Live report of Alaska Land/Sea tour, from Fairbanks to Vancouver

I haven't seen many recent Alaskan land/sea reports so I thought I'd do a live report of my trip. Travelling with a party of 4, in Fairbanks now and board the Noordam on Sunday in Seward.

Day 1- Sunday May 21, drove from Bluffton, SC to ATL. Flew Alaskan Air to Seattle and Seattle to Fairbanks. Flights were good, not a fan of Alaskan Air in-flight entertainment. Flew in one night early, were met at the airport by Holland America representative, had about a 30 minute wait for other passengers before we got on the shuttle to the hotel. Check in was a breeze. My mother and I are in a 1 bedroom suite. Room is nice/clean, and blackout curtains worked well.

Today we picked up our welcome package and had all day free. The public bus depot is about a 5 minute walk from the Westmark. My eyeglasses broke on the way here, took the bus to the walmart to the eye care center, took a Taxi from walmart to the University. Went to the Museum of the North. Great Museum. Took the bus from the Museum to the Morris Thompson cultural center. Picked up a few brochures and checked out the displays. Walked back to the hotel in the cold rain. Had dinner at the red lantern restaurant at the hotel. Food and drinks were all good.

That is a nice vacation you will be having!

Will be following your updates.

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Looking forward to your Live reports.

Thanks for sharing, I look forward to hearing more about your vacation.

I will follow your report. On what sounds like the same or at least a similar trip in two weeks.

Day 2: Riverboat Discovery tour and Gold Dredge 8.

We had to be in the lobby at 745, bus left shortly after. Went straight to the Riverboat. I really enjoyed this experience. It was informative and entertaining. The lunch at the riverboat landing was delicious. Menu consisted of a beef stew, cooked vegetables, salad, rolls and a fudge-brownie pie slice. After lunch we had about 30 minutes to wander the gift shop before the bus loaded for the gold dredge. Having panned for gold before, this wasnt something I was super excited about. But it was fun and I learned a lot. Bus got back to the hotel around 430pm. Tonight the rest of my party walked downtown for dinner while I took a Taxi to a bar about 10 minutes away that was having a trivia night. Leave for Denali at 915am.

Final thoughts and tips on Fairbanks: Pretty much every single person we've encountered has been extremely friendly from the local cab/bus drivers to the young men and women working on the riverboat and at the gold dredge. Shout out to Gilbert the taxi driver who hit on my mother yesterday and Rachel who drove the motor coach from place to place today. Tonight I asked the trivia hostess to ask the bar if anyone would drive me back to the hotel in exchange for a drink or gas money and a young man volunteered. So my advice is get to know the locals and learn more about the way of life up here.

Also the public bus system in Fairbanks Was top notch and extremely reasonable, free for those 60 and over and only 3$ for an all day pass for everyone else. So if you're in town with time to spare and no car, don't fret. There are friendly taxis and great public transport that will get you anywhere you want to go.

Great report.

That riverboat tour sounds like something we would like to do.

Thanks for taking the time to post, love the information!

Thank you so much for posing your review. Hubby and I are taking the land/sea trip on the Zaandam in September and I've been wondering what to expect.

Great report.

That riverboat tour sounds like something we would like to do.

We have that as part of our trip as well. But we leave after lunch for Denali; no panning for gold. I think I would have liked that.

Looking forward to the rest of your journey.

Davidpw, is there wifi in your room at McKinley Chalets? And if you have Verizon by chance, is there any cell coverage?

Davidpw, is there wifi in your room at McKinley Chalets? And if you have Verizon by chance, is there any cell coverage?

At McKinley Chalet now. Wi-Fi in public areas but not in the rooms. I am on Verizon and coverage is good here and has been good in most places with few exceptions. I did notice on the bus from Fairbanks to Denali there were areas of no service.

davidpw97, thank you for your posts! I eagerly anticipate any posts or info concerning your ship. Are to sailing on the Noordam?

Day 3: Travel from Fairbanks to Denali

Set an alarm for 6AM so I could set our baggage outside the door. At the Westmark if you choose not to get any housekeeping services you get a 5$ voucher each day that you can use in the hotel restaurants and possibly the gift shop too. So today I splurged and had the breakfast buffet for 13.99 instead of 18.99. It's got waffles, bacon, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, biscuits and gravy, ham and reindeer sausage on the carve and many other items. It was great. My server filled my water bottle for me to take in the bus. Also for the 2nd day in a row they let me take a few items to go even though technically they're not supposed to. I ate at both restaurants at the hotel and all the food was delicious.

Busses boarded around 9 and left at 915. It's a nearly 3 hour drive with 1 stop. Very Scenic and the driver narrates along the way with various info about what you're driving by. At the stop almost everyone gets off to use the bathroom and there are multiple busses there so you're better off either waiting til everyone gets off the bus and using the bus bathroom or getting back to the bus before everyone boards or else wait in a 15 minute line. Upon arrival at the McKinley Chalet a hotel host boards the bus and hands out the welcome packets. Rooms are clean and have a good amount of space. Luggage arrived maybe 30 to 45 minutes after we did. On our beds was a backpack they are giving out to all land/sea tour groups to commemorate their years of sailing to Alaska. I immediately opened it, filled it with a few items and went exploring. We didn't have anything booked for today So while the rest of my group went to find food I went to the tour desk to see what was available this afternoon. I chose a Side-by-side ATV tour with Black Diamond tours. This tour was amazing and I could have stayed out there riding around all day if they let me, despite the cold and wind. It also includes a delicious meal. It's a nearly 3 hour tour, about 30 minutes round trip to get there, about 2 hours ATV driving and 30 for the meal. Relaxed in my room after that and then went across the street to Prospectors Pizzeria and Alehouse. It is not owned by HAL and according to a few employees of the resort it has better Pizza than the place on property, but I "didn't hear it from them". There's other gift shops and restaurants on that side of the street that aren't owned by HAL and have better prices than the Gift Stores on property. Also if you're 21 and over and like to "smoke", there's a dispensary that sells everything you need as well as edibles, if that is something you are into. After dinner I walked down to Denali Square, went on a nature walk and spent time by the fire pit chatting with other guests while listening to the nightly entertainment. I felt sorry for the performer, he was really good but it was cold and windy with a light on again off again rain, so he was performing for about 6 people. I think he called it a night early because of the cold. I went to the bar in the main lodge and warmed up with a shot of Fireball but at 9$/shot I stopped at 1. Spent some time in the main lobby using the free WiFi and chatting with the employees. Went to bed around 12:30.

davidpw97, thank you for your posts! I eagerly anticipate any posts or info concerning your ship. Are to sailing on the Noordam?

I am on the Noordam and will be boarding the ship on Sunday in Seward.

I can't stress enough how friendly everyone has been. I'd like to recognize a few from yesterday. Rosie the bus driver- friendly and informative and most importantly got us to Denali safely. Darian, guest service agent at the Chalet- helped me decide on a tour and booked it for me with only minutes to spare before the tour bus arrived to carry us to their location. The Jamaican ATV guide who's name I think was Eric- great trip. Stanna the nature guide- loves her job and nature and incredibly friendly/knowledgeable. Matthew the bartender and Matthew in guest service- both friendly and fun to chat with. Jamie the Night Auditor and aspiring novelist- friendly and interesting guy. As someone who works at a beach resort, I know what these resort jobs entail and I have been highly impressed with the hopitality I have received.

These are so great - thank you! We're doing Noordam with the land tour so I'm happy to hear your impressions and get your advice. Thanks!

Without wifi in the rooms I am glad to hear there is Verizon service. Thank you for the update.

Great report.

That riverboat tour sounds like something we would like to do.

The riverboat tour was interesting, but the 5+min sales pitch on canned salmon (available for sale on every deck as noted many many times) was reaching Seinfeld levels of absurdity. Part of the tour is getting off for a tour of dog sledding kennels, trapper displays so your mobility issues may come into factor.

Day 4: Denali

Woke up around 8am. We boarded the buses to the park at 845 for the Tundra Wilderness Bus tour. It snowed heavily in Denali on Tuesday night and while on the bus we were informed we might not be able to go very far into the park. We did see a moose while entering the park. All the tour buses were being held at the rest stop at Mile marker 10 I think. A manager got on the bus and said the roads ahead were too slick and snow covered to pass and that was as far as we could go. They gave us forms to fill out for partial refunds that will be mailed to us in 3 to 5 weeks. We got off at the visitor center and walked around there for a bit then took the shuttle back to the Chalet. Rest of the day spent relaxing, shopping, and eating. Had dinner at the Canyon Restaurant and all dinners were great. Mostly a quiet laid back day.

In my last report I mentioned buying a $9 shot at the bar in the Chalet. Today I found out there's a liquor store across the street, bought a 12$bottle of fireball instead of a 9$ shot.

Day 5: Travel to Anchorage

We boarded the bus to the train depot around 845. Train left around 915. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole train experience but at nearly 7 hours, it is a long day. I spent a lot of time in the outside area between cars. It was cold and windy but it's the best place to take pictures without anything in the way. There was a small seating area in the car ahead of mine and that car was empty for half the trip so it was a great place to sit and enjoy some peace and quiet. I had great conversations with the conductor and other crew members. I'd recommend that everyone try to make it back to the caboose, it's got a lot of space and is another great photo spot. I would have liked to get off in Talkeetna to look around but that was the only disappointing part of the train ride. Arrived at the hotel around 530. Went to dinner at Humpys and took a trolley tour. I'd highly recommend the trolley tour, it's a great way to see Anchorage when time is limited. Did a little shopping after the trolley and went back to the hotel.

Day 6: Anchorage to Seward.

Buses didn't leave Anchorage until 1230. That gave us time to check out the Saturday and Sunday morning marketplace. The Marketplace was cool and a great place to pick up locally made products. Best part though was the food. The train conductor recommended the salmon quesadillas and they did not disappoint. I had mine with Salmon and reindeer and it was amazing. Boarded the bus at 1230. It's a beautiful drive from Anchorage to Seward, very scenic. The coach makes 1 stop, makes the trip longer than it should be. Upon arrival in Seward we took the shuttle from the Hotel to the downtown area. We ate dinner, shopped and walked around a little. I saw otters and a seal while walking along the waterfront. Back at the hotel now and about sleep.

Enjoying your review. Which hotel were you assigned to in Anchorage?

Enjoying your review. Which hotel were you assigned to in Anchorage?

Westmark