Torn - first timer, pre cruise tour or other

[cusematt4]

Hi All,

 

We are working on planning a first time trip to Alaska and remain incredibly torn and confused on what to do.

 

We locked in a decent cruise-only rate on the Princess cruise for June.

 

We are interested in doing a pre-cruise land tour for 2-3 days and nights.  We would be open to seeing Anchorage and Denali.

 

Option 1:

Pre-cruise Princess land tour - we are looking at AB3 and EB4 for Anchorage + Denali.

-It would be nice to have everything organized and planned out including transfers to the ship.  It would also be nice to be on a tour with others on the cruise with us.

-To cancel and rebook with the land tour attached to it would be approximately $6,000 EXTRA for 3 nights of a land tour or $8,000 EXTRA for a 4 night land tour

-All lodging seems to be included, in addition to transfers and a couple of tours

-There seems to be a lot of downtime, with a bunch of time to either do nothing, spend more or book additional tours

-There are not any meals included

 

Option 2:

-Put the $6,000 towards a NON Princess pre-cruise land tour

-Put the money towards a blue or yellow PrincessLodges rail tour for 2-4 nights that includes lodging, where we could likely buy the rail/lodging + food and a couple of Denali tours for the same $6,000

 

Questions:

-Do the Princess pre-cruise land tours include a tour guide throughout the entire trip?

-Is $6,000 for 3 nights without food or additional excursions really worth it?

-Has anyone done both a Princess pre-cruise land tour and a non-cruise land tour?  If so, which would you recommend?

-Has anyone booked a rail tour with Princesslodges.com?  This seems to include the same lodges in Anchorage/Denali/Mount McKinley but would be substantially cheaper.  We could likely book this + food and excursions for the same price or cheaper.

-If we booked with Princesslodges.com and not the pre-cruise tour, how would we get from Anchorage or Denali to Whittier?  Should we transfer the night before and stay in Whittier or the morning of?

 

Thanks so much for any help with this and insight from experience.

[Gardyloo]

Here's the deal.  The road into and out of the interior of Denali National Park is closed past milepost 43 (of around 90) due to landslides and unstable conditions that will keep the road closed until 2025 or (more likely) 2026.  While the part of the road that's open can be quite scenic, and while you might see some wildlife from the tour buses that travel the road, you'd need to weigh whether the reduced access into the park, coupled with the VERY high price on the tours, is worth it to you.  

 

The many hotels that are clustered around the park entrance (accessed by road or rail) are dependent on (and sometimes owned by) the cruise operators, so while the experience in the park is reduced, the tours still spend the same amount of time as if it wasn't, for obvious reason$.  

 

The train ride from Anchorage to Denali is scenic in a few parts, but mainly goes through forest.  By comparison, the train rides to Anchorage from Whittier or Seward, where the one-way cruises from Vancouver dock, are fabulously scenic, albeit shorter.  

 

If it was me (and of course it's not) I'd save my money on the cruise tour and use it for some self-touring.  If you're on Princess, you'll be docking in Whittier.  Depending on when your cruise takes place, on arrival at Whittier, I'd take the "26 Glacier" cruise that's offered from the Whittier dock, then take the evening train into Anchorage.    

 

I'd then (the next day or the one after) do a flightseeing tour of Denali on a floatplane from Lake Hood in Anchorage.  This will be an incredibly memorable and - IMO - a far better investment than the land tour.  

 

If time permits the next day, you could rent a car and drive up to Independence Mine, an historic site on a mountainside above the town of Palmer, around an hour north of Anchorage.  This is a very scenic and interesting glimpse into Alaska's past, well worth the few hours it takes.  

 

Of course, these are personal opinions; but IMO they'd make for a more rewarding experience with your short time on the ground.  

 

Phillips Cruises Glacier Tour Whittier Alaska Prince William Sound

Alaska Flightseeing Tours & Air Charters | Rust's Aviation (flyrusts.com)

Hatcher Pass map - https://maps.app.goo.gl/twDdgkGfBxFSfg5y9

 

 

 

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Gardyloo

[Northern Aurora]

I also responded to our OP's other thread which he recently started.  

 

I also would not consider a cruise organized land tour.  The amount of time you are considering for a tour is very short and Alaska is very large in size.  In your other post you were considering a land tour starting in Fairbanks and a few days later boarding the ship in Whittier.  A land tour such as that consists of a great amount of time sitting on your transport, whether it be motor coach or train.

 

Another DIY option would be to rent a vehicle and head down to Seward for a day or two, and then drive over to Homer.  Yet another would be to focus on the Wrangell -- St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

 

Time to spend some time on google to find instructive websites.