Alaska Cruise/Land

[ColoRockiesFan]

Has anyone arranged a 1 way cruise from Vancouver BC to Anchorage, then spent a week in Alaska (I want to spend several days in Denali) and then caught another cruise from Anchorage back to Vancouver? What cruise lines did you book? Did you book any of the land potion with a tour company? 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I'm hoping for June 2021. 

[AKStafford]

I recommend you plan & book the land portion of your trip between the cruises yourself. It can easily be done and there's nothing available on a cruisetour or what a tour company offers that you can't book yourself. Using a rental car is the easiest and most efficient way to get around. And especially in the Denali National Park area, having a rental car gives you a lot more options for dining, lodging & activities. 

For seeing Denali National Park, book a shuttle bus trip into the park: https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm

[disneyochem]

2 hours ago, ColoRockiesFan said:

Has anyone arranged a 1 way cruise from Vancouver BC to Anchorage, then spent a week in Alaska (I want to spend several days in Denali) and then caught another cruise from Anchorage back to Vancouver? What cruise lines did you book? Did you book any of the land potion with a tour company? 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I'm hoping for June 2021. 

This is what we are doing this summer.  We are heading up to Seward on NCL Jewel.  Getting off the ship for almost a week on DIY stuff (Kenai Fjord cruise, Homer, etc.).  Hubby is a train buff so we are taking the train from Seward to Anchorage to Denali to Fairbanks (with stops/nights in between).  Then we are hooking up with a guided 10-day tour with Princess before boarding the Grand Princess in Whittier for a 7-day cruise back to Vancouver.  Total time in Alaska is 30 days including tours/DIY/cruises.  We live in Northern California so we are taking Amtrak from SF to Vancouver/Vancouver to SF in a sleeper car.

 

We picked a northbound cruise to Seward (our niece is interning at the local medical clinic this summer so wanted to see her) and then built upon that date.  The combination of DIY/Princess tour was a compromise between hubby and me--I wanted to only do DIY, but hubby has a friend who did a Princess tour and LOVED it.  Also, we couldn't find a tour that would do as much rail travel as we wanted. We picked a return time and looked at the different tours that would allow us our DIY time.  

 

I found it very easy to plan our DIY in Alaska.  These boards are a great resource for planning a trip.  You just have to priorize what is important.  I quickly realized you can't do it all even though we are spending over two weeks on land!  Guess we'll just have to go back...

 

Have fun planning!

[ColoRockiesFan]

Thanks!

 

[disneyochem]

5 hours ago, ColoRockiesFan said:

Thanks!

 

Just quick, off-topic comments.  Looks like you are a Rockies fan.  My mother (84 years young) has been an usher for the team for the past five years.  She loves the Rockies!

[ColoRockiesFan]

16 hours ago, disneyochem said:

Just quick, off-topic comments.  Looks like you are a Rockies fan.  My mother (84 years young) has been an usher for the team for the past five years.  She loves the Rockies!

That is so awesome! I was a season ticket holder for many years in the 90's ... saw the original Rockies start playing in 1993 ... 

[Twinkd]

On 2/19/2020 at 10:07 AM, disneyochem said:

This is what we are doing this summer.  We are heading up to Seward on NCL Jewel.  Getting off the ship for almost a week on DIY stuff (Kenai Fjord cruise, Homer, etc.).  Hubby is a train buff so we are taking the train from Seward to Anchorage to Denali to Fairbanks (with stops/nights in between).  Then we are hooking up with a guided 10-day tour with Princess before boarding the Grand Princess in Whittier for a 7-day cruise back to Vancouver.  Total time in Alaska is 30 days including tours/DIY/cruises.  We live in Northern California so we are taking Amtrak from SF to Vancouver/Vancouver to SF in a sleeper car.

 

We picked a northbound cruise to Seward (our niece is interning at the local medical clinic this summer so wanted to see her) and then built upon that date.  The combination of DIY/Princess tour was a compromise between hubby and me--I wanted to only do DIY, but hubby has a friend who did a Princess tour and LOVED it.  Also, we couldn't find a tour that would do as much rail travel as we wanted. We picked a return time and looked at the different tours that would allow us our DIY time.  

 

I found it very easy to plan our DIY in Alaska.  These boards are a great resource for planning a trip.  You just have to priorize what is important.  I quickly realized you can't do it all even though we are spending over two weeks on land!  Guess we'll just have to go back...

 

Have fun planning!

OMG - so jealous!!!