Gluten Free & Logistics Question

[fireflymd]

We will be arriving into Anchorage very late for our Princess Coral Alaska Cruise/Landtour--land tour is first (travel agent booked us on a flight that arrives at 1:00 am the morning we are to leave Anchorage--now I see that there are flights that would have gotten us in at 10:00 pm the night before we travel--don't know if those 3 hours would have made any difference).

 

We will be leaving Anchorage that morning at 9:00 AM for a 3 1/2 hour motorcoach ride to Talkeetna, arriving at 12:30 PM. In Talkeetna I have booked a Glacier Landing Explorer tour which runs from 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM, after which they will shuttle us to the lodge.

 

It looks like there will be no time to eat lunch before this excursion.

 

My son has Celiac and needs to eat gluten-free, so I've already planned that we will bring KIND bars on the plane to keep in our carry-on to eat the next day at lunch time for this excursion (we will not be retrieving our luggage until we get to the lodge AFTER the excursion).

 

Is this how others have done this? I assume we will not be able to buy a packed lunch in the morning at the hotel in Anchorage before leaving, or be able to eat in Talkeetna before our flight excursion. And then the requirement for gluten-free on top of this is another wrinkle.

 

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[1025cruise]

Is the Glacier Landing tour part of the Princess package, or something you booked on your own? I can't imagine that you won't have time to stop for something to eat. If you did book this on your own, I sure hope that your motorcoach doesn't get delayed.

[PennyAgain]

What hotel in Anchorage? The big ones have room service & some of the motels have a free breakfast buffet.

[Budget Queen]

I would definately have twice the packaged food items already with you. You will be very limited with a cruisetour, since you won't have your own transportation. I am assuming you booked your flight with Princess?? An alternative would be to just book direct with a vendor, later, and then you would have time for a meal stop. BUT, keep in mind, Talkeetna is a very small place with limited food options. The McKinley Princess is an hour away with you being limited to their food options only, so you may want to verify menus ahead of time and be certain you will have enough availablity. Same with the rest of your itinerary locations.

 

I do understand your plans are in place, but if open, and for perhaps other's making plans, it is simple to also just have a rental car and get to all these locations, easily on your own. The advantage of a rental car, especially in this case is the ability for way more meal options, as well as the easy option of a full service grocery stop.

 

Not sure if you were liimited to this same day arrival, but if booked with Princess air, I would strongly suggest you consider getting this changed. It overall is not a good plan and your first cruisetour day, including your flight certainly will not be fully enjoyed due to fatigue. All you will need is a flight delay somewhere, and you are going to miss your tour.

 

Only some general suggestions to perhaps consider.

[fireflymd]

What hotel in Anchorage? The big ones have room service & some of the motels have a free breakfast buffet.

 

We are staying at Hotel Captain Cook. We will eat breakfast at the lodge before our motorcoach to Talkeetna, but I was wondering if we would be able to purchase some type of food there for lunch later.

 

 

Is the Glacier Landing tour part of the Princess package, or something you booked on your own? I can't imagine that you won't have time to stop for something to eat. If you did book this on your own, I sure hope that your motorcoach doesn't get delayed.

 

The Glacier Landing Tour excursion is through Princess. I also thought they would have the timing arranged so we could get lunch, but I'm assuming there is no lunch offered on the coach ride. Because it is a Princess tour, I would think there would be no problem if we were delayed. There is a 2:30 to 5:30 PM tour, but to find out if it is available online I have to cancel the tour I have booked. It may be easier if I just call Princess. But then I'm wondering if it is worth waiting around in Talkeetna for 2 hours for the flight? Would our Kind bars be a better option?

[Budget Queen]

Are you certain your bus goes to the lodge first?? In the past, some buses went direct to Talkeetna that had morning/early afternoon arrivals.

 

No there is no "lunch" offered on the bus. No meals are included unless specifically mentioned. This includes a Tundra Wilderness "box" meal, which is very limited, so be sure to bring extra.

 

I'd bring a case of the Kind bars. :)

[1025cruise]

In all honesty, since you have a requirement for gluten free, I would plan on bringing more than what you think you will need to be on the safe side.

 

Also, make sure for the cruise part of your trip that special needs is aware so that you can get appropriate food on the ship.

[fireflymd]

I would definately have twice the packaged food items already with you. You will be very limited with a cruisetour, since you won't have your own transportation. I am assuming you booked your flight with Princess?? An alternative would be to just book direct with a vendor, later, and then you would have time for a meal stop. BUT, keep in mind, Talkeetna is a very small place with limited food options. The McKinley Princess is an hour away with you being limited to their food options only, so you may want to verify menus ahead of time and be certain you will have enough availablity. Same with the rest of your itinerary locations.

 

I do understand your plans are in place, but if open, and for perhaps other's making plans, it is simple to also just have a rental car and get to all these locations, easily on your own. The advantage of a rental car, especially in this case is the ability for way more meal options, as well as the easy option of a full service grocery stop.

 

Not sure if you were liimited to this same day arrival, but if booked with Princess air, I would strongly suggest you consider getting this changed. It overall is not a good plan and your first cruisetour day, including your flight certainly will not be fully enjoyed due to fatigue. All you will need is a flight delay somewhere, and you are going to miss your tour.

 

Only some general suggestions to perhaps consider.

 

The travel agent booked the airline flight independent of Princess and it is non-refundable. I am sure this day and a half of travel will be exhausting and I am disappointed that the travel agent never went over this with us, and I only realized this just recently. I had hoped we could arrive in Anchorage in the early afternoon, but there are no flights that arrive at that time.

 

If this flight is delayed, we would just have to get to Talkeetna on our own. I'm thankful we are doing the land tour first.

 

For simplicity's sake and a variety of other reasons we have booked all our excursions through Princess.

 

From what I'm hearing about Talkeetna it sounds like we'll stick with eating the bars for lunch, get back to the lodge and nap before a late dinner.

[fireflymd]

Are you certain your bus goes to the lodge first?? In the past, some buses went direct to Talkeetna that had morning/early afternoon arrivals.

 

No there is no "lunch" offered on the bus. No meals are included unless specifically mentioned. This includes a Tundra Wilderness "box" meal, which is very limited, so be sure to bring extra.

 

I'd bring a case of the Kind bars. :)

 

The bus does not go the lodge first--from Anchorage it goes to Talkeetna where we will have our excursion. Then after the excursion a Princess shuttle bus picks us up in Talkeetna to take us to the McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge.

 

In all honesty, since you have a requirement for gluten free, I would plan on bringing more than what you think you will need to be on the safe side.

 

Also, make sure for the cruise part of your trip that special needs is aware so that you can get appropriate food on the ship.

 

Yes, besides putting the request for gluten-free food in our cruise personalizer, we were instructed by Princess to send a fax as well. I have also read we will need to let the head waiter on the cruise ship know when we arrive on board.

 

My biggest concern is handling the quick meals/snacks with these excursions.

 

I have already contacted the Whales, Bears & Glaciers excursion company, and they have noted that they will make my son's box lunch with just the sandwich meat and no bread--we will bring our own bread and a snack.

 

Yes I plan on bringing lots of Kind bars, GF bread and GF rolls; and ziploc bags!

 

I will have to call Princess to find out the other excursion companies--I found out the company for this particular excursion because they call their excursion by the same name.

[PennyAgain]

if you don't own one already, I would get an insulated cooler made of fabric that flattens down for packing in your suitcase or one that you can use for a carry on item. Special foods that you need for your son for his flights are considered medical needs/equipment and do not count against the amount of carry on items you are allowed to have. You have to stick to the TSA rules about liquids unless specific ones are Rx'd by his physician.

 

I have a really nice cooler of that nature that I bought at a grocery store. It is designed to hold about 6 cans of soda and a few other things plus has an outside pocket for Zippy bags, napkins etc.

 

The Captain Cook Hotel is the best hotel in Anchorage and is a full service rather large hotel. I would call them and see what they can put together for you for your lunch and snack needs. (907) 276-6000, Toll free (800) 843-1950. They can also talk with you about the room service and breakfast menus for the hour you will want to have that meal.

 

I've worked with the Captain Cook Hotel for special situations and have always been pleased with the results. Of all things to have to deal with in Alaska, I am very allergic to shellfish and have always found the Captain Cook hotel people a delight to deal with.

 

I would take a taxi to the Captain Cook Hotel to save time with your late arrival. You don't need to be waiting for a bus to fill up and depart the airport and then make other hotel stops. The ride to the hotel is not more than 20 minutes.

 

Best wishes for a wonderful Alaska vacation!

[fireflymd]

if you don't own one already, I would get an insulated cooler made of fabric that flattens down for packing in your suitcase or one that you can use for a carry on item. Special foods that you need for your son for his flights are considered medical needs/equipment and do not count against the amount of carry on items you are allowed to have. You have to stick to the TSA rules about liquids unless specific ones are Rx'd by his physician.

 

I have a really nice cooler of that nature that I bought at a grocery store. It is designed to hold about 6 cans of soda and a few other things plus has an outside pocket for Zippy bags, napkins etc.

 

The Captain Cook Hotel is the best hotel in Anchorage and is a full service rather large hotel. I would call them and see what they can put together for you for your lunch and snack needs. (907) 276-6000, Toll free (800) 843-1950. They can also talk with you about the room service and breakfast menus for the hour you will want to have that meal.

 

I've worked with the Captain Cook Hotel for special situations and have always been pleased with the results. Of all things to have to deal with in Alaska, I am very allergic to shellfish and have always found the Captain Cook hotel people a delight to deal with.

 

I would take a taxi to the Captain Cook Hotel to save time with your late arrival. You don't need to be waiting for a bus to fill up and depart the airport and then make other hotel stops. The ride to the hotel is not more than 20 minutes.

 

Best wishes for a wonderful Alaska vacation!

 

Thanks for the heads up about the carry-on cooler--sounds like a great idea. It's always a bit of a challenge to find something my son can eat on the plane, and/or during the layover. It just adds another layer of stress, although it is a minor one compared to what others have to deal with. We definitely have to take a taxi from the airport to the hotel, since we are arriving past the time Princess would provide a shuttle. The travel agent told us to get a receipt and we would be reimbursed for the taxi.

 

I am so looking forward to seeing Alaska and enjoying all the excursions I booked, despite the lunch and GF challenges.

[PennyAgain]

Thanks for the heads up about the carry-on cooler--sounds like a great idea. It's always a bit of a challenge to find something my son can eat on the plane, and/or during the layover. It just adds another layer of stress, although it is a minor one compared to what others have to deal with. We definitely have to take a taxi from the airport to the hotel, since we are arriving past the time Princess would provide a shuttle. The travel agent told us to get a receipt and we would be reimbursed for the taxi.

 

I am so looking forward to seeing Alaska and enjoying all the excursions I booked, despite the lunch and GF challenges.

 

The folks at the Captain Cook can get you fixed up for food that can last you until you are at the next hotel (and then some).

 

Have a wonderful time!