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14-Day Southbound Alaska Land/Sea tour with NCL


jwatford
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I have booked a 14-day Southbound Alaska Land/Sea tour for July of 2018. I am hoping someone can give me a little information regarding the places you stayed during the land portion and any other helpful tips you have. Thanks in advance!!

 

 

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So you haven't booked anything? Is this independent land touring?

 

Your question is WAY to general. You, first need to do your homework, and find out about the mainland which is better done with an Alaska Travel, head to your library and consider Fodor's and Frommers. It is a BIG area with multiple varied touring options. There's no way you can get this information on this board through a question. What you probably will get, is the "usual" visit areas of Denali, Anchorage, Talkeetna, Seward, Whittier etc. There is a WHOLE lot more.

 

What would be most helpful for you, is to read up on each area, then always looking at the touring/sighteeing options etc. It isn't enough to just pick an area. Know what you would occupy your time with once there. Then rank YOUR preferences. This goes a long way toward finding the right itinerary for you.

 

 

Using Tripadvisor is also essential. Has a lot more for mainland information, compared to this board.

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Sorry if I was not clear in my original post. I have already booked this land/sea cruise through NCL. I am not looking for towns to visit or stay. The itinerary has already been decided. I am hoping that someone has recently done this exact cruise through NCL and can share the lodges/hotels they stayed in for the land portion of the cruise. Currently, NCL does not release the hotels you are staying in until a month or so before you leave. I am hoping to get an idea ahead of time so I can do some research.

 

 

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We are leaving on 8/28 for the Northbound. The hotels are Best Western Bidarka in Homer, Sheraton Anchorage Hotel & Spa, Bear Lodge Hotel In Fairbanks.

 

 

 

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for!

 

 

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We are leaving in 2 weeks on the Southbound Authentic Alaska cruisetour.

Fairbanks: Bear Creek Lodge

Denali: Denali Park Village

Anchorage: Anchorage Hilton

Homer: Ocean Shores Inn

In Homer part of the group we are sailing with booked a Halibut fishing excursion and I booked a 7 hour wildlife tour and trip to a nearby town for myself. Unless it changes between now and then, you will have most of your full day in Homer free until early evening. We haven't booked anything extra in Denali since we don't know what time our Tundra tour is and we won't have time to do anything in Fairbanks since our flight doesn't arrive until almost midnight the night before the actual tour starts out.

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We are doing this cruisetour next summer too so following with interest.

Those going this year, please can you tell me how far ahead you received information about your accommodation and any optional excursions?

 

We received lodging info about 3 weeks before. My own group has only booked 1 excursion through NCL and that was right after final payment date. Everything else we booked 3rd party. Cruisetour optional excursions, like in Denali, really can't be made until you get there since they don't assign you a time for your tundra tour until you arrive in Alaska.

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Cruisetour optional excursions, like in Denali, really can't be made until you get there since they don't assign you a time for your tundra tour until you arrive in Alaska.

If possible, cancel the "Tundra Wilderness Tour" and book the shuttle bus: https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm Same road, same views but much cheaper. You do have to bring your own food, but that can easily be done.

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  • 4 months later...

I am also researching information for the 14 day southbound Alaska land/sea tour with NCL for July 2018. I will be traveling with my mother and sister. I was wondering about what hotels NCL usually stay at, restaurants that are close to the hotels, what kind of prices I am looking at for the restaurants, what is usually on the itinerary and how crowded the land tour part is with NCL.

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I am also researching information for the 14 day southbound Alaska land/sea tour with NCL for July 2018. I will be traveling with my mother and sister. I was wondering about what hotels NCL usually stay at, restaurants that are close to the hotels, what kind of prices I am looking at for the restaurants, what is usually on the itinerary and how crowded the land tour part is with NCL.

 

Budget 50% more for food than you would at home, gives you a cushioned ballpark.

 

Well, you are group point to point touring, so don't have some options. Easy to avoid "crowds" if you take the initiative and make your own plans at your .stops. Plenty of options to consider.

 

"What" will be on the itinereary will be in the descriptions.

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Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for!

 

 

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Hello,

 

Last summer I went on the 12 day denali\Aleyska cruisetour with NCL. Apart of me kind of regreted not choosing the 14 day authentic cruise tour, but I knew I would love Alaska so much I'll want to save more for next summer. And it turns out I am already booked on my second Alaska cruise for this coming summer 2018. Ya, Alaska is that amazing!

 

Some info I would like to share about my experience:

 

My first stop was in Anchorage and I stayed at the Sheraton. Very beautiful hotel. In Denali I stayed at the Denali Park Village which was my absolute favorite. If you end up at the Village you are going to love it! I actually cried on the last day, seriously. Cuz the scenery was so gorgeous on the balcony dock over looking the Nenana river and the mountains. I'm actually getting a little emotional right now thinking about it. I strong recommend you take in every second of this whole Alaska experience. Especially if it's your first time. Go on youtube and type in Denali Park Village so you can see for yourself and get an idea on what it's like.

 

So as a previous poster said, you really can't plan for optional tours because you don't get assigned your hotels up to 60 days in advance they say. I was notified on the hotels I stayed at 30 days in advance.

 

So the day when you arrive at your first hotel, there are tour guides greeting every family one by one who arrive and they give you a detailed itinerary of the whole Cruisetour, and discuss with you your optional tours, which you pay by credit card or Visa. I chose the white water rafting and it was incredible. Also, if you are able, I highly recommend you cancelling the Tundra Wilderness Tour and requesting to go on the Katishna Experience tour, with this tour you go all the way at the very end of the Denali park road. It is so extremely worth it and a highlight of my whole trip. The whole trip is 12 hours, but you get out for washroom breaks and look at the scenery every hour. And I must say the scenery is truly spectacular, the mountains, gorges, you've never seen anything like it. At one stop you get the best advantage point of the Denali Mountain (if you are lucky and there are no clouds) This look out point is called Eilson Visitors center, mile 66 into the park. and at the very end of the road (mile 92) you get out, you tour a Prospectors Cabin from the 1930's it's really cool.

 

The Kantishna was only like an extra 80 bucks, but soooo worth it. something to think about.

 

Also, the tour that will be operating the land tour portion you will be with is called Premier Alaska tours. www.premieralaskatours.com

 

I called them and the operators were super helpful and are really the only people you can talk to who can answer everything you want to know. Since they run the whole show.

 

Your guys are going to have an amazing time!

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How far in advance were you advised you could cancel the Tundra Wilderness Tour and change to the longer, Katishna Experience? We are doing the 12 day land/sea package in August and wasn't aware you could make any changes to the tours. Thanks

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How far in advance were you advised you could cancel the Tundra Wilderness Tour and change to the longer, Katishna Experience? We are doing the 12 day land/sea package in August and wasn't aware you could make any changes to the tours. Thanks

 

Hi there.

 

So after I researched the Kantishna experience tour and decided I really wanted to do this instead of TWT, I called the above mentioned tour company that runs the tour, premier Alaska tours, the operator told me this is something to bring up the day arrive and meet my tour guide. I was surprised I said “I don’t have to book this well in advance because of limited space?” The operator said no. My tour guide was really good. He made calls to the right people to make the change and all the arrangements, charged my credit card, met me in the lobby, waited with me until the bus came to make sure I went on safe. Of course I had to tip him, he was such a nice guy. If you do decide to do this, just don’t tell anyone in your tour group lol, then more people will be asking the tour guide and you don’t want to put him through all that hasstle he doing for you lol.

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  • 1 month later...

JP-Cruise

 

If you check this thread again, curious about the optional excursion you mentioned that the tour guide will share with you when you meet them in Fairbanks, noticed in the NCL details that there is are optional tours the first evening in Fairbanks, do you recall what if any they offered? thanks

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JP-Cruise

 

If you check this thread again, curious about the optional excursion you mentioned that the tour guide will share with you when you meet them in Fairbanks, noticed in the NCL details that there is are optional tours the first evening in Fairbanks, do you recall what if any they offered? thanks

 

I didn’t go to fairbanks during my 12 day NCL cruise tour. I started at Anchorage.

 

But here is the link to the website for the land tour company you’ll be with. Here is also the list of the optional tours.

 

http://premieralaskatours.com/fairbanks-optional-tour

 

I would call them first though to ask if all those tours listed will be offered. They may just pic a couple? I dunno. If possible I would totally choose the arctic circle/Anaktuvuk Pass. That’s what I’m doing next summer. Flying into fairbanks a day early to go to the arctic circle/Anaktuvuk Pass. That’s just one thing I gotta cross off the bucket list :)

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