Alaska cruise tour, Holland or Princess?

[lonestarmikeb]

My in laws have put me in charge of planning there 50th anniversary Alaskan cruise tour, It looks like the two best options are Holland and Princess. I have only done a 7 day cruise so I would like to know who has the best accommodation in the Denali and transportation to and from. Would love any other advise so we can make it the best for them. Also my FIL doesn't get around well anymore so he's more of a watcher at this point.

[Kamloops50]

My in laws have put me in charge of planning there 50th anniversary Alaskan cruise tour, It looks like the two best options are Holland and Princess. I have only done a 7 day cruise so I would like to know who has the best accommodation in the Denali and transportation to and from. Would love any other advise so we can make it the best for them. Also my FIL doesn't get around well anymore so he's more of a watcher at this point.

 

Both are good choices . People I've talked to on Alaska cruises preferred doing the land first and then resting on the cruise south. Both have their own lodges except for the Yukon Land Tour . They use commercial establishments that are own by HAL.

[SD-cruiser]

I am cruising Alaska on the NCL Sun this summer in July. It is going to my first cruise, and I had seriously considered HAL initially. However, I read that HAL is probably the only cruise line that allows smoking in balconies. I did not want to pay for a nice balcony room and not be able to sit out due to smoke from other neighboring balconies. I do not know if this is a factor for you though. Thx

[xlxo]

If you are looking at 14 plus days for the cruise.... You might also want to research the HAL Yukon Denali option.

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-destinations/alaska-2014-yukon

[cruiser64093]

I did the Cruise-Yukon-Denali-Anchorage with HAL. The level of service by HAL was superb. It is highly recommended. HAL has a bunch of new things at their Denali lodge. I'm looking forward to going back this summer.

[Kamloops50]

I did the Cruise-Yukon-Denali-Anchorage with HAL. The level of service by HAL was superb. It is highly recommended. HAL has a bunch of new things at their Denali lodge. I'm looking forward to going back this summer.

 

The only problem with this tour you only have a four day cruise from Vancouver. If you start in Anchorage you'll have a full 7 day included.

[mapleleaves]

Both companies CAN provide an excellent cruisetour, but you need to pay close attention to the details to ensure you're getting what you want. If you look thru trip reports (in STICKYs above) you'll find cruisetours for all the companies and there aren't many complaints. The biggest complaint is when people discover that they don't get into Denali when they only have a one-night stay at the park. The one night tours generally arrive mid afternoon on day 1 and leave at noon on day 2, so they only have time for the Natural History Tour which goes to mile 16 on the park road.

So be sure to learn about the details of each tour.

Also, would they prefer to travel by coach or train? Something else to watch for.

 

I encourage you to read cruisetour trip reports; they will give you a good 'feel' for the experience as far as accomodations, restaurants, the travel between destinations, activities, timing, etc.

 

Here's a particularly good trip report/photojournal from mvpinboynton from a 2014 princess cruisetour.

http://www.thepreismans.com/alaska_island_14.htm

[lonestarmikeb]

Thank you all, a lot of information to send me in the right direction.