Luggage Question - Princess Cruise/Tour

:confused: It's my understanding that on the land tour part that 1 regular bag can be taken and stored in the train/bus and that 1 carry-on can stay with you. Then the stored bag will be brought to the hotel room each night while the rest of the luggage is taken to the final destination. Is this correct? Also, what is the right size for the carry-on bag?

If you are taking the train, only a very small carry on as it has to fit under your seat. The alternative is to have it on the floor in front between seats or in your lap. :)

Very small to fit under the train seats...any idea of dimensions and if a couple is it one for both or one each.

Thanks

I believe the size of the carryon is 17 X 14 X 4. I am confused also. Going from Fairbanks to Denali to McKinley by train as part of the cruise tour. I know any bags we want to send to the ship will meet us there, but can we take 1 bag and 1 carryon on the train? And will we have access to both at Denali and McKinley? :confused: Thanks!

Sue

Where do you find a bag that's 4 inches deep?

We actually found a small backpack that converts to a mini-duffel bag that will work when it is squished. The pre-cruise documents use that size as their example of a carryon size. I don't know how this is going to work - I sure hope that luggage stays with us and is accessible at all the lodges! My understanding from those documents is that there is 1 carryon per person and 1 bag per person.

Sue

I read it the same way - one small carry on and one regular bag. This certainly would lead you to believe that the one stored bag goes in a compartment on the bus or train. I need a further explanation on this one.

The ONLY bag that goes physically with you is the small carry on. The other bag goes in baggage on the train or is trucked. You won't have access to that bag until your hotel.

Thanks BQ!!! Do I understand this now? We will have access to that larger bag when we get to the Denali Princess? We go from there to the McKinley Princess, which is the end of our train ride......... I was concerned about packing everything we needed into that really tiny carryon...... :eek:

Sue

Is the carryon information the same for the Canadian Rockies tour?

What about other luggage?

Any information would be appreciated.

Now I understand and thanks for all of the help, but where do I find a bag that's only 4 inches deep?

Hi everybody. I just checked my friend's cruise docs. What they say is that, with the Alaska cruisetours, there can be a wait of up to 3 hours to get your "travel with me" bag at the hotels, so they recommend anything you need on arrival or in that time frame to go into a carryon that stays with you on the train. I would think that would include medications, documents, etc. rather than clothes, etc. The documents state that your "travel with me" bag will be delivered to your room at each hotel.

Marcruiser, the pre cruise documents say it is helpful to separate the land and cruise baggage for the Canadian Rockies tours. The booklet says that all baggage willl travel with you for most programs, but it is a convenience to only have one bag delivered to your hotel room each evening. There is a reminder about dress code for men at the mountain park properties. If your tour includes a rail segment, you will need to bring an overnight bag for the stay in Kamloops. I hope that answers your question!

The carry-on bag size is like the free HAL bags you get. More like a sack.....LOL.:D

Thanks BQ!!! Do I understand this now? We will have access to that larger bag when we get to the Denali Princess? We go from there to the McKinley Princess, which is the end of our train ride......... I was concerned about packing everything we needed into that really tiny carryon...... :eek:

 

Sue

You got it!!! Also the Princess seats are table style so you do have some space on the table in front of you. Be aware 2 people ride backwards and from the Talkeetna train station is 50 miles to the McKinley lodge. So plan ahead IF you want to stay in town and take a later shuttle, some better meal options here perhaps?

What later shuttle are you referring to? How late do they run, costs, etc. I assume the shuttle goes to the Princess Lodge?

What later shuttle are you referring to? How late do they run, costs, etc. I assume the shuttle goes to the Princess Lodge?

Shuttle to the McKinley lodge- 50 miles away. Far better in my opinion is to stay in Talkeetna for dinner then go to the lodge. princess runs several shuttles between the two. In the past passengers could opt to stay later in Talkeetna rather then going directly to the lodge. Inquire directly of the scheduling.

Thanks again, BQ!! Where do you recommend eating in Talkeetna?????

Sue

for the information. Looking forward to this trip, a lot. :)

Thanks again, BQ!! Where do you recommend eating in Talkeetna?????

 

Sue

The Roadhouse for lunch, the Latitude for dinner. Both very casual.

Hello there,

We were on the Island Princess in May, and did the week land tour, Anchorage, Mt McKinley, Denali 2 nights, Fairbanks 2 nights.

First I want to tell everyone that from my point of view, the luggage handling went great. Our bags were always in our hotel rooms before we even got to the rooms. Never a problem not once. We were in busses and the train. We took 2 carry ons like what you would take on the plane. Never a problem, as a matter of fact except for the train our carry ons were placed under the bus. So there were never a problem of storage inside. The train was different, the bags were placed under the tables by your feet. Made for a little cramped, but not bad.

We too were very worried, but all in all was just fine. I can't speak for other cruise lines, but Princess was wonderful!!

Have a great trip, wish I was going again!!

Just got back from Coral Princess NB. The "Travel with me" bag is trucked from the ship. The carry ons are just that. We had quite a bit and with a little maneuvering, we survived. The bags were IN our room when we arrived in Denali. Depending on your itinerary, you either leave that "Travel with me" bag outside your room at night or in our case, by 11:00 AM for a motorcoach ride to Fairbanks. All four bags (the two "travel with me" and the two that were tagged "Meet Me in Fairbanks) were ALL in the room when we arrived.

The crummy thing was that while on the ship the all four those bags needed to be outside the room by 8:00 PM! That is pretty early for us. BTW, the ship was tied up to the dock at Whittier at 12:15 AM! And they started off loading luggage rigth away. I guess to sort things out.

While at the airport at Fairbanks, we saw travellers meeting Princess Outfitters and I am sure the luggage would not be in their rooms that quickly. But I assume that was for a cruisetour and then a SB trip. On the land tour portion, at least Princess has it really down well.

The info I give is for Princess.

Thanks everybody! This is our first trip to Alaska and we are counting the days!!!

Sue

It makes everything easier when you can take the "worry" out of a situation.:D

I just got back from a SB Princess cruisetour Jun 14-20.

I arrived in Fairbanks mid-afternoon with about 15 other people on Princess cruisetours. We all boarded the same bus that stopped at 2 other hotels before the Princess Lodge. My luggage beat me to my room. Later that night, my friends arrived with a very large group of people on Princess Tours. Their luggage took about 1.5 hours to arrive in their room. This is a factor of the number of people and therefore the amount of luggage to sort at the airport (by hotel), load, unload at the hotel, and then sort by room and deliver. I know my airport baggage experience was much smoother than they experienced -- just because of the amount of luggage involved. Unfortunately, this happened on a later flight when several people were tired from travel/time change and just wanted to get to bed.

We were on the train to Denali and from Denali to Talkeetna for the bus to the McKinley lodge. The larger piece had to be out in the hall by 6 am (or 9-11 pm the night before), then was trucked to the next hotel. In both cases, the luggage was waiting for us in our room.

In Talkeetna, we had the option of staying in town or going straight to the lodge. We boarded the bus at the depot and made the short ride into town. We could get off the bus here and catch a later shuttle or head right to McKinley. Any subsequent bus trips to Talkeetna were $15 r/t.

We took a bus from the McKinley Lodge to the Kenai Lodge. In that case, the luggage was on the bus with us. We placed it outside our doors that morning and it was loaded onto the bus before we boarded. Our carryons could go in the main cabin with us or be placed under the bus as we boarded. When we arrived at the Kenai Lodge, the carryons were immediately unloaded at the main entrance. The bus then went down to the bus barn where the rest of the luggage was unloaded and delivered to our rooms within an hour.

As we left the Kenai lodge for the ship, our luggage was to be put out that morning (around 8 am, I think). Our carryons could be with us in the main cabin or placed underneath when we boarded the bus. The carryons were unloaded to go onboard with us, then the busses drove to a different area where the rest of the luggage was unloaded to be taken onboard the ship.

Hope this helps

We just got back yesterday, and I can honestly say Princess has the luggage thing down to a science. Just make sure you read the documents they give you about when to have them outside your door. Also, no super fancy clothes are need at Denali or McKinley...so we sent them to our final destination. All went extreamly well and was delivered to rooms in timely manner.