Alaska round trip cruise or cruisetour?

[booklover12]

We are going on our first cruise next summer, aug. 2011. We are trying to decide whether to do a roundtrip cruise to alaska or if we should do a one-way to alaska with a land tour to denali and then fly home. I'm wondering if it's worth it to do the 4 days on land. We have one night at Princess Mckinnley, two nights at princess denali and one night in fairbanks. I don't really care about scenery and animals but my husband likes scenery and mountains. Is it going to be a wow moment for him seeing the mountains. Also, if we do the roundtrip cruise, will we be bored coming back on the same ship. We are booked on the princess coral.

[uppitycats]

We are going on our first cruise next summer, aug. 2011. We are trying to decide whether to do a roundtrip cruise to alaska or if we should do a one-way to alaska with a land tour to denali and then fly home. I'm wondering if it's worth it to do the 4 days on land. We have one night at Princess Mckinnley, two nights at princess denali and one night in fairbanks. I don't really care about scenery and animals but my husband likes scenery and mountains. Is it going to be a wow moment for him seeing the mountains. Also, if we do the roundtrip cruise, will we be bored coming back on the same ship. We are booked on the princess coral.

 

Usually people go to Alaska for the very reasons your husband is going -- for the scenery, and the animals. Alaska is so vast, the area so spectacular, it's hard to get any sense of it just cruising on the ship and getting off in the small towns -- which are like many other small tourist towns, packed with people (several ships arrive at the same time), full of shops selling trinkets.

 

Even doing the land tour only gives you a tiny "taste" of the real Alaska, and even then you're with a bunch of other tourists. But it would be on the land portion that he's have a good chance to see perhaps hundreds of bald eagles, moose, other wild game at the parks, and indeed, mountains. Of course you'll see birds and sea creatures as you cruise, assuming you are out on deck when the naturalist spots them and points them out, or other passengers do. You'll see mountains from the ship as well, of course.

 

We've been to Alaska 3 times and hope to go again in 2012. We'd only go if we could do the land tour -- first, as it's quite tiring (we'd fly into Fairbanks and do the land tour from there); then cruise down to Vancouver and fly home from there. Although since Vancouver is such a lovely city too, we may do as we did before and extend our vacation a week and spend time in Vancouver, too...

[janina]

I would skip the roundtrip cruise. Instead I would do a land tour first, your above tour sounds great, except I also like the Kenai area, not a big fan of Fairbanks. Than I would do the cruise from Whitter to Vancouver. The first days are cruising the glaciers which will give you some great relaxing time after being on land for several days. The Princess Lodges are very nice, especially Denali. I think you'll also be amazed at the beautiful sights along with your husband. Anchorage is quaint and also has some cute shops.

[WeBeGone]

I'd say do a land tour first and then cruise home. Please don't miss a chance to see Alaska from land. It's an amazing place. We spent 3 months up there one summer and barely scratched the surface of this wonderful state. We've also made a cruise and you miss a lot with "just" a cruise.

[PrincessE]

Definitely do the land tour. You won't be disappointed. Not only is Princess THE best in Alaska, but Alaska herself won't disappoint.

 

As others have recommended, do the tour first then sail home. It's a lovely trip!

[busymomofboys]

I agree do the land tour and 7 day cruise. I also agree that when you end up or begin in vancouver if you can, stay a few days as the city is on my to visit and stay longer next time list- as only 1 1/2 days there was not enough. It is a beautiful and clean city.

[Assateague Island Princes]

Or try HAL's 14 day itinerary, roundtrip from Seattle - best of both worlds! ;) Excellent itinerary with some little visited ports - Icy Strait, Homer, Kodiak and right up Cook Inlet to Anchorage itself. Also includes Sitka, Ketchikan, Juneau, Victoria, BC, and both Hubbard Glacier and Tracy Arm (which will probably be switched out to Glacier Bay once permits are released in coming months). We did it on May 31st of 2010, and I'll be doing the same itinerary again on Aug. 5th with my niece and her boyfriend. CANNOT WAIT! It was truly the trip of a lifetime! We did two 7 day roundtrips from Seattle on HAL in 2006 and again in 2008, but this 2 week itinerary topped those. Fantastic! You have a really long port time in Anchorage (7AM-11PM), so you would get to see some of the interior - just rent a car like we did, drove up to Big Lake to visit Martin Buser's doglsed camp (amazing!), went to Hatcher Pass, Independence Mine, and hiked some trails on the way back in various state parks. Homer was by far our favorite port - stunning! Kodiak was great as well, but not enough time there at 7AM-1PM, which this year has changed to 7AM-3PM - more time to explore! Sitka is always perfect - a wonderful, authentic Alaskan port. Just something to consider. A 14 day trip is a great way to get your feet wet (pun intended) via cruise ship but still seeing some spectacular sights out of the ordinary for a typical roundtrip AK cruise. Go, enjoy, soak it all in. Trust me, you'll be back;)

[NHsnowpup]

We are going on our first cruise next summer, aug. 2011. We are trying to decide whether to do a roundtrip cruise to alaska or if we should do a one-way to alaska with a land tour to denali and then fly home. I'm wondering if it's worth it to do the 4 days on land. We have one night at Princess Mckinnley, two nights at princess denali and one night in fairbanks. I don't really care about scenery and animals but my husband likes scenery and mountains. Is it going to be a wow moment for him seeing the mountains. Also, if we do the roundtrip cruise, will we be bored coming back on the same ship. We are booked on the princess coral.

 

So you are trying to decide whether to book a return cruise on the Coral or add on the land tour, right?? The FA4 won't get you within sight of Denali mountain unless you get lucky on the porch at Princess McKinley or you book a flightseeing trip. You will not see much wildlife or the wow sights like the Alaska Range, Polychrome, either. You will need to pick carefully to fill the specific down time in this tour, probably with other Princess options, especially at Princess McKinley.

 

What are your interests besides reading? We enjoyed the Native Heritage Center in Anchorage since it gave us an overview of a lot of the cultures without a lot of miles. We did a Fairbanks city tour that took us to U of A Fairbanks Museum of the North, and other heritage areas, instead of the always included paddle boat. We did our land tour independently using bus, shuttle and train. A lot of posters rent and drive.

 

Do some research and it will pay off for both of you. Check out the Alaska board for ideas. The land part is a whole different Alaska, than what you see on the cruise portion.

[uppitycats]

,,,

What are your interests besides reading? We enjoyed the Native Heritage Center in Anchorage since it gave us an overview of a lot of the cultures without a lot of miles. We did a Fairbanks city tour that took us to U of A Fairbanks Museum of the North, and other heritage areas, instead of the always included paddle boat. We did our land tour independently using bus, shuttle and train. A lot of posters rent and drive.

 

Do some research and it will pay off for both of you. Check out the Alaska board for ideas. The land part is a whole different Alaska, than what you see on the cruise portion.

 

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a highlight of our Alaska trips. We skip the offered tours and instead take a cab directly there and spend as much time as possible. It's only improved over the years, and there's always something new and different to enjoy. The Fairbanks Museum you mention was nice too. Unfortunately we have only been able to get there once in our 3 trips.