Denali Princess Lodge?

[suzyq964]

Does anyone know if Princess provides a shuttle bus to the Wilderness Access Center? We are planning on taking the Toklat shuttle May 29th. I've heard that the Access Center is about 2 miles from the lodge. I want to schedule a good time for the shuttle, but I need to know how much time to allow to get there. If there is a shuttle--do yoiu know how often they run? I tried calling Princess, but I think they are guessing and no one "mans" the lodge till May, which is too late. Thanks for any info...

 

Sue

[40yearcruiser]

We will be at Denali Princess in early June and have also reserved a park shuttle. I'm interested in how long it takes the Princess shuttle to get to the visitor center and how late in the evening the shuttles run. We are reserved on the 3 p.m. park shuttle to Toklat and so will not be back to the Wilderness Access area until 9-9:30 p.m. Will we have to walk from there back to the Princess Lodge? How far??? Anyone done the Toklat shuttle at this time of day?

[Red Rox]

I contacted the Denali Wilderness Center about shuttles and times because we're planning to take the evening Polychrome shuttle into the park. I was advised that the Princess shuttle back to the lodge may end service after 9PM. Since we might not get back to the DWC until 11PM that would mean a walk of about 3 miles on a path.

So yes there are shuttles from the lodges to the DWC but they may have limited hours of operation. I would contact Princess and speak to a land tour representative.

[jackie1061]

Hello everyone!

 

We were at the Denali Princess last August and had the same problem, ...How do we get back to the Princess Lodge if its too late for the Princess shuttle?

 

We were told by a Princess employee to get on the Red Line shuttle at the Visitors Center which picks up every hour at 25 minutes past the hour (ie 9:25PM, 10:25PM). That shuttle will take you to the McKinley Lodge which is essentially right next door to the Denali Princess. We were taking the 2PM Fish Creek shuttle so when we arrived at the the Wilderness Access Center I did verify with the employees there that the Red Line shuttle would be available because I didn't want to get stuck without a ride back.

 

The red line shuttle looks just like the park shuttle (tan school bus) except it has a red line going down the middle of it. The Wilderness Access Center is where the park shuttle starts and ends --BUT-- please note that the Red Line shuttle picks up at the Visitors Center, not the Wilderness Access Center. You'll have to ask the park shuttle driver to make a special stop and drop you off at the Visitor Center. My shuttle driver was great, even offered to radio ahead to the Red Line shuttle to ask that shuttle to wait for us if it looked like we were going to be late and miss it. (Our Fish Creek park shuttle was due back at 9:15PM, and if by chance we were running late and missed the 9:25PM Red Line then we would've had to wait till 10:25PM for the next one, which is something I really was hoping we didn't have to do, so our park shuttle driver offered to radio ahead in case we were late and ask the Red Line to wait for us. But as it turned out, we weren't late, so everything worked out perfectly). The Visitor Center was closed by the time we got dropped off, so please aware that you'll be waiting on the benches outside.

 

My trip was at the very end of last August so I don't if things are different in the high season, nor do I know if the times are still the same, but at least this should give you some ideas.

 

Have a great trip, Alaska is wonderful, I'd go back in a heartbeat.

[Red Rox]

That is such great news! Thank you for posting. Now my BW and I won't be worrying about getting attacked by a bear on the trail back to the lodge.;)

[1stcruiser1]

Does anyone know how late the red line shuttle runs? If we get back around 11 will there still be a shuttle? Thank you

[40yearcruiser]

Thank you, Jackie, for the great information. That makes me less concerned about getting back after the Princess shuttle stops its run. Is there a charge for the red line shuttle--just want to be prepared.

[jackie1061]

Red Rox, glad I could be of some help. This board was invaluable when planning our trip. I couldn't have done it without this forum.

 

We went the last week in August 2006 and it was getting to be the end of the season so there wasn't as much activity as I'm sure there is in June-July. We were able to get on the Fish Creek shuttle on a standby basis using our Natural History Tour tickets that we had paid for through our Princess Land Tour. (We didn't want the Natural History Tour and I had tried in vain to get a refund from Princess but had no luck.) OK, no problem, we figured we would just forfeit the tickets and buy our own shuttle fare. Imagine our surprise when we got to the Wilderness Access Center and they took our tickets in exchange for the shuttle! It was a good thing I happened to have the tickets in my purse. I was so surprised!

 

This was at the end of the season, I'm not sure this would work in June/July when I'm sure there are many more people, I'm thinking you would need reservations to ensure a shuttle spot during the high times, but our Fish Creek shuttle had a total of 6 people so it was not difficult for us to do the standby exchange. If you do happen to have have tour tickets that were paid for and you don't want to use them, you can at the very least use the tickets to prove that you have already paid the National Park entrance fee (which is $10.00 per person I think) so you don't have to pay that again. I hope that wasn't too confusing, but that is how I happened to find out that I could exchange our tour tickets in the first place. Like I said, we were scheduled on the Natural History Tour as part of our land tour, and I wasn't successful in getting a refund from Princess, so we just decided to forfeit the tour tickets and go get on the Fish Creek shuttle and just pay the fare (I think it was $24). When we got to the Wilderness Access Center to buy our tickets the girl asked if I had already paid the entrance fee. (Some people have a season pass, Golden Passport, whatever, that allows for the fee to be waived). I answered her question, "Yes, I did already pay the fee, through these Natural History Tour tickets that we won't be using" and that is when she said if I had them with me that I could just exchange them for standby shuttle tickets. Please note they were standby tickets. If the shuttle had sold out then we would have been out of luck, but we were late in the season and the last shuttle of the day so that wasn't a concern for us. Moral of the story is don't pay the entrance fee again if you've already paid it otherwise.

 

1stcruiser, I'm not sure how late the Red Line runs, I think I remember 11:25PM as being the last pick-up but I honestly don't remember. We went at the tail end of the season, perhaps it may run later if you were to go in mid-summer. I know the park shuttles have different schedules depending on the time of the season, perhaps the other shuttles do too. I'm not even sure who/where to call to find out, but as far as I know its a park sponsored shuttle so perhaps someone at the park would know. It was a Princess employee who first told me about it and then I verified the info at the Wilderness Access Center. I think I remember them telling me there was a Blue Line shuttle too but I didn't pay attention to that one since I don't think that one ran as late. I double checked with the park shuttle driver, too, just to let him know that we needed to get off at the Visitor Center and he said no problem. Just make sure you double and triple check the info given to you. But at the very least you can mention the red line shuttle and somebody would have a general idea as to what you are talking about. And it doesn't go directly to the Denali Princess, but it goes to the McKinley Lodge which is the hotel right next door, close enough for me. :)

[Red Rox]

Jackie, thanks again. I've already learned so much at this site that I did cancel our NHT, and got the credit from Princess, and I've already ordered our shuttle tickets. The saga has been recorded in a couple of other threads elsewhere here at CC. We're scheduled to arrive at the lodge around 4PM so we're taking the 6PM Polychrome shuttle bus. We'll be there in mid July so it will be light until late that night. ;)

[40yearcruiser]

Red Rox,

How did you get the credit from Princess for the NHT? I asked our TA to contact Princess to see if we could cancel the NHT and get a refund and she says they told her that couldn't be done. We arrive in Denali at noon and have requested a reservation for the 3 p.m. shuttle to Toklat (hope to find out tomorrow if the reservation is confirmed). We are scheduled for the NHT the next morning. If we can't get a refund for the NHT we will probably take the tour--maybe we'll get some info we can't get on the shuttle. If we can cancel it we'd like to go to the park kennels in the morning.

[cruisin 07]

Our group of 8 all received refunds from Princess for the NHT. When I contacted our TA I informed her that Princess was giving refunds according to the post on CC.

[suzyq964]

This is good information, but it still doesn't address my original post. Does anyone know how far the WAC is from Princess Lodge & how often do they run? I did contact Princess, but no one there seems to know & the Lodge doesn't open until May.

Hopefully someone out there knows...

 

Sue

 

P.S. I hope this doesn't sound snippy. There are so many knowledgeable people on this board & I've gotten such good information & help. Thanks

:confused:

[Red Rox]

This is good information, but it still doesn't address my original post. Does anyone know how far the WAC is from Princess Lodge & how often do they run? I did contact Princess, but no one there seems to know & the Lodge doesn't open until May.

Hopefully someone out there knows...

 

Sue

 

P.S. I hope this doesn't sound snippy. There are so many knowledgeable people on this board & I've gotten such good information & help. Thanks

:confused:

OK Suzyq, Sorry for the diversions. Here's what I know from my research here at CC and my email contact with the park service at the WAC.

The hotel is about 1-2 miles from the WAC by road. There is a footpath that is about a 3 mile walk. It is safe and easy. There is a shuttle (Redline according to jackie1061) that runs from the hotels to the Visitor Center (not WAC, but nearby) every hour with pickups at the Visitor Center at 25 past the hour. The shuttle drivers are friendly and cooperative and radio connected so that they can alert other shuttles to wait for youif needed. I was advised by the park people that for the best and most up to date info you should check the full schedule at the WAC on the day you are there. That way you will have abetter idea of what shuttles are where and when since you can get off and onto any of them at any time.

Hope this helps ease your concerns.;)

[Red Rox]

Red Rox,

How did you get the credit from Princess for the NHT? I asked our TA to contact Princess to see if we could cancel the NHT and get a refund and she says they told her that couldn't be done. We arrive in Denali at noon and have requested a reservation for the 3 p.m. shuttle to Toklat (hope to find out tomorrow if the reservation is confirmed). We are scheduled for the NHT the next morning. If we can't get a refund for the NHT we will probably take the tour--maybe we'll get some info we can't get on the shuttle. If we can cancel it we'd like to go to the park kennels in the morning.

I heard from others here at CC that you could get a credit for the NHT from Princess. I called and spoke to a LAND TOUR representative. The cruise reps can't do it. The rep who I talked with was very polite and took care of it in a minute. The credit for the NHT is $39 pp. Some travelers have been getting a credit for $69 pp. I found out that when they get that amount they have also deleted their airport transfers in Anchorage (or origination point) and Vancouver (debarkation). I customized our credit by keeping the Anchorage transfer on the front end ($12) and deleting the Vancouver charge ($18) on the back end since we plan to extend our trip in BC. So I received $39 NHT plus $18 Vancouver for a total of $57 pp.

Within three minutes of my conversation with the Princess land tour rep I had a fax copy of our new itinerary and billing statement in my hand.

The next step I took was to go online and contact the Denali Park shuttle reservations center and book tickets for our alternate shuttle trip. We're doing the Polychrome trip for $19.50 pp since that fits our schedule the best. You can see the total shuttle schedule at the Denali Park website.

Hope this works for you.

[jackie1061]

Suzyq964,

 

From what I remember, the Princess shuttle to/from the Denali Princess and the WAC runs continuously throughout the day, but they don't run very late into the evening. (Or at least not when we were there). I don't know what time they start in the morning, we didn't arrive at the lodge till noon and they were already running. We got on the shuttle at 12:30PM in the main lobby, we had one stop a little further down the road at the other lobby of the Denali Princess, then headed straight to the the WAC. It only took us 10 or so minutes to get to the park. We were getting on the 2PM Fish Creek shuttle so we arrived way way way early, we just sat at the WAC and waited.

 

Getting to the park wasn't the problem, getting back to the lodge was the problem as the Princess shuttle stopped at 8:30PM and we weren't scheduled back till 9:15PM. Thats when the Princess employee told us to take the Red Line shuttle from the Visitors Center, and I verified this when we got to the WAC. There is always the option of walking back, I am not familiar with the path but what I could see from the road it looked to be paved, but it was cold and dark by 9:30PM (on Aug 27) so we didn't want to walk.

[suzyq964]

Thank you Red Rox and jackie1061! That information does help. We are thinking of doing the 7:30a Toklat shuttle as we are leaving @3:45p. I don't want to walk 3 miles so it's important for me to know about the Princess transportation. You have both been a big help! Thanks again...

 

Sue

:)

[jackie1061]

Thank you, Jackie, for the great information. That makes me less concerned about getting back after the Princess shuttle stops its run. Is there a charge for the red line shuttle--just want to be prepared.

 

 

No, no charge.

 

I don't actually know who sponsors the shuttle, but I'm thinking it must be the park since its the same bus type. The guy at the WAC radioed the Red Line shuttle driver to verify the schedule when I asked about how late it was running, and I'm thinking they wouldn't have done that if they weren't connected in some way. And our park shuttle driver offered to radio the red line shuttle driver if we were running late, again thinking they would not have done that if they were not the same. Also, there was another person waiting at the Vistors Center with us, and when the shuttle came she spoke to the driver like they were friends, perhaps its some sort of employee shuttle? I'm guessing here, so somebody please correct me if I'm way off base. Either way, it got us back without having to walk. :)

[40yearcruiser]

I heard from others here at CC that you could get a credit for the NHT from Princess. I called and spoke to a LAND TOUR representative. The cruise reps can't do it. The rep who I talked with was very polite and took care of it in a minute. The credit for the NHT is $39 pp. Some travelers have been getting a credit for $69 pp. I found out that when they get that amount they have also deleted their airport transfers in Anchorage (or origination point) and Vancouver (debarkation). I customized our credit by keeping the Anchorage transfer on the front end ($12) and deleting the Vancouver charge ($18) on the back end since we plan to extend our trip in BC. So I received $39 NHT plus $18 Vancouver for a total of $57 pp.

Within three minutes of my conversation with the Princess land tour rep I had a fax copy of our new itinerary and billing statement in my hand.

Thanks SO MUCH for this information. This board is the greatest! I have learned so much from all the helpful travelers. I did an online shuttle reservation for Toklat on Friday night, but haven't received an email confirmation yet (not yet 3 business days). Have my fingers crossed that it all goes through OK.

[KnoxvilleSam]

Red Rox (or anyone else) -

 

When I've spoken with our Princess CRUISE representative she seems almost clueless, but she's the only one I've dealt with. We have tickets for the Tundra Wilderness Tour through Princess but I've now purchased shuttle tickets since so many people here have said it's better. I'd like to be credited for the cost for our TWT (and delete and be credited for our Vancouver transfer since we're staying there also), but I don't know how to get in touch with a land tour rep - any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

[fti]

Thanks SO MUCH for this information. This board is the greatest! I have learned so much from all the helpful travelers. I did an online shuttle reservation for Toklat on Friday night, but haven't received an email confirmation yet (not yet 3 business days). Have my fingers crossed that it all goes through OK.

 

You should probably be fine. My recommendation to you would have been even if you can't get your money back from the NHT to still book the shuttle. You can take a free park service shuttle to within about a mile of the NHT. I am puzzled why anyone would even take the NHT.

 

Don't worry about not receiving an EMail confirmation yet. You are 9% certain to go.

[Red Rox]

Red Rox (or anyone else) -

 

When I've spoken with our Princess CRUISE representative she seems almost clueless, but she's the only one I've dealt with. We have tickets for the Tundra Wilderness Tour through Princess but I've now purchased shuttle tickets since so many people here have said it's better. I'd like to be credited for the cost for our TWT (and delete and be credited for our Vancouver transfer since we're staying there also), but I don't know how to get in touch with a land tour rep - any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Call 1-800-PRINCESS and after you go through the menu and finally get to talk to a real person give them your booking number and then say 'I need to talk to a LAND/TOUR representative about making a change to my land tour itinerary.' They will transfer you.

Good luck.

[suzyq964]

I agree with Red Rox. After reading his earlier post, I just called the 800 Princess # and asked to speak with a land tour rep. She was able to verify that my NHT was removed & that my airline transfers were still in place. I'm not sure yet how much they will credit me, because the rep said that any money discussions had to take place with my TA.

 

Sue

[KnoxvilleSam]

This ought to save us some money. Maybe next time I ought to handle all this through a real TA instead of arranging our cruise directly through Princess.

[KnoxvilleSam]

Double thanks to Red Rox and suzyq - I just called Princess and the reservationist (in LandTour section) took care of me in a matter of two minutes - save mucho dinaro - well maybe not mucho, after all our other excursions are taken into account.

[suzyq964]

You're welcome KnoxvilleSam. After getting so much helpful info on this forum, I'm glad I was finally able to "pay it forward". At least now, your money will be spent on something more worthwhile.

 

 

Sue