Tundra Wilderness Tour question.

[kirby1200]

Is the Princess version of the TWT the same as what anyone could book on their own through the park? The park reservationist couldn't answer this.

 

According to the park reservationist, the tour is 6-8 hrs, serves a box snack/lunch and goes to Tolkat River.

 

Lisa

[Sea Hag]

For the best Alaska info, go to the Alaska board and ask Budget Queen. She knows everything, and she's very nice and helpful.

[Red Rox]

You can learn alot at the Alaska forum at TripAdvisor too. But the important thing about the tours at Denali is to NOT accept the Natural History Tour if that's what your package provides. Any other tour that goes further into the park and can be worked into your time window is acceptable. We did the Polychrome Pass tour and it was great. Not quite as long as the Tundra tour, but since we did it in the evening, we saw tons of wildlife.

[LoveSanibel]

I do believe it is the same tour. The box lunch is not the greatest and thanks to these boards, I took my own food(and food for the 11 yr old.) There is a mini mart at the gas station right across the street from the Princess Denali lodge and it served the purpose perfectly.

 

The boxed lunch was crackers, cheese, caribou sausage, nutri grain bar and a bottle of water. Might have been a cookie, too. The mini mart had tuna/cracker kits, lunchables, and other things that were easy to take along. It was a long trip for us, almost 9 hours, but completely worth it.

[travellover3]

Being skeptical about the box lunch, we went across the road to Subway and got a fantastic smoked salmon sub to take with us. It is a specialty there...wish all Subways had them!

[cactusrose]

We have done both the Princess Wilderness tour and the Park Shuttle on our own. I would take the park shuttle over the Princess tour every time. The vehicles are the same old school buses no matter which one you take. The park shuttle drivers love their jobs and love to tell you everything about the park and answer any questions. They are constantly on the lookout for wildlife and will stop when they spot some. You won't get a boxed lunch but you can take your own food on board. The park shuttle is much, much cheaper than the Princess tour and you can make reservations directly with the park. The shuttle fee depends on the length you choose. There is a separate park entrance fee but if you have a National Parks Golden Age card (or whatever it's called now) you get in free. The Princess Lodge has a free shuttle that goes to the park and picks you up, you just have to pick up one of their schedules in the lobby. You can also find it on-line and I would check it out before making reservations for the park shuttle. Another advantage to the shuttle is you can get off to hike of check out an area and catch another one. You can't do that on the Princess tour. Here's the link to Denali Park Shuttle info.

 

http://www.reservedenali.com/shuttles/index.cfm

 

If you decide to take the Park Shuttle you can cancel the Princess tour and get a refund.

 

Just found the hours for the shuttle from the lodge to the park visitors center here http://www.princesslodges.com/denali_lodge.cfm

 

 

"We also provide complimentary shuttle service hourly from 7 am to 8 pm between the Lodge and the Denali National Park Visitors Center, the Wilderness Access Center and Horseshoe Lake."

[leiny]

We just returned from our cruise tour. The Tundra tour was part of our Princess package but was via the regular brown buses that the Park runs. The guide was excellent, the bus was like a tour bus with comfortable seats (not a school bus), and the box lunch was fine. I passed on the sausage and just had the cheese and croissant. The bus picked us up right at the Denali Princess resort. I was very pleasantly surprised with the whole experience; we saw lots of wildlife.

 

The train is another story. If you take the Denali Express from Whittier to Denali, prepare for a long, slow trip and the only wildlife is the moose in Anchorage!

[NLRetired]

Never cruised before so excuse if something known. The Alaska cruisetour on Princesss has the Natural History tour as part of its Denali stay. If I understand what you're saying, we can just ask for a different tour like the Tundra tour instead? Do we get any adjustment on the price of the Tundra tour? Thanks!!

[Red Rox]

Never cruised before so excuse if something known. The Alaska cruisetour on Princesss has the Natural History tour as part of its Denali stay. If I understand what you're saying, we can just ask for a different tour like the Tundra tour instead? Do we get any adjustment on the price of the Tundra tour? Thanks!!

 

You can ask Princess to delete the NHT tour and they will give you a credit. That is all that Princess will do for you. Scheduling and paying for any other tour is entirely your responsibility. Check with Denali park service as to tour schedules, availability and prices to make your own alternate arrangements. We were able to do the Polychrome tour on the day we arrived at Denali, but we had to rush a little to get there. Your arrival and departure times with Princess are critical. You may or may not have any options. the Tundra tour (I believe) is an all day excursion and you most likely would not have enough time for that one. I may be wrong, but you'll need to check that one on your own.

[NLRetired]

Thanks RedRox! Exactly what I wanted to know.:)

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

Red Rox is correct as far as timing goes. If you are on a 1 night stay only in Denali you may not have time to take the tour. We arrived in the early afternoon and you only had 30 minutes to catch the TWT bus. 1 couple I know did take it and got back at 10 pm. The next day we didn't have enough time because our train from Denali to Mt. McKinley left at 1:30 thus that's why we took the Natural History Tour which is not worth it. Especially when it leaves at 6 am.

Therefore do your research now and avoid the NHT if at all possible.

 

 

 

You can ask Princess to delete the NHT tour and they will give you a credit. That is all that Princess will do for you. Scheduling and paying for any other tour is entirely your responsibility. Check with Denali park service as to tour schedules, availability and prices to make your own alternate arrangements. We were able to do the Polychrome tour on the day we arrived at Denali, but we had to rush a little to get there. Your arrival and departure times with Princess are critical. You may or may not have any options. the Tundra tour (I believe) is an all day excursion and you most likely would not have enough time for that one. I may be wrong, but you'll need to check that one on your own.

[laughing husky]

Red Rox....What is this that I hear about you coming to Alaska????? Hope you call us....Jim and Bonnie....and I hope you have a wonderful time on your upcoming cruise. Maybe you will win some more "minutes" and you can do a live update.....Again, Thanks for the book on the canal.

[cruzzers]

Our Princess cruise tour includes the Tundra Wilderness tour from 6 AM till 2 PM. That will be a very long day but I am sure we will enjoy it. Hopefully it will be a comfortable bus we will be riding on.

[Red Rox]

Red Rox....What is this that I hear about you coming to Alaska????? Hope you call us....Jim and Bonnie....and I hope you have a wonderful time on your upcoming cruise. Maybe you will win some more "minutes" and you can do a live update.....Again, Thanks for the book on the canal.

 

Jim & Bonnie, As an experienced Alaska cruiser and traveler, I still monitor and post in these threads. Unfortunately Frankie & I have no immediate plans to return to Alaska, but we will be back someday, and I promise, we won't come back without contacting you guys first and planning a get together. Who would have ever guessed that we would meet on a ship while cruising the Panama Canal? Thanks to CruiseCritic and other sites like TripAdvisor, our world and friendships continue to grow.

[Red Rox]

Our Princess cruise tour includes the Tundra Wilderness tour from 6 AM till 2 PM. That will be a very long day but I am sure we will enjoy it. Hopefully it will be a comfortable bus we will be riding on.

It will be a converted school bus, but it won't matter. You'll be touring a fantastic place and with a guide who will have you turning your heads and spotting wildlife at every opportunity. Your comfort will be found in the wonder of Denali NP. Be thankful that your tour includes this option and not the NHT.