Alaska Cruise Tour Itineraries

[Joe_D]

Greeting,

We are looking at 3 different cruise tour itineraries for the summer of 2025:

 D4l which has 1 full day in Denali and 2 nights in Alyeska.

 Dhl which has 1 full day in Denali and 2 nights in Homer.

              Both also have an extra night in Fairbanks.

 D1l which has 2 full days in Denali. 

 

I like that the first 2 offer a new town to explore. My concern is the additional travel is mostly by bus.

 

Has anyone traveled any of the Tours?

[Cape Hernlopen]

One night in Denali is not enough time.  The train ride will be nice but you will arrive in the afternoon and leave the next morning.

Joel Barry

[Joe_D]

Sorry, I wasn't clear. Two of the tours are in Denali for 2 nights, giving you 1 full day for activities. The other is there for 3 nights, giving you 2 full days. All 3 have a tundra tour which occupies a good chunk of 1 day. 

[crystalspin]

11 minutes ago, Joe_D said:

We are looking at 3 different cruise tour itineraries for the summer of 2025:

 D4l which has 1 full day in Denali and 2 nights in Alyeska.

 Dhl which has 1 full day in Denali and 2 nights in Homer.

              Both also have an extra night in Fairbanks.

 D1l which has 2 full days in Denali. 

Welcome to Cruise Critic and the HAL board.

 

Take the one with 2 full days in Denali. As you said, one day is well-spend on the Tundra Tour. Perhaps the other is left open for your own experiences, or options offered?

 

There is an Alaska board as well.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

 

[RuthC]

Alyeska is a resort on the peninsula between Seward and Anchorage. I have spent a few nights there (in terrible weather, which may have colored my opinion), but didn't enjoy it. 

I have enjoyed all my times in Homer, and would happily go back. The museum in town is worth a few hours. There is fun to be had out on the Spit, and there are boating activities to enjoy. 

I would also recommend as much time as possible in Denali. The bus tour is long, so doesn't leave a lot of extra time on that day. Another day, especially if the weather is good, a flight up the mountain is a marvelous excursion. That leaves another day for rafting, hiking, or other activities. 

[oaktreerb]

I’ve been on a lot of HAL cruisetours  and I coordinated one for myself including Alyeska and Kantishna in Denali.  This summer I’ll be on the first of the 28 day Alaska cruises that sails all the way to Nome.  Anytime HAL offers something new I want to try it.  This year I’m already booked.

 

The Dhl (Denali/Homer/Land first) is a new cruise tour itinerary and to have an overnight in Homer would be special.  The Dhl is a 14 day itinerary.  That is the one I would choose.  You’ll have two nights at each location.  Homer is beautiful with plenty to see and do.  Two nights in Denali is plenty unless you have a lot of things you want to do there.  

 

Alyeska is a beautiful resort but better if you have a car for transportation.  Homer will keep you active for two days or you can just relax and enjoy the beauty all around.  

 

HAL puts a lot of thought into developing new itineraries.  This one should be good.

 

[POA1]

When you are looking at these itineraries, they end in either a C or an L. It would be easier to tell them apart if HAL used a capital letter at the end. They do not.

 

C means Cruise first. L means Land first. The Ls tend to be more relaxing because you end on the ship. The Cs usually cost a little less.

[Joe_D]

Thank you for all of the responses. POA1- In all cases we are doing the land portion first. I guess we will need to decide between Homer and a second day in Denali. It would be helpful if HAL gave a more detailed itinerary. For example: when it says bus ride from point A to point B, it would be great to know the duration.

[oaktreerb]

The bus from Fairbanks to Denali will arrive late afternoon.  You will be given your room keys on the bus and dropped off at your lodging.  Your bags will be delivered to your room.  You could plan an excursion for that evening.  The TWT will probably be a 6 hour bus ride which is just a half day.  You may have an early morning time and will still have the rest of the day free.  The next day your train will be Denali to Anchorage and is about an 8 hour train ride leaving mid day.  We usually meet the train at the station so that we have some time to visit the park exhibits and the bookstore.  

 

The daylight hours are long.  The bus rides and the train are narrated journeys.  I don’t know how long the ride to Homer is but it will be narrated and very scenic with stops along the way.  Alyeska is just a couple of hours from Anchorage and Whittier.  

 

Do some reading about Denali and decide what you want to experience.  The road into the park will probably not be finished to the full length TWT until 2026 according to latest estimates.  Check the road progress on the National Park website nps.com, select Denali.

[talpostal]

12 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

The bus from Fairbanks to Denali will arrive late afternoon.  You will be given your room keys on the bus and dropped off at your lodging.  Your bags will be delivered to your room.  You could plan an excursion for that evening.  The TWT will probably be a 6 hour bus ride which is just a half day.  You may have an early morning time and will still have the rest of the day free.  The next day your train will be Denali to Anchorage and is about an 8 hour train ride leaving mid day.  We usually meet the train at the station so that we have some time to visit the park exhibits and the bookstore.  

 

We booked a similar tour that will have us arriving in Denali in the evening, 2:30pm Tundra Wilderness Tour the next day, then bus to Fairbanks early the next day. Should we try to book something in the morning of the second day or is it nice to have some free time?

[oaktreerb]

@talpostalYou’ll have all morning to schedule an excursion or spend some time at the visitor’s center.  You will be able to see on HAL’s website the excursions that will fit into your available time in the park.  The first year we were in Denali we took a rafting excursion that was a lot of fun.  The park has a free sled dog demonstration.  You can catch the bus at the visitor center or walk out to the kennels.  Line up in advance for the bus.

 

 I like to keep busy so free time is spent at the visitor center or walking the area around the hotel (Glitter Gulch across the highway, or walking over to the Princess Lodge.  The Chalets have shops and activities available, also.  The longest hike I have taken was out to the dog kennels and we hopped on the bus for the return trip.

Edited February 7 by oaktreerb

[Famgel1956]

I’d like to ask everyone’s opinion on purchasing the Land Dining Plans? First time cruiser & from research there’s not many options to eat there except the Princess & McKinley lodges! It’s pricey but thinking they’ll take care of cruise people first over walk in’s? We r getting in late 1st night @ 5:30 pm then next day tundra wilderness tour doesn’t end till 7:50pm! Plus needing 2 breakfasts, box lunch & dinners! Ty! 

[oaktreerb]

@Famgel1956

Edited February 7 by oaktreerb
delete

[oaktreerb]

My reply about the dining was lost and hopefully will be reinstated!

[Famgel1956]

If u could send me a message I’d appreciate it ty! I tried sending u one but it’s disabled ty

2 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

 

2 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

My reply about the dining was lost and hopefully will be reinstated!

To be fair searching for a particular subject on these boards is nearly impossible! 

Edited February 8 by Famgel1956

[auntmeg]

5 hours ago, Famgel1956 said:

I’d like to ask everyone’s opinion on purchasing the Land Dining Plans? First time cruiser & from research there’s not many options to eat there except the Princess & McKinley lodges! It’s pricey but thinking they’ll take care of cruise people first over walk in’s? We r getting in late 1st night @ 5:30 pm then next day tundra wilderness tour doesn’t end till 7:50pm! Plus needing 2 breakfasts, box lunch & dinners! Ty! 

It's been discussed here that the Land Dining Plans are, in general, very overpriced. You typically would need to order the most expensive thing at each meal to make them worth the cost.

 

And, no they won't "take care of cruise people first over walk ins". You will be given vouchers to use in the restaurants to pay for your meals.

 

You likely will not have any problems getting served if you do not purchase the dining package and just pay as you go.

Edited February 8 by auntmeg

[Famgel1956]

If u could send me a message I’d appreciate it ty! 

4 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

My reply about the dining was lost and hopefully will be reinstated!

 

4 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

My reply about the dining was lost and hopefully will be reinstated!

To be fair searching for a particular subject on these boards is nearly impossible! 

[oakridger]

3 minutes ago, Famgel1956 said:

If u could send me a message I’d appreciate it ty! 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic @Famgel1956!   Unfortunately CC does not have a Private Message function.

 

Have a great trip to Alaska!

 

~Nancy

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, auntmeg said:

It's been discussed here that the Land Dining Plans are, in general, very overpriced. You typically would need to order the most expensive thing at each meal to make them worth the cost.

 

And, no they won't "take care of cruise people first over walk ins". You will be given vouchers to use in the restaurants to pay for your meals...

@Famgel1956 my experience is as @auntmeg said - you receive vouchers to pay with instead of money; they do have a max value and you would pay any overage due.

We did the math and opted to pass- just could not justify the high cost, no matter if it was the breakfast only package or w/dinner.

The only special treatment we noticed was at the lodge during breakfast, "vouchers" were asked to sit in a designated place in the dining room. Not served quicker or differently at all, just clustered together to indicate they were using vouchers.

[Famgel1956]

Ok ty all this info helps a lot really appreciated it! 

[oaktreerb]

My response was not posted so in a nutshell.

 

I have not purchased the meal plan.  We have been given the vouchers by our TA.  They work really well but you have to eat at the HAL/Princess properties which do have very good food.  You will be eating in these venues anyway for breakfast as you will want to have a quick meal and get on your way.

 

At the Chalets the breakfast can be a continental breakfast with oatmeal, fruit, etc or the more expensive buffet with all of the continental plus bacon, sausage, eggs,   You can use the voucher for either.  The voucher was good at Karstens or the Canyon Steakhouse on property, maybe at Princess lodge dining room.  If you don’t have a voucher you just pay for your meal on property or off.

 

We were given vouchers last year and I do not remember a $ limit.  One year I ordered the most expensive entree on the menu and the voucher covered it.

 

In Fairbanks we ate in the dining room or bar.  Fairbanks also offers the buffet.  You will also want to eat on the train but they will take your credit card.

 

In Anchorage there are a lot of places in town you may want to eat.  

 

You can purchase the box lunch for the TWT but a box snack is provided which you can supplement with an energy bar you bring with you.  The box lunch is probably not a voucher item.

 

I would not purchase the voucher if I want to save money.

[oaktreerb]

@Famgel1956 Enjoy your Holland America cruise tour.  I hope the above information is helpful.

[Famgel1956]

Ty it did!