In Alaska now /report

Well we are here!! After a total of 17 hrs travel (including to airport etc) we areived Monday night at Princess Lodge. Flight went well however turbulence (mild) almost the entire flight. Fairbanks airport is very small just two baggeage claims and direction from Princess reps was good Only a five min bus ride to the Lodge. Rooms are standard hotel rooms. For those that need extra bed they do supply roll away beds We were exhausted but needed something to eat. We went to the sit down restaurant on the grounds. We had clam chowder, onion rings, house salad ( was small) and the BLT with avocado and one of us added grilled chicken to the sandwich...All was good and bill was $60 for three of us Our spring clamps and clothespins came in handy to hang a blanket on the drapes to keep the light out. Slept fair. Up at 7 rented a Ford Taurus from artic Circle rental for the day. $ 60 for the day. They pick you up to get the car.... you leave the car with full tank at the Lodge..key at front desk and they pick it up in the morning. We went to The Cookie Jar for breakfast....excellent! We had sausage gravy biscuits, omlette, and a breakfast sandwich made of garlic bread and an omelette in between. All were excellent!! $40 for three of us. Then to Walmart for pop/soda to take on ship and two bottles of wine The Brown Jug is an alcohol store across the street from Walmart. Then we went to Alaskan Pipeline and after that drove around Fairbanks...up in the hills we found a house with a full size jet in the yard. Looked like they are restoring it. I’m talking a very large jet! Haha Back in the room getting ready for tomorrow’s land tour day # 1.

Sounds like you're off to a good start.

Enjoy!

Thanks for posting.

Have a great trip!

Thanks for the info we are flying out a week from Friday! Was the cookie jar crowded? It’s on my “list” lol

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We went to The Cookie Jar on a weekday about 9:30 am. Seated immediately

Enjoy your cruise, or whatever you will be doing.:D

Have fun! Thanks for the update

Day 3: today we went on the Riverboat Discovery Only a 5 minute bus ride to the boat. Try to sit on the left side....will see the floatplane demo and dog sled demo better than if on the right side I felt the presentation was a little more touristy than I remember from 9 yrs ago but was still a nice day. After the riverboat we were transported by motor coach to Denali Princess Lodge. Be sure to request first floor if steps are an issue. Tonight we ate at Canton Steakhouse. We had Brick Oven Chicken, skirt steak salad, and the beef ribs. All were very good

Day 4 Friday morning. We were on the bus at 6:45 for the Tundra Tour....was a very good day. Saw several moose, herds of caribou and fall sheep...two very large grizzly bears...one with two cubs...very cute! A Golden Eagle, lots of Artic Ground Squirrels and Mt McKinley was shining proudly....while we were taking photos you could see the clouds starting to hinder our view. On return to the hotel we did laundry ...$2.50 a load and the washer and dryer were decent. We then went to The Lynx it’s .on the property and serves pizza, calzones basic salads. Was edible but not over the top pizza We then got our luggage ready to place in the hall at 7 am for pickup. Will transfer to Mt McKinley Lodge tomorrow. Saturday will Board the train to Whittier to board the cruise ship. So far four dry days...a bit chilly with the winds but have experienced sunshine every afternoon....tomorrow’s forecast is 100% rain! Glad we saw the magestic mountain today

I am enjoying your report. Thank you! And noting the food prices will be very helpful for others, I think.

Thanks for posting! I'm interested in the food prices as we'll have 4 days in August to feed ourselves.

Enjoy your cruise!

Food prices are difficult to report because I’m not sure what everyone’s eating habits are. There are 3 in our group. We have ordered whatever we want regardless of price our average breakfast is running $40. Dinner varies greatly but anywhere from 60 to the top bill last night which was $180. That includes all 3 of us having appetizers main course and desert. No alcohol

Day 6. Mt McKinley Lodge No viewings of the majestic mountain today cloudy until about 2 and steady rain the rest of the afternoon and evening. But we had an awesome dinner at North Fork. Crab fritters, shrimp cocktail, cheesy flat breads was our appetizers. All appetizers were very good. Then chicken two ways (that is what it is called on menu) halibut stuffed with crab. The halibut was over cooked IMHO and very little crab on it. The chicken was a boneless fried chicken breast and backed leg/thigh. All dishes served with mashed potatoes and green beans. For dessert we had cheese cake and chocolate mousse. Total bill 180.00. Very good service. BTW the salads looked great! Chilled in the room and once again got our luggage ready for the 6:30 am requirement...place it in the hall. I’m not wild about this Lodge.....no rooms attached to the main area.... spread out building after building. We are lucky we are in #17 and it is fairly close to everything except the hot tubs. The property has inclines everywhere so if mobility is an issue jump on the shuttles that have various stops...none marked just where ever you are just go out of the building by the street and they come through every 10 minutes. The deck attached to the main building is delightful....in the right weather. You can place your name to be called or receive a text that the mountain is out but depending on your room location you would have to go to main lodge.....the vast majority of the rooms do not have a view of the mountain. Don’t forget your clamps or binder clip things...we have slept very well I think because we extend the bottom of the curtain with towels so daylight is blocked. Clothespin have been too flimsy to hold the weight and the material the drapes are made of is a bit slippery. Going to have breakfast at North Fork this morning then Board the bus for the hour long bus ride to Talkeenta to board the train. Will be on the ship this evening.

Thanks for posting! I’m looking forward to the cruise review too!

Food prices are difficult to report because I’m not sure what everyone’s eating habits are. There are 3 in our group. We have ordered whatever we want regardless of price our average breakfast is running $40. Dinner varies greatly but anywhere from 60 to the top bill last night which was $180. That includes all 3 of us having appetizers main course and desert. No alcohol

Two of us stayed at Copper River, Fairbanks (just had breakfast at the lodge), Denali, and McKinley. Our breakfast bills were around $24 - 27.50, and dinner in the bar & grills from $29 - 45 (including a beer or two), not including tips. We also had a couple slices of pizza at Denali at the Lynx Bar, I think they were $5.00/slice. And we had breakfast on the train from Denali to McKinley, it ran around $30. I budgeted generously for food on the land portion, and we definitely had extra left over.

Food prices are difficult to report because I’m not sure what everyone’s eating habits are. There are 3 in our group. We have ordered whatever we want regardless of price our average breakfast is running $40. Dinner varies greatly but anywhere from 60 to the top bill last night which was $180. That includes all 3 of us having appetizers main course and desert. No alcohol

Two of us stayed at Copper River, Fairbanks (just had breakfast at the lodge), Denali, and McKinley. Our breakfast bills were around $24 - 27.50, and dinner in the bar & grills from $29 - 45 (including a beer or two), not including tips. We also had a couple slices of pizza at Denali at the Lynx Bar, I think they were $5.00/slice. And we had breakfast on the train from Denali to McKinley, it ran around $30. I budgeted generously for food on the land portion, and we definitely had extra left over.

Thank you WJB & WisCruiser2! That gives me something to go by so I know how much to budget in for meals.

Thank you WJB & WisCruiser2! That gives me something to go by so I know how much to budget in for meals.

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