Denali add-on to Alaska cruise

[warmwinds]

Has anyone done this with Celebrity? (I did a search but it included mostly Princess, Holland America, etc.)

 

How were the logistics?  Smooth?  How was the included touring, were meals included on the land portion, how were the accommodations?  Just any info you can give will be appreciated.

[Mr. Click]

We did it on our own 3 years ago and are doing it again this summer.  Did a nice transfer/tour from Seward to Anchorage, overnight in Anchorage  and then drove out to Denali for 3 nights. Did what we wanted to when we wanted to do it, stopped to see things along the way when we wanted to.  It was easy and we loved being on our own.

[ClaudiaB]

Check out the Alaska board here and read about doing it yourself.  I think that's the way to go.  

[shipshape sam]

We did it through Princess our first time  to Alaska and it was smooth in 2003.  I am sure Celebrity is the same, but would see what information you can get  on Alaska boards. Just did Celebrity this past August and  got to see the Northern Lights  from the ship our second night out from Seattle on a 7 day cruise!  I hope you have a great surprise too!

 

Have a great trip!  Alaska is wonderfull!

[Jim_Iain]

We did the 1A from Anchorage pre-cruise Nov 2018.   It was one of the best tours we have ever taken and was impressed by the tour company that ran the tour.

 

Logistics was well thought out and without problem.    In our case our experience began when we arrived at Anchorage Airport for a free shuttle to the Marriott Anchorage Hotel.   We had to wait about 20 minutes for an inbound flight with about another dozen passengers.    There is an agent in the airport with a Celebrity Sign and once checked in they give you a sticker and take your luggage.  

 

Upon arrival at the hotel you met with the tour guides for an introduction and QA.   You were given a list of all the add-on tours as well as the logistics of putting your bags out early morning.

 

Hotels -  We stayed at Marriott Anchorage, Denali Lodge (a bit rustic) and Talkeetna Alaska Lodge (really nice property).

 

Meals -  No meals were included.   They did provide hard candy and water.

 

We only took one paid tour (the extended tour into Denali) well worth it.   The remainder was interesting but lots of travel time.    The trip began with a train trip from Anchorage to Talkeetna.    We stopped off at the Alaska Wilderness Park on the way to Seward, which was a nice opportunity to get up and close to many of the wildlife.

 

I have some pictures posted at the beginning of a Live Post I did -   I'm sure I have pictures of all the hotels and lodges.

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Jim_Iain

[ECCruise]

Agree with those who say do it on your own.  It is incredibly simple, you have choices of hotels/lodges/etc.  

And you will save a lot of dough.

[kathynorth]

17 hours ago, warmwinds said:

Has anyone done this with Celebrity? (I did a search but it included mostly Princess, Holland America, etc.)

 

How were the logistics?  Smooth?  How was the included touring, were meals included on the land portion, how were the accommodations?  Just any info you can give will be appreciated.

 

We did a Celebrity cruise then tour to Denali awhile back. The entire trip was seemless. The only problem was that I like all the details ahead of time and we didn't have our exact itinerary, hotels, where we were eating, etc until we met with the tour director on the day we disembarked from the ship. However, everything that was supposed to be included was there. I recall that some meals were included and others were not. The accommodations were top notch, except for the hotel at Denali, which was more like a 3 star. The tour guide gives you a list of optional excursions you can sign up for, with an additional fee. We were also able to book a few private tours during the evening hours to supplement the tours that were included in the trip. You'll find lots of info on this on the Alaska board.  

[pattyj 1204]

I agree with those posting about checking out the Alaska board. I practically camped out there before our cruise. The trip we took (quite a while ago) was seamless and really quite nice. We stayed at very nice hotels, but as I recall all the meals were on our own and there weren't many choices of restaurants. On the train we were able to try reindeer sausage which my husband loved so he ate mine too. (couldn't think about eating Rudolf). We too saw the Northern Lights and that was in Denali at the hotel-right from our room!!! Beautiful. Have fun, Alaska is beautiful in Sept. with the fireweed in its' bright red dresses. 

[Jim_Iain]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned and was the sole reason we took the cruise.   

 

I had calculated my CC Status and was going to be 1/2 day short of hitting Zenith.    I found that when you book a cruise tour you are awarded the same number of points per day as your room.    While I may have done it on my own it was a lot cheaper than booking another cruise. 

[Jim_Iain]

While some others say they had no idea of the details, there is quite a bit of information available. 

 

First most helpful to me was the Cruise Tour Brochure which has some good stuff -   Look under lodging for names of places they use.

 

2017-Celebrity-Alaska-and-Canada-Cruisetour-Brochure.pdf

 

Also when you get your Cruise Documents -  They have details of your Tour -

 

 

 

[warmwinds]

Thanks, I think if we go we just might rent the car and do it on our own.

[phoenix_dream]

We did it on our own and paid literally 1/3 of what Celebrity charges. We took a comfortable coach bus one way and the railroad back. Wonderful experience 

[4774Papa]

We did Alaska with NCL because they did Glacier Bay.  However, we did a great private tour after the cruise that went to Denali.  Denali is a must see.

[Decpl]

We are doing the Heartland pre cruise tour at end of July, and Celebrity has zero information on the Land tour and excursions available. We did Princess and was so easy, wondering if we made a mistake with Celebrity.