]

With Princess, the "Escorted" cruisetours do include meals if I'm not mistaken.

 

Parents took the Escorted cruisetour to Arctic/Prudhoe bay in '97 and they did not have to pay for any food during the entire 14-15 day land or sea portion. They had such a great time my wife and I booked the same cruistour this year (our first cruise and first rip to AK) but it is no longer "escorted" and meals off ship are not provided.

 

Princess does offer an Escorted cruisetour with a different itinerary and per the website description: "most meals are included"

[kcscrapper]

The dining car on the train is a bit price-y as well! But fun! And, know that "smoothies" in the touring part of the train aren't free!:)