Natural History Tour - Not interested - Refund

[cruisin 07]

This tour in included in our land tour package before sailing on the Diamond in Jun. We are a group of 8 and just found out this excursion is scheduled from 6 AM to 11 AM, we are scheduled to leave the Princess lodge at 11:45 AM for a 4 hr train ride to Talkeetna. Some of the group are not interested in taking this 5 hr tour before the 4 hr train ride.

 

What if any options are available from Princess if some do not go?

[cactusrose]

Really, the natural history tour is not worth the time or money. I would cancel and request a refund. You didn't say how long you were staying at the lodge or which lodge, although I will assume it's Denali Wilderness Lodge. If it's just he one night and a few hours before you leave for the train then you might want to take a look at the other activities listed here. http://www.princesslodges.com/denali-activities.htm. Some of these sell out quickly and some of them will not be offered on your itinerary. You will get booking forms in with you pre-cruise documents.

[stephenandrew]

We had a simialr schedule to yours when we were at Denali with Princess a few years ago. I am assuming that you will be in Denali the day/afternoon before. We canceled the Natural History Tour and "upgraded" to the Tundra Wilderness Tour and took that the afternoon/evening before we departed. It takes more time and goes further into the park. Depending on when you arrive, you could also take a park shuttle into the park. Some of the shuttles go further into the park than either of the aforementioned tours, and I beleive are less costly. I would not suggest you take the Natural History Tour---you really don't get to see much.

 

The morning you leave there is time for other excursions---before we got on the train to Talkeetna, we went white water rafting on a Princess sponsored excurison. It is pretty tame, but the river is pretty, and you hit (maybe) 3 or 4 class three rapids. The water is frigid!

[mii]

On the Alaska Ports of Call forum there are regular's who have cruised to Alaska many times and they also do not recommend that tour. Just do a search on that forum and put in Natural History tour and all sorts of info comes up. By the way the Ports of Call Board of Cruise Critic is a wealth of information.

 

Marilyn

[spongerob]

I agree with the others that this tour is probably not the best use of your time. Since it is included in most tours as a comp, I doubt you can get any kind of refund but regardless, you will likely be much happier doing something you might enjoy more. Even if that means just sleeping in.

[cjnky]

I booked the shuttle today - 1/3 the price of the tour and goes further. Only real difference is that you get a very expensive snack for lunch on the tour. :rolleyes:

[Budget Queen]

In the past, there have been reports of refunds of the tour buses.

the Natural History tour has a value of about $50 and Tundral Wilderness tour, about $95. I have nothing good to say about either. I too have suggested- you might want to consider the Toklat Shuttle leaving 2pm the day of arrival. About $30- IF you do get a Princess refund- AND book a shuttle, tell the reservation agent you are already paying the $10 park fee. Princess does not refund this since you have access to the park activites. Don't pay it twice.

 

Do your homework, Denali Park is the highlight of cruisetours and the biggest feature. It makes no sense to travel to Alaska and miss out on excellent touring opportunities because you don't know your options. Make choices great for your priority of touring. :)

[cruisin 07]

Thanks to everyone for the info.