Celebrity or Princess cruise tour?? Which one?

Trying to decide between Princess or Celebrity to do the cruise tour of Alaska.Any comments for either would be appreciated.Any one been on either? Thanks in advance!

Would you consider neither? Everything offered on a cruisetour can be replicated DIY, usually for much cheaper and with a lot more options. But ultimately it's your trip, so pick whatever fits you best. Just know there's other ways to see Southcentral Alaska than with a cruisetour.

What is about the cruise tours that you have narrowed your choices to those 2? IF you want information- then you NEED to post the details of each tour. That is what is important and assuming, you KNOW the details of what you are looking at and have interests in spending your time at EVERY place the tours go??

So, post the actual tours- and include YOUR extra activities you have already selected then you can get more useful information.

I narrowed it down to either the 13 or 15 day connoisseur tour RB8 or the 13 day Celebrity 13 day Great Frontier Expedition tour 8 B. Haven,t chosen any excursions yet.Both tours are great picks. I just can,t decide which one is better.Anyone who has been on either tour,I would like your input of the cruise tour!

I am also looking at the Celebrity Great Frontier Expedition cruisetour for June 2018. I am attracted to the extensive rail travel (3 segments), 2 nights in Denali, and it gets as far north as Fairbanks. I figure this might be my only chance to visit Alaska, so I better see as much of it as I can. Beyond that I don't know much about Alaska except that I am fascinated by it. I watch lots of the Alaska reality tv shows and love the visual scenery, and the frontier spirit.

So, before I book anything I am reading up on cruise critic to see what else I need to know to make an informed decision. I appreciate the viewpoints, advice and suggestions I find on these boards. Thx!

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Check out HAL also. We're going on a cruise tour that starts in Anchorage, Observation RR car to Denali, Bus to Fairbanks, a flight to Dawson City in the Yukon, follow the Yukon River to Whitehorse, take the White Pass Railroad to Skagway, then board the Neiuw Amsterdam to Glacier Bay, Ketchikan and through the Inside Passage to Vancouver.(y)

I'm sure any one you choose will be great. I'm going next month on the celebrity 12 night Medley 6B tour. I told my TA what I wanted and I looked over the cruisetours and chose that one. Your vacation will be what you make it, and it will be great because you chose it and customized it with your excursions.

Maybe if I make it back a 2nd time i'll try a DIY but for the first time, I felt a cruisetour was right for me.

Good luck in your planning, i'm sure you'll get great info on these threads.

Charlie

I narrowed it down to either the 13 or 15 day connoisseur tour RB8 or the 13 day Celebrity 13 day Great Frontier Expedition tour 8 B. Haven,t chosen any excursions yet.Both tours are great picks. I just can,t decide which one is better.Anyone who has been on either tour,I would like your input of the cruise tour!

First, have you checked the Celebrity board and the Princess board to ask if anyone there has done these tours? I know that the Princess board has several trip reports (perhaps not the exact same itinerary but ones that are detailed enough to give you more information about what to expect).

Comparing the two, which has more included that you are looking for?

Celebrity includes:

3 rail segments, Alaska Native Heritage Center (Anchorage), Tundra Wilderness Tour (Denali), Fairbanks city tour (Fairbanks), Museum of the North (Fairbanks), and Riverboat Discovery Cruise (Fairbanks).

This tour is escorted but does not appear to include any meals.

Your overall journey will be 13 days. Six of those are on land with your longest stay being two nights.

I did not find what lodges Celebrity uses in each location and only saw mention of the Marriott in Anchorage. I had a hard time with the Celebrity website and decided not to fight it, but you may want to research to see what lodges are used if that's important to you.

Princess includes:

1 rail segment, Gold Dredge 8 & Sternwheeler Riverboat Cruise (Fairbanks), Tundra Wilderness Tour (Denali), Music of Denali Dinner Theater (Denali)

This tour is escorted and includes 15 meals (plus the music theater dinner for 16 total).

Your overall journey will be 13 days. Eight of those are on land with your longest stay being three nights.

Princess has their own lodges. You can view information on them here: https://www.princesslodges.com/

Both tours will involve a lot of transit time. Be aware of that before booking.

In full disclosure, I was scheduled to go on the non-escorted tour MB7 with Princess this past May (will be NB7 tour in 2018), but a family situation forced us to reschedule to next year. When we rebooked for 2018, we decided to change to the RB8 tour. Therefore, I might be a little biased toward that one. :D

We are taking a cruisetour primarily because of our situation. My mother will be almost 75 when we travel, and she needs some assistance. A cruisetour allows me to have someone else do the driving and move our luggage about. I can focus on just spending time with Mom which is what the trip is about for us.

We are very happy with our choice and are excited. I hope you are able to find just the right trip for you(whether it is a cruisetour or a DIY trip) .

TXwriter, thank you for your post (and bless you for spending time with your mother). I did look at Princess' landtours, but I was having trouble getting a full description for the land tour itinerary. After reading your post, I dug a little deeper.

Thanks again for your v helpful post.

TXwriter, thank you for your post (and bless you for spending time with your mother). I did look at Princess' landtours, but I was having trouble getting a full description for the land tour itinerary. After reading your post, I dug a little deeper.

Thanks again for your v helpful post.

You are welcome. 😊

I can tell you that I think there may actually be one meal more than I said. The cruise personalizer gives more details after you have booked.

Also, one of the best reviews of a cruisetour describing things like how the luggage transportation and meal vouchers work is this one: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1727858

Thank You everyone for your inputs.It's a decision hubby and I will be happy to make soon.Leaning towards Princess cruisetour.Now to choose which ship and date to take.Looking at either Golden Princess or Coral Princess!