Alaskan Cruise/land tour ?

[Gabrielle R.]

I need some help! My DH and I were asked by his sister about going on an Alaskan cruise. We have been on 9 cruises- none to Alaska. Heck, we live in Minnesota, we see snow for most of our year! But, we said, OK….. We figure we would like to do a cruise & land tour- any one do that before? How did you like it? Was it worth it?

Any recommendations for which ship you would take? We have been on the Island- loved that one.

Any departure city that you would say was better then another?

Any land tour that you felt was better then the other?

Departure month- we are thinking of June (I teach and we finish in 2010 by June 8th. My DH will have about 10 vacation days to burn by July 1) We can go into July, August is out since school stuff starts to pop up for me. Is June generally cheaper than July? How were the temps in June?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Gabrielle

[ulcards99]

I just got back from one early August. It was great! We did land and cruise. I would definitely do land first followed by the cruise.

 

We were on the Sapphire. It was pretty warm when we were there. You see glaciers and stuff, but that's really the only snow you see.

[LeeW]

Hi Gabrielle -

 

Lots of info on both this Princess board and the Alaska board on these, so will just give my 2 cents worth. We still have snow here and the ski run guns will be starting up next week. Alaska is DIFFERENT. Rocks with ice on them don't look much like what we have in Colorado.

 

When you go doesn't seem to matter that much. Our son saw a ton of whales three weeks ago (mid-August). We only saw them on the Juneau excursion when we went in early September. Friends have gone in July and had 40-50 degree weather. We had 72 degrees in September.

 

The big advantage of a land-first is that the long flight is out of the way. We took the land part after the cruise and just slept on the overnight flight back out of Anchorage.

 

Try for a smaller ship, Coral or Island. Sitting in the enclosed swimming pool area is a real advantage. This means sailing out of Vancouver. Ships that sail from Seattle generally don't go into Glacier Bay (they do Tracey Arm instead) and make a stop in Victoria BC.

 

Excursions - In Juneau try Capt Larry (Orca Enterprises) for whales. Our son watched a pod doing bubble net fishing. He agreed with us that this is a great tour. If you take the land portion, the Denali park Tundra Wilderness Tour is the only way to go. We saw lots of animals (and the bear could have got on the bus if the driver had left the door open). View of Denali was fantastic.

 

We have a similar number of warm water cruises to yours and also were not sure we wanted to try Alaska. We are going back next year (nb Island, train to Denali, Tundra tour, train to Fairbanks)!

[TM]

We just did Alaska for the first time in July. We have sailed many, many, times just had never done Alaska. It was awesome, would and will do it again. However instead of doing a land/sea adventure we did a B2B on the Coral. We sailed out of Vancouver and returned to Vancouver. It was so nice and so relaxing. People that were leaving the ship in Whitter were off no later than 7:00 AM. That makes for a very long day. We met many people who did the land/sea experience and some did it before the cruise, and many were doing it after the cruise. What ever you decide it will be amazing.

[John in Cicero]

We did the Princess Land tour, flying into Fairbanks and taking the train to Anchorage then boarding the Island. We would do it again, if there wasn't so much of the rest of the world to see. Denali is truely a sight you should see at least once. Try to take a plane ride and land on the side of it, if you can, from Talkeetna. On the train ride you will get anappreciation for how big Alaska really is: there is a whole bunch of nothing out there.... Princess lodges were good, but food is pretty expensive. All in all, a good experience, and I recommend it.

 

John

[sunsetbeachgal]

Choose a tour that does two nights at Denali as that allows you time to do the longer Tundra Wilderness tour. If you have only one night there, as many of the tours do, there most likely will not be enough time.

 

That was the one mistake I made-oh well, we will just have to go to Alaska again...:)

[FlCatLover]

We were on the Coral from Vancouver the end of June into July. It was wonderful!!! We then rented a car at the Anchorage airport and went to Denali for three nights and down to Seward for two. See if it would be cheaper for y'all to do your own land tour. We really enjoyed it and it gave us more freedom.

[kamac56]

We too live in Minnesota, we went on the diamond two years ago and did the cruise land tour with two nights in Denali. I would definately do it again HOWEVER I would do the land tour than the cruise as the land tour seems to be more activity and less relaxation. we went at the end of May first part of June and did the Tundra trip and got all the way to the end, we saw MtMckinley cause luck for us it was out that day. We saw numerous bears, wolves, moose, eagles, owls and too many more to mention. The train ride on the Princess train is quite long about 8-9 hours but the scenery is beyond great.

I found the princess diamond to be a great ship, the food was outstanding along with our room steward he was great.Princess makes it very easy to get around on the land tour for you also. We used a TA form the Twin cities and were by far pleased with the cruise she set up for us.

 

Good Luck and think of it this way, any weather you may encounter you will be able to handle it.;)

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

As others have stated do the land portion first followed by the cruise. We did it the opposite way 2 years ago and still enjoyed it but would have preferred the land portion 1st. If you are only doing 1 night in Denali, check what time you arrive there because if in the early afternoon you will still have time to book the Tundra Wilderness tour (will get back at 9pm) and then you do not have to go on the early morning History tour at 6 am. This way you can spend the morning leisurly before you head out on the early afternoon train. Also, the whale watching in Juneau was fantastic. We had fabulous weather and that made the trip that more enjoyable as we were able to do more things. One mid afternoon shower in 12 days. Mt McKinley was viewable for 3 days straight which is quite the sight.

[Gabrielle R.]

Hi Gabrielle -

 

Lots of info on both this Princess board and the Alaska board on these, so will just give my 2 cents worth. We still have snow here and the ski run guns will be starting up next week. Alaska is DIFFERENT. Rocks with ice on them don't look much like what we have in Colorado.

 

When you go doesn't seem to matter that much. Our son saw a ton of whales three weeks ago (mid-August). We only saw them on the Juneau excursion when we went in early September. Friends have gone in July and had 40-50 degree weather. We had 72 degrees in September.

 

The big advantage of a land-first is that the long flight is out of the way. We took the land part after the cruise and just slept on the overnight flight back out of Anchorage.

 

Try for a smaller ship, Coral or Island. Sitting in the enclosed swimming pool area is a real advantage. This means sailing out of Vancouver. Ships that sail from Seattle generally don't go into Glacier Bay (they do Tracey Arm instead) and make a stop in Victoria BC.

 

Excursions - In Juneau try Capt Larry (Orca Enterprises) for whales. Our son watched a pod doing bubble net fishing. He agreed with us that this is a great tour. If you take the land portion, the Denali park Tundra Wilderness Tour is the only way to go. We saw lots of animals (and the bear could have got on the bus if the driver had left the door open). View of Denali was fantastic.

 

We have a similar number of warm water cruises to yours and also were not sure we wanted to try Alaska. We are going back next year (nb Island, train to Denali, Tundra tour, train to Fairbanks)!

Lew, You more than gave me two cents worth! THANK YOU!!! I appreciated the info! Gabrielle

[Gabrielle R.]

I just got back from one early August. It was great! We did land and cruise. I would definitely do land first followed by the cruise.

 

We were on the Sapphire. It was pretty warm when we were there. You see glaciers and stuff, but that's really the only snow you see.

 

Thanks!! I will plan on doing the land tour first! My cousin (In-law- DH's cousin) did the Sapphire- said it was nice. What did you think about hte Saphire? What does this ship compare to?

Thanks!

Gabrielle

[Gabrielle R.]

We just did Alaska for the first time in July. We have sailed many, many, times just had never done Alaska. It was awesome, would and will do it again. However instead of doing a land/sea adventure we did a B2B on the Coral. We sailed out of Vancouver and returned to Vancouver. It was so nice and so relaxing. People that were leaving the ship in Whitter were off no later than 7:00 AM. That makes for a very long day. We met many people who did the land/sea experience and some did it before the cruise, and many were doing it after the cruise. What ever you decide it will be amazing.

 

With the B2B, did you get to see a different area? I know that would make a difference with my DH and my in-laws that will be traveling with us. Thank you for the information!

 

We saw the Coral in port when we were on the Island... We wondered if our room key would've worked in the same roomon the Coral....;) It was fun to see double in port!

[Pia1913]

I need some help! My DH and I were asked by his sister about going on an Alaskan cruise. We have been on 9 cruises- none to Alaska. Heck, we live in Minnesota, we see snow for most of our year! But, we said, OK….. We figure we would like to do a cruise & land tour- any one do that before? How did you like it? Was it worth it?

 

Any recommendations for which ship you would take? We have been on the Island- loved that one.

 

Any departure city that you would say was better then another?

 

Any land tour that you felt was better then the other?

 

Departure month- we are thinking of June (I teach and we finish in 2010 by June 8th. My DH will have about 10 vacation days to burn by July 1) We can go into July, August is out since school stuff starts to pop up for me. Is June generally cheaper than July? How were the temps in June?

 

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Gabrielle

 

If you are interested and would like to follow our adventures, I will be doing a LIVE starting in Fairbanks next week. We will spend 8 nights in 4 different Princess lodges before boarding the Coral in Whittier on September 14th. I will report on whatever we/see do on land, on the ship and also about the food. :D

[Gabrielle R.]

We did the Princess Land tour, flying into Fairbanks and taking the train to Anchorage then boarding the Island. We would do it again, if there wasn't so much of the rest of the world to see. Denali is truely a sight you should see at least once. Try to take a plane ride and land on the side of it, if you can, from Talkeetna. On the train ride you will get anappreciation for how big Alaska really is: there is a whole bunch of nothing out there.... Princess lodges were good, but food is pretty expensive. All in all, a good experience, and I recommend it.

 

John

 

John, thank you for the Denali info- that is on our list of what to do. Would you have done anything different at the Princess lodges? Are there other alternatives (to eat) other than the Princess Lodges?

 

Anything else that you would say, Oh I should've done that? Or I wish I knew that ahead of time?

[Gabrielle R.]

Choose a tour that does two nights at Denali as that allows you time to do the longer Tundra Wilderness tour. If you have only one night there, as many of the tours do, there most likely will not be enough time.

 

That was the one mistake I made-oh well, we will just have to go to Alaska again...:)

 

If we only get one day in Denali you would suggest a Tundra tour, Did you hear of any other tour that others felt was really worth while? I will try to get two days in Denali- but if it doesn't work I figure It would be nice to know different ideas. Thanks!

Gabrielle

[Gabrielle R.]

We were on the Coral from Vancouver the end of June into July. It was wonderful!!! We then rented a car at the Anchorage airport and went to Denali for three nights and down to Seward for two. See if it would be cheaper for y'all to do your own land tour. We really enjoyed it and it gave us more freedom.

That was something else we were wondering about- I am going to check into going it on our own. any sangs that you guys ran into? Any problems with car rental- Like not returning the car to same place- or did you enter and leave from Anchorage with the car?

 

Anything that you would've done differently when on your own? Wished you would've seen? thanks!

Gabrielle

[ellbon]

I need some help! My DH and I were asked by his sister about going on an Alaskan cruise. We have been on 9 cruises- none to Alaska. Heck, we live in Minnesota, we see snow for most of our year! But, we said, OK….. We figure we would like to do a cruise & land tour- any one do that before? How did you like it? Was it worth it?

 

Any recommendations for which ship you would take? We have been on the Island- loved that one. i did the Corol once so went o n the Sapphire as really enjoyed the ship. I find hte Corol/Island so long i prefer the other ships.

 

Any departure city that you would say was better then another? i would do the land tour first with extra time in vancouver at the end. great city.

 

Any land tour that you felt was better then the other? you want more time in Denali.. more to do. never saw the mts. do not plan too.

 

Departure month- we are thinking of June (I teach and we finish in 2010 by June 8th. My DH will have about 10 vacation days to burn by July 1) We can go into July, August is out since school stuff starts to pop up for me. Is June generally cheaper than July? How were the temps in June? went in early july- more money- more sun my week. Only two days of rain- one on ship the oher on land.

 

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Gabrielle

 

you will lovei t. going back again next summer sailing from Seward- lots to do there.

[Gabrielle R.]

We too live in Minnesota, we went on the diamond two years ago and did the cruise land tour with two nights in Denali. I would definately do it again HOWEVER I would do the land tour than the cruise as the land tour seems to be more activity and less relaxation. we went at the end of May first part of June and did the Tundra trip and got all the way to the end, we saw MtMckinley cause luck for us it was out that day. We saw numerous bears, wolves, moose, eagles, owls and too many more to mention. The train ride on the Princess train is quite long about 8-9 hours but the scenery is beyond great.

I found the princess diamond to be a great ship, the food was outstanding along with our room steward he was great.Princess makes it very easy to get around on the land tour for you also. We used a TA form the Twin cities and were by far pleased with the cruise she set up for us.

 

Good Luck and think of it this way, any weather you may encounter you will be able to handle it.;)

 

Thanks! We have relatives in Andover! We are about 2 1/2 hours north of you guys- I think some areas got scattered frost this AM! :eek: Not at my place- the lake protected me- OK my garden.

 

How was the flight out of MSP? Which airline did you guys take? Where did you fly into? How long of flight? So the two days in Denali was after the cruise. Do you know if they offer before the cruise? I know, I'm asking you to remmeber two years ago- just wondering if you did remember. My TA friend lives in ND- used to live in Brainerd- so I have a good one- someone I can trust!

 

did you like the Diamond? What is that ship comparable to? Like the Grand class ship or Like Ruby? Thanks!!!!

Gabrielle

[ellbon]

food is very expensive in Alaska. double what you pay for it at home. you jsut deal.

 

the ribs were good at a place across the street and uphill from the Princess lodge. you tell the front desk to send a driver at the time you want and they show up.

 

i went white water rafting and played with Jeff Kings dogs.

 

loved talkneeka-even in the rain. fun little town.

 

what i liked about the Sapphire was the small dining rooms for anytime

dining. i had no problem getitng around the ship. got mini suites for space.

 

if you do B2B you would have hours to see things in Vancouver but in Whitter only a boat ride to see more .all ports are the same.

 

some cruiselines have a 14 day RT out of vancouver.

 

Flights- seems depending on where you live you ahve a very long day-3 flights each way.

[Gabrielle R.]

As others have stated do the land portion first followed by the cruise. We did it the opposite way 2 years ago and still enjoyed it but would have preferred the land portion 1st. If you are only doing 1 night in Denali, check what time you arrive there because if in the early afternoon you will still have time to book the Tundra Wilderness tour (will get back at 9pm) and then you do not have to go on the early morning History tour at 6 am. This way you can spend the morning leisurly before you head out on the early afternoon train. Also, the whale watching in Juneau was fantastic. We had fabulous weather and that made the trip that more enjoyable as we were able to do more things. One mid afternoon shower in 12 days. Mt McKinley was viewable for 3 days straight which is quite the sight.

 

Do you recall how long of a train trip it was?

What was the early morning History tour? I'm a history gal so Just wondering what it was.

Thanks!! It's always nice to have a good neighbor to the north! Minnesota loves our Canadian visitors. (We lived a bout 2 hours south of the boarder).

Gabrielle

[Gabrielle R.]

If you are interested and would like to follow our adventures, I will be doing a LIVE starting in Fairbanks next week. We will spend 8 nights in 4 different Princess lodges before boarding the Coral in Whittier on September 14th. I will report on whatever we/see do on land, on the ship and also about the food. :D

 

Pia, I always read your posts! I always valued your information- Ok, the pressures on right? :rolleyes: I did see somewhere that you would be posting a live thread- I can't wait!! What great timing for me to learn more! I will be reading- Ok luking, though I might ask questions if I have them!

Can't wait to read your posts!

Gabrielle

[Gabrielle R.]

you will lovei t. going back again next summer sailing from Seward- lots to do there.

Thanks Robin! I saved your info in my things to know about Alaska file on my computer!

[Pia1913]

Pia, I always read your posts! I always valued your information- Ok, the pressures on right? :rolleyes: I did see somewhere that you would be posting a live thread- I can't wait!! What great timing for me to learn more! I will be reading- Ok luking, though I might ask questions if I have them!

Can't wait to read your posts!

Gabrielle

 

I will do my best. A lot depends on what kind of internet capability I can find during the 8 days on land. Now if Delta would only stop changing my flights...............:eek:

[ellbon]

Thanks Robin! I saved your info in my things to know about Alaska file on my computer!

 

much of my info comes form what i enjoy. but I have learned a few things on the Alaska board and post there often. i would also go to B&N and read a book hee and take notes. no need to buy it.

 

 

i did ships tours in 06 but will now book my own. i have ideas of what i want to do now from flightseieng wth lunch or totem poles. due to rain skipped them last time.

 

flightseieng is expensive but so worth it. i doen both dog sledding and all you can eat crab feast- next is hte salmon bake wtih flightseeing.

 

just remember food is expensive, local beer good and weather changes fast.

[D&N LUV 2 TRAVEL]

I can't remember exactly how long the train ride was between Denali and Mt McKinley (Talkeetna) but I think it was around 3 1/2 hours. We left Denali around 1 pm and arrived in Talkeetna after 4 pm. This was one of the most beautiful train rides we have experienced for scenery.. of course blue skies sure helped. The Natural History Tour is not worth your time getting up that early for. The bus left at 6am and you got back at 11 am. The highlight of that trip was the tour guide. With out him and his jokes it would have been a pure waste. You do get a native Athabascan Indian standing on a rock with Mt McKinley in the background (a great photo opp) that will give you a lecture on the area but other than that you see next to no wildlife. The train ride from Talkeetna to Anchorage was not near as good as the Denali to Talkeetna one.

 

Do you recall how long of a train trip it was?

What was the early morning History tour? I'm a history gal so Just wondering what it was.

Thanks!! It's always nice to have a good neighbor to the north! Minnesota loves our Canadian visitors. (We lived a bout 2 hours south of the boarder).

Gabrielle