Celebrity Summit Cruise Tour 19

[CruisingChick]

Hi all,

 

Has anyone else done this specific Cruisetour in the past? I can't seem to find anyone doing or anyone who has have done that specific tour. I would really like to find detailed information about the land portion and what to expect in regards to arriving on the ship and excursions.

 

Thank you.

 

Anne Maria

[JessKess]

I was on Cruisetour #12 last year before boarding the Summit. Maybe I can answer some of your questions - we visited Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali, and Fairbanks.

[CruisingChick]

JessKiss,

 

Thanks so much.

 

Let's see we fly into Anchorage are meeted by the Tour Director and go to the hotel. The next day we go from Anchorage to Denali. The next morning we go to Danali and the on to Talkeetna. It says the vening is ours to enjoy optional activites, but what are they? The next day we go to Anchorage for a stop and have lunch on our how and then go on to Seward to meet the ship?

 

Is there much free time during the land portion or are you pretty booked up?

 

Do you have to purchase any "extra" excursions for the land part?

 

How were the hotels/lodges you stayed in.

 

What about meals on the land portion.

 

I really don't have any idea how the land part of the tour works.

 

Also, what time did you get to the ship on embarkation day and was it smooth? I fear getting there at the same time as another 1,000 others and having huge lines since there will may cruisetour buses disembarking people.

 

Our ship is slated to sail at 9:00 PM. Did they have regular dinner seatings on the first evening?

 

Most importantly, did you have a great time and did you love Alaska?

 

Thank you so much for all your help.

 

Anne Maria

[JessKess]

It looks like you won't have much free time on your tour, except in Talkeetna, like you noted. You can find out what excursions Celebrity is offering by following the shore excursion link on their website. If you act like you want to purchase the excursions, it will ask for your booking number and sail date, etc. That way, you should be able to see all the excursions available for your land tour (but you don't have to purchase any). We did a flightseeing tour on our own (using a Toursaver coupon) the evening we were in Talkeetna. We were also given the option to purchase tours from Celebrity through our tour director the first day. We booked a rafting trip in Denali this way.

 

The hotels were all very nice. We stayed at: Anchorage Downtown Marriot (the nicest), Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge (has AMAZING views of the mountain), Grande Denali Lodge, and Pikes Waterfront Lodge in Fairbanks.

 

Meals are usually all up to you (although it looks like the Cabin Nite dinner, and maybe even a lunch is included when you are in Denali). We usually ate dinner at the hotel after a late excursion, and ate lunch someplace in town. Shuttle buses will be available to take you from the hotel to town.

 

Your documents will probably have some more details about the land portion, but we didn't get a full schedule until we met our tour director in Anchorage. Our tour director (Jack) was great, and delivered a good narration whenever we were on the bus.

 

We had a long embarkation day. We took a flight from Fairbanks (our tour was divided in two groups - half flew "early" and we flew out "later") and arrived in Anchorage around lunchtime, then jumped on a bus for the drive to Seward. We got there around 5:00, and we were the only tour bus there at the time. I imagine others had arrived earlier, so it was not busy at all.

 

They did have two seatings for dinner the first night, but it was open seating. When we got to the ship, they handed us a card that asked us to attend the late seating since we had arrived later. This was fine for us because it gave us a chance to explore the ship before going to dinner. Also, we got to watch the sailaway as we ate.

 

We had a wonderful time, and especially enjoyed the interior tour - the first three days (in Talkeetna and Denali) were amazing. We plan to go back someday to see even more.

[Budget Queen]

On this tour you have very little free time, since it is only a 4 day add on. The second day- 6 hours in transit to Denali Park- if going by bus. 8 if by train? The Denali park "tour" is extremely vague?? It looks like a movie? and maybe the Natural History tour?? Very short time here. Then a 3 hour bus to Talkeetna the same day, so little time there. Then the next day 2 hour bus ride for a lunch stop in Anchorage, then a 3 hour bus to Seward.

[CruisingChick]

JessKess, Thanks so much for all the info. I did check the shore excursions with our booking ID and there is an optional tour we can do in Talkeetna in the late afternoon. So I guess we should pick something to do there.

 

BudgetQueen, thanks for the info. I didn't realized that it would take 5 hours by bus to get from Talkeetna to Seward. Maybe I can sleep on the bus. So I assume we wouldn't get to the ship until around 4 or so???

 

I thought Denali and Talkeetna were relatively close, it's really 3 hours by bus from Denali to Talkeetna?

 

I printed out the Itinerary with our booking ID and here's what it states exactly:

 

Tue, July 05 Anchorage, Alaska: Upon arriveal in Anchorage, you'll be greeted by your Tour Director and transferred to your hotel.

 

Wed, July 06 Denali, Alaska: From Anchorage, you'll travel to Denali. In the evening enjoy Cabin Nite Dinner Theatre. Overnight in Denali.

 

Thu, July 07 Denali, Alaska: In the morning, venture into the six-million-acre Denali National Park on the Denali Natural History Tour. Discover the beauty of taiga forests and gaze at miles of rolling tundra while searching for wildlife. In the afternoon, rest on our delux motorcoach as you travel to the quaint town of Talkeetna. The evening is your so enjoy optional activities. Overnight at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.

 

Fri, July 08 Anchorage, Alaska: In the morning, you'll travel by delux motorcoach to Ancorage, where you will stop for lunch on your own. Then continue past the beautiful Chugach Mountains to Seward.

 

Okay, so is there any good place to eat in Anchorage for lunch that day?

 

Once on the ship we stop in Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point and Ketchikan. Can you recommend any "not to miss" excursions?

 

Thank you so much for all your help.

 

Anne Maria

[Budget Queen]

JessKess, Thanks so much for all the info. I did check the shore excursions with our booking ID and there is an optional tour we can do in Talkeetna in the late afternoon. So I guess we should pick something to do there.

 

BudgetQueen, thanks for the info. I didn't realized that it would take 5 hours by bus to get from Talkeetna to Seward. Maybe I can sleep on the bus. So I assume we wouldn't get to the ship until around 4 or so???

 

I thought Denali and Talkeetna were relatively close, it's really 3 hours by bus from Denali to Talkeetna?

 

I printed out the Itinerary with our booking ID and here's what it states exactly:

 

Tue, July 05 Anchorage, Alaska: Upon arriveal in Anchorage, you'll be greeted by your Tour Director and transferred to your hotel.

 

Wed, July 06 Denali, Alaska: From Anchorage, you'll travel to Denali. In the evening enjoy Cabin Nite Dinner Theatre. Overnight in Denali.

 

Thu, July 07 Denali, Alaska: In the morning, venture into the six-million-acre Denali National Park on the Denali Natural History Tour. Discover the beauty of taiga forests and gaze at miles of rolling tundra while searching for wildlife. In the afternoon, rest on our delux motorcoach as you travel to the quaint town of Talkeetna. The evening is your so enjoy optional activities. Overnight at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.

 

Fri, July 08 Anchorage, Alaska: In the morning, you'll travel by delux motorcoach to Ancorage, where you will stop for lunch on your own. Then continue past the beautiful Chugach Mountains to Seward.

 

Okay, so is there any good place to eat in Anchorage for lunch that day?

 

Once on the ship we stop in Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point and Ketchikan. Can you recommend any "not to miss" excursions?

 

Thank you so much for all your help.

 

Anne Maria

 

 

 

Since you have asked advice on this board- my opinion only, the Natural History tour is a complete waste of time. This is three hours. And yes, my information on the times is factual and accurate. You may want to reconsider "sleeping" on the bus. You have paid a very high price for this tour and with only a drive by I would encourage you to at least take a look at what is passing by. Especially on the Anchorage- Seward portion, this is your most scenic section.

 

As for port tours- you need to look over the shore excursion list and narrow down your interests. Then repost. this way you will get more specific information for your interests. There are way more "must does" than you can do in 10 trips. :)

 

Again, only as information to others- it is vitally important to understand fully what you are purchasing. As you can see above plenty is not disclosed, or understood about the cruisetours.

[JessKess]

I would also reconsider sleeping on the bus. I didn't mind the long transport times between stops because I love watching scenery as it passes. I even enjoyed what others on this board have called the "boring" sections. The Anchorage-Seward portion is interesting, and you will be busy looking for wildlife - we spotted sheep on the cliffs above the road.

 

It is unfortunate that you have the shorter tour in Denali, it will go by quickly. My TA was able to advise me when we booked that we would want the longer Tundra Wilderness tour.

 

I can't give any suggestions about lunch in Anchorage - we had to grab food at the airport. Maybe someone else will know where you stop?

 

Definitely read more posts on these boards to learn about the excursions (and look at what Celebrity offers). This is what we did (in addition to "strolling" around each town). We tried to keep our costs down and not do "too much".

 

Juneau - Took MGT buses to Mendenhall Glacier, rode Mt. Roberts Tram (Waited until we got to town to purchase tickets. We had a clear day, so the tram offered excellent views.)

 

Skagway - Took free NPS guided tour (Very intersting tour, next time I will look at renting a car and driving to Canada/Emerald Lake, which has been discussed on these boards.)

 

Icy Strait Point - Whale watching (Booked through Celebrity - there were a lot of people on the boat, but we sure saw a lot of whales.)

 

Ketchikan - Kayaking with Southeast Sea Kayaks (Booked independently with a TourSaver coupon. Only wildlife we saw were a starfish and bald eagle, but we had a small group, good guides, and it was a lot of fun.)

[CruisingChick]

my opinion only, the Natural History tour is a complete waste of time.

 

So how do you know something is a complete "waste of time" before you book it? Are we stuck in doing that in Denali? Since we've never been there or Alaska for that matter, I'm sure it must show you something?

 

As for sleeping on the bus, I guess it didn't come through I was being "sarcastic".

 

Okay, here is a list of the excursions in Talkeetna that Celebrity offers. Should we do any of them, save our money for other excursions or is there something we can do on our own?

Talkeetna Sportfishing

Approximate Duration: 5 Hours

 

Talkeetna River Raft Float Trip

Approximate Duration: 2 Hours

 

McKinley Jetboat Tour

Approximate Duration: 2 Hours 30 Minutes

 

McKinley Flyer Tour

Approximate Duration: 2 Hours

 

McKinley Flyer with Glacier Landing

Approximate Duration: 2 Hours

Thanks for all your help.

Anne Maria

[CruisingChick]

I'm not sure how I should put this, but I guess I would feel my trip a success if I saw a bear(s), moose, some eagles, a whale (or whales) a glacier (would be nice to walk on one, but not necessary) and I would love to go panning for gold (or is that too stuipd?).

 

We are not fisherman or great hikers or kayakers, etc. So maybe that will help in knowing which excursions I should pick.

 

Thanks.

 

Anne Maria

[JessKess]

I don't think anything can be a complete waste of time. I would stick with the tour since it is included, and it doesn't seem like you have time to do anything longer. At least you get to see some of the park (which is better than none), and hopefully some wildlife. The only moose we saw in the park were very near the entrance. Even with our longer tour, I wanted to go further in, obviously one tour isn't enough :)

 

As for Talkeetna, I can't speak to what I haven't done. We did something similar to the McKinley Flight with Glacier Landing, and I definitely recommend it. We went with Talkeetna Air Taxi, and used a Toursaver 2-for-1 coupon, so that helped with the cost, but I would do it again even if I had to pay full price. The pilot narrated the trip and answered our questions. We didn't land on Ruth Glacier for safety reasons (it was too soft, and we were a little heavy), but were diverted to another glacer that had a view of Mt. Hunter. We had excellent weather and had full view of Mt. McKinley our entire trip, but (we were told) had the mountain been clouded over, this would be one way to make sure we saw it.

[JessKess]

I'm not sure how I should put this, but I guess I would feel my trip a success if I saw a bear(s), moose, some eagles, a whale (or whales) a glacier (would be nice to walk on one, but not necessary) and I would love to go panning for gold (or is that too stuipd?).

 

We are not fisherman or great hikers or kayakers, etc. So maybe that will help in knowing which excursions I should pick.

 

Thanks.

 

Anne Maria

 

 

Bears - You may not see any in Denali, but I believe there are "bear" tours at some ports (like ISP or Ketchikan), although I don't know how successful they are.

 

Moose - If you don't see one in Denali, I'm not sure where, unless your bus stops at the Alaska Big Game Wildlife Refuge on the way to Seward (ours did).

 

Eagles - Just keep your eyes open, they can be anywhere.

 

Whales - Take a whale watching tour in Juneau or ISP and you should see many. I never saw any from the ship, you have to look pretty hard to find them.

 

Glacier - You are scheduled to see Hubbard Glacier from the ship, and you can do flightseeing from Talkeetna to walk on one. Other ports may have a glacier flight option, too.

 

Gold Panning - It's not stupid if you want to try it. We didn't, but I think it was offered at a few of the ports, as well.

[alaskaobsessed]

We are booked on this land tour about two weeks after you, arriving July 19th, and sailing July 22nd. We actually tried to get tour #1 but it was booked, and this seemed to be a good alternative, we just miss out on the train. We've booked the flightseeing tour with the 2 for 1 coupon in Talkeetna, I'm very excited about that. All in all I think it will be a good overview of inland Alaska, it really covers a lot in a short amount of time.

[JohnQ]

Do you know what time you leave denali for Talkeetna? If it is later afternoon, you may have time for early morning shuttle to Fish Creek or Toklat River and may get to see all your wildlife. These tours start early and you can check the denali site to see how early that day, and make reservations if enough time.

[CruisingChick]

We are booked on this land tour about two weeks after you, arriving July 19th, and sailing July 22nd. We actually tried to get tour #1 but it was booked, and this seemed to be a good alternative, we just miss out on the train. We've booked the flightseeing tour with the 2 for 1 coupon in Talkeetna, I'm very excited about that. All in all I think it will be a good overview of inland Alaska, it really covers a lot in a short amount of time.

 

Okay so where is this 2 for 1 coupon and how do I get mine?

 

We wanted to do the July 22nd cruise, but it was more expensive for us than the July 8th. Don't know why. Also they only had flights out of Newark, NJ and none out of JFK, not that that makes so much difference.

 

Thanks.

 

Anne Maria

[CruisingChick]

Do you know what time you leave denali for Talkeetna? If it is later afternoon, you may have time for early morning shuttle to Fish Creek or Toklat River and may get to see all your wildlife. These tours start early and you can check the denali site to see how early that day, and make reservations if enough time.

 

I assume we must leave Denali right after the Denali Natural History Tour. From what I hear the only free time on this tour is late afternoon in Talkeetna.

 

Anne maria

[CruisingChick]

Bears - You may not see any in Denali, but I believe there are "bear" tours at some ports (like ISP or Ketchikan), although I don't know how successful they are.

 

Moose - If you don't see one in Denali, I'm not sure where, unless your bus stops at the Alaska Big Game Wildlife Refuge on the way to Seward (ours did).

 

Eagles - Just keep your eyes open, they can be anywhere.

 

Whales - Take a whale watching tour in Juneau or ISP and you should see many. I never saw any from the ship, you have to look pretty hard to find them.

 

Glacier - You are scheduled to see Hubbard Glacier from the ship, and you can do flightseeing from Talkeetna to walk on one. Other ports may have a glacier flight option, too.

 

Gold Panning - It's not stupid if you want to try it. We didn't, but I think it was offered at a few of the ports, as well.

 

JessKess,

 

Thanks so much for all your help and suggestions. It's appreciated.

 

Anne Maria

[JessKess]

Okay so where is this 2 for 1 coupon and how do I get mine?

 

Search this board for "Toursaver" for more information. The book of coupons costs about $100 new if you buy directly from their website (some people sell their used books when they are done, I bought mine on eBay last year), but it can still save you money even if you only use one coupon.

[Budget Queen]

With your route and limited Denali Park time, you are not likely to see any bears, maybe moose, Eagles - keep looking up and have a good pair of binoculars at least 10 power. Whale watching requires a tour- with Juneau having 100% sightings of humpbacks. I greatly prefer going with Orca Enterprises. I would suggest you consider a combo booked tour with Coastal Helicopters so you can get in your glacier walking preference. :) Two very "top" tour choices for Alaska. :)

 

In Talkeetna- definately flightseeing. This is probably your only opportunity for viewing McKinley, either tour is good depending on your flying preference.

[CruisingChick]

Budget Queen,

 

Thanks so much for all the help. I also saw a great post by you on the thread about "not doing any excurions" with links to web-sites in Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway. That should help allot.

 

You should get a salary from the Alaska Tourist Bureau.

 

Thanks again.

 

Anne Maria

[Budget Queen]

Thank you for your kind words. :) Have a great trip to Alaska and return. :)

[CruisingChick]

BudgetQueen you are welcome.

 

Okay here is what we are thinking of booking:

 

Talkeenta: McKinley Flyer with Glacier Landing

 

Juneau: Whale Watching and Wild Life Cruise

 

Skagway: White Pass Railway and Trail Camp Adventure

 

Icy Strait Point: Not sure, is the Remote Bush Exploration with Brown Bear Search worth it or useless? Not sure what else to do? Hoonah Sightseeing or Native Tlingit Journey through Time Trail.

 

Ketchikan: Walking tour and exploring on our own. (We were thinking about Misty Fjords Flight Seeing, but brought the cost of excursions way up - do we really need to do this, should we can something else and do this instead?)

 

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

 

Anne Maria

[Budget Queen]

BudgetQueen you are welcome.

 

Okay here is what we are thinking of booking:

 

Talkeenta: McKinley Flyer with Glacier Landing

 

Juneau: Whale Watching and Wild Life Cruise

 

Skagway: White Pass Railway and Trail Camp Adventure

 

Icy Strait Point: Not sure, is the Remote Bush Exploration with Brown Bear Search worth it or useless? Not sure what else to do? Hoonah Sightseeing or Native Tlingit Journey through Time Trail.

 

Ketchikan: Walking tour and exploring on our own. (We were thinking about Misty Fjords Flight Seeing, but brought the cost of excursions way up - do we really need to do this, should we can something else and do this instead?)

 

Thanks for any and all suggestions.

 

Anne Maria

 

When are you going??? If in August- Icy Strait may be a good bear viewing opportunity- since that was a priority for you?? Look back on posts - several discussing this new port. In Ketchikan- this is an excellent walking city- with plenty to keep you busy. Misty Fjords is worthwhile and especially if you haven't gone in a float plane. Only you can decide if this is of interest for you???

[CruisingChick]

Budget Queen,

 

We will be in ISP on July 12th. Is that too early for bears?

 

we have never done Alaska at all or a seaplane. May have to rethink Misty Fjords and other excursions.

 

Thanks.

 

Anne Maria

[alaskaobsessed]

Search this board for "Toursaver" for more information. The book of coupons costs about $100 new if you buy directly from their website (some people sell their used books when they are done, I bought mine on eBay last year), but it can still save you money even if you only use one coupon.

 

What they said! There was a thread about this coupon book and I just clicked on the link. Even at $100, I still saved $100 on the flight seeing tour. We are not landing on the glacier though, it was more expensive and we didn't know if we'd have time. We are hoping to hike the east loop trail in Juneau at the Mendenhall glacier, hopefully we'll get close enough there