Which Princess lodges?

[islandwoman]

I'm planning a Princess Alaska cruise-tour and wondering which lodges to visit. DH and I have not visited the interior of Alaska before. Not including Fairbanks, there are four Princess Wilderness lodges in Alaska: Denali, Mt. McKinley, Kenai, and Copper River. I can't identify any tour that includes all four. Which would you recommend and why?

[huskyguy]

It's not very easy to find on the Princess site, but http://www.princess.com/learn/cruisetours/alaska/cruisetour_finder2014.html quickly shows you which cruise tours visit which lodges. You're correct that no cruise tour visits all 4. Which ones you should visit depends on what sort of experience you're looking for. For me, the tiny Copper River Lodge opens up the least-visited wilderness, and the P-series cruise tours give you the other "best"s, Denali and the Kenai Peninsula. I'm not a fan of the McKinley Princess at all - if the view of Denali (a.k.a. Mt. McKinley) isn't there, which is usually the case, it's simply a huge hotel out in the middle of nowhere - on both of my stays there, I've felt that I was wasting time that should be spent seeing Alaska. Two nights at the Denali Princess is needed to get a good park experience, so that eliminates many of the cruise tour options for me.

[islandwoman]

Which ones you should visit depends on what sort of experience you're looking for.

Wildlife and scenery. Not interested in "adventure" tours such as bungee jumping or white-water rafting.

[Budget Queen]

I'm planning a Princess Alaska cruise-tour and wondering which lodges to visit. DH and I have not visited the interior of Alaska before. Not including Fairbanks, there are four Princess Wilderness lodges in Alaska: Denali, Mt. McKinley, Kenai, and Copper River. I can't identify any tour that includes all four. Which would you recommend and why?

 

The lodges are available for information on the Alaska princess website.

 

Only for consideration by you- I am NOT looking for any answers, but maybe consider- is the lodge really that important to you? Or would it be the actives, and touring available from the location be a priority? I recommend, you might want to fully find out how you would occupy your time. A common comment for the McKinley lodge is "rest", which of course I don't get. :) (my opinion only) I find, some times with people going on cruise tours- time and money is limited, and then the "we didn't do much at the McKinley lodge and caught up on our rest". I think this is a waste of Alaska time. :)

 

There certainly would be recommendations for all of them, depending on YOUR touring choices. The Kenai Princess is a poor location and so is the McKinley Princess if you don't have a car, in my opinion. You are 2 hours round trip from Talkeetna and Seward. It is superior to be in those locations- with your tour choices there as well.

 

Cooper River, I see people rarely take advantage for getting to Kennicott/McCarthy which are significant highlights for being there. Cruise tours, frequently miss Valdez, the boat tours can't be done with most if not all Princess Cruisetours. In the past, they also used the fast ferry. The regular, again, only my opinion, is superior, able to catch more sights as you pass, and time to follow the naturalist on board.

 

Alternatively, for wildlife, the key areas are Denali Park- multiple entries, always mean more wildlife. My min. recommended distance in is Eielson shuttle bus. The other is Kenai Fjords with a boat tour of at least 6 hours on the water. It is also simple to go on your own, with a rental car, or for Denali and Seward- Alaska RR.

[mapleleaves]

If your only priority is to stay at Princess Lodges, you need to identify which attributes are important to you ... good restaurant, scenic location, decor, comfort, no stairs, etc?

The only Princess Lodge that is NOT isolated is the Denali Princess. From Denali Princess you can walk to a small shopping area, or walk a mile to the Denali entrance. The other lodges are so isolated that you must pay for a shuttle or an excursion in order to leave the property.

[islandwoman]

If we do a Princess cruise tour, we certainly won't have a car. The only reason I focused on the Princess lodges is because that's where they take you on the cruise tours. I assumed that we would be isolated, being in National Parks and would be taking excursions. Mostly we're interested in scenery and wildlife.

So what I'm hearing so far is: Go to Denali Lodge, but don't bother with Mt. McKinley lodge. Copper River and Kenai Lodges are getting mixed reviews. Right? Anything else?

[Suzanne123]

We stayed at Kenai Princess twice, but both times we had a car. I liked the rooms, the food, and the scenery and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. DH did fishing, but there are excursions that you can take to Seward for the day.

 

You can see additional excursions are offered on their web site:

 

http://www.princesslodges.com/kenai-lodge.cfm

[mapleleaves]

Mostly we're interested in scenery and wildlife.

So what I'm hearing so far is: Go to Denali Lodge, but don't bother with Mt. McKinley lodge. Copper River and Kenai Lodges are getting mixed reviews. Right? Anything else?

 

All the Princess lodges are lovely (altho Denali is rather generic). The point is ... what are YOU going to do when you get there? You need read thru the princess website to see which activities are available at each lodge in order to determine which locations will best support YOUR interests. For example the Kenai Princess is extremely isolated but it's a beautiful place in a beautiful setting, perched on a hill overlooking the kenai river. I've never stayed there but we always make a point of visiting the lounge to enjoy the views of fisherman drifting down the river, the beautiful colored water, and the rich forest. However I couldn't sit there for 2 days or even 1! But that's me. YOU might like it or you might enjoy one of the excursions.

For wildlife viewing (without a car) your best opportunities will be at Denali and a Kenai Cruise from Seward. Good luck!

[Budget Queen]

We stayed at Kenai Princess twice, but both times we had a car. I liked the rooms, the food, and the scenery and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. DH did fishing, but there are excursions that you can take to Seward for the day.

 

You can see additional excursions are offered on their web site:

 

http://www.princesslodges.com/kenai-lodge.cfm

 

Your BIG difference is the car. Were you aware that you HAVE to go with one of Princess's contracted vendors for tours? They do NOT allow any independents on their property. If you wanted an independent, you have to hoof it out to the Sterling Highway.

[Budget Queen]

If we do a Princess cruise tour, we certainly won't have a car. The only reason I focused on the Princess lodges is because that's where they take you on the cruise tours. I assumed that we would be isolated, being in National Parks and would be taking excursions. Mostly we're interested in scenery and wildlife.

So what I'm hearing so far is: Go to Denali Lodge, but don't bother with Mt. McKinley lodge. Copper River and Kenai Lodges are getting mixed reviews. Right? Anything else?

 

No, it depends on you. As already suggested, you would benefit greatly, if you found out about these specific areas and what they offer and what touring is available. Be aware of TIME, some areas- like Denali park- need 2 nights. Do not consider any cruisetour with only one night. Princess, has for several years- refunded their Denali Park tours- which I always recommend. Again- if you don't know- find out what Denali park is about- with your wildlife priority, then get INTO the park. You do NOT with the Natural History tour. My only recommendation is to get the shuttle buses to at least Eielson. http://www.nps.gov/dena

 

Most if not all Princess cruisetours include the McKinley Princess. On short cruisetours- this could eat up a valuable touring day elsewhere, reason I suggest you go for as long as you can afford.

 

I have been to all these areas- have stayed at the McKinley and Copper River Princess- with a car and independent. All the areas are certainly worthwhile, depending on your time and interests.

[jnc411]

Hi, we just did a Princess land tour in Sept. And went from Anchorage hotel to Copper River Lodge , then to Denali Lodge then the train back down to Whittier and got on the ship . For us it was perfect , we loved it, our favorite was Copper River Lodge , it is smaller but it had a restuarant and bar on site and the scenery is spectacular, the staff there was wonderful. The Denali Lodge is a different experience, it is very large, but has most anything you would need right at the lodge, restaurants , stores, it is a lovely place, and of corse the tour into Denali is lovely as well. And we thought the train ride back down to Whitter was fun, had a great time. The cruise down to Vancouver , went to Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, then Vancouver. Vancouver is fun to explore as well, if you have time include it as well.

Cori