Princess Copper River Cruisetour

[alaskandreamer]

Hello,

 

We are only about a month away from our cruisetour and I am so excited about finally seeing Alaska that I can't wait.

 

We are going on the Princess Copper River Cruisetour (Northbound) and I was wondering if anyone would like to share their experiences on this tour.

I'm hoping to hear from people who just got back from there or have been there recently.

What can we expect??? Anything included not on the itinerary???

Extra stops etc.

 

Hearing from those of you who may have experienced it will only build our anticipation and excitment.

 

Thanks for sharing. I hope to hear from some of you!

 

Alaska here we come!

[Mary Ellen1]

Hi there,

 

Where exactly does your land tour take you? We did the Kenai cruise-tour last year: 7 days on the Diamond, then a 7-day land tour to the Princess Kenai lodge, McKinley lodge, Denali lodge and Fairbanks lodge.

 

I think the Copper River tours go to the McKinley & Denali lodges, right? At McKinley, we were under-whelmed by the excursions that were offered, so we did our own thing. We went to Talkeetna for the day, had lunch, walked around & explored -- it was very fun. The McKinley lodge also had some great ranger programs -- I wished I'd had more time to get to all of them. There was a white-board in the lobby listing the lectures that were available. They were held downstairs in a meeting room.

 

At Denali, you really want to upgrade the Natural History Tour (if that's what you've got) to the Tundra Wilderness Tour, which goes much further into the park & you see a lot more wildlife. We upgraded right at the lodge -- they've got an excursion desk that took care of it for us. We had a 6:10am departure, and were back at the lodge by 1:30 or 2pm, then had a 3pm departure for Fairbanks.

 

The land-tour portion of the trip got expensive because none of the meals are included. But it was fabulous! You'll have a great time!

[alaskandreamer]

Mary Ellen,

 

We are heading north from Vancover. We stop at Ketchican, Juneau, Skagway and Whittier. Of course we also get to see Glacier Bay and College Fjord. From Whittier we take a catamaran across Prince William Sound to Valdez where we go via motor coach to Copper River Lodge.

We spend two nights there then off to Denali. We spend two nights there also then we take a train to Mt Mckinney Lodge. We end our trip in Anchorage.

 

I am wondering what we might see on our way to Copper River. What can we expect to see on the Denali Highway etc.

All the port stops sound great but I'm wonder what else we might see and do that isn't mentioned. It all sounds so exciting and wonderful.

I have dreamed of going to Alaska for years. Now I am finally getting to live that dream.

 

Thanks for the info!

[alaskandreamer]

Opps!

 

Just read my post. Sorry about the mis-spellings.

Mt. Mckinley etc.

Just incase there are some English teachers out there!

Sorry! Sometimes I type too fast.

[Mary Ellen1]

...

All the port stops sound great but I'm wonder what else we might see and do that isn't mentioned...

 

 

Hope this helps. Here's a link to my Top 10 list -- The Top 10 Most Amazing Things I Saw on my Alaska Cruise last year. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1059284

 

Last August, we did the same cruise itinerary that you're doing. And then, as mentioned, the Kenai land-tour, which has a lot of overlap with the one you're doing.

[phabric]

Mary Ellen,

 

We are heading north from Vancover. We stop at Ketchican, Juneau, Skagway and Whittier. Of course we also get to see Glacier Bay and College Fjord. From Whittier we take a catamaran across Prince William Sound to Valdez where we go via motor coach to Copper River Lodge.

We spend two nights there then off to Denali. We spend two nights there also then we take a train to Mt Mckinney Lodge. We end our trip in Anchorage.

 

I am wondering what we might see on our way to Copper River. What can we expect to see on the Denali Highway etc.

All the port stops sound great but I'm wonder what else we might see and do that isn't mentioned. It all sounds so exciting and wonderful.

I have dreamed of going to Alaska for years. Now I am finally getting to live that dream.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

I would also like any information about this cruisetour, lodges, tours at lodges.

 

We are doing this cruisetour in Aug 2011. We have already changed the Nature History tour to Tundra Wilderness Tour.

 

After your cruisetour, would you post any information to help the rest of us.

[Budget Queen]

Mary Ellen,

 

We are heading north from Vancover. We stop at Ketchican, Juneau, Skagway and Whittier. Of course we also get to see Glacier Bay and College Fjord. From Whittier we take a catamaran across Prince William Sound to Valdez where we go via motor coach to Copper River Lodge.

We spend two nights there then off to Denali. We spend two nights there also then we take a train to Mt Mckinney Lodge. We end our trip in Anchorage.

 

I am wondering what we might see on our way to Copper River. What can we expect to see on the Denali Highway etc.

All the port stops sound great but I'm wonder what else we might see and do that isn't mentioned. It all sounds so exciting and wonderful.

I have dreamed of going to Alaska for years. Now I am finally getting to live that dream.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

The Richardson Highway is extremely scenic, I do not consider the fast ferry for myself- the longer, and slower one, is superior for more viewing. For me, the reason to be in Cooper River area, is to GET into the area- it isn't somewhere you sit at the lodge, or settle for just the transit bus ride. Superb are the trips into McCarthy and Kennicott, either by road- or flights. I was just there in the past week, and again, did area flightseeing. The Denali Highway is also very very scenic. It's a LONG day on a bus, so I suggest you have extra snacks with you.