Id rather be diving Posted August 29, 2020 #26 Share Posted August 29, 2020 We did the 15 day connessiour tour last summer to celebrate my 50th birthday. We did 2 nights each in Fairbanks, Denali, McKinley, and Kenai. Originally we were not going to do the connessiour tour because I thought we could do it cheaper by paying for food ourselves. But we had friends who really wanted to do the connessiour, so we switched. After experiencing the trip, it was absolutely the best decision for us. My husband is mobility impaired and our tour director took care of every last detail for us. As we were waiting for our Tundra tour, I mentioned to her that the shower stool in the shower was really low to the ground. I told her we could make it work because my sister was traveling with us, but was telling her for future guests. When we returned from our tour, I got a text from her just as we were walking into our hotel room asking if housekeeping had delivered a more appropriate shower stool. I went to the bathroom and the Cadillac version of shower stools was waiting in the bathroom. She came to us on the bus and asked us each day if everything was okay, we’re the accommodations okay, etc. our entire tour group was able to get a private train car because my husband’s mobility issues required us to be on one of only 2 handicap train cars, so the other 30 people in our group were thrilled to be in our group. Ha ha. Due to our tour director this was the MOST relaxing trip for me in the last few years. I am usually calling ahead to ensure everything is in place for my husband and always three steps ahead of everyone to ensure things work. This trip I sat back and let Alexa handle everything. This for me was worth every penny! And after having done this tour, even if not traveling with mobility issues, I’d spend the money and do this again and again. I LOVED having our meals all paid for up front. I know myself well enough that I would have only had the $56 halibut one night rather than every night if I had to pay for it each night. The rest of the time I would have opted for chicken. This is a personal thing for me, but throwing it out there in case you know this about yourself as well. We really got to know the other 30 travelers with us because we spent so much time together. They also made the trip extra special. We hope to book this trip again in 2022. I, too, did a lot of research and reading Caribill’s trip review to know what to expect. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travlin grrl Posted August 31, 2020 #27 Share Posted August 31, 2020 I need to do a land tour!! I've done Alaska twice but not the land portion. After reading these I want to add that on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voljeep Posted August 31, 2020 #28 Share Posted August 31, 2020 On 8/29/2020 at 12:35 PM, Id rather be diving said: connessiour tour yep, if/when we go back we would do it that way ... land first, then cruise, and I believe they come in 6,8 or 10 land days before the 7 day cruise 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisen Elf Posted August 31, 2020 #29 Share Posted August 31, 2020 2 hours ago, Travlin grrl said: I need to do a land tour!! I've done Alaska twice but not the land portion. After reading these I want to add that on. Definitely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zalusky Posted August 31, 2020 #30 Share Posted August 31, 2020 The train ride is very special: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrak Posted September 1, 2020 #31 Share Posted September 1, 2020 One our last Connoisseur Cruise Tour the last train portion not only included lunch but 2 alcoholic drinks per person. I was quite surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky TGO Posted September 1, 2020 #32 Share Posted September 1, 2020 36 minutes ago, Thrak said: One our last Connoisseur Cruise Tour the last train portion not only included lunch but 2 alcoholic drinks per person. I was quite surprised. Wow!! 2 alcoholic drinks that’s good enough for me Thrak signed me up.😁 Your Pal, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrak Posted September 1, 2020 #33 Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) 28 minutes ago, Lucky TGO said: Wow!! 2 alcoholic drinks that’s good enough for me Thrak signed me up.😁 Your Pal, You, sir are a smart ass but I'm guessing that is no surprise to you. Edited September 1, 2020 by Thrak 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky TGO Posted September 1, 2020 #34 Share Posted September 1, 2020 4 minutes ago, Thrak said: You, sir are a smart ass but I'm guessing that is no surprise to you. Hi Thrak, I’m sorry!! Your Pal, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki S Posted November 19, 2020 #35 Share Posted November 19, 2020 I’ve started doing some research into the option of a Alaska Cruisetour. Do you book tours once you arrive at each lodge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelers36 Posted November 19, 2020 #36 Share Posted November 19, 2020 On 9/1/2020 at 12:10 AM, Thrak said: You, sir are a smart ass but I'm guessing that is no surprise to you. You can post that again!! Er, I guess I just did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mflem1278 Posted November 19, 2020 #37 Share Posted November 19, 2020 We did connoisseur in June 2016. It was awesome. Everything was taken care of. Our tour guide helped us make some additional excursion reservations. She was there to answer any questions we had on anything or handle any problems we had. Some in our group had problems with their rooms and she immediately took care of it. She was very very informative - had been doing it for several years. But she wasn't in your face all the time either. Just available if needed. I would do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisen Elf Posted November 19, 2020 #38 Share Posted November 19, 2020 11 hours ago, Loki S said: I’ve started doing some research into the option of a Alaska Cruisetour. Do you book tours once you arrive at each lodge? With a cruisetour, some tours are already included. The cruisetour description should specify which ones are part of the package. You can do some things on your own, but in Alaska, my experience was that you usually had to book tours through the cruise line as Princess, at least, seemed to have an arrangement with the tour operators to handle it this way. I would recommend booking any tour you really want to do ahead of time, as many are sold out well in advance of your arrival at the lodges. Here is a link to the Alaska boards, which is filled with loads of great information: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/ Alaska is amazing! Enjoy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare leck57 Posted November 19, 2020 #39 Share Posted November 19, 2020 11 hours ago, Loki S said: I’ve started doing some research into the option of a Alaska Cruisetour. Do you book tours once you arrive at each lodge? No, I would book them before. You can book them on Princess just the same way you would book ship tours. You can book at the Lodges but some were booked out. As Cruisen Elf states, some tours may be included such as the Tundra Wilderness Tour, Paddle steamer in Fairbanks etc. This depends on the type of tour you book. We did a Connoisseur Tour and highly recommend them as an option. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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