Cruise TOUR questions

[kirby1200]

1. I want to eat at the Talkeetna Roadhouse for breakfast or lunch. Our tour arrives ain Talkeetna at 12:45, and leaves the next day at 11:05. Is it possible to go into town earlier than the rest of the tour folk and have breakfast there? Is it close enough to the train?

OR Should we just stay in town upon arrival, and have lunch there. I read somewhere that you could send your luggage ahead, or one of the stores would hold it for you for a small fee.

 

2. Are there any good walking trails around the Princess Lodge in Mcinley?

 

3. We are scheduled for the afternoon TWT in Denali. I know the snack isn't quite dinner. Can you order food from the Princess Lodge and bring it on the bus? Or would we feel rude eating good dinner when evweryone else is having a snack?

 

4. Are there any Princess lodges that have firepits for evening bonfires?

 

Lisa

[wolfie11]

1. I doubt that you will have time to eat on the way to or from Talkeetna. If you go by bus, you won't even go there, but straight to the McKinley Princess. If you go by train, the buses will be waiting for you at the station to take you to the lodge, which is quite a ways from Talkeetna (30-40 miles??) I believe there is a shuttle to Talkeetna from the lodge and you may be able to stay in town and catch the shuttle to the lodge later, but you will have to carry anything with you around town. You would have to call and see how often the shuttles run. Or, after you check in, you could take a shuttle back to town.

 

2. Yes

 

3. Subway, or a number of hotels offer a box lunch for around $12.

 

4. not that I know of

[NJLurker]

Check the excursions, a number of them either end in Talkeetna (in which case you can go to the RoadHouse before catching the shuttle back) or start in Talkeetna (in which case you can take an earlier shuttle and stop off at the RoadHouse prior). If that doesn't work out, talk to someone about going to Talkeetna via shuttle the morning you are leaving and then getting a ride over to the train depot.

 

And be sure to have one of their brownies:D

[jdblakeslee]

When we arrived in Talkeetna, Mt. McKinley was "out" and it was suggested by our coach driver to head on to the lodge to enjoy the sight.

It was around 6 p.m., and we weren't in the mood to stay in town for just a few hours.

 

Our train to Anchorage the next day left later than the one you are using, but the lodge offers a shuttle to Talkeetna every hour on the hour, it takes about 40 minutes to get to town, and you certainly can go earlier than your appointed time. The train depot is not far, and the little town is just a few streets, not hard to navigate around. I would plan to get up early and head to Talkeetna, so that you have time to wander around before you leave. We thought it was a charming little place!

 

Regarding the food for TWT, we had an early morning time assigned for our tour, but the Subway that the other poster is referring to is just across the highway from the Denali lodge and is open 24 hrs. Lots of folks were in there, grabbing a sandwich to take with them on the bus.

You won't feel weird eating while others aren't, but you may be so busy watching for wildlife that you forget to eat! That's what happened to us!

We were also asked not to bring any food items off the bus for consumption, as they want to keep down the attraction of bears, etc.

Bottled water was handed out on the bus, too.

 

Jennifer