Which Cruisetour for Alaska?

[RRFPresident]

We have chosen the Alaska cruisetour for our next cruise! We are looking at August 2015 dates on the Grand. There's Option A - 6 day tour w/ extra time in McKinley. Option B - 8 day tour w/ an extra day in Kenai. Option C - 7 day tour that is just like option B except you don't get the 2nd full day in Kenai.

 

Looking for any advice on which tour is better. Thanks!

[Kamloops50]

We have chosen the Alaska cruisetour for our next cruise! We are looking at August 2015 dates on the Grand. There's Option A - 6 day tour w/ extra time in McKinley. Option B - 8 day tour w/ an extra day in Kenai. Option C - 7 day tour that is just like option B except you don't get the 2nd full day in Kenai.

 

Looking for any advice on which tour is better. Thanks!

 

I would suggest Option B . Also take the land tour before the cruise . That way you can relax after the land tour and be pampered on board.

[Loonbeam]

Longest you can budget. If you had to pick extra time in Kenai VERSUS McKinley, then probably Kenai in my book. So B,C,A in my book.

 

 

We have chosen the Alaska cruisetour for our next cruise! We are looking at August 2015 dates on the Grand. There's Option A - 6 day tour w/ extra time in McKinley. Option B - 8 day tour w/ an extra day in Kenai. Option C - 7 day tour that is just like option B except you don't get the 2nd full day in Kenai.

 

Looking for any advice on which tour is better. Thanks!

[LeeW]

The McKinley Lodge is around 30 minutes by bus west of Talkeetna with nothing else around it. The only thing there (besides expensive food) is the view of the mountain. Or, if foggy, view of fog bank. Does have good viewing of northern lights if they are out since there are no other light sources around. There are certainly a number of tours out of Talkeetna, but lodge is really out in the middle of nowhere and it is a long trip back to take these. Personally I wouldn't recommend even one night at McKinley, but if you want to fly into a glacier camp or take a flightseeing trip you would need two nights there.

 

Look up the Princess lodges on the internet and decide if you want to spend time at each based on what is available there. For example, you MUST spend two nights at the Denali lodge if you want to take the Tundra Wilderness Tour (8-9 hour bus trip into the park). The short Natural History Tour just goes to the end of the public-accessible road and doesn't get into bear territory or have a good view of the mountain.

 

The other main variable in the Princess land tours is how you move from one place to another (takes a day regardless of method). So each move will eat a day but train costs more. We did enjoy the train, but buses are slightly faster.

 

Realistically it doesn't matter which trip you take - it will be a great experience and you will come back for another.