Celebrity Alaska Land Tours

[renysmom]

Can anyone who has done one of these in the past few years share their thoughts, good and bad?  We are looking to do one next summer.  Most of what I read is from years ago so looking for more up to date information.  How was transportation? Hotels? How was luggage handled, etc.

Thanks

[CHEZMARYLOU]

2 hours ago, renysmom said:

Can anyone who has done one of these in the past few years share their thoughts, good and bad?  We are looking to do one next summer.  Most of what I read is from years ago so looking for more up to date information.  How was transportation? Hotels? How was luggage handled, etc.

Thanks

We haven't done it in a few years but I doubt much has changed.  The good: you don't need to do any planning after you book, it's all done for you.  The bad: you are on someone else's schedule and hope everyone realizes that and adheres to it. Transportation when we did it was either via train or coach.  Both were handled well. 

 

The 1st time we did it we were really disappointed in the hotel in Denali.  The 2nd time it was a great hotel and we will be booking it on our own in 2021.

 

Depending on your cruise, either south bound or north bound you will be asked to pack a bag with cruise only things.  This bag will be put on the transportation and not seen until the cruise or the last hotel if north bound. Other luggage will need to be put outside your hotel door by a certain time each day and will be transferred to your next stop. You will be able to keep a small carryon with you.

[Jim_Iain]

We did the Denali land tour last year and was one of the best tours we have ever taken.  We were doing the Northbound out of Anchorage.   We were met at the airport and dropped off our luggage with a Celebrity Agent.   We had to wait for a late inbound flight and once they were there were quickly transported to the Marriott Downtown Anchorage.

 

On arrival at the hotel they had a meeting to advise you of how things would work   We were also given a list of extra excursions that were optional.   You are also given instructions that bags have to be outside your room at 5:30 and that the busses would be there around 6:30.  

 

The hotels were extremely nice except for the Denali Lodge which I would say was a bit rustic even though we had cabins in the newest section.  

 

One thing I learned is that you accumulate CC points at the same rate (Ships Room Classification) as the cruise.

 

While I really enjoyed the trip I would probably do it on our own if we were to repeat.

[Pacificlander]

15 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

We haven't done it in a few years but I doubt much has changed.  The good: you don't need to do any planning after you book, it's all done for you.  The bad: you are on someone else's schedule and hope everyone realizes that and adheres to it. Transportation when we did it was either via train or coach.  Both were handled well. 

 

The 1st time we did it we were really disappointed in the hotel in Denali.  The 2nd time it was a great hotel and we will be booking it on our own in 2021.

 

Depending on your cruise, either south bound or north bound you will be asked to pack a bag with cruise only things.  This bag will be put on the transportation and not seen until the cruise or the last hotel if north bound. Other luggage will need to be put outside your hotel door by a certain time each day and will be transferred to your next stop. You will be able to keep a small carryon with you.

Would you share the name of 2nd hotel?  Thinking about cancelling land tour & doing it on our own.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

2 hours ago, Pacificlander said:

Would you share the name of 2nd hotel?  Thinking about cancelling land tour & doing it on our own.

It was the Grande Denali Lodge

[Pacificlander]

Thank you!

[Northern Aurora]

9 hours ago, Pacificlander said:

..... Thinking about cancelling land tour & doing it on our own.

 

If you decide to do your own land trip do read through the trip reports posed on the Alaska Cruise Critic forum.  The Alaska CC forum does have a bias toward DIY land trips.  A fellow Alaskan likes to point out that there is nothing offered on a cruise ship sponsored land tour which can't be booked independently.   And you will see what you want to visit and avoid the "shopping opportunities"  -- at stores with inventory which is of no interest to you but pays the cruise line hefty commissions.

[oh2cruise]

We were on the Millie in June 2019.  We had done the 4 day land tour from Anchorage to Seward prior to boarding. The land tours are subcontracted by Celebrity. Our guide was very nice, but very new, and when comparing notes with others on with different guides, we missed out on a lot of information.  Absolutely NO information about the hotels, tours, daily activities are available ahead of time.  You select your tours when you arrive at the initial meeting point, our was the Marriott in Anchorage for the first day. Each day is booked the day before.  The train from Anchorage to Denali was all day, but a wonderful experience. The independent tour (booked through Celebrity) in the National Park was a tour of a lifetime!  That being said, the remaining tours were good to not so good.  Part of this was the "fault" of an inexperienced guide who was unable to give us reliable information, often times wrong information.  I would agree with the other posters, rent a car and create your own tour...  You can gauge your own time at the stops you select and can pull over to the side of the road when you see something you want to see (ie: bear in the wild roaming on the side of the road).  The tours we took once on board the ship were ALL wonderful!!

[Louhut1]

We were on the Millennium in June to July southbound. My husbands favorite excursion was the halibut fishing trip in Icy Strait.  He absolutely loved it.  The other outstanding excursion was in the glacier.  We did the smaller boat that took us closer to the glacier.  Saw some incredible calving. Loved it. Those were our outstanding excursions.   We also enjoyed the whale watching trip that ended at a lodge with a salmon lunch.  So good.  Only did Celebrity excursions. We are OK with those.  We really enjoyed this cruise.  Did our own thing from Anchorage to Seward. Loved both Anchorage and Seward.  Such a beautiful state.  
Louise and Jim