pre cruise tour

[peanders]

We are booked on an inland tour through NCL prior to our cruise in Alaska. I was wondering if anyone had experience doing this type of tour. If so,how far in advance did you receive detailed information about the tour? For example, the names of hotels, times, meals that are included etc.

Thanks for any info!

[debnjoe1438]

We are booked on an inland tour through NCL prior to our cruise in Alaska. I was wondering if anyone had experience doing this type of tour. If so,how far in advance did you receive detailed information about the tour? For example, the names of hotels, times, meals that are included etc.

Thanks for any info!

 

I thought, once upon a time I saw a simlar question and answer. Did a search and didn't find it. :confused::( I'm hoping someone could answer your question. (I want to plan a cruisetour for 2015, so I'm interested :))

[biojeep]

I too have been trying to find reviews of NCL Alaska cruisetours & have had little success. There are only a few people who have responded in the past months. Hopefully more people will write reviews of the 2014 season trips.

[brisco549]

We are booked on an inland tour through NCL prior to our cruise in Alaska. I was wondering if anyone had experience doing this type of tour. If so,how far in advance did you receive detailed information about the tour? For example, the names of hotels, times, meals that are included etc.

Thanks for any info!

Hello, I believe you are referring to the NCL Alaska cruisetour so I offer some general info. Last year, my wife and I did the Denali/Fairbanks Explorer Cruisetour 12-Day Northbound and we did enjoy the tour. I can tell you that NCL works with a Company in Alaska who is handles the land portion for NCL. The company was Premier Alaska Tours and they actually owned the buses which were used. NCL will send you a brochure approx. 45-60 days before tour showing day by day itinerary but will offer only general info on hotels which they use. 30-days prior to tour, they send info on exact hotels you will stay at. That is when the Alaska Co. finalizes the reservations.

 

The Land portion has no meals included unless they have changed based on comments. Time is allowed for meals on your own. I know that last year I was looking for info for planning I did a lot of internet exploring. If you link to the following site there is general info on hotels used but the TA is not used:http://www.sevenseastravel.com/pdf/Alaska_Cruise_Tours_Brochure.pdf

 

Hope this helps!

[jimsig]

Thanks Brisco, I've been looking for something like that for our cruise tour this year to get a general idea. Going to share that link on our roll call page.

[biojeep]

Brisco were you very rushed on the tour? One of the things we are interested in finding out prior to booking is a timeframe. We do not want to be on the train or bus the whole time. Can you remember what extra excursions were available in each city? Any specifics would be appreciated. Thanks.

[brisco549]

Brisco were you very rushed on the tour? One of the things we are interested in finding out prior to booking is a timeframe. We do not want to be on the train or bus the whole time. Can you remember what extra excursions were available in each city? Any specifics would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi, I can only comment on the Denali/Fairbanks Explorer tour and we did the post cruise land portion. We did spend much time traveling. Remember, Alaska is a big state and we chose only the 12-day tour so time was limited. The ride from Whittier to Denali is about 5 hours. Along the way we stopped in Anchorage for tour and lunch and then stopped in the afternoon at a sled dog kennel. My wife & I enjoyed this stop but it was late when we arrived in Denali. The next day we did the 7 hour Tundra wilderness tour on a National Park school bus. The following day we did not leave Denali until 4:00 PM. There were extra things you could do in the morning such as river rafting. The train ride from Denali to Fairbanks takes about 4 hours. The last full day in Fairbanks the tour included activities that lasted until 4:00 PM.

 

There were many people on our roll call who were planning the land portion of their trip on their own. Some had more time to spend while others did not want to be involved with group activities. So to each his own. We did have a tour escort with us and she did have recommendations for other activities. We also had so little time and we wanted to get a flavor of Alaska but if you want to spend extra time you really can't because of the Group and schedule.