Help me pick an Alaska cruise.

[BopRN]

We are up to our ears in trying to decide what, where & how! All the info is overwhelming! We have Frommers book on Alaska cruises...helpful info but would like other's opinions. Here is what we have decided so far...

 

Date is May or June 2019

We want to do a PRE-tour then do the cruise.

We want to do the Southbound route ending in Vancouver so we can drive to visit our kids/grandkids in Seattle afterwards.

We want to definitely see Denali

We can not do anything real strenuous like hiking

 

Need suggestions....

How many days for a pre-tour is good?

May or June?

What did you like and dislike about your Alaskan cruise choice?

Different cruises go to different glaciers, towns, etc. What itinerary did you pick & would you do it again?

 

Thanks!

[Clarea]

Another good resource is the Alaska port of call forum: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

[colocop004]

We did not do a cruise tour with Alaska, I wish we would have but that another story. We did the inside passage round trip out of Seattle, andI have to say that out of 20 plus cruises, Alaska was by far my favorite. We would absolutely go back.

 

 

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[reallyhooked]

We have not done a pre cruise tour, but we we cruised from Vancouver round trip, Seattle round trip, & from Anchorage on bus to board ship in Seward. Going again in September ,Seattle round trip

1st trip Westerdam

2nd trip Rhapsody

3rd trip Radiance

4th trip Explorer

just pick what suits you. Enjoy. Alaska is awesome. Worth the cost.

[Schlepporello]

We have done a 6-day pre-cruise with a 7-day southbound cruise to Vancouver. Our pre-cruise originated in Fairbanks and we traveled by rail to Denali, Talkeetna and Anchorage before being bussed to Seward to board our ship. There are sights and activities that require no more than moderate walking, so you needn't worry abut having to hike to enjoy the sights of inland Alaska. As for the southbound itinerary, we have taken this twice and will take it a 3rd time this coming August. With a 1-way 7-day cruise, you gain an extra port of call over that of a round-trip cruise.

[Schlepporello]

What we did not like about our pre-cruise tour was that we were confined to a schedule. I you wanted to spend an extra day somewhere along the way, you were out of luck. Having to have your bags outside of your rooms before the next days travel required some extra planning, but could be done easily enough if you resolve yourself to the task. In reality though, unless you know your way around Alaska, the pre-cruise tour is the way to go.

 

When we go in August, we will not be doing a re-cruise tour, but will arrive 3 days early and rent a car so we can visit points between Anchorage and Seward on our own. Our main reason for choosing to do this is that we simply do not have the time or money available for a pre-cruise tour this time out. In my opinion though, this is well worth the money.

[little britain]

We are doing SB trip in June. Have arranged the land portion ourselves.

 

What could possibly go wrong, ... driving on the wrong side of the road with bears.....LOL!

 

6.1 fly from England to Seattle

6.2 Seattle Pike market and Chiluly and then fly to Anchorage - staying at the Ramada

6.3 rent a car (Enterprise) and drive to Girdwood for lunch

6.4 drive to Denali - staying at Home Dome

6.5 Denali

6.6 drive back to Anchorage and stay at Ramada

6.7 train at 0645 to Seward - stay at Harbor 360

6.8 morning whale watching tour with Northern Latitudes and board the ship

6.9 Hubbard Glacier

6.10 Juneau - share a taxi to Mendenhall

6.11 Skagway - Chilkoot train

6.12 ISP - Hoonah Wilderness tour and Brown bear search

6.13 Ketchikan - catch local bus to the totems

6.14 Inside Passage

6.15 Vancouver

6.16 Fly back to England

 

Hope this helps!

 

One thing I have found is that hotels are very very expensive , and you have to get booked as soon as things open otherwise you could miss out.

 

 

 

 

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[Schlepporello]

What could possibly go wrong, ... driving on the wrong side of the road with bears.....LOL!

Do not try to pet the bears or the moose. They are not "user friendly". We saw a grizzly and a moose cow and her calf in Denali.

[SnowBird Cruzer]

We are doing our own pre cruises tour in August before or southbound cruise. We are on RCCL. I have a while other thread on it, but the short version is flying into Anchorage on Sunday, driving to Denali in Monday, staying three nights at Denali (one day to drive into Denali on bus for a tour, another day to see other sites/a little scenic river trip/ATV/???, and then a hike on Thursday morning before we leave).

Return to Anchorage and then take train to Seward Friday morning.

So, we have our own 5 day. That feels fine for us, works with vacation, and fits the budget. And I'm going to have to spend some goodly chunks of money to get it when half as expensive as cruise line pre tour.

 

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[Schlepporello]

We are doing our own pre cruises tour in August before or southbound cruise. We are on RCCL. I have a while other thread on it, but the short version is flying into Anchorage on Sunday, driving to Denali in Monday, staying three nights at Denali (one day to drive into Denali on bus for a tour, another day to see other sites/a little scenic river trip/ATV/???, and then a hike on Thursday morning before we leave).

Return to Anchorage and then take train to Seward Friday morning.

So, we have our own 5 day. That feels fine for us, works with vacation, and fits the budget. And I'm going to have to spend some goodly chunks of money to get it when half as expensive as cruise line pre tour.

 

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It sounds like we might be on the train together. Our ship sails on the 17th.

[amarantha7]

We did an Alaska tour with Princess in August of 2016. I loved every minute of it. I would recommend June, as May is black fly season in Alaska. We did a 7-day overland tour first starting in Fairbanks, then a southbound cruise to Vancouver. I would highly recommend doing it in that order, as the overland part can be very itinerary-intense, then you can relax on the cruise and really experience a "vacation". You also have a better sense of Alaska overall by the time you get to the cruise. When the ship is cruising through Glacier National Park, spend as much time as you can on deck. We had a Park Ranger board for the day, and her passion and knowledge of the Park made the whole day.

 

We started in Fairbanks and it was a nice way to start, getting a little bit of a city experience and the mindset of Alaskans before venturing into the "wilderness"; the scale of the outdoors is a little daunting! We did the Salmon Bake, followed by a theater show a short walk away about the history of Fairbanks. The food was "meh" but the theater show was very entertaining and charming. The cast was all local theater, year-round residents of Fairbanks and the music had been written by a local man who had recently passed away. They did a very touching tribute to him that was incorporated into the show. We got a nice overview of the history of Fairbanks as well!

 

Do NOT miss Denali! We had a "nature tour" one day via tricked-out school bus that was fantastic. We had one of the rare days you can actually see the peak of the mountain! The second day we did a "Jeep Safari"- a convoy of jeeps, with tour guides at the front and back on the radio, letting us know when we'd be pulling over and stopping. We took the Old Denali Highway, which is a long dirt road past the National Park entrance, and got to see parks of the area that public tours don't normally go. I highly, highly recommend this tour!

 

My husband is not an outdoorsy guy, so we picked excursions that didn't require a lot of walking. mostly, we did driving with some getting out and walking around a relatively small area. We had a "free" afternoon in out Denali stay, and there were shuttles to the Park from our lodge. My sister-in-law and I went hiking on one of the beginner trails and got to see some beautiful scenery up-close and got some exercise, too.

 

Vancouver is a fantastic city, very diverse and full of things to do. If you like Asian food, don't miss dim sum at one of the many Chinese restaurants. inexpensive but delicious and filling.

 

I feel like this is super-long winded! Hopefully that was helpful and not too ranty. Sunday plus lots of coffee makes me talkative.

[wendychloecruiser]

A definite recommendation is NOT to do a 7 day out of Seattle. The ship cannot get far enough north and you will miss the true inside passage between B.C. and Vancouver Island. Don’t get me wrong these trips are OK as they are significantly cheaper than either flying into or out of Anchorage but you miss a lot.

[SnowBird Cruzer]

I disagree. Our first Alaskan cruise was out of Seattle. We got up to Skagway and then came back. Is recommend it any day. We did the Inside Passage. We returned to Vancouver actually as it was the last of the season, otherwise it returns to Seattle. Some people might like a round-trip instead of a one way. You won't get to Denali on one of those. But it's a great cruise

 

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[steveru621]

We have done southbound twice. Once at the end of May, and then 21st or so of June. Definitely June for two reasons; Denali does not fully open until June 8th or so, second it's daylight almost 24 hours.

 

Denali tours do not require any hiking. Although it doesn't seem all that special you'll take school buses for your tour with frequent stops. It really wasn't a bad way to see Denali. Take the green bus tour, because the 'guided tour' is not worth the extra expense. Eielson Visitors Center is probably the best length tour. That tour will take all day.

 

If you do your own, travel to Denali day one, tour Denali day 2, travel back to Anchorage day 3, and travel by train to Seward day 4. We rented a huge SUV and did our own touring.

 

To me, Seattle is Alaska lite.

[Schlepporello]

we have done southbound twice. Once at the end of may, and then 21st or so of june. Definitely june for two reasons; denali does not fully open until june 8th or so, second it's daylight almost 24 hours.

 

Denali tours do not require any hiking. Although it doesn't seem all that special you'll take school buses for your tour with frequent stops. It really wasn't a bad way to see denali. Take the green bus tour, because the 'guided tour' is not worth the extra expense. Eielson visitors center is probably the best length tour. That tour will take all day.

 

If you do your own, travel to denali day one, tour denali day 2, travel back to anchorage day 3, and travel by train to seward day 4. We rented a huge suv and did our own touring.

 

To me, seattle is alaska lite.

+1 :)

[NewSalt]

We also did a Princess tour in August, seven-day land tour followed by SB cruise to Vancouver. I loved going in August because the flowers were magnificent. Long days of sunlight create beautiful blooms. I had never heard anyone mention this because all of the people I know went in May or June.

 

The whale-watching was unforgettable, as was the train ride from Talkeetna. .

[tlw3184]

I am taking the Northbound cruise this May ending in Seward on a Friday. We are planning on taking the train from Seward to Anchorage and then driving to Denali on our own. If you definitely want to see Denali then I suggest you wait until June. The road into Denali is only partially opened in May. I believe the road isn't completely opened until June 8th. When we go in May we will only be able to go 53 miles in to Toklat River. I wish we would have waited a week or two for the cruise, but I'm still really excited to go!

[aubreyc1988]

subscribing! I too have so many questions regarding Alaska, as I may do either Alaska, Baltic, or Norwegian Fjords this year...is alaska doable end of August? I could only do a 9 day trip so wondering if Alaska could be done in that time frame or something that should wait for later when I can do a longer trip

[Schlepporello]

subscribing! I too have so many questions regarding Alaska, as I may do either Alaska, Baltic, or Norwegian Fjords this year...is alaska doable end of August? I could only do a 9 day trip so wondering if Alaska could be done in that time frame or something that should wait for later when I can do a longer trip

I'd say yes. But that would be best done on the ship itself, no land tours.

[soleil1995]

We did a Southbound Cruise on Princess in July/August out of Whittier, AK, with a DIY Land Tour of 8 days prior to the cruise. We loved planning our own schedule, traveling where we wanted and staying in local inns and lodges. I would definitely recommend the land tour before going on the cruise.

 

We flew into Anchorage (traveling with another couple), rented an SUV and traveled to the Kenai Peninsula, ferry to Valdez, through the Wrangell Mountains/ Copper River area and then onto Talkeetna and Denali. Returned to Anchorage and then to Whittier to board the ship. We really enjoyed the land tour and the weather was pretty good in July/August - in the 60's but generally dry and clear. The cruise was enjoyable too...the only way to see some of the cities like Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway and Glacier Bay National Park is via cruise.

 

I would definitely pick June over May ...

 

We plan to return to Alaska very soon, but perhaps rent a house on the Kenai Peninsula for a few days and do more land touring (maybe on the motorcycle this time :D)

 

Have fun with the planning!!

[olemissreb]

We did a week DIY land tour and then a week Southbound on the Celebrity Millennium in late June/early July 2013. We flew in to Anchorage, rented a car and spent 1 night before heading up to the Denali area. On the way up, we stopped in Talkeetna so that my oldest son could take a flying lesson (Groupon!). After that, we continued on up to Glitter Gulch. We spent 3 nights in Glitter Gulch. One day we went white water rafting and then did a Midnight ATV ride in Denali (not the actual park, but an area that is surrounded on 3 sides). It was the Summer Solstice and a Full Moon and was spectacular. Take a lot of DEET as there are swarms of mosquitoes and the Off sheets and stuff like that didn't faze them and people were getting eaten up. The next day, we took one of the shuttles to Wonder Lake. From Denali, we went over to Glacier View, AK and stayed in a cabin for 2 nights. We were able to go hiking on the Matanuska Glacier - so much fun.

 

We then headed back to Anchorage for a night and to pick up my mom before leaving the next morning on the train to Seward. Gorgeous scenery. When we got to Seward, we took a Major Marine tour of the Kenai Fjords. We saw so much wildlife and got up close to a glacier and got to hear & see it calving. The next morning we got up and went to the Sea Life Center and did a behind the scenes tour and got kisses from a sea lion! Sadly, Sugar, the sea lion, has passed on. From there we boarded the ship and then sailed to Vancouver.

 

One suggestion I would make - compare the costs of renting a car one way from Vancouver to Seattle with taking Amtrak. The train doesn't leave until later in the afternoon, but it would give you an opportunity to maybe do a HOHO tour in Vancouver before leaving. You won't arrive in Seattle till late, but it is a nice train ride with some pretty nice scenery. There were 5 of us, so it was much cheaper and more relaxing for us to take the train to Seattle and then fly home from there. Plus it gave us an opportunity for some sightseeing.

 

I would so love to go to Alaska again soon. Next time, I might start in Fairbanks and work my way down to Seward or Whittier. I would so take the Alaska railroad again. As for the itinerary we took, I would so do a Southbound cruise again. We had a nice long time in each port and Celebrity stopped at an extra port in Icy Strait Point. I would like to see Glacier Bay, so I might change it up and go on an itinerary that included that. Other than that, I wouldn't change anything about what we did - well except not scheduling a Midnight ATV Ride the night before going in to Denali National Park (not getting in till 2am and then having to be at the Wilderness Access Center by 6am did not make for happy campers! ;p)

 

Plan what you want to do in the time frame that is best for you. You will not see it all in one trip. See what you really want to see this time around and start planning for the next time you want to go.

 

Oh and go online and look at the Northern Lights and TourSaver Alaska coupon books. You can look at the coupons online to decide if you want to purchase the book. I ended up purchasing both and saved enough money on our excursions to pay for it all.

Edited January 29, 2018 by olemissreb

[steveru621]

If you do your own tours make sure you reserve your hotel near Denali by March 2018. The hotels fill up fast. The hotels are expensive but still cheaper than an RCI excursion.

[steveru621]

Oh and the reason for a big SUV. Moose and Caribou. You don't want to hit one in a subcompact.

 

There is a scenic view rest area about 100 miles south of Denali. Stop there and get some great scenery.

[reallyhooked]

subscribing! I too have so many questions regarding Alaska, as I may do either Alaska, Baltic, or Norwegian Fjords this year...is alaska doable end of August? I could only do a 9 day trip so wondering if Alaska could be done in that time frame or something that should wait for later when I can do a longer trip

We have always gone in August. Some rain at times., but not at every port.

[birdylady]

We did a SB cruise tour from Fairbanks to Vancouver June 2017. It was through RCI and we were extremely happy with the whole process. To prepare for it, I was lucky to have found a number of reviews. First and probably best one was this one - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2246535

 

This is the review our our trip - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2512132

 

As an added bonus of booking the cruise and land tour through RCI is we did get C&A points for the land portion. :D Of course that is not why we booked it. We booked it as we thought it would be the best way to see things as we had only done a closed loop out of Seattle before.

Whatever you decide, I can't say enough about the beauty of Alaska and the wonderful people that live there.

 

Erika