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Cruise that includes Anchorage and option for a Denali land tour? in May of 2018?


Iamthesea
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My brother and wife have asked me to do research for an Alaskan cruise in May of 2018? They want to go to Anchorage, and then Denali for a land portion. Since my husband and I have not done this particular Alaskan cruise itinerary, I do not have any first hand experience to share. I have no idea which cruiseline offers this type of cruise.

 

My brother and wife wanted to go out of Seattle in the May, to early June time-frame after they visit a daughter that has recently moved there. I would guess that Vancouver would be a second choice of embarkation.

 

Any advice?

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I would not do Denali prior to June 1st, when the road opens to the Eielson Visitor Center. And I would not do Denali as part of a pre-packaged tour from the cruiselines. In my opinion, land touring is Alaska is best done DIY with a rental car.

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Another couple of questions. It appears after looking at Princess and other cruiselines, that Princess is the only line to go to Anchorage. Because they really want to sail from Seattle, I see that HAL (they are familiar and comfortable with HAL and Celebrity) has a sailing that ends in Victoria, BC. I guess that they could DIY by flying from there to Anchorage? Or is there a train? And then I know that they could take a train to Denali.

 

 

They wanted the May time frame, but perhaps that's not a good idea. So if you were going to Denali, what time of year do you think is best?

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Cruises that start in Seattle can't end near Anchorage (Whittier or Seward) unless they are on very small and expensive cruise lines. Not the main stream lines that you mentioned (Princess, HAL, etc..).

 

Most Seattle cruises are RT Seattle or Seattle to Vancouver (only happens a few times per season). If they are interested in going to Anchorage and a land trip --they will need to start in Vancouver. There is a complicated law that requires this.

 

As others stated, I would not hit Denali until after June 1.

 

Seattle and Vancouver are not that far from each other. They could do a land trip to Seattle and take a shuttle or train to Vancouver and catch a cruise ship there. They could do this in May and then hit their land trip after the cruise after June 1st.

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Another couple of questions. It appears after looking at Princess and other cruiselines, that Princess is the only line to go to Anchorage. Because they really want to sail from Seattle, I see that HAL (they are familiar and comfortable with HAL and Celebrity) has a sailing that ends in Victoria, BC. I guess that they could DIY by flying from there to Anchorage? Or is there a train? And then I know that they could take a train to Denali.

 

 

They wanted the May time frame, but perhaps that's not a good idea. So if you were going to Denali, what time of year do you think is best?

 

RT Seattle cruises must stop in Canada - thus, Victoria is the common stop, often the last stop the night before the ship returns to Seattle. They do not end in Victoria but end in Seattle.

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Don't rule out Vancouver; it's only 150 miles from Seattle and easy to reach by Amtrak Cascades train or bus, Greyhound Bus, Bolt Bus, Quick Coach, or a rental car.

 

As others have said, the park road in Denali doesn't open to Eielson Visitor Center until June 1.

http://www.reservedenali.com/tours-shuttles/shuttles/eielson-visitor-center/

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My brother and wife have asked me to do research for an Alaskan cruise in May of 2018? They want to go to Anchorage,
Anchorage has no facilities for a modern cruise ship. The mainline ports that service Anchorage are Seward and Whittier. Both are fairly long distances from Anchorage and require a shuttle, rental car, train to get to Anchorage.
and then Denali for a land portion.
Cruise lines offer "cruisetours" which include time in Denali and other Alaskan venues. One poster says that is a bad idea. I would comment that, for first timers to Alaska, the cruisetour is a viable choice.

My brother and wife wanted to go out of Seattle in the May, to early June time-frame after they visit a daughter

Visiting family is a prime reason to go to Seattle. After that they can take a shuttle, train, rental car to Vancouver to board a ship to sail north to one of the Anchorage ports.

 

None of the mainline cruise lines offer oneway sailings out of Seattle.

 

Princess is a good choice for a northbound sailing out of Vancouver.

 

If they are planning to go in June '18, I suggest that, unless they have them, they apply for passports asap.

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We are cruising may 27 with Holland America out of Vancouver. Arriving Seward June 3. Going to Denali June 3 and 4. Leaving Denali June 5 and arriving in anchorage for the night. Flying home June 6 but you could stay and visit for a few days before flying home. Only fly in the ointment that I can see for you is you would have to get to Vancouver to depart. I'm sure there are ways of doing that.

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Thank y'all so much. I will forward this information! My brother and SIL are well traveled and have their passports. Though I will suggest they check the inspiration dates. ;)

 

KATE45 - Your plan sounds great. Does your cruise have availability? I know when DH and I took our Alaskan cruise, it was sold out for quite awhile.

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I believe the Denali Park road is not open to buses until June 8 each year.

 

June 8 is when the road is fully open....to WonderLake and Kantishna.

Its open to Toklat on May 20, and to Eielson June 1.

Toklat is definitely the minimum you want to go. Its at the beginning of prime bear viewing. But geez for another $10 and 1 1/2 hr you can get to Eielson which is a nice destination in itself.

http://www.reservedenali.com

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Anchorage has no facilities for a modern cruise ship. The mainline ports that service Anchorage are Seward and Whittier.

 

 

Anchorage does have an inadequate port for large cruise ships. Much of it has to do with the tides although Holland’s Amsterdam stops in Anchorage proper every other week on their 14 day Alaska trips and the World of Residence was here for 2 days this summer.

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The last I checked there was still cabins available of our ship- the Westerdam. Our land portion includes a bus ride to Denali and a train ride from Denali to anchorage. It also includes a full 8 hour tundra wilderness tour. I don't think they would say and take us on a full day tundra tour if the road wasn't open yet. Hope this info helps.

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My brother and wife have asked me to do research for an Alaskan cruise in May of 2018? They want to go to Anchorage, and then Denali for a land portion. Since my husband and I have not done this particular Alaskan cruise itinerary, I do not have any first hand experience to share. I have no idea which cruiseline offers this type of cruise.

 

My brother and wife wanted to go out of Seattle in the May, to early June time-frame after they visit a daughter that has recently moved there. I would guess that Vancouver would be a second choice of embarkation.

 

Any advice?

 

 

We did a 7 day land and 7 day cruise on HAL .It was fantastic.The land portion included Danali and Anchorage.

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We did the Alaska cruise on HAL starting in Anchorage and took the train to to Denali, bus to Fairbanks, fly to Dawson City in the Yukon, bus to Whitehorse, take the train into Skagway to catch the ship to Glacier Bay and cruise down the Inside Passage to Vancouver.

 

That was fun!:)

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Our land portion includes a bus ride to Denali and a train ride from Denali to anchorage. It also includes a full 8 hour tundra wilderness tour. I don't think they would say and take us on a full day tundra tour if the road wasn't open yet.

 

The full day Tundra tour take you 63 miles to Stony Point. If your tour is before 6/1, then you only get the shorter trip to Tolkat (52 miles), but I'm sure that is taken into consideration when they price the cruise since that tour is cheaper.

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Since your brother was requesting 'research', I would encourage him to get a travel book specific to Alaska cruises. Such as Ann Vipond's "Alaska by Cruiseship" and Fodors " Alaska, Ports of Call". The books provide info on cruiselines, ships, itineraries, ports, activities, cruisetours, DIY, etc. Maybe your library has them .

Past trip reports are also a great resource . Some of the reports are very detailed info with photos of the cabins, public areas, dining, activities, excursions, etc. There are cruisetours as well as DIY land travel (by train, bus or car).

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Holland America has several cruise-land tour trips which are round trip Seattle. We just booked one for September, 2018. You fly to Seattle, then from there HAL flies you to Anchorage the next day. After overnight in Anchorage, you take a train to Denali for, in our case, a two-night stay which includes the 6-8 hour Tundra Adventure tour. Next is a bus from Denali to Seward to board the southbound cruise on Westerdam. The cruise ends in Vancouver and HAL buses you to Seattle to fly home. This was particularly attractive to us because we can use airline points for the round trip to Seattle, avoiding the open-jaw airfare.

 

Pat

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Very helpful, Pat...thank you! :)

 

Since your brother was requesting 'research', I would encourage him to get a travel book specific to Alaska cruises. Such as Ann Vipond's "Alaska by Cruiseship" and Fodors " Alaska, Ports of Call". The books provide info on cruiselines, ships, itineraries, ports, activities, cruisetours, DIY, etc. Maybe your library has them .

Past trip reports are also a great resource . Some of the reports are very detailed info with photos of the cabins, public areas, dining, activities, excursions, etc. There are cruisetours as well as DIY land travel (by train, bus or car).

 

I'll tell him, but hopefully, he is ready this thread on his own. :cool:

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  • 2 weeks later...
Thank y'all so much. I will forward this information! My brother and SIL are well traveled and have their passports. Though I will suggest they check the inspiration dates. ;)

 

KATE45 - Your plan sounds great. Does your cruise have availability? I know when DH and I took our Alaskan cruise, it was sold out for quite awhile.

 

 

With Alaska - details are very important which are not mentioned in some of the "recommendations" of people who haven't been there. Having a single day to get to/from Denali/Seward are never an option I would ever choose or recommend. By bus, you are looking at a 10 hour transit. Worse- you are completely missing everything in between, along with the gem of Seward. TIME is everything and frankly- essential you go for as long as possible.

 

I'll suggest asking yourselves- how long did it take for you to make this trip and how often are you going to get back??? For some, it's years. It may be preferable to know this and make better plans. :)

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  • 5 months later...
Holland America has several cruise-land tour trips which are round trip Seattle. We just booked one for September, 2018. You fly to Seattle, then from there HAL flies you to Anchorage the next day. After overnight in Anchorage, you take a train to Denali for, in our case, a two-night stay which includes the 6-8 hour Tundra Adventure tour. Next is a bus from Denali to Seward to board the southbound cruise on Westerdam. The cruise ends in Vancouver and HAL buses you to Seattle to fly home. This was particularly attractive to us because we can use airline points for the round trip to Seattle, avoiding the open-jaw airfare.

 

Pat

 

Looks like we are doing the same trip except the opposite way! We land in Seattle, spend the night, then HAL transports us to Vancouver. We get on Westerdam and afterwards spend 2 nights in Denali, 1 in Anchorage, then fly to Seattle (via HAL) and stay a night there as part of the package. Enjoy!!

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