Alaska cruisetours

[Fluffy Terry]

DH and I have taken an Alaskan cruise before in 2002, however, it was only the cruise portion - Van to Van - we have just booked the land and sea portion and I would love to hear from anyone who has done the land portion as to what we can look forward to. DH also was wondering what is extra. Meals etc. Our cruise tour is Fairbank, Denali, Talkeetna, Anchorage, Alyeska & Seward. The cruise only has one stop we havent been to (Icy strait point) so not concerned about the cruise portion

[hollon]

I've been to alaska but not on a land tour, I'd check over on the "Ports of Call", you'll probably get a fast answer. Good Luck

[luvscruising2007]

We did a cruisetour in 2007 and if I remember correctly we were responsible for all of our meals. You could also schedule additional excursions at your expense. The land tour included some tours but I know we did a flight seeing trip in Denali.

The tour guide was available to book them for you. We were in Denali, Talkeetna, Anchorage and Fairbanks.

You will have a wonderful time. We took a train, the dome cars, and had at least one meal aboard, also at our expense.

[dep]

DH and I have taken an Alaskan cruise before in 2002, however, it was only the cruise portion - Van to Van - we have just booked the land and sea portion and I would love to hear from anyone who has done the land portion as to what we can look forward to. DH also was wondering what is extra. Meals etc. Our cruise tour is Fairbank, Denali, Talkeetna, Anchorage, Alyeska & Seward. The cruise only has one stop we havent been to (Icy strait point) so not concerned about the cruise portion

 

 

Sounds like cruise toue # 15 ? AWESOME we did # 15 July 2011.Good move do the tour first YOU will be tired then relax on the ship RCCL has it down to a science THE BEST !!! Correct you are on your own for all meals , except for I think when you go to Denali National Park you get a box lunch in the park. We got into Fairbanks 2 days early . If you are a fan of Santa a good and fun side trip is North Pole Alaska, Home of Santa.We stayed at Sophia Station in Fairbanks they let us stay in the same room when the tour started even though we got in 2 days early. They were also very helpful with side tours, rooms were 1 bedroom , livingroom , full kitchen and balcony. No room service however we ordered from the dining room to go and the server was kind enough to tell us to go relax in our room and when the meals were ready he would bring them.ALL HOTLES WERE FIRST CLASS.A trip we would again the only problem was the long flight from Florida. Buses were also first class except for Denali the buses in the park were converted school buses DO NOT SIT IN SECOND OR THIRD ROW , I think , I made that mistake it is the wheel well you will have to sit with your feel on top of the wheel well Very uncomfortable ,you are on the bus for If I remember at least 6-7 hours.

[negc]

We have done two cruisetours in Alaska. The first which was with Princess was excellent. The second, and most recent, was with RCI and that tour pretty much blew Princess out of the water. RCI included several excursions in Fairbanks, Denali and Anchorage, used quality lodging facilities (although the Grande Denali Lodge service was subpar) and provided us with a dedicated tour guide and bus driver who contributed immensely to our enjoyment of our time on land. RCI also offered the superior Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali where Princess only provided the lesser Natural History Tour, and we were able to upgrade from the motor coach transfer to the Alaska Railroad train for the final leg of the trip from Anchorage to Seward. We were with friends who had previously only taken a cruise in Alaska and they agreed that the land portion added immeasurably to the entire Alaskan experience. Enjoy your trip. We would go again in a heartbeat.:)

[mation101]

Did a pre tour in 2008, and thought it was AMAZING!!

 

Did almost the same trip again in 2011 and because so much went wrong we will never do an organized Alaska tour again. From now on we will rent a car and do our own tour.

 

The things that made them so different had nothing to do with RCCL, it was weather, timing, and a flat tire that put us on the side of the road for almost 5 hours. I know we cannot predict the weather, but it still put a damper things. Instead of beautiful Alaska scenery we saw gray and even had snow for a day in Denali, and not just a little snow, stick to the ground heavy snow.

 

I would still recommend the organized tour to first timers, but now that we have our bearings we will do it on our own.

[NorbertsNiece]

I would do the whole thing again in a heartbeat. All details are in my blog in sig below. Did a fabulous tour with F.I.S.H.E.S at ISP.

[narsibvl]

We have done two cruisetours in Alaska. The first which was with Princess was excellent. The second, and most recent, was with RCI and that tour pretty much blew Princess out of the water. RCI included several excursions in Fairbanks, Denali and Anchorage, used quality lodging facilities (although the Grande Denali Lodge service was subpar) and provided us with a dedicated tour guide and bus driver who contributed immensely to our enjoyment of our time on land. RCI also offered the superior Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali where Princess only provided the lesser Natural History Tour, and we were able to upgrade from the motor coach transfer to the Alaska Railroad train for the final leg of the trip from Anchorage to Seward. We were with friends who had previously only taken a cruise in Alaska and they agreed that the land portion added immeasurably to the entire Alaskan experience. Enjoy your trip. We would go again in a heartbeat.:)

 

 

Which cruise tour was yours ? We are booked for Cruise tour 1 next year. So was just checking.

[negc]

Which cruise tour was yours ? We are booked for Cruise tour 1 next year. So was just checking.

 

We did cruisetour #11. However in checking out this year's cruisetours it appears that tour #11 no longer includes the Riverboat Discovery tour in Fairbanks and that in Denali, RCI has substituted the Natural History Tour for the superior Tundra Wilderness tour. As a result I would no longer strongly argue for this particular cruise tour since those two excursions were among our favorites. I haven't checked out the details of all the cruisetours for 2012 but would definitely recommend any that include those two excursions as part of the package. If you can get the Alaska train transfer from Anchorage to Seward for a nominal fee (we paid $25pp) I would definitely recommend doing so.:) If I remember correctly, and, unfortunately, I don't have the brochure readily available, Tour #1 appears to be a very good alternative.

[negc]

Did a pre tour in 2008, and thought it was AMAZING!!

 

Did almost the same trip again in 2011 and because so much went wrong we will never do an organized Alaska tour again. From now on we will rent a car and do our own tour.

 

The things that made them so different had nothing to do with RCCL, it was weather, timing, and a flat tire that put us on the side of the road for almost 5 hours. I know we cannot predict the weather, but it still put a damper things. Instead of beautiful Alaska scenery we saw gray and even had snow for a day in Denali, and not just a little snow, stick to the ground heavy snow.

 

I would still recommend the organized tour to first timers, but now that we have our bearings we will do it on our own.

 

If the only problems with your second experience were those that you list, I'm not sure that I understand why they would argue against doing an organized Alaska tour again. How are those things (poor weather conditions, heavy snow,and a flat tire) things that couldn't just as easily happen if you were doing your own tour? At least on an organized tour the flat tire might have been more easily taken care of by the tour organizers than by you on your own in a remote area of Alaska, and the weather won't be any less disappointing if you are on your own. Doing your own tour can have benefits of its own, but the things that you had go wrong on your second, organized, tour could just as easily have happened had you been on your own and you would have been without the resources that the cruise line can offer. Maybe I am missing something but your reasoning leaves me more than a bit baffled.

[dreamer976]

Our first cruise EVER was a 12 night Alaska Cruisetour back in 2003. From the moment we deplaned in Fairbanks, we were gently and warmly taken into the hands of the Celebrity Tours staff (for the land portion) and they took care of everything and treated our entire bus group of almost 50 like absolute royalty! The most enjoyable and relaxing trip ever. We were totally sold with RCCL at that point and have remained loyal (except for one transgression w/Princess after which we came right back to Royal). And to answer your question, yes, you will be responsible for your meals and any extra excursions on land that you may want to book. There are quite a few good ones to pick from. Enjoy!

[msvacation]

negc ~~ We are doing a cruisetour soon and I was wondering how and when you were able to get the train transfer from Anchorage to Seward? The itinerary currently says by motorcoach, but we would like to do the train instead. Did you contact them prior to your trip or do you check with the RC rep when you start your tour? Also, were you able to book any additional excursions on the land portion prior to leaving on your trip? If so, how far in advance did they open these up? Thanks so much for any help you can give.

[narsibvl]

We did cruisetour #11. However in checking out this year's cruisetours it appears that tour #11 no longer includes the Riverboat Discovery tour in Fairbanks and that in Denali, RCI has substituted the Natural History Tour for the superior Tundra Wilderness tour. As a result I would no longer strongly argue for this particular cruise tour since those two excursions were among our favorites. I haven't checked out the details of all the cruisetours for 2012 but would definitely recommend any that include those two excursions as part of the package. If you can get the Alaska train transfer from Anchorage to Seward for a nominal fee (we paid $25pp) I would definitely recommend doing so.:) If I remember correctly, and, unfortunately, I don't have the brochure readily available, Tour #1 appears to be a very good alternative.

 

Yeah, one of the reasons for choosing this cruise tour was because of the Tundra wilderness Tour. Our tour does include the Alaska train transfer from anchorage to seward...actually I even tried to upgrade from the motor coach to the trail from Denali to Anchorage but that they refused as the logistics wouldn't work.

[Fluffy Terry]

Cruise tour #13 - July 13-19 land then July 19-26 cruise

 

Which cruise tour was yours ? We are booked for Cruise tour 1 next year. So was just checking.

[negc]

negc ~~ We are doing a cruisetour soon and I was wondering how and when you were able to get the train transfer from Anchorage to Seward? The itinerary currently says by motorcoach, but we would like to do the train instead. Did you contact them prior to your trip or do you check with the RC rep when you start your tour? Also, were you able to book any additional excursions on the land portion prior to leaving on your trip? If so, how far in advance did they open these up? Thanks so much for any help you can give.

 

We tried to arrange it by calliing RCI before we left but their reps told us we couldn't do it. We also looked at leaving the tour in Anchorage and booking directly with the Alaska railroad but the price was more than we wanted to pay. So it was a complete surprise when we arrived in Alaska and met with our tour guide who told us that, if we wanted to, we could upgrade to the train from Anchorage to Seward for $25 a person. Needless to say we didn't hesitate and were extremely pleased that we did. We did arrive in Seward later than we would have had we taken the motor coach transfer but the weather in Seward wasn't great and I knew that if we got there and checked in and got on the ship, the likelihood that we would get back off and explore Seward or take an excursion there was pretty slim. So we were very pleased with the opportunity to take the train and enjoy perhaps the best scenery of the entire land portion of our trip.

[msvacation]

We tried to arrange it by calliing RCI before we left but their reps told us we couldn't do it. We also looked at leaving the tour in Anchorage and booking directly with the Alaska railroad but the price was more than we wanted to pay. So it was a complete surprise when we arrived in Alaska and met with our tour guide who told us that, if we wanted to, we could upgrade to the train from Anchorage to Seward for $25 a person. Needless to say we didn't hesitate and were extremely pleased that we did. We did arrive in Seward later than we would have had we taken the motor coach transfer but the weather in Seward wasn't great and I knew that if we got there and checked in and got on the ship, the likelihood that we would get back off and explore Seward or take an excursion there was pretty slim. So we were very pleased with the opportunity to take the train and enjoy perhaps the best scenery of the entire land portion of our trip.

 

I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that we get offered the train from Anchorage to Seward also. Thanks so much for the information.

[Fluffy Terry]

It looks like our itinerary shows Motorcoach from Anchorage to Alyeska (overnight in Alyeska), the the next day Alyeska to Seward to cant take the train straight from Anchorage to Seward. Oh well will wait till we get there and then see what happens

 

I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that we get offered the train from Anchorage to Seward also. Thanks so much for the information.

[Fluffy Terry]

Can anyone tell me how you get your itinerary for the land portion. I hate being disorganized and dont know what time we get into each place, what RCCL has planned for us - ie tours, etc and what time we have to book our own stuff. Help. From what I understand you dont get the itinerary till you get to Fairbanks - is that correct Help