Cruise Tour Alaska--Help Please

[lovetotraveltx]

We are doing a 5-night cruise tour before our southbound Millennium cruise in June. Was told/read several times that we are able to upgrade our Natural History Tour to the Tundra Wildness. However, this can only happen in Anchorage when we first meet with our cruise director. Is this easy to do and are there plenty of spots. Has anyone had any trouble upgrading?

 

Also, anybody have any of the paperwork listing optional excursions on the land portion of the cruistetour.

 

We are on 5B starting in Anchorage, ending in Seward.

 

Thank you!

[Gradelady]

We are doing a 5-night cruise tour before our southbound Millennium cruise in June. Was told/read several times that we are able to upgrade our Natural History Tour to the Tundra Wildness. However, this can only happen in Anchorage when we first meet with our cruise director. Is this easy to do and are there plenty of spots. Has anyone had any trouble upgrading?

 

Also, anybody have any of the paperwork listing optional excursions on the land portion of the cruistetour.

 

We are on 5B starting in Anchorage, ending in Seward.

 

Thank you!

 

Hello my fellow cruiser! I just asked my travel agent this very question! When we went to Alaska on Princess, we could book land tour excursions ahead of time, even upgrade the NHT for the TWT. We did not do that, but this time we will for sure! I also asked him if we would be able to book a visit to the Sealife Center in Seward on Embarkation day. I read somewhere that the same cruisetour with Royal Caribbean does this, and so since they are one and the same company, basically, I'm hoping we can too!

[lovetotraveltx]

Hello my fellow cruiser! I just asked my travel agent this very question! When we went to Alaska on Princess, we could book land tour excursions ahead of time, even upgrade the NHT for the TWT. We did not do that, but this time we will for sure! I also asked him if we would be able to book a visit to the Sealife Center in Seward on Embarkation day. I read somewhere that the same cruisetour with Royal Caribbean does this, and so since they are one and the same company, basically, I'm hoping we can too!

 

 

Thank you! Let me know what you hear. I heard the NHT and the 2 Hour tour at Sea life center is included in our fare. We don't have a choice we go from Anchorage to Seward stop at Sea Life then get on to ship about 2:30.

 

If you find out we can book upgrades and/or other land excursions early, please pass it on.

 

See you "soon"!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

The Tundra Wilderness Tour is a minimum of 8 hours so upgrading from the NHT will depend on when you arrive or leave Denali. Many of the land tours arrive in the afternoon and depart the next morning. If you have adequate time in Denali then they should have space on the longer tours for you to upgrade.

 

Mary Lou

[jspirit]

We did the same 5B land tour pre-cruise in August. We could upgrade to the Denali TWT as soon as we met with our guide at the Marriott in Anchorage. No problem getting space.

Some people even let him know a few days into the trip .

I was concerned about that too, but there is no problem upgrading.

Hope that helps , and you have a great time!

[lovetotraveltx]

We did the same 5B land tour pre-cruise in August. We could upgrade to the Denali TWT as soon as we met with our guide at the Marriott in Anchorage. No problem getting space.

Some people even let him know a few days into the trip .

I was concerned about that too, but there is no problem upgrading.

Hope that helps , and you have a great time!

 

Yes, that helps a lot. Do you have a list by any chance of what was offered at the Marriott meeting with your guide as far as optional land excursions for the pre cruise part? Also, where did you stay in Denali?

 

Did you like the cruisetour?

 

Thank you!

[LMKohler]

The 4B tour out of Fairbanks includes the upgraded Tundra Wilderness Tour. It is 8 hours but absolutely worth every minute!!

 

 

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[jspirit]

Yes, that helps a lot. Do you have a list by any chance of what was offered at the Marriott meeting with your guide as far as optional land excursions for the pre cruise part? Also, where did you stay in Denali?

 

Did you like the cruisetour?

 

Thank you!

 

I do not have the excursions list but it was the same choices that I was able to see online on the Celebrity site prior to going on our vacation.

We did a rafting trip in Talkeetna which was fine - relaxing . Did not see too much but we thought we saw a black bear jump into the water right in front of us.. until we got closer and saw it was a black dog!:eek:

We were some of the lucky ones who got a full view of Mt. McKinley. Woke up to a sunny clear day and a 3D view of the great mountains!

The Alyeska Resort on the final tour night is a truly beautiful luxurious hotel!

In Denali we stayed at the Denali Park Lodge. We were told that our bus ( 1 of 3) was "upgraded" to the new cabins rather than the regular motel rooms. We did not enjoy that night(tiny, freezing ,dimly lit and noisy) and moved for the next night to the regular rooms. The grounds are lovely , right along the river .We were much more comfortable in the regular room.

We did enjoy being on a pre-cruise tour and met some wonderful new friends . It made the ship portion so much more fun because we already had bonded with so many people and we were all happy to see each other around the ship and in ports.

You will have a terrific time!

[Gradelady]

We did the same 5B land tour pre-cruise in August. We could upgrade to the Denali TWT as soon as we met with our guide at the Marriott in Anchorage. No problem getting space.

Some people even let him know a few days into the trip .

I was concerned about that too, but there is no problem upgrading.

Hope that helps , and you have a great time!

 

And was the trip on embarkation day to the Sea Life Center included as well?

[EliseL]

Thanks for this. I was wondering this as well.

 

JSpirit...question for you. On the last day did they bring you directly to the ship or did you have any time in Seward? We wanted to get some bottled water for the cruise but didn't want to bring it on the plane or lug it around the tour.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

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[jspirit]

And was the trip on embarkation day to the Sea Life Center included as well?

 

I can reply to both of you at the same time regarding the last cruisetour day on the 5B:

Yes, the Sealife Centre was included and they gave us about 2 hours to wander around on our own there.

The people who wanted to purchase wine or water/ soft drinks did so during this time. They walked up the street to the store and made their purchases.

It seemed that most people by this point were very anxious just to embark on the ship! It was pouring rain . We did enjoy the Sealife Centre but also wanted to start the luxury part of this vacation onboard!

Any other questions?

[lovetotraveltx]

I do not have the excursions list but it was the same choices that I was able to see online on the Celebrity site prior to going on our vacation.

We did a rafting trip in Talkeetna which was fine - relaxing . Did not see too much but we thought we saw a black bear jump into the water right in front of us.. until we got closer and saw it was a black dog!:eek:

We were some of the lucky ones who got a full view of Mt. McKinley. Woke up to a sunny clear day and a 3D view of the great mountains!

The Alyeska Resort on the final tour night is a truly beautiful luxurious hotel!

In Denali we stayed at the Denali Park Lodge. We were told that our bus ( 1 of 3) was "upgraded" to the new cabins rather than the regular motel rooms. We did not enjoy that night(tiny, freezing ,dimly lit and noisy) and moved for the next night to the regular rooms. The grounds are lovely , right along the river .We were much more comfortable in the regular room.

We did enjoy being on a pre-cruise tour and met some wonderful new friends . It made the ship portion so much more fun because we already had bonded with so many people and we were all happy to see each other around the ship and in ports.

You will have a terrific time!

 

How far in advance were the land excursions posted on celebrity's website. If you search for excursions now it is only for cruise port stops.

 

Also, were any excursions offered from Alesyka?

 

Thank you for all of your help!

[jspirit]

How far in advance were the land excursions posted on celebrity's website. If you search for excursions now it is only for cruise port stops.

 

Also, were any excursions offered from Alesyka?

 

Thank you for all of your help!

I tried to find the list of land tour excursions for you but I also can't see it right now. I know I saw them for many months before the summer so keep checking.

There were lots of flight seeing tour offered and the people who took them came back very excited with what they saw, especially going to the peak of Mt. McKinnley. Talkeetna was a good one for that. In Alyeska we had the tram ticket included . The views from up there were beautiful. Met a bunch who did the flights from there as well as some hikes.

There were several rafting trips and in Denali our friends did one that was quite thrilling . We did the Husky Homestead tour that evening and it was interesting to meet Jeff and his dogs, and hear his stories of the big races. You can be sure that Celebrity offered tours everywhere we went!

BTW, in Talkeetna there is a very small town - one main street, and we had a free shuttle back and forth from the hotel. Turned out to be a big favorite - the food was really good and one place had those huge crab legs everynight on special for dinner at $25 .00 ; fresh off the boat!

Edited October 21, 2014 by jspirit

[lovetotraveltx]

I tried to find the list of land tour excursions for you but I also can't see it right now. I know I saw them for many months before the summer so keep checking.

There were lots of flight seeing tour offered and the people who took them came back very excited with what they saw, especially going to the peak of Mt. McKinnley. Talkeetna was a good one for that. In Alyeska we had the tram ticket included . The views from up there were beautiful. Met a bunch who did the flights from there as well as some hikes.

There were several rafting trips and in Denali our friends did one that was quite thrilling . We did the Husky Homestead tour that evening and it was interesting to meet Jeff and his dogs, and hear his stories of the big races. You can be sure that Celebrity offered tours everywhere we went!

BTW, in Talkeetna there is a very small town - one main street, and we had a free shuttle back and forth from the hotel. Turned out to be a big favorite - the food was really good and one place had those huge crab legs everynight on special for dinner at $25 .00 ; fresh off the boat!

 

Thanks again! I heard the lodge in Talkeetna is very nice. So you can get to meals outside the lodge?

 

What lodge did your tour stay at in Denali? I heard Celebrity uses 3.

[jspirit]

Thanks again! I heard the lodge in Talkeetna is very nice. So you can get to meals outside the lodge?

 

What lodge did your tour stay at in Denali? I heard Celebrity uses 3.

 

I think I mentioned - Denali Park Lodge

In Talkeetna we ate in the town and in Denali you can also eat in town.

In Alyeska we took the hotel shuttle bus for a 5 minute ride into town and ate at one of the well reviewed local restaurants - with moose and bear heads hanging over our table!

Edited October 23, 2014 by jspirit

[lovetotraveltx]

I think I mentioned - Denali Park Lodge

In Talkeetna we ate in the town and in Denali you can also eat in town.

In Alyeska we took the hotel shuttle bus for a 5 minute ride into town and ate at one of the well reviewed local restaurants - with moose and bear heads hanging over our table!

 

Sorry! :( I should have looked at your past posts for the lodge name. Thank you!

[jspirit]

Sorry! :( I should have looked at your past posts for the lodge name. Thank you!

 

Actually I should have said Denali Park Village.

And I think the name of the restaurant in Alyeska is Chair 5

Edited October 24, 2014 by jspirit

[lovetotraveltx]

I think I mentioned - Denali Park Lodge

In Talkeetna we ate in the town and in Denali you can also eat in town.

In Alyeska we took the hotel shuttle bus for a 5 minute ride into town and ate at one of the well reviewed local restaurants - with moose and bear heads hanging over our table!

 

Were there shuttles from Denali park village to get to meals and town?

 

Thanks!

[Gradelady]

Were there shuttles from Denali park village to get to meals and town?

 

Thanks!

 

This thread is getting me so excited for June! Crab legs in Talkeetna? Where?

[Rosieo]

We have been to Alaska twice. I strongly recommend doing the land tour on your own. Very easy to do. You can go where you want when you want. You don't have to leave when the bus leaves. Such a relaxing trip on your own!

[lovetotraveltx]

This thread is getting me so excited for June! Crab legs in Talkeetna? Where?

 

West rib pub