Schti

Can you share the link or other info you have for the bus schedule to and from Totem Park?  We'll be there 6/24/19.

We are staying at the Grande Denali. What restaurants near there do you recommend? 

On 2/16/2019 at 3:23 PM, Fast_Camaro said:

Thank you for the info. I’m on Coral in June 19th 2019. 

We are on that sailing too!

We are sailing from Whittier on 6/19/19 on the Princess Coral.  We will be getting to Whittier from Anchorage.  For those of you who have taken the 26 Glaciers Tour by Phillips, will we have adequate time to take the tour and get to the ship in time to embark?  The ship sets sail at 8PM.  Also --- what happens to your luggage if you sign up for the 26 Glaciers Tour while you are touring?

Thanks!

On 10/21/2018 at 2:09 PM, AKStafford said:

I'm an advocate for DIY travel in Alaska, but if I was going to use a company, it would either be Salmonberry Tours or one of the packages directly from the Alaska Railroad.

https://www.salmonberrytours.com/

https://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel-planning/packages/summer-packages

Thanks. I think Salmon Berry just might be what we are looking for.

On 9/29/2018 at 6:15 PM, allison0523 said:

Was it supposed to be before or after your cruise? I don’t know anything about them cancelling but we went to Alaska last year and did our own land tour. I know it’s more work but you can plan extra time before or after your cruise and do the things your group wants to do.

 

 

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Did you work with any Alaskan Tour Operator to help you with your DIY land tour and if so would you recommend them?

Thanks for the suggestions. Hopefully I will find what we need!  Ideally we would like a Tour Company who would put together and make arrangements for what we want to do. 

We are long time cruisers who are flying into Anchorage for our first Alaskan Cruise and first Princess cruise on 6/19/2019.

Our group of 4 in our late 60s and early 70s want to do a pre cruise land package but the Princess ones were not what we had in mind. I've read many posts suggesting a DIY but for many reasons we do not want that challenge. So...

1. If you know of a reputable Alaska Land Tour Company we would really appreciate your recommendations.

2. We've read that going by domed train from Denali to Whittier (where we sail from) is the way to go. What about Anchorage to Denali....motor coach or domed train?

3. Is it really worth an overnight stop to Talkeetna and if yes, why?

4. Is 2 nights in Denali enough?

Thanks so much for your help!!

Looking at Princess cruisetour for June 2020; for now, I'm researching the 2019 tours since 2020 isn't out yet.

 

For southbound, land tour first, some start in Whittier and some start in Fairbanks. Any pros and cons to those?

 

Also, trying to read all the 3-day and 4-day cruisetour comparisons, it all sounds the same! My eyes are crossed! Is there a spreadsheet or something similar to compare these easily?

Just booked an Alaskan Cruise with Princess for 6/2019 today. Cruise only. We were going to use a tour company for a 4-5 pre cruise land portion that friends had used a few years ago. I learned today that they are out of business. Does anyone know, is it possible to tack on the Princess land portion to an already booked cruise? Thanks for your help!

Thank you for this. I had not found that link yet and yes, that table in there is very helpful.

Sorry to give you a newbie question....What is the Alaska Tour Book and where is it?

Hi everyone! Soon to be first time Princess cruisers. We (2 active 60 something couples) are late booking a southbound Alaskan cruise for June 2019 so the contiguous balcony choices are very limited! Whatever you can tell us about Cabin C505, C509, C527, C531, B347 and/or B351 would be great. I appreciate your help!!! We're ready to book and need to pick rooms before they sell out too. Thank you!!

We need help picking a balcony cabin for the Coral Princess. Can anyone provide me with info on Cabin C505, C509, C527, C531, B347 and/or B351. I appreciate your help!!!

We need help picking a balcony cabin for the Coral Princess. Can anyone provide me with info on Cabin C505, C509, C527, C531, B347 and/or B351. I appreciate your help!!!

We need help picking a balcony cabin for the Coral Princess. Can anyone provide me with info on Cabin C505, C509, C527, C531, B347 and/or B351. I appreciate your help!!!

Also watch for your transportation issues in Denali, if you don't have a rental car.

Can you tell me more of what your concerns are here?

The train schedule can be found on Alaskarailroad.com.

Thanks. If I am reading this correctly, the train makes just one trip a day from Anchorage to Fairbanks with stops and one trip back?

If you choose to go with a daily rental car in Fairbanks, you can take the train or bus to Denali, AND onto Anchorage and Seward for that matter. I posted a link earlier for you that has planning web sites, (look specifically for the TripAdvisor site which also includes transportation info).

 

The 2 biggest drawbacks to that plan are:

- w/o a car you won't have the ability to make stops at other points of interest between Fairbanks and Anchorage.

- in Denali your lodging options will be limited to places that offer a shuttle to from the train/bus depot, and you will need to arrange a ride to the park entrance. This can impact the time frame for your shuttle trip thru the park.

Thanks! You are really well versed in all things Alaska. I've seen postings on other Alaska boards from you and picked up a lot of information.

So -- if we plan to spend 2-3 nights in Denali without a car, what transportation options would you recommend for getting around?

North Pole is the santa claus town about a 15 minute drive from Fairbanks.

Denali is about a 2 1/2 hr drive.

 

I don't why you couldn't do the Riverboat, North Pole and drive to Denali in one day, plus a few other things as well.... the Pipeline Exhibit or the Morris Thompson Cultural Center for a photo under the antler arch. Might as well make the most of your time there and take advantage of the long daylight hours.

http://www.morristhompsoncenter.org/

 

Other ideas in this link:

http://www.alaska.org/destination/fairbanks

 

As you do your research also look at the cost of a one-day rental vs RT from Anchorage. Later this summer Enterprise in Anchorage will offer a RT for $200 a week. That's about the same price as the drop off fee for a one way rental! Not that I want to dissuade you from visiting Fairbanks, but there's a cost. Another reason to make your precruise DIY 6-7 days !

 

Since your ship leaves from Seward you could take the train from Anc to Seward .... the most scenic leg of the Alaska Railroad.

I like how you think though Ray really wants to see Fairbanks so that's probably how we're going to go. I'm glad to know there's plenty for us to do to spend a full day in Fairbanks. Maybe we can do just a 1 day car rental in Fairbanks and then take the train to Denali.

Where can I find the schedule to know what time the train leaves Fairbanks for Denali?

We do plan to take the train from Anchorage to Seward and in fact are thinking we'll spend 2 nights in Seward as there is a lot of stuff that interests us there.

Donna

We did a loop out of Vancouver back in 2014 and Vancouver's best kept secret hotel is Times Squares Suites (http://www.timessquaresuites.com/). We spent 2 nights there. It is MUCH cheaper than chain hotels, incredibly clean, well located and just a great hotel.

 

I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

 

The only drawback is no shuttle to either airport or cruiseport, but the savings will far outweigh the taxi fare.

Thanks. I'll look into it.

No car rental drop offs between Fairbanks and Anchorage. Avis has an office in Whittier and Hertz has an office in Seward.

Thanks. Just the info we needed.

I can't say for sure how long it takes to get to the Denali area by car because we took the train but a couple of comments: 1) There is really only one road that goes between Fairbanks, Denali and Anchorage and it is often undergoing road construction. That could delay you. I have heard that some people have been stopped upwards of an hour or so. 2) I believe the time to get from Fairbanks to North Pole (not THE North Pole) is about 45 minutes. With the Riverboat Discovery, that would be a good full day.

 

If you are comfortable driving down to Denali at night, then that would save you some daylight hours for the park. Although, if you are going in June, there will likely be light for almost 20 hours of the day!

These issues with the road do scare me off from renting a bit. Thanks for your input.

1st Time Oasis. Been cruising mainly Celebrity in the past 10 years and love the Molecular bar and most of the Specialty Restraunts . Other than the Molecular bar most of X's bar were poor to hit and miss.

 

Give me your top 3. Thanks

We finished a BtB on the Oasis about 3 weeks ago. We'd say ... Globe and Atlas, Schooners and Vintages. Globe has great selection of beers and casual/fun atmosphere. Schooners has a good location with great seating. There is a happy hour there sometime during the week -- Tuesday or Wednesday I think -- where all drinks are 25% off. Vintages is more quiet and intimate with awesome wines. We only ate at Giovanni's and it was very good. Don't miss the the complimentary hot dogs on the Boardwalk near the Merry Go Round. Good variety and really tasty. Don't miss the complimentary cheesecake pops at the Promenade Cafe. Yum Yum. And, the comp lunch at the Park Cafe on Deck 8 with a made to order salad bar, delicious roast beef sandwiches and very good deserts is a must. You can get it and eat outside in Central Park -- a great experience.

We are leaning towards flying into Fairbanks and evaluating whether or not to do 2 nights before we head to Denali. We're interested in the Riverboat Discovery Tour on the Chena River and seeing the North Pole. Is it practical to do both in 1 day and then drive to Denali thereby only needing 1 night in Fairbanks? If not, what else do you suggest doing? We're not interested in visiting the dog sled camps, flightseeing or doing an ATV tour. While we have some interest in Alaskaland Pioneer Park I don't know that we think it's worth staying an extra overnight in Fairbanks to fo it. Those of you who have been to Fairbanks, what do you think?

We are planning the same trip 2 weeks before yours. You asked about transportation, here's what I found. It's slightly cheaper to fly into Anchorage than it is to Fairbanks. A round trip rental (Anchorage - Anchorage) is usually cheaper than a one way rental (Fairbanks - Anchorage). However, there is only one road from Fairbanks to Anchorage. If you rent round trip, you'll travel the same road twice, not a great usage of time in my opinion. By driving one way, we'll be able to spend more time at each location we stop at. We are 4 couples and we have rented 2 Dodge Caravans from Hertz in Fairbanks. We will drive one way and actually drop the vans off in Seward. There is $125 fee to drop the vehicle off in Seward as opposed to Anchorage BUT, the train ride from Anchorage to Seward is approximately $50/person so with 4 people in each van, it will cost us less to drive the car than it would to ride the train. It also lets us go by our schedule, not the train's.

Good points to consider. I have a car rental question. If we rent in Fairbanks is our only option to drop it off in Anchorage? No where else along the way i.e. Denali?

We flew into Fairbanks from Florida. We spent two nights there and, if I had to do it over again, would like to spend more time in Fairbanks. There is a lot to do. We did the Riverboat Discovery (and an ATV tour, which it doesn't sound like you would be interested in). We went with another couple and they spent an afternoon driving to North Pole and going to a reindeer farm. Our hotel was connected to Pioneer Park. We found it very late in our stay and didn't get the opportunity to visit it for very long. I would definitely like to spend some time there.

 

We took the train from Fairbanks to Denali and from Anchorage to Seward. The train is a MUST as far as I'm concerned. We spent two nights in Denali and did the Kantishna Experience tour into the park. It was long but we saw a lot of wildlife.

 

We took a bus to get down to Anchorage as we were only staying there one night and wanted a little time to see a few things. The train from Denali gets to Anchorage in the evening.

 

The next morning we took the train to Seward and immediately went on the Kenai Fjords National Park tour. Saw many whales and the glacier was beautiful. We spent a night in Seward and embarked on the ship the next day but that could be a night to skip. You could still do the tour and make it to the ship (although.....)

 

Have fun!

Your info gave me great ideas. A couple of questions. If we want to go to the North Pole from Anchorage is renting a car and driving our best option? How long was the bus ride? Does it run frequently? Thanks! !