Details of the tour part of a Princess Alaska cruisetour

[Barbara H]

Thank-you so much for such an excellent review. My family will be doing a cruisetour in a couple of weeks.

 

I noticed that one of the menus listed a gluten free dessert. Do you happen to know what options might be available to eat gluten free while on the land portion? On board ship we have requested gluten free dining.

 

Many thanks!

[caribill]

I noticed that one of the menus listed a gluten free dessert. Do you happen to know what options might be available to eat gluten free while on the land portion?

 

Sorry, I do not know the answer.

[Barbara H]

Thanks anyway.

 

My boys and I are even more excited about our trip after reading your review. :)

[perfect match]

Caribill, thanks for a great review! I'm trying to talk DH into doing exactly what you did on your cruisetour. Your review has made me even more determined to make it happen! Loved your pictures!

[cruising_w_kids]

Hi. This might be a dumb question but ... During the Tundra Wilderness Tour, were you allowed to explore / wander the park or was it just a viewing of the park?

[caribill]

Hi. During the Tundra Wilderness Tour, were you allowed to explore / wander the park or was it just a viewing of the park?

 

No wandering. Only time off the bus was for rest rooms and a vistor's center.

 

Too much wildlife to allow a group of tourists to safely wander.

[martinchem]

We booked the Sapphire 11 night "On Your Own" for an Aug 13th landtour first with your same lodges. Just came upon your review today and it was great reading! I was really glad you were able to see Mt. McKinley in full glory. We are so looking forward to this cruisetour and I wanted to thank you for such a well thought out and detailed post. Was wandering though if you had a chance to see the northern lights and if the two mosquitoes were all you encountered. I don't know your travel dates but suspect they were close to what ours will be.

[caribill]

Was wandering though if you had a chance to see the northern lights and if the two mosquitoes were all you encountered. I don't know your travel dates but suspect they were close to what ours will be.

 

We went in early August.

 

The mosquitos listed in the report were the only ones we saw during the land and cruise.

 

No northern lights for us. Too light too late (and too early) at that time of year.

[Kinkacruiser]

Thankyou so much for posting this fabulous review and stunning photos. I've already saved the link in our 2015 Alaska file.

[!WaterLogged!]

Awesome review!!!!

 

How/why did you book at Princess then transfer to TA?

 

Booking for 2014. Can't wait!

[caribill]

Awesome review!!!!

 

How/why did you book at Princess then transfer to TA?

 

Booking for 2014. Can't wait!

 

As many others do, I booked the cruise with Princess, then checked pricing with travel agents (who are allowed to discount) and received a 5.5% discount when I transferred the booking to the chosen TA.

[jnc411]

Thanks for the great review and pictures, we are going on a land tour in a few weeks, a bit different itinerary and it is not a connissure tour , so we will be doing the food thing on our own , your comments are very helpful. We have one tour included and need to pick and choose the others. After seeing your pictures we are even more excited to go.

Thank You.....

Cori

[lor74]

Very interesting, thanks for posting!

[cruisebuddy513]

Have decided this is a holiday of a lifetime and booked Connoisseur Land tour and cruise on Coral Princess for May 2014. As a solo traveller it's expensive but looking at your pictures and descriptive text I am hopefully it will be a cruise to remember. Thanks for all the valuable information

[caribill]

Have decided this is a holiday of a lifetime and booked Connoisseur Land tour and cruise on Coral Princess for May 2014. As a solo traveller it's expensive but looking at your pictures and descriptive text I am hopefully it will be a cruise to remember. Thanks for all the valuable information

 

Have a great cruise and tour.

[seabreezer]

Hi. This might be a dumb question but ... During the Tundra Wilderness Tour, were you allowed to explore / wander the park or was it just a viewing of the park?

 

Just did this tour and our guide told us we were welcome to hop off the tour bus and hike as long as we wanted. We could then be picked up by any of the green Nat'l Park busses.

[beshears]

Great review and pictures.

[Nessies3]

Any idea why I can't see the photos?

[caribill]

Any idea why I can't see the photos?

 

The 10GB monthly bandwidth limit on my account was reached. It should reset on August 14 or 15th and then the pictures will be visible again. Please check again then.

Edited August 10, 2013 by caribill

[Nessies3]

Thanks! We depart 8/19 for the Anchorage/Talkeetna/Denali Connoisseur Tour!

[beshears]

Good question, I couldn't see the pictures either. I always like the review, but seeing the pictures just ADDS to the review.:)

[margob111]

I'm currently booked on a cruisetour in May of 2014 from Whittier to Vancouver. I called Princess today to ask about the Connoisseur Escorted tour. I think some of the ports are slightly different than yours but it's close enough that it gives me a good comparison. Do you think the Connoisseur Escorted tour is worth the extra money? I got a price quote from Princess and there is a difference of about $800 per person, of course, it is a few days more.

Edited August 15, 2013 by margob111
Duplicate entry

[caribill]

Do you think the Connoisseur Escorted tour is worth the extra money? I got a price quote from Princess and there is a difference of about $800 per person, of course, it is a few days more.

 

As indicated in post #1, our cost difference was $835/person over the cruise alone and we felt it was worth it.

 

Is your $800/person the difference between the cruise and the Connoisseur tour or the difference between the regular tour and the Connoisseur tour?

 

An important part of the Connoisseur tour is that almost every meal is included in the cost. In my posts I have given some meal pricing along the way. For example, at one of the lodges the dinner menu included:

Appetizer: Sweet Soy Ginger Beef Skewers - $16

Appetizer: Reindeer stuffed mushrooms - $9

Soup: Smoked Wild Alaskan Salmon Chowder – Cup $5, Bowl $6

Entrée: 8 ounce Grilled Cattleman’s Angus Top Sirloin - $27

Entrée: Simply Grilled Alaskan Salmon - $26

Entrée: Bering Sea Crab Legs - $49

Dessert: Mama’s Old Fashion Carrot Cake - $8

Dessert: Alaskan-made Vanilla or Blueberry Ice Cream - $4

 

(For one dinner we had, the items added up to $62.50 not including tip ((which is included on the Connoisseur tour)). For two people including tip, this would be almost $144.)

 

If you were paying directly for each meal, the costs would add up pretty quickly.

[margob111]

Thanks for the quick response. The $800 difference is the the cost between the regular cruise tour and the Connoisseur cries tour so it's probably the $835 you mentioned. I did notice that they had changed my cabin. I'm currently in mini suite B504 and they quoted D415 and I haven't even had a chance to look to see if D415 is a covered, partially covered, or not covered balcony or look on the deck plan to check location. Also, someone mentioned not doing the Music of Denali Theater and seeing about an OBC - think Princess would do that? All of these questions because I read that we should upgrade the Natural History Tour to the Tundra Wilderness Tour LOL.

[caribill]

Thanks for the quick response. The $800 difference is the the cost between the regular cruise tour and the Connoisseur cries tour so it's probably the $835 you mentioned. I did notice that they had changed my cabin. I'm currently in mini suite B504 and they quoted D415 and I haven't even had a chance to look to see if D415 is a covered, partially covered, or not covered balcony or look on the deck plan to check location. Also, someone mentioned not doing the Music of Denali Theater and seeing about an OBC - think Princess would do that? All of these questions because I read that we should upgrade the Natural History Tour to the Tundra Wilderness Tour LOL.

 

In my case, I had hit a great sale and the $835/person was the total cost of the Connoisser tour over just the cruise only cost.

 

By the way, the Tundra Wilderness Tour is included in the cost of the Connoisseur, so another savings you can add to the benefit of paying the $800 extra for Connoisseur upgrade.