To Connoisseur or not in Alaska?

[voljeep]

12 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Weird. We've done it twice and stopped twice - each direction. Plenty of restroom breaks.

was it seriously a converted school bus and not a decent tour bus with dome type windows ?

[lstone19]

27 minutes ago, voljeep said:

was it seriously a converted school bus and not a decent tour bus with dome type windows ?

 

The buses used in the park are essentially a school bus chassis and body but with better seats than a real school bus. They are not converted or used school buses but are basically new school buses with a custom interior. I can only assume that the park found they work better considering that the park road is not paved beyond the first few miles.

[lstone19]

We did a Connoisseur tour last year and enjoyed it. If you are going to eat in the high end restaurants at the lodges anyway, we thought it was close to cost-neutral. But if you would otherwise go for less expensive dining options, then it will cost you more. But it's really a personal decision. The right decision for me is not necessarily the right decision for you.

[Thrak]

3 hours ago, voljeep said:

was it seriously a converted school bus and not a decent tour bus with dome type windows ?

 

2 hours ago, lstone19 said:

 

The buses used in the park are essentially a school bus chassis and body but with better seats than a real school bus. They are not converted or used school buses but are basically new school buses with a custom interior. I can only assume that the park found they work better considering that the park road is not paved beyond the first few miles.

 

Sounds about right. Much better seats than a school bus for sure. Same sort of windows though. There are also video screens that hang down from the ceiling at intervals throughout the bus. The driver had a video camera that displayed on the screens. We took the right-hand front seats and had a bit more leg room and could see out the front quite well. When a lynx ran across the road in front of the bus we saw it make the dash. It took cover in the brush next to the road and warily watched the bus. The driver used the camera to show everybody the "lurking lynx" and could zoom in so all got a good look at it. There was a magnificent grizzly that we could see quite well but the zoomed in footage from the driver's camera made it like the thing was right there with us. Very nice. It's good that the camera lets everybody on the bus get good views of the wildlife but we did enjoy having those front seats.

[voljeep]

28 minutes ago, Thrak said:

We took the right-hand front seats and had a bit more leg room and could see out the front quite well

first come first serve ?

 

assigned ?

 

bribe ? I certainly would not be above that on an 8 hour trip ...

[Thrak]

25 minutes ago, voljeep said:

first come first serve ?

 

assigned ?

 

bribe ? I certainly would not be above that on an 8 hour trip ...

 

First come first served. Most folks don't seem to want that spot. There is a fire extinguisher mounted there so it looks "different". I just need to make sure I don't have a seat with a wheel well. I don't fit on buses all that well as it is.

[Cruisen Elf]

20 hours ago, dickinson said:

As an FYI - Somewhere on cc I read only one time that someone who took the Tundra Wilderness Tour was told that if they were a senior they could show their senior national park pass and get a partial refund.  We checked into it and discovered we had to take the free shuttle bus from the hotel to the park's ticket office (bus depot).  Ten minute ride.  We showed the pass and our itinerary that you get at each lodge (which also states any excursions).  We saved a total of $30 !!! Well worth it.  They told us it could have been done before we took the tour too not just after.

 

We also were able to save the admission cost with our National Park passes after presenting them at the park center.  Fortunately, we had purchased the lifetime Senior passes when they were $10.00.  Here is a link with the National Park Pass info:  https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

 

It is worth it to check out the list of National Parks near you to save on postage.

[Cruisen Elf]

27 minutes ago, Cruisen Elf said:

 

We also were able to save the admission cost with our National Park passes after presenting them at the park center.  Fortunately, we had purchased the lifetime Senior passes when they were $10.00.  Here is a link with the National Park Pass info:  https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

 

It is worth it to check out the list of National Parks near you to save on postage.

 

I forgot to add that the refund is available with any type of National Park pass, not just senior passes.

[dickinson]

1 hour ago, Cruisen Elf said:

 

We also were able to save the admission cost with our National Park passes after presenting them at the park center.  Fortunately, we had purchased the lifetime Senior passes when they were $10.00.  Here is a link with the National Park Pass info:  https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

 

It is worth it to check out the list of National Parks near you to save on postage.

 

We too bought them at $10. Great deal!