Alaska Land Tour Questions

[lobster129]

I have tried to search for info from the Port of Call: AK boards, and the stickies of cruise reviews without clear answers. I would appreciate if Celebrity cruisers could answer the following about the LAND TOUR portion of our cruise (Millie 2016)

 

1. LUGGAGE: How much of our cruise luggage may we have delivered to our hotel/lodge room each time? I have seen luggage tags to "join me nightly" and ones to "join me on last night of tour". i.e.: Can we each have a full sized suitcase join us each night? Plus a rolling carry on size? I understand we may bring a tote bag or small backpack inside our transfer bus/train as a "day-bag", but is there a size limitation?

 

2. MEALS: I understand that most, possibly all, meals will be "on our own" (Additional $$). Are we stuck with eating @ the hotel/lodge because we will not have a car?

 

3. "Free Time Extra Excursions" ...how soon ahead does Celebrity let us know those extra options? Does anyone have a list of their options for past years? (We will be overnights in Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali and Fairbanks.

 

4. DIY excursions ?: I typically book my own private excursions in ports. Is that a reasonable option for a land tour?

 

5. How far ahead did you know your daily land schedule? I really need to know times for each day so that I can fit in our priority sights/activites.

 

**In case anyone is wondering why we are not just arranging our own land tour....my DH does not like the idea of driving, handing luggage etc...he is all about less vacation stress and being cared for (the major reason we cruise)

 

TIA for ANY help on any of these topics!!!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I have tried to search for info from the Port of Call: AK boards, and the stickies of cruise reviews without clear answers. I would appreciate if Celebrity cruisers could answer the following about the LAND TOUR portion of our cruise (Millie 2016)

 

1. LUGGAGE: How much of our cruise luggage may we have delivered to our hotel/lodge room each time? I have seen luggage tags to "join me nightly" and ones to "join me on last night of tour". i.e.: Can we each have a full sized suitcase join us each night? Plus a rolling carry on size? I understand we may bring a tote bag or small backpack inside our transfer bus/train as a "day-bag", but is there a size limitation?

 

2. MEALS: I understand that most, possibly all, meals will be "on our own" (Additional $$). Are we stuck with eating @ the hotel/lodge because we will not have a car?

 

3. "Free Time Extra Excursions" ...how soon ahead does Celebrity let us know those extra options? Does anyone have a list of their options for past years? (We will be overnights in Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali and Fairbanks.

 

4. DIY excursions ?: I typically book my own private excursions in ports. Is that a reasonable option for a land tour?

 

5. How far ahead did you know your daily land schedule? I really need to know times for each day so that I can fit in our priority sights/activites.

 

**In case anyone is wondering why we are not just arranging our own land tour....my DH does not like the idea of driving, handing luggage etc...he is all about less vacation stress and being cared for (the major reason we cruise)

 

TIA for ANY help on any of these topics!!!

 

1) You might be able to have that much luggage delivered each night but it would b e easier all around to stick with 2 suitcases + small bags.

 

2) You will not be stuck at the hotels. Depending on where you are staying the hotel will have a shuttle to the "town" (Denali). Fairbanks has taxi's and ride share vans that will take you to a restaurant. Anchorage is very walkable for some good restaurants. There is not much in Talkeetna, we just ate at the hotel there.

 

3) You will get the available excursions from the tour guide on the 1st day. Sorry, I did not keep ours.

 

4/5) You won't know the daily schedule until you begin the land tour. The e docs have general information such as morning, afternoon, etc. You can book some excursions on your own. The hotels had brochures available.

 

We did land tours twice with Celebrity, in 2011 & 2014 and the same procedures were the same both times.

[4cats,1dog]

http://lclavette1.blogspot.com/search/label/VANCOUVER

 

I did the RCI cruise/land tour last May. Our guide said Royal and Celebrity have the same tours. Only difference is the name on the bus.

 

I included my blog which has the cruise first and land after. When you meet your guide and bus driver- they give you the itinerary and the optional tours. They handle all the luggage.

We repack end our cruise luggage and left our big bag with them on the bus. If I did it again, we would just have them bring all the luggage to the rooms. We saw many people doing that. They give you tags for luggage you need with you and luggage you don't need til you get to the ship.

 

We booked the Flightseeing to Mt Mckinley in Talkeetna and upgraded to the tundra wilderness tour in Denali.

All the optional tours- your guide will do all the planning for you. They provide transportation to and from the tour as well. No need to book ahead.

Other options: Jet Boat in Talkeetna. There is a hotel shuttle that will bring you into town. Not to much there.

In Denali: there is a Husky puppy homestead tour- people that did this loved it.

And there was also an ATV tour.- people had fun- but got really muddy.

There was also a Dinner show available.

We did not go to Fairbanks- not interested- but the tours were a riverboat tour and panning for gold.

Not sure if I mentioned all the tours.. You will have free time to explore on your own, but not too much to book your own tours.

Have a great time. We loved the land tour part. Premier tours handles this for RCI/Celebrity. We never touched the luggage beyond taking it into the room.

All the hotels had nice restaurants. We ate in towns at Talkeetna and SEWARD and Alyeska(Girdwood) . Denali had a nice place to eat at the Access center before your tour. They also have a grab and go section to take a sandwich with you.

Have a great time!

[kathynorth]

I have tried to search for info from the Port of Call: AK boards, and the stickies of cruise reviews without clear answers. I would appreciate if Celebrity cruisers could answer the following about the LAND TOUR portion of our cruise (Millie 2016)

 

First let me say that we absolutely loved our cruisetour via the Millie back in 2008. It was one of our all time favorite trips. However, the lack of info prior to the tour part was very frustrating.

 

1. LUGGAGE: How much of our cruise luggage may we have delivered to our hotel/lodge room each time? I have seen luggage tags to "join me nightly" and ones to "join me on last night of tour". i.e.: Can we each have a full sized suitcase join us each night? Plus a rolling carry on size? I understand we may bring a tote bag or small backpack inside our transfer bus/train as a "day-bag", but is there a size limitation?

 

We were permitted 1 full suitcase each, plus whatever you chose to carry with you on the bus. You label which suitcase goes to the room and which is stored in the underside of the bus. I seem to recall receiving all the suitcases when we arrived to Denali, which gave us the opportunity to swap out items between bags. You can request to get into your stored bags if necessary, but when you see all those bags, you’ll understand why it would be difficult for the driver to keep unloading and reloading all those bags. My advice is to pack light with one bag for the cruise and another for the tour part and bring along a small carry on each. (I wish we had packed less. Both the cruise and land portions were very casual. We brought clothes for all 4 seasons, but should have focused on layering spring attire with a swimsuit for indoor pool use.)

 

2. MEALS: I understand that most, possibly all, meals will be "on our own" (Additional $$). Are we stuck with eating @ the hotel/lodge because we will not have a car?

 

Anchorage is very walkable and also has a trolley that I recall riding. There were choices for restaurants within walking distance. We had a stop at Alyeska and ate onsite. Some people did jump in cabs to go to offsite restaurants. The hotel we stayed at in Denali was actually down the road from Denali NP. There was a shuttle that ran between the hotel and Glitter Gultch, which is a great place to buy souvenirs. We ate at the Salmon Bake our first evening in Denali, The Perch Restaurant the next night, and breakfast at the hotel. There was also a shuttle to/from the hotel we stayed at in Fairbanks, but we were so tired on our last night that we walked to the restaurant next door.

 

3. "Free Time Extra Excursions" ...how soon ahead does Celebrity let us know those extra options? Does anyone have a list of their options for past years? (We will be overnights in Anchorage, Talkeetna, Denali and Fairbanks.

 

You find out when you board the bus for the landtour. They explained this is because arrival and departure times for each stop vary greatly based on the # of passengers, how long it takes for them to board the bus, and traffic. Once on the tour we could understand why this could be so unpredictable.

 

4. DIY excursions ?: I typically book my own private excursions in ports. Is that a reasonable option for a land tour?

 

We didn’t book ahead on our land portion because we didn’t have exact itinerary times, but did book a couple while on the tour. Stops where we had ample time to DIY were at Denali and Fairbanks. We were at Denali for 2 nights and had an early morning Tundra Wilderness tour as part of our package. This left us with free time in the late afternoon/evening immediately after we arrived, as well as late afternoon and evening the next day. With the long days that far north we packed in lots of tours. (There was internet access at the hotels we stayed at. We used CC and TA to map out a flexible potential plan. If Celebrity doesn’t offer what you’re interested in then you can book on the day of from the hotel computer or your cell.) (If your tour only includes the Natural History tour at Denali, you may want to consider upgrading to the Tundra Wilderness tour. There's an interesting free sled dog demonstration just inside the park. We visited right after our TWT. There are free buses that run from Denali to/from Glitter Gultch hotels.)

 

5. How far ahead did you know your daily land schedule? I really need to know times for each day so that I can fit in our priority sights/activites.

 

You don’t find out the daily land schedule until the day the landtour begins. However, the excursion offerings provided by Celebrity were pretty much the same that you would consider booking on your own.

 

**In case anyone is wondering why we are not just arranging our own land tour....my DH does not like the idea of driving, handing luggage etc...he is all about less vacation stress and being cared for (the major reason we cruise)

 

This was the same for us. We were very pleased with our cruisetour and would consider doing it again if the opportunity presents itself. Alaska was more beautiful than I had imagined and we thought the train and bus rides felt like excursions. For us, it wouldn’t have been the same if we had to drive, deal with directions, etc.

 

TIA for ANY help on any of these topics!!!

Edited April 5, 2015 by kathynorth

[lobster129]

http://lclavette1.blogspot.com/search/label/VANCOUVER

 

I did the RCI cruise/land tour last May. Our guide said Royal and Celebrity have the same tours. Only difference is the name on the bus.

 

 

Hi LC,

 

I did read your blog site yesterday. It was enlightening and encouraging. I poured over your descriptions and lovely photos too.

 

I have already been in contact "the other" Flight-seeing company based out of Talkeetna about booking a private tour. Both companies get great reviews. I do not want to miss this opportunity unless the weather cancels it.

 

Thank you:)

[lobster129]

I have tried to search for info from the Port of Call: AK boards, and the stickies of cruise reviews without clear answers. I would appreciate if Celebrity cruisers could answer the following about the LAND TOUR portion of our cruise (Millie 2016)

 

First let me say that we absolutely loved our cruisetour via the Millie back in 2008. It was one of our all time favorite trips. However, the lack of info prior to the tour part was very frustrating.

 

Thanks kathynorth,

 

I might need to relax and just book my tours for ports of call. I was worried about not making reservations soon enough and getting "shut out" for not being proactive. :eek:

 

I will manage the luggage part. It really helps to know ahead what my options are! Since not all lodging seems to have a digital safe in the room, I guess I will need to leave the "Crown Jewels" @ home! :p

 

Knowledge is power. Thanks for adding to mine.

[4cats,1dog]

Hi LC,

 

I did read your blog site yesterday. It was enlightening and encouraging. I poured over your descriptions and lovely photos too.

 

I have already been in contact "the other" Flight-seeing company based out of Talkeetna about booking a private tour. Both companies get great reviews. I do not want to miss this opportunity unless the weather cancels it.

 

Thank you:)

 

Thanks- you will have an amazing time. The weather in Talkeetna was sunny/cloudy, but you could not see Mt McKinley until we were up in the air. It was so cool, the Mountain seamed to have a cloud halo. There were only 5 of us that got to see the Mountain out of our group.

K2 did a great job Flightseeing. They had multiple planes at the airport. Wear waterproof boots on this tour or they will give you shoe covers to wear.

All optional tours that you book on land tour is fully refundable if the weather doesn't co-operate. Don't forget if you book another company you need transportation to there office and back to hotel. All the transportation is included with all land tour options.

 

RCI had two bus loads on our tour group and Celebrity had another 2busloads that followed us to each place. The Alaska CC boards like the DIY tours, but my DH was like yours, we are on vacation- we didn't want to drive or handle luggage. Our guide Patricia and Lou the bus driver were top notch. very knowledgable about everything.

Let me know if you have any questions, that I can answer.

Lynn

Edited April 5, 2015 by 4cats,1dog

[lobster129]

Lynn, I did think about transfers round trip to and from (Talkeetna Lodge/Fight-seeing departure site) The graciously offered to pick us op and get us back to the lodge.:)

 

I am certain that K2 is also excellent and not much more $$. I still may do that one.

 

Also your review about the Husky Homestead Tour (that you didn't go on but wished you had)...helped me with a PLAN B in case there is extra time or if the weather does not permit us to fly.

 

We do have the TWT in Denali. (Yawn) But we will be there during the summer solstice...so we have lots of daylight as long as we can get our bodies in shape~

[4cats,1dog]

Lynn, I did think about transfers round trip to and from (Talkeetna Lodge/Fight-seeing departure site) The graciously offered to pick us op and get us back to the lodge.:)

 

I am certain that K2 is also excellent and not much more $$. I still may do that one.

 

Also your review about the Husky Homestead Tour (that you didn't go on but wished you had)...helped me with a PLAN B in case there is extra time or if the weather does not permit us to fly.

 

We do have the TWT in Denali. (Yawn) But we will be there during the summer solstice...so we have lots of daylight as long as we can get our bodies in shape~

 

The husky homestead is in Denali. There was time to do TWT and Husky homestead. Don't worry about the length of the Tundra tour- there is so much to see that the time flies. The bus takes you back to the hotel, not the access center.

On the cruise, we did 2 tours through cruise line. ketchikan- wilderness exploration with crab feast. This was fun and crab was awesome.

And Juneau we did Taku lodge with Flightseeing.

We did Mendenhall Glacier on our own.

Highly recommend Taku lodge (with salmon bake) and five glacier Flightseeing.

In Icy Straight we went whale watching with Misty Bay Lodge. Highly recommend them!

We did Chilkoot Charters tour to Emerald Lake . Bus up with option to do train back. The puppies at Caribou Crossing were disappointing. I thought they were not treated well and dirty. Huskey homestead in Denali was far better.

[lobster129]

The husky homestead is in Denali. There was time to do TWT and Husky homestead. Don't worry about the length of the Tundra tour- there is so much to see that the time flies. The bus takes you back to the hotel, not the access center.

On the cruise, we did 2 tours through cruise line. ketchikan- wilderness exploration with crab feast. This was fun and crab was awesome.

And Juneau we did Taku lodge with Flightseeing.

We did Mendenhall Glacier on our own.

Highly recommend Taku lodge (with salmon bake) and five glacier Flightseeing.

In Icy Straight we went whale watching with Misty Bay Lodge. Highly recommend them!

We did Chilkoot Charters tour to Emerald Lake . Bus up with option to do train back. The puppies at Caribou Crossing were disappointing. I thought they were not treated well and dirty. Huskey homestead in Denali was far better.

 

I have my tours for ports of call pretty much sorted out and have made email contact with most of them or at least examined their web site and read reviews on CC and TA. I have a spreadsheet for each day of the trip with plans, prices, contact info etc.

 

My challenge is the land portion, and what I can reserve to make the best use of our "Free TIME". :)

 

I have been hesitant to wait until we arrive on the land tour and begin sorting out my options. I don't want to worry about going all that way and then the options tours that interest us are already sold out.:eek:

 

Maybe I will just book the flight seeing in Talkeetna ahead, and fill in through the touring company with options. I will be crushed if I don't get a flight-seeing expedition. The land tour into Denali was my other priority, and the cruise-tour includes that.:)

 

I do have the puppies/huskies listed under Denali. We are not highly action/adventure folks...so not all excursions fit our needs (or abilities ):o

[4cats,1dog]

I doubt the Flightseeing will be sold out. It is one of the higher priced tours. We only had 5 people out of two bus loads that went. I think even if everyone wanted to go, they would accommodate. The best part of the land tour is that they do all the work and you have fun. They keep you busy enjoying their state.

You will want some down time to yourselves. I wanted to do everything that I could possibly do because I don't know if I would get the chance to go back someday.

Lynn

[lobster129]

Lynn, thanks for posting about the company that Celebrity uses for land tours name. (Premier Tours), I have looked through their website and found additional information. It also give me a contact number.

 

We are on a "Deluxe Motorcoach" from Seward to Anchorage. The other transfers are all via the "Wilderness Express glass domed train-car". I am excited about the train as it looks so comfortable!:D Another reason for staying with the Land Tour with Celebrity for us. Sit back, relax, enjoy the scenery, have coffee or wine...or a meal. Ahhhh.:p

 

I still hope someone will be able to post their "free time excursion options". But meanwhile, I will read more about what is available to do in the area and reviews of previous travelers and work notes up in a Word document. Then when we get on the tour, I will have "done my homework" and have a prioritized list of options.

 

I feel much more secure about being able to do the things we want to do. The rest is up to us to work out more and make sure we are in our best condition to keep up our endurance levels with the extended hours of daylight.:)

 

I am the OP of this thread and a truly do appreciate all the ideas and input! I do now have a PLAN!

[4cats,1dog]

The land portion is not run by the cruise company. If you call Celebrity, they won't be able to tell you anything. You might be able to get answers from Premier tours, who actually run the land part. Cruise/land tours are great for first timers who don't want the hassle of driving and lugging around luggage. There are plenty of options. Keep in mind if you are going from SEWARD straight through to Denali you are in for a really long bus/train ride. I picked a tour that tic tacked through many places, therefore we had 2-3 hour bus rides. The longest leg was on the dome train. The wilderness express cars owned by RCI were awesome. First class all the way.

Lynn

 

(Copy from another post)

 

Your welcome ! Your trip will be awesome!

[lobster129]

The land portion is not run by the cruise company. If you call Celebrity, they won't be able to tell you anything. You might be able to get answers from Premier tours, who actually run the land part. Cruise/land tours are great for first timers who don't want the hassle of driving and lugging around luggage. There are plenty of options. Keep in mind if you are going from SEWARD straight through to Denali you are in for a really long bus/train ride. I picked a tour that tic tacked through many places, therefore we had 2-3 hour bus rides. The longest leg was on the dome train. The wilderness express cars owned by RCI were awesome. First class all the way.

Lynn

 

(Copy from another post)

 

Your welcome ! Your trip will be awesome!

 

We are stopping in Anchorage 1 night, Talkeetna 2 night, Denali 2 nights, Fairbanks 2 nights. The more I learn, the happier I am with my choices. Like life, it will not be perfect, but I do think is the best opportunity for us to see more of our 49th state.:D

[Jane2357]

We are stopping in Anchorage 1 night, Talkeetna 2 night, Denali 2 nights, Fairbanks 2 nights. The more I learn, the happier I am with my choices. Like life, it will not be perfect, but I do think is the best opportunity for us to see more of our 49th state.:D

 

I believe that we are on the an almost identical post cruise tour - the only difference that I can see is that we only have Fairbanks for 1 night. We are on 7A. With less time in Fairbanks we will try to book a later flight out.

[lobster129]

I believe that we are on the an almost identical post cruise tour - the only difference that I can see is that we only have Fairbanks for 1 night. We are on 7A. With less time in Fairbanks we will try to book a later flight out.

 

It looks like most flights are quite late because they have to fly overnight and not land until the "destination" airport is open for business. Most of us will have to make a connecting flight. I cannot even fly direct to Chicago. (mock bookings, since 2016 flights won't be published for several months)

 

Becky

[weneedavacation2]

http://lclavette1.blogspot.com/search/label/VANCOUVER

 

I did the RCI cruise/land tour last May. Our guide said Royal and Celebrity have the same tours. Only difference is the name on the bus.

 

I included my blog which has the cruise first and land after. When you meet your guide and bus driver- they give you the itinerary and the optional tours. They handle all the luggage.

We repack end our cruise luggage and left our big bag with them on the bus. If I did it again, we would just have them bring all the luggage to the rooms. We saw many people doing that. They give you tags for luggage you need with you and luggage you don't need til you get to the ship.

 

We booked the Flightseeing to Mt Mckinley in Talkeetna and upgraded to the tundra wilderness tour in Denali.

All the optional tours- your guide will do all the planning for you. They provide transportation to and from the tour as well. No need to book ahead.

Other options: Jet Boat in Talkeetna. There is a hotel shuttle that will bring you into town. Not to much there.

In Denali: there is a Husky puppy homestead tour- people that did this loved it.

And there was also an ATV tour.- people had fun- but got really muddy.

There was also a Dinner show available.

We did not go to Fairbanks- not interested- but the tours were a riverboat tour and panning for gold.

Not sure if I mentioned all the tours.. You will have free time to explore on your own, but not too much to book your own tours.

Have a great time. We loved the land tour part. Premier tours handles this for RCI/Celebrity. We never touched the luggage beyond taking it into the room.

All the hotels had nice restaurants. We ate in towns at Talkeetna and SEWARD and Alyeska(Girdwood) . Denali had a nice place to eat at the Access center before your tour. They also have a grab and go section to take a sandwich with you.

Have a great time!

with the flightseeing in Talkeetna- was it a heli and did it include a glacier landing?

We are booked through RCI and they won't give me the times for our "free time" to book on our own and they won't share their excursion options. I want to do a heli/ glacier landing either in Denali or Talkeetna. Also- what is the temps in the beginning of July?

[peterm]

Our future tour only includes the Natural History tour at Denali.

 

If we would like to upgrade to the Tundra Wilderness tour - do we need to do this in advance through Celebrity/our TA or can we make the reservation at the beginning of the tour with the tour guide?

 

Thanks.

[kathynorth]

Thanks kathynorth,

 

I might need to relax and just book my tours for ports of call. I was worried about not making reservations soon enough and getting "shut out" for not being proactive. :eek:

 

I will manage the luggage part. It really helps to know ahead what my options are! Since not all lodging seems to have a digital safe in the room, I guess I will need to leave the "Crown Jewels" @ home! :p

 

Knowledge is power. Thanks for adding to mine.

 

Prior to our trip I was very annoyed at the limited available info on land tour excursions. However, once on the tour we realized that timing between stops was very unpredictable and could have caused a problem for passengers who prebooked private excursions. I always put together a small binder with our travel docs for all our trips. For this trip I included printouts of tours we were interested in that I came across from my internet research, including their contact phone #s. All of the hotels we stayed at had internet access and we were able to call companies directly using our cell phones. I compared what we wanted to the list of tours available through Celebrity. The only tour that was significantly less as a private booking was flightseeing over Mt. McKinley. We also self booked the Riverboat Discovery and the El Dorado Gold Mine out of Fairbanks. Keep in mind that you have lots of daylight hours the further north you are, so you can squeeze in lots to see if you don't mind not sleeping. :D

[lovetotraveltx]

Our future tour only includes the Natural History tour at Denali.

 

If we would like to upgrade to the Tundra Wilderness tour - do we need to do this in advance through Celebrity/our TA or can we make the reservation at the beginning of the tour with the tour guide?

 

Thanks.

 

You can't upgrade or book anything until you meet your tour director at the beginning of the land tour. We go soon and will post when I get back!