Is Connoisseur escorted worth it on a land/cruise to Alaska?

[Paula_MacFan]

3 hours ago, floid said:

I didn’t realize there are other versions of the trip (without tour guid, without paid meals) until half-way through.  

We just returned from a 15 night Off the Beaten Path cruisetour (not Connoisseur) and had a great time.  We did lots of research and knew what to expect, and had plenty of time on our own.  It's unfortunate you were unaware of all the choices.  It doesn't help you now but Princess has a wealth of cruisetour info on their website which helped us immensely in our planning.  This grid shows there are 22 non-Connoisseur options.  https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/cruisetour-options/cruisetour-finder/

[floid]

For us, money isn’t a factor. I can see the same scenery as looking out a bus window looking at YouTube, and certainly don’t need the cruise director to meet people.  I think it comes down to whether you are mobile and like to explore.  Those that like to sit and eat will love this. 

[floid]

I’ll just add that we are foodies and very spoiled to great food. The only great food we had was at Captain Cook hotel in Anchorage. 

[floid]

On 8/31/2020 at 7:43 PM, Lucky TGO said:

Wow!! 2 alcoholic drinks that’s good enough for me Thrak signed me up.😁

Your Pal,

 

That’s funny. On the cruise we see adults acting like this is the first time without their parents and can drink and be fools all they want.  “Give me alcohol and nothing else matters. “

[floid]

Just one final note for future Connoisseur tour researchers that find this thread in their research.  My wife researched and planned this trip for us and saw all these great positive reviews.  Combined with our amazing tour experience last year in Italy, she thought this was a slam dunk.  I think the nuance that is lost in these reviews is the profile of the person that thinks these are great.  Based on seeing others on this trip, and our own experience, those that are not very mobile love this trip.  I'd venture to say most others will hate it.

The other healthy, younger, mobile folks we met in our group or other groups did not like it at all.  And definitely don't bring any youngsters on a trip like this.

[Id rather be diving]

On our connessiour tour in 2019 - the other 15 couples on our tour were all very mobile and every one of them loved the tour.  In our group it was not just appreciated by myself and my mobility impaired husband but by the other 30 people on our tour.  Additionally, I would say we had fantastic food at the Princess lodges of Denali, Mr. McKinley and the Kenai Princess.  The one in Fairbanks was not fantastic but it was still good.  My husband had all you can eat King Crab legs at the buffet and he thought they were wonderful.  Each has their own opinions but I just wanted to point out that it wasn't just mobility impaired guests who enjoyed it when we went.

[Thrak]

On 7/4/2024 at 10:39 PM, floid said:

No only would I never do another Princess cruise (did you know they are run by Carnival?),

 

No. Princess is not "run by Carnival" cruises. It is owned by Carnival Corp (CCL). Carnival Corporation owns Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.

[Worldtraveler 4727]

Here is a link to the day-by-day blog I wrote of our Connoisseur Land/Sea Tour of Alaska. We LOVED it!!

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2560841-trip-review-connoisseur-land-amp-sea-rb8-june-19-july-4-2018/