Should we do Cruisetour, or plan our own trip before/after cruise?

[seansmother]

We are seriously considering a Princess cruisetour, since we know nothing about Alaska, and they do ;-).... But it is considerably more, and we have a 10 year old DS .... would it be better to explore a couple cities in Alaska before boarding our cruise? Which are the don't miss places, that we WON'T see on the cruise? Denali? Dog sledding? Help....

[wolfie11]

Almost everyone on this board will recommend an independent tour, especially with a 10-yr-old.

 

The most popular version is to fly into Anchorage, rent a car and head north. The three-day version is one night in Talkeetna and two nights in Denali, with flightseeing or a jetboat tour in Talkeetna. In Denali, you want the shuttle bus to Eielson or Wonder Lake, plus there is rafting, hiking, etc. The minimum for Denali is two nights.

 

Also recommended is to take the train to Seward or Whittier and do a day glacier cruise before you get on the ship.

 

There are some very good deals on lodging for this summer, with many places buy one night and get one 50% off.

[cbowler]

I can only comment on one side of this. I have not done a cruisetour and thus can't evaluate that for you. That said, I have done interior Alaska on my own and really enjoyed it and have finally convinced my family to go this summer. With a 10 year old, I think you would be much better off on your own. I can't tell you how many times we stopped to see something along the way and saw the cruisetour bus just keep on driving. What a shame. You will find people on this board very helpful and there are many who have a wealth of knowledge about Alaska and are happy to share. So even though you don't know much about Alaska (yet!) it's easy to find info and recommendations.

 

How much time do you have for a land tour? What are you interested in seeing? Wildlife? Scenery? Adventure?

 

When are you planning to go and do you have a cruise picked out yet?

 

My best suggestion is to spend a little time reading on this board. If you read 5-10 pages back you'll learn a lot in a little bit of time.

[Budget Queen]

Being that you are asking this question, I'll assume you must be open to going on your own?? IF the case, then that choice is definately superior for the flexability, seeing twice as much at a cheaper cost. It is simple to travel on your own, few roads, going point to point, with the ability to stop as you wish along the way.

 

First decision, - how much time do you have??? Will make a significant difference in what you can do. More will allow "more". Distances are vast, don't underestimate time in Alaska.

 

I suggest you take a look at the cruisetour brochures and itineraries, decide what is of interest. Head to your library and take out Alaska travel books, Fodor's Alaska and Frommer's Alaska, The Milepost.

 

There is nothing similar touring interior Alaska vs Inside passage.

[seansmother]

Thanks to all of you. We are somewhat flexible. We would probably go late July, less chance of snow ;), but again flexible. Just have to be back by Aug. 20 for school. I am open to doing our own thing, my husband is hesitant, he thinks it will be less stressful having someone direct us. We love nature/wildlife, not too much hiking. Love whales, etc., etc. We are also flexible with cruiselines. Love Celebrity, like RCCL, not a big Carnival fan although these boards seem to indicate they are okay in Alaska (and only one to go to Sitka?); Holland's okay, but probably not with a kid. We may have another family join us; a couple and their two kids, 10 and 8. So then we would have 7 traveling, would need a van I guess (7 and luggage). I like the idea of the train travel on the Princess cruisetours.... So much to think about. Good deals out there but I'm sure they won't last.

[Budget Queen]

Thanks to all of you. We are somewhat flexible. We would probably go late July, less chance of snow ;), but again flexible. Just have to be back by Aug. 20 for school. I am open to doing our own thing, my husband is hesitant, he thinks it will be less stressful having someone direct us. We love nature/wildlife, not too much hiking. Love whales, etc., etc. We are also flexible with cruiselines. Love Celebrity, like RCCL, not a big Carnival fan although these boards seem to indicate they are okay in Alaska (and only one to go to Sitka?); Holland's okay, but probably not with a kid. We may have another family join us; a couple and their two kids, 10 and 8. So then we would have 7 traveling, would need a van I guess (7 and luggage). I like the idea of the train travel on the Princess cruisetours.... So much to think about. Good deals out there but I'm sure they won't last.

 

If you go with a cruisetour, I think you have the potential for a different kind of stress- that being the fixed schedule, many early days, and frankly with kids- in my opinion, a poor choice.

 

Again, it is simple to travel Alaska, head to your library and get a copy of THE MILEPOST. One two lane road- Anchorage (Wasilla)- Fairbanks- with all kinds of stuff in between. Anchorage/Fairbanks, the largest cities, are very managable and easy to get out of. :) Two RV's would be a recommendation. Nice to have a moving fridge and bath with several kids. :)

 

Not sure what you may be thinking, but snow is pretty rare, in ports and interior Alaska the entire season. Yes, up on mt. passes, but towns are completely snow free.

[roxsolw100]

We made our first trip to Alaska in 2007, and I thought I would try to book a lot on mine own. Took a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon to realize that I was in over my head! That said, we selected Celebrity's cruisetour, and I would have to say that we have no regrets. First class all the way around. We were scheduled to cruisetour the Med with them in 2008, but a family illness disrupted this plan. Others may disagree, but for a first trip, I would highly recommend a cruisetour. You can get the lay of the land, and then be more adventurous on your next trip. Ours is in July 2009. Can't wait!

[compulady]

I was thinking the same thing several months ago. I asked a few questions here and everyone pitched in with suggestions, and I did a bit of online research on my own and came up with a very nice 6 day self drive tour on our own. We get to do much more, it's less expensive and the time is all ours. I would think that the money and time you save on a self drive will allow for some great excursions both on the land tour and the ship.

 

There is a thread here where people post their pre/post cruise travel plans. I suggest you have a look at that.

[cruisingw/mom]

I have done both a cruise/tour with Princess and a self-driving tour. My first trip to Alaska was the cruise tour. I actually laid awake in bed during that land portion tour planning out my next trip and it would be to rent a car and drive myself.

 

Last Memorial Day I did the car rental trip. We actually did not take cruise. We fly into Anchorage and rented a van for 17 days. Wow what a trip!!

 

I do not like to fly into a city and rent a car. I get nervous trying to drive out of the busy airport and get on the freeway. In Anchorage they have a freeway and all that but seriously....this is the easy town to rent a car from the airport. The airport only has one road and people to not drive fast.

 

I would recommend doing the land on your own. Take it from a nervous person it was so easy, enjoyable and relaxing. Lots to see and do.

[apeller]

I too recommend renting a car and doing it on your own. You have much more flexibility in your plans and can modify them if you decide you want to do something different. Definitely do not miss Seward and a National Park boat ride. It was one of our favorite parts where we got very close up to a lot of wildlife. We bought the toursaver book and took advantage of many 2 for 1 deals advertised in it. You can find info here.

http://www.toursaver.com/

[kenish]

A few comments as dad of a teen who used to be 10!

 

- You don't necessarily have to overnight in Talkeetna as cbowlers suggests. If you are on a time budget stop in Talkeetna, go flightseeing flight, look around town, then continue to Denali. It's pretty easy and should be tolerable to a 10yo. That means 3 days / 2 nights for a good Denali visit instead of 4d/3n.

 

- HAL is actually pretty good for kids. Their facilities and staff are great and my teen liked it way better than Carnival. Summer Alaska cruises have a lot of kids regardless of ship or cruiseline.

 

- We went independently to Denali and not on the cruisetours that followed the same itenerary. From what I saw it risks your DS not having an enjoyable or memorable time. Several times we stopped enroute to see jaw-dropping scenery, wildlife along the highway, or a funky roadside store. The cruisetour buses charged by on their way to the next agenda item. The passengers didn't see too much and probably experienced even less.

 

- The planning may seem daunting, but this board is a wealth of advice and resources. There are several Denali iteneraries that are pretty standard. Keep in mind Alaska is the US of A; money, language, driving, and food are not an issue! The numerous choices are actually good news; you can select things that will interest your DS. Better yet, involve him in the planning. You may be surprised what he chooses.