Radiance of the sea`s southbound Tour ?

[Princess Petite]

I am planning my trip to Alaska for next August and can't decide between these two cruise tours. I want to have two days in Denali and originally was going for #1. Then a friend noticed that #12 traveled more on the train than on the bus and thought we would see more scenery and be able to get up and move around more than riding a bus to each destination. Also it includes the flight from Fairbanks to Anchorage. (is that on a puddle jumper or full sized plane)? I was thinking that the bus ride would allow for stopping along the way if you saw wildlife or are they pretty strict on going from point A to B without stopping? And how long does it take for the bus ride to Denali from Anchorage.

 

Any suggestions from anyone doing either of these cruise tours will be appreciated. I have read numerous posts regarding independent versus cruisetours and have decided when there are more than two people to consider, it would be easier to do the cruisetour rather than try to please everybody by doing it on our own. THis is my first time to Alaska, too, so I'm clueless.

[yorktown daytripper]

Princess, my wife and I were also considering tours #1 and #12 for next August. After much thought and some experienced input we ended up booking #11. It was explained to us that the airplane transfer from fairbanks to Anc would chew up a good part of a day considering the airport transfers, the waiting,the boarding and the flight itself. We were told that chances are the flight will be mostly in the clouds and we will not see much. The info made sense to us so we bought it. Sorry if I confused you even more.

[Princess Petite]

Yorktown, I guess the reason we were condsidering cruisetour #1 was because it gave us two nights in Denali. But most of the transportation was by bus. That was my dilemma. Which was better, more train time or bus time. Plus #12 was a day longer. I couldn't see spending two days in Fairbanks. I would rather spend the time in Denali.

[atv girl]

Princess petite, we were originally booked on tour 7 because I seen the word Denali, did`nt realize it was`nt the tundra tour, so we change to tour 12, the price difference to add the extra day wasn`t that much if you can be gone 12 days I`d go for it, and between tour 11 and 12, 12 gives you an extra denali day. Now keep in mind I have never been to Alaska, I`m just doing process of elimination like I did mine. as far as the fairbanks flight eating up time, I`m sure no matter what tour we choose there will something that isn`t perfect. but its vacation how bad can it be.

[darakat]

We considered cruisetour #11 as well. In hindsight, I'm glad that we went with #12 instead. 1 day in Fairbanks was enough for us. Flying into Anchorage vs. Fairbanks provided us with more flight options (better prices and better times). The flight from Fairbanks to Anchorage is pretty fast. It's on a fair sized Alaskan Airlines plane. I was afraid all of the traveling on that last day would be hectic, but it was very organized and smooth. See my previous post about the specific travel times on our itinerary. The whole plane segment was pretty fast and efficient overall.

 

I would guess that cruisetour #11 might get you to Seward earlier, but probably not enough time to do anything much. On the other hand, you might not get there that much faster than #12 if you're doing an Anchorage city tour that day. Maybe someone who has done #11 could give you a better idea.

[darakat]

I enjoyed both bus and train portions. My parents were big train fans and didn't care for the bus portion as much. With all of the fall foliage, both were very scenic. Although, I noticed that people tended to doze off more often in the bus. That might have been related to time though.

[yorktown daytripper]

Great info! Keep the pros and cons coming. It's not to late to change.