Alaska Cruisetours

[Foffie232]

Questions for all of you who have been on an Alaskan Cruisetour: what was your favorite part? Is it better to spend more time on the Wilderness Express? Is it better to go by motor coach? What did you like, what didn't you like?

 

Alaska for DH and I isn't until 2009 or 2010, but we've been looking at it and trying to decide the best way to do Alaska. We want it to be spectacular, but spectacular is starting to add up in price :)

 

Just curious to know the details - there's only so much I can gather from reading the cruisetour descriptions.

 

Thanks!!

 

Stephie

[Bruin Steve]

Questions for all of you who have been on an Alaskan Cruisetour: what was your favorite part? Is it better to spend more time on the Wilderness Express? Is it better to go by motor coach? What did you like, what didn't you like?

 

Alaska for DH and I isn't until 2009 or 2010, but we've been looking at it and trying to decide the best way to do Alaska. We want it to be spectacular, but spectacular is starting to add up in price :)

 

Just curious to know the details - there's only so much I can gather from reading the cruisetour descriptions.

 

Thanks!!

 

Stephie

 

Stephie,

We did an Alaska Cruisetour in July 2004...it was on the Celebrity Summit--but, for reference purposes, know that Royal Caribbean and Celebrity operate the Cruisetour land portion in Alaska as a single operation under the banner of "Royal Celebrity"...so the cruisetours are pretty much the same.

 

We did a Southbound Voyage in order to get the more active and strenguous land portion out of the way first...so we could finish up with the more relaxing cruise portion...

 

We also made the decision to throw a lot of the budgetary concerns out the window. We figured we were likely only getting up that far into Alaska once in our lives, so we might as well "do it right"...So, we opted for the longest and most "complete" cruisetour--a "13 night" package...

 

It flew us into Fairbanks...We spent two nights there...then the dome-covered train to Denali, one night there, then the train to Talkeetna, a night there, then buses the rest of the way down--a night in Anchorage, a night in Alyeska, then meeting the ship in Seward...

 

There were a great many highlights on the land portion...

We really enjoyed the two segments on the dome-covered train...Views were spectacular, the seating VERY comfortable (the train, BTW is actually two cars that Royal Celebrity owns on the same Alaska Railway train that Princess and HAL own cars on as well...It's hard to imagine the other lines' cars are any nicer than RC's...

 

But, of course, the bus portions were quite nice as well...But, it's a good mixture to get a little of each...But, be aware, they make full use of those train cars...and different cruisetours do different segments on the train...

 

All of our days were pretty much filled with included activities...Our time in Fairbanks included trips to a "gold mine" with panning for gold...a Paddlewheel Riverboat ride to an "Indian Village"...a visit to the Alaskan Pipeline...

The day at Denali included the SEVEN hour Wildlife Tour through the National Park (some cruisetours only give you the shorter version)...

We had a city tour in Anchorage and a visit to the Iditerod Dog Training Center...And the ride from Alyeska to Seward included a stop at a "Wildlife Preserve"...

 

Best night was at Talkeetna, where we had an unbelievable view of Mt. McKinley from the Hotel...

 

Personally, I wouldn't try to save money and shortcut any of this. We likely won't get back...or, if we do, it won't be for a number of years...

 

I guess, if I'd skip anything, it would be Anchorage and Alyeska--but I don't think many of the cruisetours do that--most of the shorter ones skip Fairbanks...

 

Whatever you choose to do, have fun...

[Foffie232]

Thanks, Steve - that was some very good insight. On the land portion of the trip are the meals paid for? What is actually covered in that price that you pay for your RCCL (or Celebrity) Cruisetour package?

 

Thanks!!!

 

Stephie

[madkil]

We did the 11 night cruisetour #1 this past June. Like the above poster we figured we may never get to do Alaska again so we decided that whatever it cost was ok. It was wonderful.

We flew into Fairbanks and spent 1 night there. The following morning we went on the Riverboat tour and then took a motor coach to Denali. 2 nights there. We also had the 8 hour Wilderness tour. We saw all kinds of wildlife and had a fantastic view of Mt McKinley. Then we motor coached to Anchorage stopping to see the pipeline along the way. Had the afternoon and evening free to do our own thing. Overnight in anchorage and then took the Wilderness Express train to Seward. We stopped at the Sealife center in Seward before we were taken to the ship for our cruise.

I would not hesitate to do this again. We enjoyed every minute of it.

[Len3]

We did this cruisetour with Princess and it sounds about the same as the posts above. We simply loved everything about the cruisetour and we're glad that we did the land portion first. The lodges are fantastic and we hit Mt. McKinley on a rare clear day - what a breath taking sight. We liked Juneau best because we have friends who live there and they took us on their kayaks right up to the glacier. This trip is a true winner.

[gnparend]

Stephie

Bruin Steve pretty much laid it out for you. Absolutely do the 13 day cruisetour. I would go from Fairbanks to Anchorage. Fairbanks does not have much other than the Gold Mine & Paddle Wheel boat because it's land locked. The "Royal Celebrity Tours" are new at this (5 years old) so all their equipment is modern and newer. They will train from Fairbank to Denali and then Denali to Talkeetna however your tour bus will stay with you throughout the trip carrying your luggage and meet you at each train station, then arrive at the lodge with luggage in the room and key in hand as you leave the bus.

 

Yes it's gonna cost you but this is a once in a lifetime trip. The meal on land tour are on you own but the cost is reasonable. So put your pennies away now and plan on it. save money on your other trips by staying interior instead of balcony, save a little on the Alaska ship by inside cabin cause you get a superior view from on deck 360 degrees.

 

Don't miss the trip or try to cut back. Also if you have the time in anchorage do the Prince William sound tour. In Denali you will stay at the Grande Denali Lodge on the side of the mountain, in Talkeetna your in Talkeetna Alaska Lodge with a grande balcony / restaurant overlooking Denali (Mt McKinley).

 

If you want an appteaser look at our pics in the link of our signature.

 

Go Do It or as RCI would say "Get Out There"

 

P.S. Do it in June but don't plan on sleeping much Sun doesn't set til after Midnight and then just for a few hours. And remember Stand you ground with bears, Run from the Moose. Oh and See Sanat Claus in the North Pole.

 

any other questions email us at our login ID + @juno.com

[Bruin Steve]

As has been mentioned already, meals are on your own...

We had our daughters with us, so the whole thing was really expensive...but we economized on meals, eating in a lot of cheap to reasonable places...

 

Everything other than the meals was pretty well covered: trains, buses, hotels and all of those "included excursions"...They kept us pretty busy...

[NancyIL]

You didn't ask this -but I'll throw in my two cents any way! We did a northbound Alaska cruise in June on the Coral Princess, then rented a car in Anchorage and drove around for the next 8 days. Unlike most people who do land trips - we didn't go to Denali, but still had a wonderful time. If you want maximum flexibility to go where you want, when you want - I highly recommend doing an independent land trip.

[seahags]

The train, the train, the train...

you can walk around, move from side to side, see everything, have a hot chocolate, coffee or cocktail...breakfast, lunch or dinner, depending on which segment!!! We LOVED the train!!! from Fairbanks-Denali (breakfast), Denali-Talkeetna (lunch), and Talkeetna-Anchorage (dinner)...the train was fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!! And So Is Alaska!!!:D :D :D

[boingy300]

Okay we are also planning this for 2009. A lady I met suggested doing bed & breakfasts instead of the cruise tour, as she said it gave her family a "true " feeling of life in Alaska. I am torn. Anyone ever done this?

Thanks,

Karen

[robbinsca]

DW and I went to Alaska about a week after Bruin Steve. I can remeber seeing his posts on the board back then. He came south on the Celebrity Summit, and we took it back north.

 

We decided to "do Alaska" on our own. We rented a car in Seward, stayed there for a night then drove up to Talkeetna. We then drove up and spent a couple of nights in Healy 9newar Denali0 and then finished it up with a couple of nights in Anchorage before heading back home. We stayed in B&B's for the most part. The only area we didn't absolutely love was the time in Anchorage. It was just a city......

 

We didn't feel as if we were then programmed in to anyone else's schedule. We got tremendous tips from a poster by the name of Budget Queen. Look for her old, and maybe even new, posts on the board for Alaska.

 

I put in a lot of hours researching, but then our trip seemed to be much more personalized. I know I remember it a lot more than if I had just gone along with the crowd.

 

You've got time if you are not going until 2009. Take look and see if you want to plan it yourself instead!

[denton1]

We did Cruisetour #12 last summer. It starts in Anchorage, 2 days on the train, one on the bus. 2 nights in Denali. The tour finishes in Fairbanks and they fly you back down to Anchorage the day the ship leaves for a southbound cruise. We loved the train and the tour deep into Denali. Saw the mountain, bears, caribou, foxes, etc. I would go back just to do the land portion again and skip the cruise (even though it was great also). Spend as much time in Denali and on the train as you possibly can. In answer to your question about meals, none are included in the land portion of the trip. Enjoy Alaska. You cannot appreciate how beautiful it is until you go.

[penguin6969]

We just got back from our 1st Alaska Cruisetour. We were celebrating our 10th anniv. and my "big" birthday. I wanted something special and something that we would remember. So we didn't want to be too cheap on excursions, because we felt we may never do this again. For most folks you can only afford this type of trip once in your lifetime.

 

We did the RCCL - Radiance of the Seas 12 night - # 2 pkg. We arrived the night ahead of time in Vancover, B.C. - then the hotel had a free shuttle directly to the pier the next morning. Our cruise portion was first and actually we really enjoyed it so much that way - because you could really let Alaska sink in before you went home.

 

Another thing most folks like to get is a cabin on the Port side (right) and at first I did too, because all the land going North, is on that side. But we changed to a Jr. Suite and the only cabin they had available was on Starport (left). You know what - we LOVE that side of the ship so much more. The sights were what you came for anyway and on the right side, you got the town, but to us the really sights were on the left side of the ship (and so glad we had that side).

 

Our 1st cruise stop was Ketchikan "Great Alaskan Lumberjack show and Totem Bight State Park" we loved them both.

 

2nd stop: and in my opinion the BEST EVER was the "Glacier Dogsled Adventure via Helicopter" - Yes alittle bit expensive, but soo soo worth every penny. The helicopter ride was about 35 min - took you over 4 different glaciers, then landed on one and this is where you took a real dog sled ride. Our 8 dogs took us around the glacier for about 40min or so. I drove on the back end, then switch with DH, then switch again. I will never forgot how cool that was - (check us out in the little corner pic). Not to mention the glaciers - I will never look at another one is the same way again- WOW what a view. I would highly recommend a helicopter ride over the glaciers if nothing else.

 

3rd stop Skagway "Skagway Extravaganza"- this was a very nice - old fashion (about 3 hrs)train ride up to Canada, then to Llarsville for a salmon bake, show and panning for gold then a great bus ride down the mountain.

 

4th stop Icy Strait Point "Alaska Culinary Extravaganze" - this was also very nice. That Halibut and Salmon was very good. You got to cook your own after they show you the proper way to fillet the fish.

 

Regarding the land portion once we landed in Seward - we were off to the Sealife Center (included in the price) and we actually there to witness the life birth of one of the Sea Lions (via TV satelitte about 30 miles away) then we were off to Resurrention Bay Wildlife Cruise tour - the best tour on water in my opinion. We saw a Dolphin, Orca Whales, tons of sea lions, otter and acouple other animals. This was also included in the price - as a matter of fact - we only took the FREE excursion offered on the land portion. We decided to spend our money on the cruise excursions. Every day we had a great time and were never dissatified in our choice. With the extra time we had (which wasn't very much) we just walked around town or stayed at the hotel and relaxed - we loved it.

 

I really enjoyed the Alyeska Tramway ride up the side of the Mt. The tram ride takes about 5 min and goes straight up Mt Ayeska about 2,300 ft (another excursion included in the price of the cruise) All the land hotels were included and all were very nice. The hotel in Girdwood was the "Alyeska Prince Resort" (very fancy).

 

We also loved our trip to Denali Wilderness Tour - we got the extended version (like 7-8 hrs). Saw a Mother grizzle and 3 cubs, doll sheep, ground squirrel, fox, black birds, Moose.... very very nice.

 

RCCL 3 hr train ride (with the glass roof) and he diner car below - that was fantansic and very very classy train.

 

If anyone has any questions, please just ask.

 

Whatever you decided to do, remember you worked hard for a super vacation and deserve to treat yourself. Esp something that will give you a lifetime of memories. Make sure you take alot of pictures LOL. I took around 1000 digital and 225 with my advantex camera (panaromic shots etc). We planned our trip for 1 1/2 yrs and wouldn't have changed one thing.

 

Enjoy...

[DiamondPlusCruiser]

We were on the June 16 - July 2, CruiseTour #15-- 13 nights Fairbanks-Vancouver. This is by far the best cruise tour to take as you get to all the major points of interest. I can't say enough great things about how well we were taken care of my the Tour Guides, train personnel and hotel staff. The entire trip was top notch and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I posted "live" on these boards = just do a search for my posts and you should find it.

[Bennett'sCruise]

We just did our Alaska CruiseTour this past June. I had heard many say, "do the southbound". I'm so glad we did! Only had one thing I would change: *we did an 11-day ... would do a longer one next time! (that extra day or two will get you another credit toward your next level with RCI) And, we missed Fairbanks this time and also had only one day in Denali.

You are picking the right cruise line to do your CruiseTour. You will see a whole lot of difference in the train cars and the buses (coaches) between RCI and Princess/HAL. There's NO comparison! RCI's much better.

One thing you will miss if you decide to do the land tour on your own and not thru the cruise line: the phenomenal narratives by the guide and bus driver that we had thru RCI! We learned so much from them that we never would have gotten if we had been driving ourselves. Also, the accommodations were first class all the way, our luggage was handled for us, and the guides gave us tips on what not to miss at each stop. We also made very good friendships on the 4-day land portion before we even got on the ship ... that was very kewl!!!

DH and I have talked about next time we go to Alaska, just flying up and back (no cruise). We'd just fly into Anchorage, rent a car and take off from there for a couple of weeks.

Whatever you decide, you will have a great trip!!!!

~d