Alaska cruisetours

[denatravels]

The cruises for 2016 have been up for some time. Any idea when the cruisetours will show up?

 

Anyone have good/bad experiences on these?

[Budget Queen]

There is plenty "bad", if you don't do your homework. :)

 

To make the right selection for you, you really need to know and understand every detail. Otherwise, you are likely to make some wrong assumptions.

 

A major "problem" is you highlight- Denali Park. None of the cruisetours get you far enough into the park for my priority. And, never, get a tour, with the worthless Natural History tour. An analogy- for you to consider is- would you ever consider taking a trip to Disneyland, and never getting past Main Street in the park?

 

You need two nights at Denali as well, and go for as long as you can afford. Most people significantly underestimate time and distances, then end up with marathon trips, with little time at destinations and hours on the road. Big negative, with some, is no time in Seward which is a gem.

 

I suggest you find out about Alaska FIRST, determine where you want to go, what activities you are going to do, THEN look for a cruisetour. Alternative- it is simple to also go on your own- which always sees the most.

[denatravels]

You already highlighted my 1 requirement: a full day in Denali to do the tundra wilderness tour-- that is a given!

[Budget Queen]

You already highlighted my 1 requirement: a full day in Denali to do the tundra wilderness tour-- that is a given!

 

Is there any interest in not going by cruisetour? The TWT is only a little more then half way into the park. It is magnificent getting to Wonder Lake. :)

[denatravels]

Like renting a car and doing it on my own? Zero interest

[pizza123]

Just got back a couple of weeks ago from a cruise/land tour. It was simply amazing! In Seward we were on the Kenai Fjords tour where we saw more wildlife up close than we had on our 7 day cruise with excursions. A whale breached 17 times right in front of us! Anchorage was probably the one stop I could of done without. Talkeetna is a must stop (yes they have a cat for a mayor). We did the Tundra Wilderness Tour at Denali and it was amazing. We were very lucky since they say only 30% of the Alaskan visitors are able to see Mt. McKinley. We had clear views 2 days in a row. Fairbanks had a wonderful riverboat tour that was very surprising. Our tour took us to the oil pipeline and a quick trip to the North Pole. Do your research, chances are you won't be able to fit everything in you want to do but then another trip (or 2) there might fulfill that....

[biojeep]

Pizza123,

 

What cruise tour did you go on? Can you please give some details of your tour?

[Budget Queen]

Pizza123,

 

What cruise tour did you go on? Can you please give some details of your tour?

 

NCL only has one tour that includes Fairbanks, each direction. Easy to find.

[denatravels]

NCL only has one tour that includes Fairbanks, each direction. Easy to find.

 

 

Unless it's not NCL. Other lines have cruisetours, also.

[pizza123]

It was with Celebrity, but it looked like (from the tour buses) that Princess and HAL had their own tour companies and the rest contracted out. We did a 5 night post cruisetour and we were very lucky to only have 22 people on our tour. Another shorter cruisetour off our ship had 2 bus loads. There would be other cruisetour buses at most of the same stops we were at.

[4774Papa]

We are booked on the Sun northbound, 5 September 2016. We are waiting for the cruisetours to be posted. About four were offered for 2015.

 

http://www.ncl.com/cruises/11-day-denali-express---northbound-NBDENALIXPRESS1SUN7VANKTNJNUSGYSWD?destinations=4294934553&numberOfGuests=4294915774&state=null&embarkationport=4294908815&itineraryCode=NBDENALIXPRESS1SUN7VANKTNJNUSGYSWD

 

Highlights:

 

All tours are fully escorted by local Alaskan guides

Guaranteed animal sightings

Overnight: Anchorage, Denali

Alaska Railroad Adventure Class from Talkeetna to Denali

Explore Denali with 4-hour Natural History bus tour

Tour the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

Brief city tour of Anchorage

So much more...

 

http://www.ncl.com/cruises/12-day-denalifairbanks---northbound-cruisetour-NBDENALIFAIBKS1SUN7VANKTNJNUSGYSWD?destinations=4294934553&numberOfGuests=4294915774&state=null&embarkationport=4294908815&itineraryCode=NBDENALIFAIBKS1SUN7VANKTNJNUSGYSWD

 

Highlights:

 

Overnight: Fairbanks, Denali

Travel the Alaska Railroad on a Deluxe Dome railcar from Fairbanks to Denali

Riverboat cruise and city tour of Fairbanks including a stop at the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline

Explore Denali with a 7-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour

Visit an Iditarod Sled Dog Musher's kennel for a private tour

Tour the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where you will see the animals of Alaska in a natural setting

Brief city tour of Anchorage

So much more...

 

http://www.ncl.com/cruises/13-day-authentic-alaska---northbound-cruisetour-NBAUTHENTIC1SUN7VANKTNJNUSGYSWD?destinations=4294934553&numberOfGuests=4294915774&state=null&embarkationport=4294908815&itineraryCode=NBAUTHENTIC1SUN7VANKTNJNUSGYSWD

 

Highlights:

 

Overnight: Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, Homer

Riverboat cruise and city tour of Fairbanks including a stop at the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline

Explore Denali with a 7-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour

Deluxe Dome Railcar from Denali to Talkeetna

Visit Talkeetna, one of the best vantage points for Mt. McKinley

Visit an Iditarod Sled Dog Musher's kennel for a private tour

Kenai Peninsula and the artsy fishing community of Homer

Tour the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

So much more...

 

 

http://www.ncl.com/cruises/12-day-denali-alyeska---northbound-cruisetour-NBDENALIALYESK1SUN7VANKTNJNUSGYSWD?destinations=4294934553&numberOfGuests=4294915774&state=null&embarkationport=4294908815&itineraryCode=NBDENALIALYESK1SUN7VANKTNJNUSGYSWD

 

Highlights:

 

Overnight: Anchorage, Denali, Girdwood

Travel the Alaska Railroad on a Deluxe Dome Railcar from Anchorage to Denali

Explore Denali with a 7-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour

Visit an Iditarod Sled Dog Musher's kennel for a private tour

Overnight stay at the deluxe Hotel Alyeska Resort in Girdwood

Tour the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where you will see the animals of Alaska in a natural setting

So much more...

 

 

http://www.ncl.com/cruises/13-day-authentic-alaska---northbound-cruisetour-NBAUTHENTIC1SUN7VANKTNJNUSGYSWD?destinations=4294934553&numberOfGuests=4294915774&state=null&embarkationport=4294908815&itineraryCode=NBAUTHENTIC1SUN7VANKTNJNUSGYSWD

 

Highlights:

 

Overnight: Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, Homer

Riverboat cruise and city tour of Fairbanks including a stop at the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline

Explore Denali with a 7-hour Tundra Wilderness Tour

Deluxe Dome Railcar from Denali to Talkeetna

Visit Talkeetna, one of the best vantage points for Mt. McKinley

Visit an Iditarod Sled Dog Musher's kennel for a private tour

Kenai Peninsula and the artsy fishing community of Homer

Tour the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center

So much more..

[pizza123]

We were told that sometimes it snows in September and Denali will be shut down. This has happened the first week in September many times. So maybe they do something else in place of Denali?

[Budget Queen]

Unless it's not NCL. Other lines have cruisetours, also.

 

This is the NCL board, making assumptions. :)

[pizza123]

I don't have any preference to any cruise line and our land tour host told us that and the ranger on the Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali National Park told us that also.

[jomf]

Whichever land tour and cruise you choose, my advice would be to take the land tour part before the cruise.

We took a land tour first, there were around 40 people on it (princess cruises), by the time we got to the ship we had around 40 new friends!

The time onboard was better for knowing so many people.

 

Another point in taking the land tour first is that the ship is more luxurious, nice to end on a high!

[don't-use-real-name]

Whichever land tour and cruise you choose, my advice would be to take the land tour part before the cruise.

We took a land tour first, there were around 40 people on it (princess cruises), by the time we got to the ship we had around 40 new friends!

The time onboard was better for knowing so many people.

 

Another point in taking the land tour first is that the ship is more luxurious, nice to end on a high!

 

A hearty second to the above comment !

With the land tour every night it is something different in and out of a suit

case moving on etc. With the cruise the last portion of the tour relax no more

packing unpacking settling in for an hour and moving on. Unless you are the

restless type - then go for it.

 

Also consider at least some portion of the land tour by Alaska Railroad for

outstanding views and narrated history etc. Try and do the full trip from

Seward/Whittier to Anchorage to Fairbanks with the 2 day stop at Denali.

At Denali take the school bus tundra tour 61 miles into the park with

rugged views and wild life pointed out as you go.

Don't hold back on anything - it may be only a once in lifetime experience

LIVE IT UP !

 

You can fly from the lower 48 to Fairbanks or Anchorage non-stop from many

large cities and return via Vancouver and/or Seattle. Hint air fares from

Vancouver are slightly higher than Seattle. Have a Travel Agent inquire

further and as always come back here to Cruise Critic for more help.

[don't-use-real-name]

It was with Celebrity, but it looked like (from the tour buses) that Princess and HAL had their own tour companies and the rest contracted out. We did a 5 night post cruisetour and we were very lucky to only have 22 people on our tour. Another shorter cruisetour off our ship had 2 bus loads. There would be other cruisetour buses at most of the same stops we were at.

 

FYI - on the Alaska Railroad - Holland-America and Princess have their own

private railway cars usually found at the end of the train. NCL uses the

white Adventure Class dome cars and one or more of the Alaska Railroad

coaches.

The 350 mile trip from Fairbanks to Anchorage takes around 12 hours and

makes frequent nature viewing stops with commentary. May seem boring

but there is always something going on of interest and with the exception of

the private cars you are free pretty much to roam the entire train about

a half a mile in length + or - 17 cars. Snack/Concession cars are available

in the Alaska Railroad cars. The private dome cars have a small bar in the

upper dome level and down below a dining section. Some of these cars

have an outdoor open air viewing next to the dome level while others have

it just off the dining section - plenty of room for 15 or so folks to have a

photo opt.

Highlight points would of course be Mt. Denali; the Hurricane Gulch bridge

and grade up/down the Healy Canyon near Denali Park.

[4774Papa]

We will pick a tour that includes the Deluxe Dome railcar as well as 7 hour Tundra tour.

 

We are cruising on the northbound, we wanted to see the best part of the cruise and tour at the end rather than beginning.

[fishin' musician]

After doing Alaska twice on our own, DW and I did the "Authentic Alaska" tour last year. We flew into Anchorage and took the train to Fairbanks the next day, which is where the tour originated. The next day was the riverboat cruise, a drive around town including a stop at the pipeline then down to Denali for a two night stay at the hotel high up on the hill overlooking "Princess City". The following day was the 6-7 hour Tundra Wilderness Tour in the converted school buses (saw lots of critters). The next day we did Jeff King's Husky Homestead which was informative and entertaining before getting on the southbound train for Talkeetna for a very brief stop before continuing by motorcoach to Anchorage. After an overnight in Anchorage (dinner at the Glacier Ale House was top notch!), we headed south to Homer, which DW and I immediately fell in love with.

 

We then boarded the Sun for an exceptional southbound cruise. I really don't think southbound vs northbound is a big issue.

 

NCL (as well as RCL, X and some of the cork sniffer lines) use a local operator that bought luxury dome cars from RCL about 4 years ago. Unlike Princess/HAL, they utilize locals for their drivers and guides rather than imported college students. We thought this really added depth to the experience.

 

Here is a link to a rather lengthy review with lots of pics:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2089424

[4774Papa]

After doing Alaska twice on our own' date=' DW and I did the "Authentic Alaska" tour last year. We flew into Anchorage and took the train to Fairbanks the next day, which is where the tour originated. The next day was the riverboat cruise, a drive around town including a stop at the pipeline then down to Denali for a two night stay at the hotel high up on the hill overlooking "Princess City". The following day was the 6-7 hour Tundra Wilderness Tour in the converted school buses (saw lots of critters). The next day we did Jeff King's Husky Homestead which was informative and entertaining before getting on the southbound train for Talkeetna for a very brief stop before continuing by motorcoach to Anchorage. After an overnight in Anchorage (dinner at the Glacier Ale House was top notch!), we headed south to Homer, which DW and I immediately fell in love with.

 

We then boarded the Sun for an exceptional southbound cruise. I really don't think southbound vs northbound is a big issue.

 

NCL (as well as RCL, X and some of the cork sniffer lines) use a local operator that bought luxury dome cars from RCL about 4 years ago. Unlike Princess/HAL, they utilize locals for their drivers and guides rather than imported college students. We thought this really added depth to the experience.

 

Here is a link to a rather lengthy review with lots of pics:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2089424[/quote']

Thanks much for the review and great photos.