Princess Itinerary for landbase Cruisetours

[Libra20]

HI all,

 

Just browsing thru a proposed Princess cruise tour of Alaska - [OB7] whilst the princess site lists times for the sea part of the itinerary, nothing is listed for the land portion. Just wondering if anyone who has previously done the land portion of the "Off the beaten track" cruise tours from Fairbanks to Whittier can enlighten me on some of the times of the departures, arrivals etc. I have noticed some 'advice' posting about Alaska saying that you move in and out early most days when changing locations.

Just wanting to plan in advance and see what times and locations are available for other options than just the Princess organised excursions, and its a bit tricky with no time frame to work from.

thanks

[mapleleaves]

There aren't many cruisetours listed but you could look thru past trip reports to find a similar tour,. Such as this one, altho they didn't go to Kenai Princess:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=50819970#post50819970

 

You have highlighted a big concern, which is the lack of information available on cruisetours. People see a 3 day tour to Denali and think it will meet their needs only to find out later that most of their time is spent transit with little time to enjoy the destination.

 

This chart will help you determine travel times, but you still don't have arrival or departure times. http://www.alaska.org/advice/mileage-chart

 

Good luck !

 

p.s. I just remembered this tour from 2014 from mvpinboynton. Opposite direction as your trip but he includes lots of details that may help you. ( and wonderful photos)

 

http://www.thepreismans.com/alaska_island_14_page3.htm

Edited July 29, 2018 by mapleleaves
p.s.

[capriccio]

OP - Welcome to cruise critic! Try posting this on the Princess Board: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197. It will reach more Princess cruisers.

[Coral]

I believe if you put a complimentary hold on the trip (don't put money down), the itinerary will show in the personalizer under "Travel Summery". The hold will cancel after a few days. I got into a friends booking recently to help them and it did show rough times.

 

You can call Princess to do this.

 

You are wise to look at this in advance. There are lots of options in Alaska and knowing beforehand what you are getting is essential. There are a lot of people who have posted their DIY itinerary that you should look at also.

Edited July 29, 2018 by Coral

[mapleleaves]

Would you consider DIY for your land tour? Easy to travel by car in Alaska as there are few hwys and for the most part they're only 2 lanes.

If you're not comfortable driving, you could book your own travel on the Alaska Railroad and/or Park Connection Bus and book your own hotels.

 

Or look at pkg tours offered by the Alaska Railroad. (their train schedules are published !)

https://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel-planning/packages/summer-packages

 

Or a pkg tour by bus and/or train:

https://www.alaskatravel.com/alaska-vacations.html

 

The Kenai Princess is in Cooper Landing and not accessible by train. However it's only about a hr from Seward so you could take a cab or rent a car for a couple of days.

[Libra20]

Would you consider DIY for your land tour? Easy to travel by car in Alaska as there are few hwys and for the most part they're only 2 lanes.

If you're not comfortable driving, you could book your own travel on the Alaska Railroad and/or Park Connection Bus and book your own hotels.

Thanks - I have looked at those Alaska railroad options before as the Glacier cruise is on our bucket list. Main thing was to get the cruise locked in & the travel agent was quite persuasive about the "value" of linking the land based part {usually taken with a grain of salt, however}-

 

DIY driving not high on the options list as an international who drives on the other side of the highway (and hardly ever covered in snow!). So I was trying to get more info before confirming either the cruise or the cruise with land based part whilst the promos are on.

Have taken the tip about checking the cruise personaliser - there is a bit more information there so will look at that & maybe re-post in the Princess forum - thanks for all the helpful replies so far.

[Sheltiepawz]

I just returned from a princess cruise tour last night. I believe it was called ebx 10? We went to talkeetna and Denali. I think when I was shopping the cruisetours, princess was able to give me an itinerary with times when I called to inquire before I booked. If not, I got times right after I booked. What was offered on land was my deciding factor in which line to go with.

 

The land really was the most favorite of our trip! Loved every second! Next time we go it will just be land on our own.

[Budget Queen]

You are making wrong assumptions, there isn't going to be any snow. Temps can hit 90 in Fairbanks. Also driving is extremely easy. wide open straight roads 2 lanes mostly and no traffic jams, or even "traffic" some of the time. :)

 

Post the itinerary of the tour you are looking at, I can give you multiple details. Include mode of transit.