Denali Historical or Tundra tour

[PG13]

Hello Everyone,

 

I don't know about you, but I've had enough snow and cold here in Michigan.

 

Anyway, The Historical Nature Tour is part of the package we have for our land and sea tour for Alaska. My question - do you have an opinion as to whether we should upgrade to the Tundra Tour. There is an added cost of course and Princess will upgrade it for me. One family on our board, who has already done the Historical Tour, is of the opinion that the Tundra Tour is worth the extra time and money as you are more likely to see more wildlife. I'd like more opinions before I contact Princess and upgrade.

 

Help please is always appreciated!

Thank you.

Pat

[AKStafford]

How about neither... Get a shuttle ticket. Much cheaper. Same road, same buses. You just have to bring your own lunch. http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm

[rvorcruise]

The Natural History Tour turns around at Primrose Ridge, at mile 17 - you don't even get close to the great parts of the park. I agree with AKStafford.

[Alaskanb]

How about neither... Get a shuttle ticket. Much cheaper. Same road, same buses. You just have to bring your own lunch. http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm

Princess allows you to cancel, and get a refund for, the Natural History Tour http://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/cruisetour-options/

If you book a Denali shuttle make sure that it aligns with your time at Denali and with the Princess shuttle bus you will need to get to the Wilderness Access Center from the lodge.

We are on tour DB4 that gives us a full day in Denali so have the time for the Eielson shuttle.

A basic rule for any wildlife watching is the more time and distance you have the greater the chance of seeing wildlife. This is especially true in Denali National Park.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Alaskanb

[trixietx]

I have

done the Tundra Tour twice and recommend it over the Nature Tour.

[Budget Queen]

Hello Everyone,

 

I don't know about you, but I've had enough snow and cold here in Michigan.

 

Anyway, The Historical Nature Tour is part of the package we have for our land and sea tour for Alaska. My question - do you have an opinion as to whether we should upgrade to the Tundra Tour. There is an added cost of course and Princess will upgrade it for me. One family on our board, who has already done the Historical Tour, is of the opinion that the Tundra Tour is worth the extra time and money as you are more likely to see more wildlife. I'd like more opinions before I contact Princess and upgrade.

 

Help please is always appreciated!

Thank you.

Pat

 

 

Are you 2 nights at the Denali Princess? With your money mention- then, no, do not upgrade, but as already suggested, take the Eielson Shuttle bus. http://www.reservedenali.com http://www.nps.gov/dena In Denali is it ALL about distance, the further you go, the more you see.

 

However- there have been reports that Princess is not giving refunds for the worthless, Natural History tour. So, see what is available in your case. Best advice is to get the refund, then book YOURSELF on the shuttle bus. It does require you to split off from the group and being independent. You will have to bring in all your own food and drink, and get yourself to the Wilderness Access Center- where you board the shuttle buses. Princess Lodge does run a shuttle there, starting at 7am (verify), so you could book a 8am or later shuttle. When booking the shuttle bus tickets online, you will be charged a park fee. When you go to pick up your tickets, have with you your cruise tour paper work, and you should get that refunded. (in the past, was done)

[PG13]

Thank you very much for the information, as always cruise critics are so helpful.

Ok, so no Historical Tour for us, we have a whole day in Denali. I think Tundra tour will be what we do, there is one other that is even longer, but I think maybe too long, 12 hrs, Tundra tour is a compromise. If they say 8 hours for Tundra, does that mean 8 hours of riding (4there and 4back) or do you get out and walk about in areas. I think we'll stick with a tour, 5 years ago we'd have ventured off on our own, but DH has health issues.

 

I take from what Budget Queen says, tours include lunch. I have not run a search on Princess Lodges, so can someone either give me a bit of information or a source here where I can find it- Are there stores or shops near the Princess lodges, Denali and Mt McKinley, where you can buy some things to pack to munch on during the tours. Several tours I've booked in Denali and near McKinley run through meals. Also, am I correct to assume that the day we transfer by train/coach that there is lunch available also?

 

Are you 2 nights at the Denali Princess? With your money mention- then, no, do not upgrade, but as already suggested, take the Eielson Shuttle bus. www.reservedenali.com www.nps.gov/dena In Denali is it ALL about distance, the further you go, the more you see.

 

However- there have been reports that Princess is not giving refunds for the worthless, Natural History tour. So, see what is available in your case. Best advice is to get the refund, then book YOURSELF on the shuttle bus. It does require you to split off from the group and being independent. You will have to bring in all your own food and drink, and get yourself to the Wilderness Access Center- where you board the shuttle buses. Princess Lodge does run a shuttle there, starting at 7am (verify), so you could book a 8am or later shuttle. When booking the shuttle bus tickets online, you will be charged a park fee. When you go to pick up your tickets, have with you your cruise tour paper work, and you should get that refunded. (in the past, was done)

[Alaskanb]

My understanding is that the lunch is more of a snack box. This is the only reference I've seen about it http://blog.alaskatravel.com/denali-tundra-wilderness-tour-lunch-or-snack/

[Budget Queen]

Thank you very much for the information, as always cruise critics are so helpful.

Ok, so no Historical Tour for us, we have a whole day in Denali. I think Tundra tour will be what we do, there is one other that is even longer, but I think maybe too long, 12 hrs, Tundra tour is a compromise. If they say 8 hours for Tundra, does that mean 8 hours of riding (4there and 4back) or do you get out and walk about in areas. I think we'll stick with a tour, 5 years ago we'd have ventured off on our own, but DH has health issues.

 

I take from what Budget Queen says, tours include lunch. I have not run a search on Princess Lodges, so can someone either give me a bit of information or a source here where I can find it- Are there stores or shops near the Princess lodges, Denali and Mt McKinley, where you can buy some things to pack to munch on during the tours. Several tours I've booked in Denali and near McKinley run through meals. Also, am I correct to assume that the day we transfer by train/coach that there is lunch available also?

 

What is your thinking for the tour choice and not the Eielson shuttle? I don't think you have all the facts, especially with your "venturing and health" comments.

 

Both buses make 15/20 minute "potty" stops at fixed locations, about every 90 minutes. You "walk about" in that time frame. Alternatively, You have 30/45 minutes at Eielson turn around, if you stay with the same bus. All the times are approximate, but pretty close usually.

 

There is a dining/snack car on the Alaska RR. The Princess Lodge has several dining options, and many more across the street, good pizza, excellent fish at the Salmon Bake and Subway, etc.

 

There is ONLY the Princess Lodge at the McKinley Princess, for meals, nothing else there, but if you are on the train- STAY in Talkeetna, more meal options. Use the later/earlier shuttle buses. Buses do have meal stops. I would suggest,however, you have a least a bag of snacks etc. your entire mainland tour.

 

Just to verify, you have 2 nights at the Denali Princess?

[mimmy52]

If this copies correctly, here is a picture of what was in my snack box in August 2015 on the Tundra Wilderness Tour.

 

 

The tour made several restroom stops and a scenic stop. There is a sandwich/snack bar area in the main lodge at Denali Princess Lodge where you could buy something to bring with you. Not shown in the photo is the bottle of water. We were able to have more than one.

 

You can have a meal on the train when you transfer. You will order from a menu and it will be brought to your table on the train. I posted a long trip review with a lot of photos from our cruise/land tour with Princess last August. If you are interested, you can access it via the link in my signature below.

[mimmy52]

test.

 

<a href="http://s24.photobucket.com/user/mlmerk/media/Alaska/DSC09560_zpsufq42y4z.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c48/mlmerk/Alaska/DSC09560_zpsufq42y4z.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC09560_zpsufq42y4z.jpg"/></a>

[mimmy52]

My apologies. I didn't mean for that test message to post here. I thought I was in a different forum. But I did figure out what I did wrong the first time, so here is the photo of my snack box.

 

[KAE27]

If this copies correctly, here is a picture of what was in my snack box in August 2015 on the Tundra Wilderness Tour.

 

[/img]

 

The tour made several restroom stops and a scenic stop. There is a sandwich/snack bar area in the main lodge at Denali Princess Lodge where you could buy something to bring with you. Not shown in the photo is the bottle of water. We were able to have more than one.

 

You can have a meal on the train when you transfer. You will order from a menu and it will be brought to your table on the train. I posted a long trip review with a lot of photos from our cruise/land tour with Princess last August. If you are interested, you can access it via the link in my signature below.

 

Just read your entire trip report and wanted to thank you for it! So detailed, which is invaluable.

[PG13]

I love looking at other folks pictures, its late tonight but I'll enjoy them tomorrow. Wow that was a pretty hefty snack, this is part of the Tundra Tour, NICE! Any snack is enough and I'll pack some trail mix too.Thanks again love the advice especially since there are only 3 of us on our roll call. Pat

 

 

If this copies correctly, here is a picture of what was in my snack box in August 2015 on the Tundra Wilderness Tour.

 

[/img]

 

The tour made several restroom stops and a scenic stop. There is a sandwich/snack bar area in the main lodge at Denali Princess Lodge where you could buy something to bring with you. Not shown in the photo is the bottle of water. We were able to have more than one.

 

You can have a meal on the train when you transfer. You will order from a menu and it will be brought to your table on the train. I posted a long trip review with a lot of photos from our cruise/land tour with Princess last August. If you are interested, you can access it via the link in my signature below.

Edited March 3, 2016 by PG13

[PG13]

Good advice right. When are you headed to Aaska?

 

Just read your entire trip report and wanted to thank you for it! So detailed, which is invaluable.