Prudhoe Bay Land Tour then cruise Alaska southbound

[poolwife]

Wondering if anyone that has done the Prudhoe Bay Alaskan tour and then cruised southbound from Seward to Vancouver this year that can give me any information about the tour. How did you like it; was the tour handled well by Holland America; how cold was it on the land portion, etc.? Did you see any Esimo villages? What did you see on that tour?

 

Have read some terrible reviews about how Princess has handled some land tour packages recently so was wondering about Holland America and particularly the Prudhoe Bay tours.

 

Thinking of booking it for next year and Holland America is the only cruise line that I have noticed that has a land tour that goes to Prudhoe Bay.

[travlin4fun]

We just got home from HAL's #21 cruise tour. Cruise first, then fly to Prudhoe Bay and then south bound on motor coach/rail.

 

There were a few glitches, but overall, the trip was fantastic! I know it seems more popular to have the cruise last so you can rest up from the tour, but we really wanted to fly north and come south in the coach, and are glad we did it that way. When we boarded the coach each day, everyone on the tour was so eager with anticipation. We were all glued to the windows and we loved every minute of the ride. No one was "shell shocked" as I had read people sometimes are by the time they reach Prudhoe Bay going northward on the coach.

 

We had packed lots of reading and "busy" stuff, but never took it out of the bag. Even our 9 year old daughter was loving it! Just last week she made a snowman in the Brooks range. She was the only child on the trip, but the other 27 passengers "adopted" her and most had to get her picture with the snowman!

 

This really is a trip of a lifetime, and one that takes a certain type of person to appreciate. You will likely get to know your travelmates as you never have before. Our group was eclectic, but every one of them was very special and contributed a lot to the experience. The passengers ages ranged from my 9year old daughter to an 84year old woman who was a real hoot!

 

Clothes might depend on when you are going. Layers are good. We also packed some waterproof hiking boots, which turned out to be a god send, especially in Coldfoot where we had to hike across a muddy swamp of a parking lot to get to the restaurant. We had parkas that we wore most the time outside but on the coach a sweater or light jacket was good. (parkas that have removable liners are great for this.) I don't know if it is always like this, but Alaska seemed awful windy to us during the land tour.

 

Bring binoculars. And layers! And be prepared for some long days. The sun never set in Prudhoe Bay, and the days were awfully long everywhere else. If it wasn't so darned exciting, I would have been able to sleep anyway, but I didn't want to miss any of this trip of a lifetime.

 

The one thing I felt I'd do differently is book the extra excusions separately from HAl. But the land tour itself was great. I did see brochures on our trip that offer the Prudhoe Bay trip independently, but I am glad we did it the way we did. Our coach driver was outstanding (his name is Bill) and really made the trip even better. And his driving skill was appreciated too, as most of this road is gravel, very bumpy, slippery in spots where they put a substance on the road to keep the dust down and it makes the road seem like it is covered with oil. I especially appreciated Bill's expertise at Atigun Pass where we had whiteout conditions.

 

Eskimo Villages...we had planeed to do the Anaktuvuk Pass adventure and were really looking forward to that. But with the whiteout conditions that night, I wasn't about to argue when they cancelled the excusion. You really can't argue with Mother Nature. Maybe some day we will try it again. We did spend extra time in Anchorage at the end of the tour going through the Native heritage Center, and got to meet and talk with many of the native Alaska peoples and see examples of their culture.

 

Since we got home, the travel plans we have booked after this seem awful boring, even if they will have luxurious accomodations. Luxury is nice, but a real arctic adventure is exciting!

 

Best of luck in your planning. I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did! Most of the glitches on our trip had to do with the computer chaos HAL has had this spring, so hopefully that will be resolved when you book your trip.

 

Glitches notwithstanding, i wouldn't trade this trip for the world. It was truly an adventure of a lifetime, and I fell in love with Alaska like I never thought I would.

 

Ruth