Details of the tour part of a Princess Alaska cruisetour

[caribill]

Thank you for a great informative review. I do have a question though. We will be spending 2 nights at McKinley Princess Lodge arriving the first day at 6PM. Second day we so far absolutely no plans. We are really not that interested in rafting or kayaking or anything of that sort. So what would you recommend for that day? I would not mind spending a few hours in Talkeetna.

Should that be done on day 2? I was thinking of going into Talkeetna on day 3 before the train ride to Whittier BUT from your post it looks like the $10 shuttle to town goes, just that - to town, but the shuttle from the lodge to the train depot is miles away. Coach to train depot is suppose to arrive at 12:45.

What is involved in getting from Talkeetna to "rail depot" Thanks!!!

 

If you go to Talkeetna on the day you will be taking the train to Whittier:

 

a) There is no charge for the shuttle into Talkeetna that day, just tell them you will be going on the train that day

b) You will be told a place to meet and a time to meet in downtown Talkneeta to catch the (free) bus to the train depot for the trip to Whittier. In our case it was around noon, so to have enough time to see what you want to in town, be sure to take one of the early shuttles to Talkeetna.

 

As to what to do on day 2, check the list of Princess excursions available that day. If you see nothing you like, you can have a relaxing day at the lodge.

[missdenise]

If you go to Talkeetna on the day you will be taking the train to Whittier:

 

a) There is no charge for the shuttle into Talkeetna that day, just tell them you will be going on the train that day

b) You will be told a place to meet and a time to meet in downtown Talkneeta to catch the (free) bus to the train depot for the trip to Whittier. In our case it was around noon, so to have enough time to see what you want to in town, be sure to take one of the early shuttles to Talkeetna.

 

As to what to do on day 2, check the list of Princess excursions available that day. If you see nothing you like, you can have a relaxing day at the lodge.

 

 

Thanks for the information on going to Talkeetna the day we are going to the train. I wasn't sure if it was a hassle to do this but it sounds like they have it all pretty well planned out. I believe that is what we will do. Thanks!!

[frecgenswl82]

Thanks for the information about your cruise tour. I have looked at it several times for information to use for our upcoming tour cruise this summer, 6/2013

[huskerdan25]

Wonderful review and I just booked this exact tour for Sept 2014 on the Island Princess! This review will provide me with excellent information on what to expect. We considered doing a DIY but we felt that for our first land tour, we would be more comfortable having a Princess tour guide get us through our first land tour. After this, I am confident we would be comfortable setting up our own land tour. This will be our 3rd trip to Alaska and we have gone in June and July so decided to try the end of the season this time.

 

Thanks, caribill, for this thorough review!

 

Dan

[huskerdan25]

caribill, can we replace the tour in Fairbanks with another tour or do we have to go on the tours that are a part of this package? We probably would enjoy the Gold Dredge tour but just wanted to know if we are allowed to choose a different tour if we want? I think I read that we could go with a different tour than the TWT and if the tour we choose is more expensive, the cost would be added to the total cost of the cruise (would need to call Princess in advance of the cruise to make the change). Maybe this is true of the tour in Fairbanks as well?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Dan

[caribill]

caribill, can we replace the tour in Fairbanks with another tour or do we have to go on the tours that are a part of this package?

 

I do not know the answer to that question, so I would call Princess to find out.

 

However, the group does all three activities in a row:

a) The gold dredge

b) Lunch

c) The Riverboat Discovery trip

 

So if you change out of the gold dredge part, it is unlikely you could meet up for the other two activities.

 

http://www.princess.com/find/excursion/exlistfordestination.do?portid=FAI&t=A&exType=L shows other excursions available in Fairbanks that are not part of the Connoisseur package

[sssteele]

Just found this, and it'll be a great way to spend a little time on this cold, windy day.

[genealogygail]

Thank you so much for sharing all this incredible information. You truly answeed all my questions and I think this is the way to go

[gator582]

I am looking into the land/cruise Alaska tour for four of us in Aug/Sept 2014. Did you book the connissuer tour through Princess, or on your own? This sounds like the perfect Alaska vacation for us. I wasn't sure where to start, but decided to come back to CC for some advice and information.

 

I was in awe with your excellent review and those pictures were magnificant! Thank you. :)

[caribill]

I am looking into the land/cruise Alaska tour for four of us in Aug/Sept 2014. Did you book the connissuer tour through Princess, or on your own? This sounds like the perfect Alaska vacation for us. I wasn't sure where to start, but decided to come back to CC for some advice and information.

 

I was in awe with your excellent review and those pictures were magnificant! Thank you. :)

 

I booked it directly with Princess and transferred it to a travel agent.

[gator582]

So I could book it all through my TA?

[shofer]

Although we are not doing the connissuer tour, your tour took you to most of the places we are going on ours so I found it very informative and the pictures terrific. Thanks for posting this great review.

 

Sue

[caribill]

So I could book it all through my TA?

 

Yes.

 

Princess offers a number of different land tours in Alaska, so it will help to know which one of the tours you want when you contact your TA.

[Grammyluvs]

I loved your review. My husband and I did a land/cruise tour in 1994 and spent the summer in Alaska in our MH in 2009. This review brought back so many wonderful memories. This is a beautiful part of our country and one I would love to go back to and visit again. I don't know if Princess offers a fishing excursion or not, but would encourage taking one. Neither my husband or I fish but we did a halibut half day trip. Both of us caught our allotment, had it flash frozen and shipped home. It was expensive but we both say it was worth every penny and was the highlight of our trip. Thank you for sharing all of this wonderful info and beautiful pictures. BTW, on our trip in 1994, we saw Denali everyday. However on our 3 month visit, we never saw it. You were very fortunate.

[Cruisin'Mama 10]

Did you pack two sets of luggage - one for the land and one for the ship or did you just keep switching your luggage tags?

 

In other words did you have one large piece of luggage with clothes and stuff for the land and ship and then just carried a carry on?

 

Thanks in advance!

[caribill]

Did you pack two sets of luggage - one for the land and one for the ship or did you just keep switching your luggage tags?

 

In other words did you have one large piece of luggage with clothes and stuff for the land and ship and then just carried a carry on?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

We started with two large pieces. One contained what was only needed for the ship and when we checked out of the first lodge, we did not see it again until on the ship.

 

The other went from lodge to lodge on the tour and needed a new luggage tag for each transfer to the next lodge. Of course the final luggage tag was what we had printed out at home to send it to the ship from the last land lodge.

 

We also had a small carry on for the trains and busses.

[ctteach5]

Okay, Alaska is certainly on the list. Thanks for such a finely detailed photo essay!:)

[cruisebuddy513]

Doing research for my must do cruise for 2014. An Alaska cruise was a must, but was undecided about landtour. Your excellent report has wetted my appetite so need to trawl dates for an affordable package for a solo traveller.

[margob111]

I just booked our cruise to Alaska yesterday and included a 3 day land tour prior to the cruise. We will be going in May of 2014 on the Coral Princess but your posts are great, as we will be staying at some of the same lodges. Thanks for the information and pictures, I can't tell you how excited I am.

[venicefla]

Thank you so much! We will be doing this tour first week in September.

As I have some problems walking I was glad to see the way you get from

place to place. Most looked OK. But that transfer from train to ship

looks very long.------Thanks again Nancy

[RM]

Thank you so much for the review. Enjoyed your pictures and the details of your trip.

 

We aren't doing the cruise tour but we are staying at the McKinley Princess. You mentioned sandwiches for your tour of the park, does the lodge rooms have refrigerators or did you get shelf stable food for sandwiches? Also was the show worth investing the time?

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer all of us.

Edited June 21, 2013 by RM

[Psychedout]

Thanks Caribill :D We are on this land/sea cruise this September. All of the info and pictures helped and were great!!

 

Again thanks,

 

Hugh:)

[caribill]

We aren't doing the cruise tour but we are staying at the McKinley Princess. You mentioned sandwiches for your tour of the park, does the lodge rooms have refrigerators or did you get shelf stable food for sandwiches? Also was the show worth investing the time?

 

We bought the sandwiches the previous afternoon at a Subway across the street from the lodge. No refrigerator, but we put them in a towel over a bucket of ice in the room to keep them fresh.

 

Since the dinner and show were included in the price of the Connoisseur tour, it was worth the time. I doubt we would pay the current regular price to do this.

[caribill]

As I have some problems walking I was glad to see the way you get from

place to place. Most looked OK. But that transfer from train to ship

looks very long.------Thanks again Nancy

 

I assume you can request wheelchair assistance from train to ship. I do not know if it can be arranged in advance.

[RM]

We bought the sandwiches the previous afternoon at a Subway across the street from the lodge. No refrigerator, but we put them in a towel over a bucket of ice in the room to keep them fresh.

 

Since the dinner and show were included in the price of the Connoisseur tour, it was worth the time. I doubt we would pay the current regular price to do this.

 

Thanks for your honest reply.