chakram420

In case anyone need more info for hiking trails which you can do on your own, check out this outstanding list posted by cruiser. It lists trails at each port with info on difficulty levels and time it will take. A site to bookmark for your Alaska cruise. https://profcruise.com/alaska-cruise-hiking-guide-2024/

To help out for your planning, here are few helpful links. Some will give you info on ports for cruise and some will help for doing land tour on your own. I have used all these for my tour which will be starting next week. I will provide update upon the completion. - What’s at each port, maps, excursions: https://www.whatsinport.com/Alaska.htm - https://www.alaska.org/ - lot of helpful info here for land tour. Ensure to checkout expert advise. Maps section has all the maps you need for road trip, scenic drive, as well as walking tours for cruise ports. - Shore excursion details (supplementary to your cruise lines excursion list): https://www.alaska.org/things-to-do/shore-excursions - YT Vlog- cruise crew on Royal Caribbean - some good Alaska cruise videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwGQG_D2auZgpgQ0b2zxyLxoji4r6xEyP - Visit TripAdvisor section for each place you are visiting - gives very good starting point for tour options. - Trip Advisor Forums - Alaska as well as city/port specific forums have all the info you need - Cruise Critics Forums - Check out Cruise Line specific forums as well as Alaska forum, again lot of info. Above two forums would answer most of your questions related to Alaska. One issue you will face - timings and logistics about tour options. That you need to explore in detail and see how it fits within you plan (road trip, cruisetour or cruise). You can ask for specific tour, timings and alternate options. There are lot of experts and seasoned travelers on this forum, who are ready to help out. But before posting your question, ensure to go through forums and try to search for answer. When you post, include as much details as possible - like your interest, trip timings, your budget. I am sure I may have missed some links as starting point. Feel free to add any other you found useful. Happy Travelling...

Anyone looking into taking cruise offered land tour for Denali, make sure you review their itinerary. If Tundra Wilderness is your preference, ensure it's listed. And make sure that cruise line doesn't change it arbitrary to Natural History tour. It happened to me with NCL as I booked specific land tour as Tundra was listed and now when checked in - it's changed to Natural History tour. And I have to pay again if need Tundra. From what I have read - Tundra is definitely better than natural history tour. More mileage into the park, while not much difference in time. (43 miles v/s 16 miles) Yes, East Fork Transit option at much lower cost is available, but you also need to book it in advance.

Yes, that's the direction I am leaning. Thanks for the details. Plan is to book EFT, while trying to sort out with NCL. If they gives refund, fine, otherwise EFT cost will me extra for me - not that bad. I will be in Bluffs so they do have shuttle and in case we miss timings, they are only 1.5 miles away. Perhaps this will give us chance to explore park, in our own terms. Now I can look into some trails from bus.

Some more info will explain why I am feeling disappointed. I selected this specific NCL CruiseTour for Denali & TWT. Now their land tour partner decided to downgrade it to NHT. We do have full day in Denali (arriving previous day by train, leaving next day by motorcoach), so time is not the constraint. Yes, I looked into EFT and seriously considering booking it, while trying to get answer from NCL. It doesn't look like they have any clue on bus tour options and their land-tour vendor is not forthcoming on why downgrade. (Limited tickets are available for TWT, but it's not cheap for family) I don't have issue with the change, if they provide enough notice and don't give illogical reason for change.

that is the misdirected answer given. Yes, Tundra Wilderness is shorter now, due to landslide in park. But that's not new. Shorter Tundra tour is still offered, and it goes until mile 43, v/s mile 15 for Natural History tour.

I have booked NCL Alaska CruiseTour as wanted to visit Denali Park. We will be on Denali Valdez Explorer (tour starts on 25th June) and Denali Tundra WIlderness Tour was prominently listed in itinerary. Just checked-in and received eDocs with tour details. What I find - Denali on day 3 has Natural History Tour listed. I am talking with NCL cruise consultant and seems like they have limited say in how Premier Alaska Tours run land portion. Wanted to check if anyone else experienced similar issue! I find it unbelievable that NCL will change such an important itinerary for tour touted as their most picturesque tour of Denali and Alaska wilderness. From all the reviews I have seen for TWT and NHT, this switchover is definitely a loss of wildlife viewing opportunity. (With such a close start date, TWT is not available to book on our own). While we are so close to our tour and don't have much option left. If anyone looking into book CruiseTour, be aware. If anything changes with our tour, I will post update here.