Independent vs. Cruisetour

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After all the help we received from cruise critic, I wanted to share some of our experiences.

 

Independent vs. cruisetour: A big discussion on here is traveling independent vs taking a cruisetour. We traveled independent and really enjoyed planning the itinerary we wanted and gettingthe length of time in each place we wanted. We also talked to some folks on our ship (the Island Princess) who took cruisetours and they were not overly thrilled with them. So, I would have to agree with the “choir” of voices on here pushing independent travel. However, I am sure if you make a fully informed cruisetour selection, you can have a wonderful trip, while someone else takes care of the details for you.

 

Driving vs. The Train: This is another big topic on here, almost as big as independent vs. Cruisetour. Many of the same voices that seem to encourage independent travel, also encourage renting a car and driving between cities. We took the train from Fairbanks to Denali, Denali to Anchorage, and Anchorage to Seward and did not regret one minute of the choice. We did not want to worry about driving ourselves. We did give up stopping where we wanted. However, the train does slow down or stop for wildlife, when it can. No, that is not as easy or as often as someone in a car could stop. However, there were many more eyes looking for wildlife, including the tour guide who knew were the eagle nests were located. We would not have seen a quarter of the wildlife we saw if we were left to our own devices to spot it. We did not mind the extra time the train took over driving because we considered the train an excursion. We planned 10 nights on land before our cruise, so we did have plenty of time for this luxury. I know other people’s schedules are a lot tighter than ours. Like everything else, there are pros and cons for every choice. For some people, the train will be the way to go, for others it will driving. With how much we enjoyed the train, I just wanted to add another voice to people considering it that it can be a viable option.

 

One last thing: We used Grayline of Alaska to book the train legs from Fairbanks to Denali and Denali to Anchorage, as well as the hotel in Denali. Princess lodges offers the same package. Grayline uses the Holland America rail cars and lodge (McKinley Chalet), where Princess uses their rail cars and lodge. I would recommend doing price comparisons between these two options, as well as booking independently (with coupons, if you have them) to find the best price (and value) that works for you. I do not see these packages discussed very much on here, except for “CruisingGoddess” and just wanted to point it out as another viable option that also worked very well for us.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

 

---Brad