Eek! Overwhelmed planning 1st time Alaska

[mspmcpie]

Well, we finally booked Alaska! DH, myself, and my parents have booked 12 night Alaska 2015 on Celebrity Millennium - we have booked 2 of the sweet 16 rooms on the port side of the ship.

 

Itinerary as follows:

 

June 7 Anchorage Marriott

June 8 Rail AM - Anchorage to Talkeetna - night at Talkeetna Lodge

June 9 Motorcoach to Denali -night in Denali Hotel

June 10 Denali Natural History Tour & night in Denali Hotel

June 11 Motorcoach Denali to Anchorage and Anchorage to Alyeska -night in Hotel Alyeska

June 12 Board Celebrity Millenium in Seward

June 13 Cruising Hubbard Glacier

June 14 Juneau

June 15 Skagway

June 16 Icy Strait Point

June 17 Ketchikan

June 18 Cruising Inside Passage

June 19 Vancouver, BC

 

The problem is - I am totally overwhelmed researching Alaska!! I'm trying to make sure we make the best of the trip and do as many of the must-do things as possible. Whale watching somewhere and flight seeing in Denali are two things that top my list. Hiking is always fun. My parents prefer more low-key activities.

 

For all the experienced Alaska folks - what do I need to know?:o What should I add? What should I change? Eek!:eek:

[mskaufman]

There are a number of Alaska by cruise ship type books that you can get from the library. Recommend taking it one port at a time. Also, there are plenty of reviews on this forum as to what people have done in each port.

[lovetotraveltx]

Well, we finally booked Alaska! DH, myself, and my parents have booked 12 night Alaska 2015 on Celebrity Millennium - we have booked 2 of the sweet 16 rooms on the port side of the ship.

 

Itinerary as follows:

 

June 7 Anchorage Marriott

June 8 Rail AM - Anchorage to Talkeetna - night at Talkeetna Lodge

June 9 Motorcoach to Denali -night in Denali Hotel

June 10 Denali Natural History Tour & night in Denali Hotel

June 11 Motorcoach Denali to Anchorage and Anchorage to Alyeska -night in Hotel Alyeska

June 12 Board Celebrity Millenium in Seward

June 13 Cruising Hubbard Glacier

June 14 Juneau

June 15 Skagway

June 16 Icy Strait Point

June 17 Ketchikan

June 18 Cruising Inside Passage

June 19 Vancouver, BC

 

The problem is - I am totally overwhelmed researching Alaska!! I'm trying to make sure we make the best of the trip and do as many of the must-do things as possible. Whale watching somewhere and flight seeing in Denali are two things that top my list. Hiking is always fun. My parents prefer more low-key activities.

 

For all the experienced Alaska folks - what do I need to know?:o What should I add? What should I change? Eek!:eek:

 

I share your pain. So confused! Haven't booked yet. Thinking of booking the same cruise as you but renting a car and doing land on my own. Lets start a roll call, if we book. Have Princesd on my mind as well!

[mapleleaves]

Even after all your research you chose a cruisetour that includes Natural History Tour at Denali ???? That trip only goes to Mile 17 of 100 miles of park road! Prime bear viewing starts around mile 50, so you will miss great opportunities to experience the Denali scenery and wildlife.

The Alyeska Resort is lovely, and there is SO much to do in that area but you will be stranded at the resort without a car. With a car you could enjoy the Wildlife Conservation Center, gold panning,hiking, Portage Glacier, etc

You might want to give some thought to cancelling the cruisetour portion and doing it on your own with a rental car, Alaska Railroad, and/or Park Connection Bus.

I encourage you to do some research. A great resource is the STICKY above called '2013 Alaska cruise reviews', where people have posted detailed trip reports. Go to reply #45 where the reports are sorted by cruiseline and ship. Another great resource is a book specific to Alaska cruises .... Ann Vipond has Alaska by Cruiseship and Fodor has Alaska Ports of Call.

The more you know, the better your trip will be. Good luck with your planning!

Edited March 3, 2014 by mapleleaves

[mspmcpie]

Mapleleaves- I hear you on the Natural History Tour! That is what comes in the package but it can (and I plan to) upgrade it to the other option- which I think is called Tundra something... Can't remember right off and I'm not with my notes.

 

I'm open to renting a car for a day in a particular place, but hesitant to plan the whole land portion on my own. My parents being with us makes me more cautious than I normally might be. I love my mom but she sure does panic when things aren't planned out to the last detail! I want her to really relax and enjoy... And I want to do the same!

 

 

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[4cats,1dog]

I am doing the same itinerary May 2014 on the Radiance of the Seas, but in reverse. My DH and I are not the do it yourselfers, so cruise tour is right for us. I would recommend changing the NHT in Denali to the Shuttle or at least the TWT.

I heard the Alyeska Hotel has a car service and there are optional tours you can purchase with Cruisetour. So there is plenty of time to do things in Girdwood.

 

I hope to post my trip sometime this June when I get back.

I have been planning this for a year. So excited!

Cruise Critic people helped make a lot of decisions. Have fun reading blogs.

 

Have a great time!

[mapleleaves]

Mapleleaves- I hear you on the Natural History Tour! That is what comes in the package but it can (and I plan to) upgrade it to the other option- which I think is called Tundra something... Can't remember right off and I'm not with my notes.

 

I'm open to renting a car for a day in a particular place, but hesitant to plan the whole land portion on my own. My parents being with us makes me more cautious than I normally might be. I love my mom but she sure does panic when things aren't planned out to the last detail! I want her to really relax and enjoy... And I want to do the same!

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Instead of the Tundra Wilderness Tour, look at the shuttle to Eielson Visitor Center ... it goes further into the park than the TWT, has an actual destination, and costs 1/3 the price.

Your "whole land portion" is a mere 5 nights so not too difficult to arrange. People from all over the world manage to plan Alaska land trips of 2-6 weeks so I'm sure you could manage 5 nights.

BTW, other than Anchorage there is no location on your cruisetour where you can rent a car for the day.

Edited March 3, 2014 by mapleleaves

[AKStafford]

I want to second the recommendation to cancel the cruise tour and rent a car. Travel in Alaska is very straight forward. Having your own car gives you so much more flexibility in lodging and dining and activities.

[fleckle]

I want to second the recommendation to cancel the cruise tour and rent a car. Travel in Alaska is very straight forward. Having your own car gives you so much more flexibility in lodging and dining and activities.

I agree. Here are some of the reasons that I posted previously on another thread.

 

Quite simply, the commercial tours are very regimented and you are tied to someone else's schedule.

If you are driving yourself, when you come to a charming little village or attractive spot by a stream or a restaurant beside the road that looks interesting, you can stop. On a tour bus, you go zooming right on by it.

 

When the tour bus makes a stop anyplace, if you find it boring and want to move on, that is just too bad.

You must remain there until the designated time to leave, even though you would much rather be spending your limited vacation time somewhere else.

 

Conversely, if you find the place interesting and want to spend more time there, that is also too bad because you can't.

 

When you drive yourself, you get to pick all the stops yourself and can stay at each place as long as you wish and leave when you are ready. You can spend the night at a charming little bed and breakfast instead of a large commercial hotel with hundreds of other tourists.

But if you prefer a large hotel, you can also stay there if you drive yourself.

 

If you drive yourself, you can alter your planned itinerary on a whim at the spur of the moment to include some out of the way attraction you learn about that was not on your original schedule.

 

If you want to sleep in some mornings, you can do that and leave whenever you like if you are driving yourself.

On a tour, you must be out and on the bus at the assigned time, whether you like it or not. No lingering over that second cup of coffee.

 

Then there is the "hurry up and wait" syndrome with organized tours. Much time is wasted waiting for everyone to get off the bus and for everyone to get back on the bus at each stop, and sitting there fuming while everyone waits for the people who do not show up on time.

 

So when we have the time to do trip planning in advance, we much prefer to arrange our own land trips.

 

I also second the recommendations to avoid the Natural History Tour at Denali.

 

But it is easier and requires no effort just to take a commercial tour that somebody else has arranged, so that may be a better way to go for someone who really is overwhelmed or doesn't want to spend the time to plan an independent tour.

 

Edited March 3, 2014 by fleckle

[Ashland]

You might want to consider when in Ketchikan booking the Bering Sea Crab Fishermans Tour excursion (directly online you don't have to book with your cruiseline)..it's an amazing tour and very popular..Check out their (google) website for more info.

[olemissreb]

I, too, agree with Mapleleaves who suggested doing it on your own. My mother is also one of those that likes to know when everything is happening and you can do that. While my mom didn't join us on our land portion last year, I'm sure she would have been just fine with the schedule I had planned.

 

With 5 days, you can easily drive to Denali and take a shuttle to Eielson or even Wonder Lake if you prefer. While in the area, you could go white water rafting or even take an ATV excursion (depending on how active your parents are). If could plan a flightseeing tour out of Talkeetna and stop there on the way to Denali and then if the weather doesn't cooperate, you can try again on your way back to Anchorage.

 

In Seward, we just loved the Kenai Fjords National Park tour. We saw so much wildlife and got close enough to Holgate Glacier to hear it calving. We didn't get close enough to Hubbard to hear it calve, so I'm glad we experienced it at Holgate.

 

As someone else said, pick up some of the Alaska tour books (Frommers, Ann Vipond) and "discover" what each port has to offer. Share it with your parents. Then each of you decide what is important to see/do. You may have some things that you want to do together and some that you want to split up for. If you split up, then when you get together you can share your experiences and get ideas for your next trip to Alaska - and yeah, you will want to go back. My soon to be 77 year old mom wants to go back as do I and my DH and 2 boys. I actually had a 3 ring binder that I would jot down ideas as I was doing my research. Then I got together with the rest of the family to decide what we wanted to do - of course a year in advance, they were no help and finally just told me to book what ever I wanted. So I did and they had absolutely no complaints. I even had back-up plans in case weather caused a cancellation or anything. Those back-up plans came in handy when my youngest son broke his foot and couldn't go ice trekking. He and DH were able to see the Iditerod headquarters and take a sled dog ride.

Edited March 4, 2014 by olemissreb

[lovetotraveltx]

Does anyone know if Celebrity will refund the NHT if you choose not to do it as Princess does or are you just out the money if you choose Eielson.

 

Thank you!

[mapleleaves]

Does anyone know if Celebrity will refund the NHT if you choose not to do it as Princess does or are you just out the money if you choose Eielson.

 

Thank you!

 

You should call Celebrity and ask .... what they did in the past might not hold true for 2014. Be sure to post the response !

 

Even if they don't refund the NHT, the shuttle to Toklat is only about $27 and Eielson $37 so not a huge expense.

[hellokitty49]

My husband and I are cruising Alaska in June and have decided to do the land tour on our own. We don't want to be herded like cattle on and off motor coaches and buses. We're going to rent a car so we will have more freedom.

[grandma101]

Well, we finally booked Alaska! DH, myself, and my parents have booked 12 night Alaska 2015 on Celebrity Millennium - we have booked 2 of the sweet 16 rooms on the port side of the ship.

 

Itinerary as follows:

 

June 7 Anchorage Marriott

June 8 Rail AM - Anchorage to Talkeetna - night at Talkeetna Lodge

June 9 Motorcoach to Denali -night in Denali Hotel

June 10 Denali Natural History Tour & night in Denali Hotel

June 11 Motorcoach Denali to Anchorage and Anchorage to Alyeska -night in Hotel Alyeska

June 12 Board Celebrity Millenium in Seward

June 13 Cruising Hubbard Glacier

June 14 Juneau

June 15 Skagway

June 16 Icy Strait Point

June 17 Ketchikan

June 18 Cruising Inside Passage

June 19 Vancouver, BC

 

The problem is - I am totally overwhelmed researching Alaska!! I'm trying to make sure we make the best of the trip and do as many of the must-do things as possible. Whale watching somewhere and flight seeing in Denali are two things that top my list. Hiking is always fun. My parents prefer more low-key activities.

 

For all the experienced Alaska folks - what do I need to know?:o What should I add? What should I change? Eek!:eek:

 

Annie I want to do the exact same tour in 2015 with my children. My husband and I did the 13 day cruise/tour in 2011 but now I want to take the whole family. One of the highlights that I loved was the Hotel Alyeska! It is so beautiful and I loved the tram. I am looking into prices and dates now. We did the long drive into Deneli and this time I feel my family will be much happier with the shorter one. It was a very long day on a school although we did see several bears it was still so very long. We also planned to skip the first stop we did into Fairbanks although we did enjoy it and panned for gold and did get to bring some gold home! I am hoping to find another place just as nice to pan for gold in one of the towns on the cruise. I viewed hotels on the Princess line and found the ones on Celebrity nicer. I think Hal also goes to Hotel Alyeska. So I might consider that line also. This board really helped me last time plan our trip so I am grateful for all the suggestions.

[lovetotraveltx]

Annie I want to do the exact same tour in 2015 with my children. My husband and I did the 13 day cruise/tour in 2011 but now I want to take the whole family. One of the highlights that I loved was the Hotel Alyeska! It is so beautiful and I loved the tram. I am looking into prices and dates now. We did the long drive into Deneli and this time I feel my family will be much happier with the shorter one. It was a very long day on a school although we did see several bears it was still so very long. We also planned to skip the first stop we did into Fairbanks although we did enjoy it and panned for gold and did get to bring some gold home! I am hoping to find another place just as nice to pan for gold in one of the towns on the cruise. I viewed hotels on the Princess line and found the ones on Celebrity nicer. I think Hal also goes to Hotel Alyeska. So I might consider that line also. This board really helped me last time plan our trip so I am grateful for all the suggestions.

 

Do you remember what hotel Celebrity used in Denali?

 

thanks!

[zqvol]

Well, we finally booked Alaska! DH, myself, and my parents have booked 12 night Alaska 2015 on Celebrity Millennium - we have booked 2 of the sweet 16 rooms on the port side of the ship.

 

Itinerary as follows:

 

June 7 Anchorage Marriott

June 8 Rail AM - Anchorage to Talkeetna - night at Talkeetna Lodge

June 9 Motorcoach to Denali -night in Denali Hotel

June 10 Denali Natural History Tour & night in Denali Hotel

June 11 Motorcoach Denali to Anchorage and Anchorage to Alyeska -night in Hotel Alyeska

June 12 Board Celebrity Millenium in Seward

June 13 Cruising Hubbard Glacier

June 14 Juneau

June 15 Skagway

June 16 Icy Strait Point

June 17 Ketchikan

June 18 Cruising Inside Passage

June 19 Vancouver, BC

 

The problem is - I am totally overwhelmed researching Alaska!! I'm trying to make sure we make the best of the trip and do as many of the must-do things as possible. Whale watching somewhere and flight seeing in Denali are two things that top my list. Hiking is always fun. My parents prefer more low-key activities.

 

For all the experienced Alaska folks - what do I need to know?:o What should I add? What should I change? Eek!:eek:

 

I am different in my views than a lot of people, but what I don't really like about the land portion of your tour is the amount of time you are going to spend on buses. You can arrange the same basic tour on your own mixing buses and the train system. I know that many will tell you to avoid the train and rent a car, but we have found that we prefer the train.

 

Once we get to our destinations transportation has never been an issue. All of the tours pick up at the hotels. We also prefer the short trip into the park. We are just not up to spending 10 -12 hours sitting and bouncing on a school bus, for the possibility of seeing bears.

[mspmcpie]

Well.... I am at least considering planning the land portion myself now. Everyone seems to agree it's best and not everyone can be wrong! Lol.

Thanks all for the great advice and anymore will be appreciated as well. I'm planning to order Fodor's book and go from there.

 

 

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[Carol & Jim]

Make sure to read the Alaska forums on TripAdvisor, lots of good info there.

 

Grandma101, you can pan for gold at the Crow Creek Mine in Girdwood, fun place to visit.

[grandma101]

Well.... I am at least considering planning the land portion myself now. Everyone seems to agree it's best and not everyone can be wrong! Lol.

Thanks all for the great advice and anymore will be appreciated as well. I'm planning to order Fodor's book and go from there.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

 

Actually I do not agree to do the land tour on your own. I loved the idea of going as a group and no worries. I was quite happy with all I saw and did and with Celebrity I was especially very happy with the hotels/ beautiful lodges they took us to. We also met some wonderful people on our tour and felt our tour guide was especially helpful explaining so much to us about Alaska! We are going back and I would not want my family to miss out on the tour with a guide to completely enjoy it. Just be sure to pick the right tour. Sure you do probably save some money but......with our large group doing it on our own would be costly too we would have to rent a vehicle large enough for all of us and I would have to another vehicle just for all our luggage. On the cruise tour they take your cruise luggage on the first day and store it for you on a bus that follows you all around but they only bring your tour bag to you each night. You do not have to bother with your luggage to and fro each hotel. So to me I am definitely doing the tour with a company and probably with Celebrity again.

[grandma101]

Make sure to read the Alaska forums on TripAdvisor, lots of good info there.

 

Grandma101, you can pan for gold at the Crow Creek Mine in Girdwood, fun place to visit.

 

 

Carol thanks for your suggestion I did read that. Do you do it? And how much did it cost and thru who? And how did you get to Crow Creek Mine. Were you staying at Hotel Ayeska when you did it?

 

I also saw you can do it while on one of the stops on the cruise. So I will keep researching it. Thanks

[grandma101]

Do you remember what hotel Celebrity used in Denali?

 

thanks!

 

It was the Grande Denali Lodge. Huge Bear in the buffet area. Very clean and it was nice but actually the least nicest of the other three we stayed at.

 

The Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge was very beautiful! Huge fireplaces and huge windows to see Mt Mckinny and yes we did see it. We had perfect 2 weeks in Alaska (end of May-first week in June) No rain at all. We thought it might be raining in one of our stops on the cruise but turns out it was a window washer!

 

The last but not the least is the beautiful Hotel Alyeska! This hotel was top notch on everything. We actually did not eat there except for a snack because they had a free shuttle bus to take you to several restaurants in the town. We decided we would rather go out and explore a bit. We had a great time and stayed up talking to a couple of new friends we met and did not even realize it was almost 3am in the morning. Thank God they do put heavy drapes in all the bedrooms or I do not think we could of slept with all the daylight. So odd how long it stays daylight.

 

I so miss Alaska! I talked my husband into going again and taking our kids. So excited!

[lovetotraveltx]

It was the Grande Denali Lodge. Huge Bear in the buffet area. Very clean and it was nice but actually the least nicest of the other three we stayed at.

 

The Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge was very beautiful! Huge fireplaces and huge windows to see Mt Mckinny and yes we did see it. We had perfect 2 weeks in Alaska (end of May-first week in June) No rain at all. We thought it might be raining in one of our stops on the cruise but turns out it was a window washer!

 

The last but not the least is the beautiful Hotel Alyeska! This hotel was top notch on everything. We actually did not eat there except for a snack because they had a free shuttle bus to take you to several restaurants in the town. We decided we would rather go out and explore a bit. We had a great time and stayed up talking to a couple of new friends we met and did not even realize it was almost 3am in the morning. Thank God they do put heavy drapes in all the bedrooms or I do not think we could of slept with all the daylight. So odd how long it stays daylight.

 

I so miss Alaska! I talked my husband into going again and taking our kids. So excited!

 

You were a great help! Thank you!

 

One more cruisetour question. Were any meals included? Or were you on your own for everything/excursions and meals.

[Budget Queen]

You were a great help! Thank you!

 

One more cruisetour question. Were any meals included? Or were you on your own for everything/excursions and meals.

 

No meals are included, unless specifically mentioned. Budget 50% more than you would at home.