Alaskan Cruisers NOT do a cruise/land tour?

[klmorg]

In planning my upcoming Alaskan SB cruise on the Coral...

 

I am contemplating a small pre-cruise tour on my own, an Alaska Train Tour to Denali (2 nights) thru Princess Tours.

 

I've read quite a bit about Cruise/Land Tours, and was just curious if there are very many who choose NOT to do this, and only go on the cruise? Because I'm also contemplating that way as well. :confused: Decisions, decisions...

[Pia1913]

In planning my upcoming Alaskan SB cruise on the Coral...

 

I am contemplating a small pre-cruise tour on my own, an Alaska Train Tour to Denali (2 nights) thru Princess Tours.

 

I've read quite a bit about Cruise/Land Tours, and was just curious if there are very many who choose NOT to do this, and only go on the cruise? Because I'm also contemplating that way as well. :confused: Decisions, decisions...

 

Most people don't take the tours; they do cruise only. We had been to Alaska twice before doing the 8 day land tour precruise in 2009. One of the best things we ever did. Princess has it down to a science. Loved every minute of it.

[Quilter n Cruiser]

Our very first cruise was on Princess to Alaska so it holds a very special place in our hearts as wonderful. Several years later we took the combination land and cruise flying into Fairbaks then the train to Denalli and next the Kenai Penninsula Princess Lodge and Anchorage . It far surpassed the cruise only. It is more expensive but if it is in your budget I'd go for it as there is so much amazing scenery. We did the land tour first for a week and then the cruise and we wee glad we did. Hope this helps

[willysgrandma]

We are doing an inside passage specifically because we had no interest in doing the land piece and some of our group couldn't take off from work that long.

 

If I feel like I've missed something - I'd be more than happy to cruise Princess to Alaska again!

[ready2travel54]

We are going to Alaska this summer for the first time. We planned the land on our own to save money. It takes a little research , but we used the money we saved to stay more days. :)

[helpmesailaway]

Our first cruise was Alaska and we did the cruise only. After hearing about the fantastic land trips from other passengers, we realized we missed something wonderful. So we NEED to go back to Alaska!:)

[FPJC03]

After reading a ton of posts on TRIPADVISOR, doing a cruise without also booking a LAND tour is like driving to Disney without walking inside the park.

 

Alaska is the largest state in the USA. When you cruise along the coastline, you just skim the surface of the state. The interior is so scenic and unique, from the Kenai Peninsula to Denali. Yes, it does cost more, but if you only go once in your life, make it memorable. We are doing a 4 day pre-cruise land tour and would do 7-days but it got much more expensive.

 

Still, when you come home and see the photos of all that incredible landscape, you will be truly amazed!

[kruiser54]

klmorg,

We are just a few weeks away from our SB Whittier to Vancouver. We looked at a cruise tour and decided we could spend our money better than Princess.

We have planned 6 days before on our own. We have rented a 4wd jeep and reserved rooms and cabins along the way.

It is hard to get lost in Alaska. The road system is simple and if you plan it right it is just one big loop from Anchorage around the loop back to Anchorage.

We will drive about 600 miles in one week but that is not that much because we live in Texas and drive a lot.

It took some research but we call all the shots and it is way cheaper.

EB

[Cruisematic]

We did not do a land tour with our first Alaska cruise instead we booked back to back on the same ship, saved the added air costs and saw all the ports and glaciers twice. Everything was different on the second leg, and we were treated like family by the crew. Next time we go interior.

[klmorg]

Thanks for your feedback so far everyone!

[Off2China]

klmorg - Unless you're planning to return to Alaska sometime in the future to see some of the spectacular interior, I really think you should seriously consider the pre-cruise land tour through Princess. Pia is right (as usual ;)) in saying that Princess has it down to an art--they really do. We also loved every minute of it!

[MustangGT]

I will chime in here with the posts favoring adding a land tour to the cruise! We did a tour with Princess since it was our first trip to Alaska. It was fabulous! Maybe if we get back to Alaska, we will be brave enough to plan our own land tour:D

I also echo the others who say do the land tour first - you can relax on the cruise Southbound.

Have a wonderful time in Alaska!

[Zena,W.P.]

In planning my upcoming Alaskan SB cruise on the Coral...

 

I am contemplating a small pre-cruise tour on my own, an Alaska Train Tour to Denali (2 nights) thru Princess Tours.

 

I've read quite a bit about Cruise/Land Tours, and was just curious if there are very many who choose NOT to do this, and only go on the cruise? Because I'm also contemplating that way as well. :confused: Decisions, decisions...

 

It is extremily easy to do the land portion on your own. Look up the online site for the Alaska Railroad. It is the same railroad, goes to the same locations, much, much less expensive. You do not sit in the "Princess" railcards, you are in the original rail cars. You can buy a package from Whittier-to Faibanks, or any portion that interests you. Hotel for one or two nights in Anchorage. Train from Anchorage to Denali . One or two nights in hotel, tours in the park. Then train to Fairbanks. One or two nights in hotel, tours, and the riverboat. Then train or fly to Anchorage for home. There are two for one coupons with the Alaska tour saver coupon book.

 

The Princess tours include much nicer hotels, and some meals, but that's the difference. A couple of thousand more than two can do on their own. You are actually with a gourp that all go to the same hotel, and tours, etc.

 

You do not have to be world travelers to do this comfortably.

[trooper 1]

We are going to Alaska this summer for the first time. We planned the land on our own to save money. It takes a little research , but we used the money we saved to stay more days. :)

 

Cruise line land tours are extremely overpriced and unnecessary if you, or someone in your party is physically capable of driving IMO. You do not need a guide to tell you that is Mt McKinley over on the left, etc., etc. The same information is available from guide books you can purchase or check out from your library to help you see the sights, find a motel, a restaurant, routes and itineraries, etc. You can rent a car and spend more or less time at certain attractions, or get up or stop wherever you want rather than the highly organized tours. Some people like to travel where every waking hour is organized and compartmentalized down to the minutes you can spend taking a picture of that glacier or whatever. I understand that. I am getting close to that in age myself.

[itzmered]

We are doing a RT Seattle cruise this year and plan on waiting until 2013 to do Alaska again with a land tour added on when family can join us. DH was to impatient to wait 2 years so we are just doing the cruise this time around

[RAPM5856]

In 2008 our entire family (wife and I, our 3 adult kids and their spouses) did our own cruisetour. It was much cheaper than Princess' cruisetours. We flew into Anchorage 3 days before our cruise and rented cars and drove up to the Denali area. We stayed at a great B&B just north of Denali (much cheaper than staying in 'glitter gulch'). One day we did a white water river raft ride. The guide was great and the ride and scenery were spectacular. The next day we did the all day bus tour deep into Denali. The scenery was breathtaking and we saw tons of wildlife. After driving back down to Anchorage we dropped off the rental cars and took a shuttle we had reserved to Whittier and boarded the Coral Princess for our 7 day cruise to Vancouver. It was a great way to start our vacation as it usually takes me 2-3 days to fully realize I'm on vacation when I cruise. This way I knew my vacation had started the minute our shuttle came out of the tunnel at Whittier and I saw the Coral sitting there waiting for us.

[cibaygirls]

I did an Alaskan cruise (no land tour) about 10 years ago, with my DH, then boyfriend at the time. While we loved the cruise and the sites we got to see, I do feel like I missed out on seeing so much of the state. If I were to do it again (hopefully I will sometime in the near future) I would definately include a land tour.

 

Dana

[dancing lady]

In 2001, we did the 7 day land tour first and then the 7 day cruise. Everything was arranged by Princess. We flew to Fairbanks and yes, the trip was expensive, but when we go somewhere we do it up big, in case we never return to that place. Hey, you never know what the future might bring- good :D or bad :eek:! There were so many firsts on that trip and we still talk about what a great time we had. My first time in a helicopter, walking on a glacier, paddling in a 10 man canoe to the base of a glacier, water rafting, seeing Mt. McKinley and seeing a calving glacier, etc. It's so funny because we were never in the right place at the right time to see many animals. That was our only disappointment.

 

I have since been on a 7 day roundtrip from Seattle with friends and I'd go again in a heartbeat (I love cruising more than my DH). And it's still beautiful scenery but you just don't get to see any of interior Alaska.

 

Well, that's my 2 cents. Either way you go, you'll love it!

Dancing Lady

[northernsw]

We live here and have done the Alaska cruise. We rented cars at each port except Skagway where we did the train. As mentioned earlier in this thread, driving in AK is easy as the road system is not that complicated.

 

If you really want to see lots of Alaska, go to Amazon and order the Alaska MilePost. For around $20, this book will give you a narrative of every major road in Alaska. It'll tell you where the sites are, food/gas/lodging, even potholes and frost heaves. It is a great tool to plan a DIY tour of the state.

 

Every port you'll visit has car rentals, many of whom will pick you up at the dock. Whittier has an Avis right on the waterfront.

 

We like and use the Princess lodges for weekend getaways, but there is so much to see and do here that the land tours don't even touch.

[Contessa30]

We did the land tour and then the cruise. I would highly suggest a land tour of some kind. We really would have missed a great deal of the beauty of Alaska without the tour. I know that the cruise land tours can be more expensive then doing it on your own. However, their tours are so well organized and comfortable. It makes it a real vacation, as they take care of you.

[sashas_mom]

In planning my upcoming Alaskan SB cruise on the Coral...

 

I am contemplating a small pre-cruise tour on my own, an Alaska Train Tour to Denali (2 nights) thru Princess Tours.

 

I've read quite a bit about Cruise/Land Tours, and was just curious if there are very many who choose NOT to do this, and only go on the cruise? Because I'm also contemplating that way as well. :confused: Decisions, decisions...

 

We chose not to do the tour because of the long train ride (I have a bad back and couldn't sit that long). Instead, because we wanted to extend the 1 week cruise, we did a b2b and loved it. We different things in each direction and we even had different cruise directors and guest entertainers (that might have been a fluke, but it worked out great for us).

 

I do have friends who did the land tour and loved it.

 

You'll love Alaska. You MUST get yourself wide lens binoculars. We saw whales from the ship every day. If you are nature lovers Alaska will be one of your favorite cruises.

[mr green]

In planning my upcoming Alaskan SB cruise on the Coral...

 

I am contemplating a small pre-cruise tour on my own, an Alaska Train Tour to Denali (2 nights) thru Princess Tours.

 

I've read quite a bit about Cruise/Land Tours, and was just curious if there are very many who choose NOT to do this, and only go on the cruise? Because I'm also contemplating that way as well. :confused: Decisions, decisions...

 

A B2B on Coral is great, doing both legs we got a different glacier coming back, Hubbard, IMO the best of them all. Shopping? Winndow shop one way, and buy on the return trip.

 

john

[gm217]

We only have 2 days before boarding our ship in Whittier. Landing in Anchorage Thursday early afternoon and boarding the ship for a Saturday departure. What tours can be done in this short of time.

[Snoopy & Charlie]

We are taking a land/cruise from Fairbanks in Sept. Does anyone know about staying in Vancouver after the cruise? We are flying out of Seattle on Mon. at midnight so we have all of Sun and Mon. to see Vancouver and Seattle. Princess has no land excursions after the cruise. Any ideas or hotels to stay at. How about getting from Canada back into the US??

[Merc85]

Most people don't take the tours; they do cruise only. We had been to Alaska twice before doing the 8 day land tour precruise in 2009. One of the best things we ever did. Princess has it down to a science. Loved every minute of it.

I agree with Pia 100%. The land tour was well worth it for us. My only suggestion would be to make sure you do the land portion first since it is much much more tiring (early mornings/long distances) than the relaxing cruise portion.