Northbound Cruise tour Luggage question

[Potstech]

In a few weeks we are taking a Northbound Cruise tour on the Star Princess. After the cruise portion of the trip will our luggage follow us to Denali and McKinley or will it be sent on to Anchorage to meet us there? Would like to make plans for either situation.

[fire&teacher]

I understand that you take one suitcase with you on land and princess holds the others until you fly home. Our TA said that all instructions for the land tour will be delivered to our stateroom.We are going on the Coral Princess northward in June.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We have not sailed with Princess but on our Celebrity North Bound land tour the luggage we used on the cruise stayed with us, under the coach, for the entire land portion. It just was not brought into the hotels at night. When we were on the train the coach driver drove the coach and met us at the train station when we disembarked the train.

[cafelovercanada]

I understand that you take one suitcase with you on land and princess holds the others until you fly home. Our TA said that all instructions for the land tour will be delivered to our stateroom.We are going on the Coral Princess northward in June.

 

Hi fire&teacher

I think we'll be on the same cruise! I am curious about the "logistics" of the luggage thing. As I am planning fiend ... I'd like to know exactly what happens re: the luggage. I mentioned to my girls that they may be living out of a smaller suitcase while in Denali ... they practically freaked out!

[mlbcruiser]

Oh, wow, I was under the impression that we needed to bring a carryon on the train from Seward to Denali only for things we might need until our luggage makes it to our hotel room! This thing about living out of a carryon for the 4 days/nights we'll be in 2 separate Denali Park hotels is NOT convenient at all for us. Just thinking of fitting the clothing and toiletries, as well as things like a curling iron, binoculars and such into a carry on stresses me out! :eek: Then there is the matter of not being sure of the weather over the 4 day period. That will affect the amount/type of clothing we'll need to bring to be prepared. I always come in just under the max weight allowed on my first checked bag, plus a pretty full carryon. In addition, my dh has some physical limitations and I will be the main one dealing with bags. Please say it isn't so and we get to have our suitcases in our hotel rooms!

[blueridgemama]

In a few weeks we are taking a Northbound Cruise tour on the Star Princess. After the cruise portion of the trip will our luggage follow us to Denali and McKinley or will it be sent on to Anchorage to meet us there? Would like to make plans for either situation.

 

According to Princess land tour information each passenger is allowed to bring one suitcase each for the land portion. That suitcase goes directly to the Princess lodges, not on the bus or train with you. You can bring a small soft sided bag or backpack with you on the bus/train (it must fit under the seat) If you have questions I would call Princess and ask.

[mlbcruiser]

Thank you SO MUCH, blueridgemama! Now I can exhale. :) I am not a Rick Steves (whos seems to wear his blue collared shirt everyday, lol. We stayed in a tent in the Sahara desert and were only allowed to have a carryon. One night? O.K. In the desert. Not in Denali Nat'l. Park. (For any critics, yes, I know it can be done but I don't want to do it!) Based on what the poster who did a Celebrity tour said a few posts above, I like Celebrity and have cruised with them, but so glad I am not doing this cruise tour with them! Perhaps it depends upon the length spent on the land portion and whether the overnights are only one night in each place.

Edited May 2, 2016 by mlbcruiser

[jmcmo]

We are booked on Coral Princess Northbound June 11 and have found that there is a very useful resource for Princess Cruisetours on the Princess site under FAQ's Cruisetours. It explains the luggage situation as well as any other questions that we have so far.

Hope this helps.

[jmcmo]

Sorry, that should have read FAQ's Alaska Cruisetours....

[Jane2357]

We have not sailed with Princess but on our Celebrity North Bound land tour the luggage we used on the cruise stayed with us, under the coach, for the entire land portion. It just was not brought into the hotels at night. When we were on the train the coach driver drove the coach and met us at the train station when we disembarked the train.

 

We are on for May 27th out of Vancouver on Millie - with a 6 night post cruise tour and I have been stressed about this issue.

 

I'm an over packer but CHEZMARYLOU would you say that for the cruise tour that it will be a jeans kind of thing? Maybe one nicer outfit for dinner? Do you think two people (along with what we hand carry) can get by with a large duffle (clothes) and 1 smaller bag with toiletries?

[cafelovercanada]

We are booked on Coral Princess Northbound June 11 and have found that there is a very useful resource for Princess Cruisetours on the Princess site under FAQ's Cruisetours. It explains the luggage situation as well as any other questions that we have so far.

Hope this helps.

 

Hi jmcmo

Looks like we're on the same cruise in June! Thanks for drawing our attention to the FAQ section. The luggage situation is clearly outlined there...

See you in June!

[mlbcruiser]

Thanks a bunch, jmcmo!

 

Here is the info. re: luggage for AK cruise tours from the Princess site (you have to click on "Booked Guests", and then cruise tours for AK):

 

 

Packing for your Land Tour

Cruisetours involve many modes of transportation including motorcoaches, trains and sightseeing vehicles so make sure you take only the things you need to ensure comfort for you and your fellow travelers. There are different types of bags to consider for the land portion of your cruisetour.

 

Hand-Carry Tote/Backpack

•You'll want this bag with you every step of the way, so include only the essentials.

•Items to pack in this bag include travel documents, photo ID, important medication, toiletries, camera, and any extra layers of clothing such as jackets or hats.

•Your hand-carry tote bag should be a size that is comfortable to carry and should be able to be stowed under your seat. We recommend soft-sided tote bags or backpacks no larger than 17" x 14" x 4" with a zip enclosure.

•Wheeled carry on cases that are used to carry-on luggage on airlines are too large and are not suitable as hand-carried luggage on motorcoaches and trains.

 

"Join Me Tonight" Luggage

You are allowed one piece of "Join Me Tonight" baggage per person on the land portion of your cruisetour. You will simply pack one bag and place luggage where instructed. Our handlers will pick it up and deliver it to your room at the next overnight location on your land tour.

•This bag will be transported separately from you and will not be accessible during transit.

•Items to put in this bag include clothing, sleepwear, nonessential toiletries, extra shoes and anything else you might need at your hotel but do not need access to during the day.

 

"Join Me Onboard" Luggage (for guests who cruise after their land tour)

•Guests who cruise after their land tour should pack a separate bag for items they will not need on land.

•This bag is perfect for the items you may need on your cruise but will not need on your land tour, such as formal wear, dress shoes, or dinner jackets. On the land portion of your cruisetour, the dress code is always casual so there is no need for any formal wear.

•All luggage is delivered to the first destination on your land itinerary. Upon departure from that city, the "Join Me Onboard" tagged bags will be securely stored until they are delivered to your stateroom onboard.

 

"Join Me in Fairbanks/Anchorage" Luggage (for guests who cruise prior to their land tour)

•Guests who cruise prior to their land tour should pack all the items they used on their cruise and will not need on land in this piece of luggage. After disembarkation from the ship, these bags will be inaccessible until delivered upon your arrival in the final destination of your itinerary.

•Please identify your chosen pieces of luggage (excluding the one "Join Me Tonight" bag) with the "Join Me" tags based on your final destination.

 

___________________

 

Since my dh and I will each have just one suitcase, plus a nylon duffle/gym bag for me (which I always use as a carryon), and probably a not-that-large backpack or a 2nd nylon duffle/gymbag for DH, we will keep all of our things separate in our own suitcases and won't have an extra suitcase to put formal cruise wear (that we won't need on the land tour) into. I don't want to mix everything we'll need on land into one bag, either. We would each end up frequently rummaging through it to find things, which would be a disaster! So when I repack at the end of our cruise, I will just pack our suitcases with the things we won't need on the bottom.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Based on what the poster who did a Celebrity tour said a few posts above, I like Celebrity and have cruised with them, but so glad I am not doing this cruise tour with them! Perhaps it depends upon the length spent on the land portion and whether the overnights are only one night in each place.

 

Sorry if my post confused you. Celebrity does not limit you to a carry on. We had a rolling garment bag for our cruise only clothes that stayed on the bus. We had a large suitcase and carry on size suitcase that showed up in our hotel room each evening, some people had 2 large suitcases. We were also able to bring a small carryon that would fit by our feet on the train portion, and over head on the coach portion. These held our toiletries, make up, meds, electronics, etc.We did 5 or 6 day land tours twice with Celebrity and had everything we needed in the hotels.

 

One packing tip that I found very helpful, pack a zip lock bag with your undies, socks, DH t-shirts for each day of the hotel portion since you will be living out of a suitcase that will need to be put out in the hall very early in the morning. Makes finding the necessities much easier and quicker.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We are on for May 27th out of Vancouver on Millie - with a 6 night post cruise tour and I have been stressed about this issue.

 

I'm an over packer but CHEZMARYLOU would you say that for the cruise tour that it will be a jeans kind of thing? Maybe one nicer outfit for dinner? Do you think two people (along with what we hand carry) can get by with a large duffle (clothes) and 1 smaller bag with toiletries?

 

We lived in jeans on the land tour and did not change for dinner, there just wasn't time or a need to. We often wore the sweat shirts we picked up in Denali instead of the sweaters we packed.

 

Not sure what would fit in a large duffle but see my other recent post about packing. I think the 2nd time we did this tour we only used airline carry on size luggage, not a checked bag size. You will have to put your luggage out very early in the morning so keep your toiletries in a bag you can take with you on the train/coach.

[Potstech]

Thanks to all for the great info on the luggage handling especially on Princess. Will be leaving soon amd now can figure what to take with us and how.

[mlbcruiser]

Thanks for clearing that up, CHEZMARYLOU. Actually, I was thinking there must be some mistake as I could not believe Celebrity passengers would not get more leeway as it's a very good line. Thanks for the info. re: the jeans. I figured in such an atmosphere, that would be the norm from experience in other Nat'l. Parks.

[NboroGirl]

Hi jmcmo

Looks like we're on the same cruise in June! Thanks for drawing our attention to the FAQ section. The luggage situation is clearly outlined there...

See you in June!

 

Looks like I'm on this cruise as well!

 

My husband and I will share one large suitcase for our clothes, and a garment bag for our formal wear. So since we're allowed one luggage item each, we'll probably just bring both with us.

 

As for the carry-ons, we're allowed once each. My question is regarding this. I plan to bring a small carry-on with my essentials, but will my purse also count as a carry on, so I can only bring one or the other?? I want to bring both! My husband carries his c-pap machine in his carry-on, but I'm not sure he'll have room for my purse.

[jmcmo]

I plan on bringing a purse as well as my backpack and my husband will bring his backpack. I've been told by others who have done this that it won't be a problem. Let's hope so!