What to Do - Denali Princess Lodge

[hubofhockey]

I refunded the TWT and received about $600 back from Princess and paid $57 for Wonderlake shuttle bus. my kids were free with shuttle bus so all I had to pay was for me

 

So the cruise lines actually break down the cost. Interesting. I asked on board for cruise only and cruise with tour and that's only way they would break it down. My TA has group bookings for Celebrity and they wouldn't let him put the cruise portion in as a group booking, meaning I couldn't get favorable rates or even the extra perk my TA throws in with a group booking. It was then that we decided to stay with a cruise only booking and figure out Denali on our own. At least, this way, I know how much I'm paying to rent a minivan, lodging, excursions, food, etc. It's no guess. I think I'm saving a bundle, but I don't know the value of a day each of tours at Talkeetna and Denali. I do know that those tours are NOT what I would choose.

[Sacto Rick]

I preferred traveling with the group because I didn't have to spend time driving or looking out a bus window and not knowing what we're looking at or hearing interesting stories about the area we're traveling through. I also liked not having to make all the logistical choices, just go along for the ride and enjoy. It made for an enjoyable trip.

 

In the evening at Denali, you might want to take in the dinner show "Music of Denali". It's a fun show with singing and telling the story of the first climbers to reach the summit. There's crowd participation and the servers are the players.

It's a family styl meal with all you can eat brought to your table. The food was pretty good too.

[Cruise_More_Often]

Ru_Gremlin, I said I would come back to this thread when we returned from Denali to tell you how we enjoyed our hike with Denali Backcountry Guides. We chose their Denali National Park Walking Tour, their shortest, and it was a real hit! They have a longer, more difficult hike, and they even do a heli-hiking tour. Our guide was Dana, and she could not have been a better guide for us. She has lived in the Denali area for years, frequently walks the trails there and really knows her stuff. There was one other couple with us, an Australian couple who were about the same age as us (not young), and Dana adjusted her pace to suit our capabilities, with many stops to explain what we were seeing.

 

For our hike, Dana chose a portion of the Triple Lakes Trail that begins on the Parks Highway a few miles south of the main entrance to Denali. Dana picked up both couples at our respective hotels.The entire Triple Lakes Trail runs from the Parks Highway all the way to the Denali Visitors Center, or about 9 miles in length. We walked only about 1-½ miles of the trail--to the first of the three lakes--then returned along the same path.

 

 

Dana brought along hiking poles. We hadn’t used these before, but they are really helpful. There were lots of uphill/downhill areas along the forest trail, and I know our knees appreciated the poles. We didn't run into any bears, although there was a posted warning sign at the start of the trail advising that they might be there. Dana did carry bear spray. We saw a rabbit, a couple of ptarmigan and a huge beaver dam. The beavers must have been sleeping or working elsewhere. We found and ate wild blueberries, cranberries, rose hips and something Dana called soap berries, all of which she picked right off bushes. We saw several squirrel middens, which are holes in the ground under trees, where red squirrels hide their pinecones to eat dining during the winter. Dana even had us walk through bushes and on the soft tundra, which feels like 12-inch thick, super-soft carpet. It proved to us that hiking and bushwhacking through the tundra would be extremely difficult. I don’t think I stopped smiling the whole time we were on that hike. It was just a wonderful few hours. After the hike, Dana dropped the four of us off at the train station for our return trip to Anchorage.

 

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Denali Backcountry Guides to anyone wanting to hike in the Denali area. We loved it and we loved Dana.

[tamsocal]

So the cruise lines actually break down the cost. Interesting. I asked on board for cruise only and cruise with tour and that's only way they would break it down. My TA has group bookings for Celebrity and they wouldn't let him put the cruise portion in as a group booking, meaning I couldn't get favorable rates or even the extra perk my TA throws in with a group booking. It was then that we decided to stay with a cruise only booking and figure out Denali on our own. At least, this way, I know how much I'm paying to rent a minivan, lodging, excursions, food, etc. It's no guess. I think I'm saving a bundle, but I don't know the value of a day each of tours at Talkeetna and Denali. I do know that those tours are NOT what I would choose.

 

yes we refunded TWT and Music of Denali theatre. they tried to refund kids rate since it was one adult and 2 kids but I didn't get a kid rate for passenger #2- it was a full fare rate so they refunded the adult price for both. This was Princess cruise- I don't know that all cruise lines will

[mexicobob]

BQ, just because a cruise tour isn't something you would like, that doesn't mean it is terrible. To each their own! I just returned from one that was great. Just saying...the negative nature of your posts in regards to cruise tours and the NHT are bullish and unhelpful.

 

I totally agree.

[Budget Queen]

The refunds for the Denali tours are ONLY available on Princess, none of the other cruise lines offer this.

 

For those who wish to consider changing what is included. Going, themselves direct ahead to the Wilderness Access Center, can offer alternatives directly. In the past could exchange the tours for shuttle buses. Doesn't hurt to ask.

[Budget Queen]

BQ, just because a cruise tour isn't something you would like, that doesn't mean it is terrible. To each their own! I just returned from one that was great. Just saying...the negative nature of your posts in regards to cruise tours and the NHT are bullish and unhelpful.

 

It would be better to just ignore my posts, which are fact based with details that certainly are informative whether you like them or not. Cruise tours- clear are VERY misunderstood by visitors, and it's seen over and over on this board.

 

Sorry- but the investment of a 12 hour transit time, and noting getting into Denali could be a concern to a lot of people. This is not known based on cruise tour descriptions.

 

I don't care what people do, and believe me, I don't want the shuttle buses so full where I can't get my reservations. It's information. As I'll say again- just ignore my posts, since it doesn't seem to be of interest to you and you know what you are booking and want from your visit.

[hubofhockey]

So Budget Queen was proven correct on this thread and gets criticized. The OP realized that TWT (or Eielson Shuttle) would have been better to do in Denali than the NHT, but the cruise line did not provide enough time to do anything but the NHT. If you take 3-4 days post cruise and spend so much time to get to Denali, to me, it seems like a rip off not to be able to do the longer tour into the National Park. You can read Trip Advisor reviews of NHT to prove Budget Queen right.

 

If you do it on your own or even put together your own rail tour, you can get a full day or even a day and a half at Denali. You don't have to be stuck on the cruise line's schedule.