Alaska Cruise with Land Extension - Celebrity vs Holland America vs Princess

[Jade9]

Hello,

 

We are considering an Alaska cruise with the land extension including Fairbanks. We have the most status with Celebrity. However, we have been told Princess "owns" the land portion of Alaska and we should cruise Princess over Celebrity and Holland America. Please share your thoughts regarding the land portion extension of the trip. Any help, experience, suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you!

 

Lynn

[AKStafford]

we have been told Princess "owns" the land portion of Alaska and we should cruise Princess over Celebrity and Holland America.

Princess owns some lodges and railcars here in Alaska, but you do not have to be on their cruisetour to book them. There's nothing offered by any of the cruiselines that can be book independently. So instead of the pre-packaged tours offered by the cruiselines, would you consider booking independently and putting together your own great trip?

[Jade9]

Princess owns some lodges and railcars here in Alaska, but you do not have to be on their cruisetour to book them. There's nothing offered by any of the cruiselines that can be book independently. So instead of the pre-packaged tours offered by the cruiselines, would you consider booking independently and putting together your own great trip?

 

Thank you for your reply! I had thought about it, but truthfully, I am trying to make it easier on myself with a packaged tour. I will be traveling with my parents and in-laws and I think it is less stress if someone else is responsible for connections etc.

[Coral]

Holland America and Princess actually own quite a few lodges in Alaska. They have both been in Alaska for many years with Holland having an edge as far as being there longer. From a corporate umbrella structure - they are run together under a group called Holland America Princess Alaska.

 

Celebrity just uses other companies hotels.

 

All hotels that people stay at on these tours can be booked independently.

[Anita Latte]

Thank you for your reply! I had thought about it, but truthfully, I am trying to make it easier on myself with a packaged tour. I will be traveling with my parents and in-laws and I think it is less stress if someone else is responsible for connections etc.

 

Try and find some reviews of the land tours. It may seem less stressful to not be responsible but the flip side of that coin is giving up all control and being completely beholden to the tour schedule. By and large, I seem to read about how exhausting the land tours all are with early mornings and many hours traveling for what may seem like not a lot of time touring.

 

It depends on what you want to do, of course. There's a review on here that includes a land tour that the wife planned with the help of a travel coordinator in Alaska. The thread is here on the Alaska board. If you email him (I think his name is Mike?) you can get the name of their travel coordinator. They managed to do a tremendous amount of travel without having to rent a car...and it didn't seem quite as hectic as some other packaged tours that I've read about.

[Jade9]

Thank you all for your great suggestions!