alaska land and sea budget

[mikesusan]

Looking at a land and sea cruise i understand that food on the land is not covered. What should you budget for food ect on land?

[sunsetbeachgal]

The food in the lodges is expensive, as im sure you have gathered by reading these boards. It is also expensive on the train. There are really no other options other than at Denai there are some restaurants and sandwich shops within a walk.

 

I have no idea how much you eat and drink, or whether you eat three full meals a day and for instance whether you have appetizer and dessert with dinner (we can get by on two meals with a snack midday) but I would estimate maybe in the range of $125 to $150 or more per day for two people.

Edited October 12, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[Pam in CA]

There are some workarounds but the Princess lodges are generally located miles from anything else so you don't have a lot of options other than eating at the lodges.

 

As said, food is very expensive and unless you skip a meal, I agree with sunsetbeachgal's estimate which could even be low for two people.

[nukesubsailor]

Looking at a land and sea cruise i understand that food on the land is not covered. What should you budget for food ect on land?

 

We did a cruise/tour in July of this year. I would budget $85 - $100 per person per day if you want to eat 3 full meals with drinks each day. If you book an escorted connoisseur land tour, many but not all of your meals will be included. They will give you vouchers to use for meals at the lodges. If you want to get the most out of an Alaskan cruise tour, I would recommend this tour. The escort that travels with you makes the trip much more worthwhile. Especially if that escort is Jack Curtiss.

[redtogo]

Years ago, the breakfast buffet was $16 per person. A tad expensive to me.

 

The lodge that had the restaurants across the street gave a choice, but those were also expensive. One place had hotdogs. Another larger place had plated meals, but as I said $$$. But, look at it this way, it's a trip of a lifetime...splurge a little. You will only be there a few days.

 

Google "Denali Restaurants" - you will see a list. Some have limited seating. Some aren't very clean. Some are very expensive.

Edited October 13, 2014 by redtogo

[Sea Hag]

There's a Subway across the main highway from the Denali Lodge. At Denali, you can also choose to eat at the pizza place for a less expensive meal. If you have lunch in the park at Denali, they have some reindeer stew (or did have when we were there) that's tasty and not all that hard on the budget.

 

If you go to Copper River, you can eat in the coffee shop in the lodge instead of the main dining room. Again, this is less expensive. I'm certain that we didn't spend nearly as much as the amount listed per day earlier in the thread.

[caribill]

My report at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1727858 includes several examples of food pricing from two years ago.

[geoherb]

The lodges have sample menus on their websites. Here's the link to the Denali Princess Lodge: http://www.princesslodges.com/denali-lodge.cfm

 

I economized on our cruise tour by taking breakfast foods--granola bars, dried fruits, etc. We ate in the less expensive restaurants at the lodges.