Land Tour Question

[siren]

We are doing the cruise portion on RCCL and 5day land tour with RCCL. I asked the TA about booking tours in the land portion and was told that we just book them when we get there. Everything I read says tours sell out fast. Anyone have any experience with booking tours on the land portion of a cruise/land package?

[Kamloops50]

We are doing the cruise portion on RCCL and 5day land tour with RCCL. I asked the TA about booking tours in the land portion and was told that we just book them when we get there. Everything I read says tours sell out fast. Anyone have any experience with booking tours on the land portion of a cruise/land package?

 

Your TA is partially right. Many of the most popular tours both on land and sea get sold very quickly. RCCL will probably hold some tours for booking on board. Land tours get booked quickly because you aren't the only land portion that use these operators. Some land tours in the Denali are restricted as to how many people can enter the park in a day.

Edited January 14, 2015 by Kamloops50

[donaldsc]

We are doing the cruise portion on RCCL and 5day land tour with RCCL. I asked the TA about booking tours in the land portion and was told that we just book them when we get there. Everything I read says tours sell out fast. Anyone have any experience with booking tours on the land portion of a cruise/land package?

 

If my TA gave me information like that, I would fire them immediately. You are trying to be proactive and your TA is being stupid and potentially making your cruise less enjoyable.

 

DON

[oaktreerb]

I have not traveled on RCCL but on HAL if you have a booking number you can go into the computer with your booking number and it will list the excursions that are available on your cruise tour and you CAN sign up for them pre cruise tour. On the land portion the tour director also helps you sign up for tours if you have not already booked them.

[rockdoctor]

If the excursion has anything to do with an airplane, a helicopter or a glacier, I book in advance. Otherwise you should be OK.

[travgurl]

We are going on our first trip to Alaska on a cruise tour with Holland next July. I have our excursions all booked. I have booked with private companies that I have chosen for our group of 10 after a lot of research at each port. I am confident that our excursions will be fantastic! Looking forward to our trip!

[4cats,1dog]

We were on 11 day RCCL cruise tour. See my blog - it has the itinery for the land portion. The land part is layed out with tour options. There are some things that are included like: Tram up Mt Alyeska, Denali Natural history tour. We opted for the Tundra Wilderness instead for a small upgrade fee. You give your guide a credit card for the extras. We did Flightseeing with glacier landing on Mt McKinley from Talkeetna.(pricey but worth it). Some people also did Husky Homestead. Some did a Jet Boat. They provide the transportation. There is not much time for other private tours unless you do at the end on your own.

You will have a fabulous time. They do the driving. The back of the bus is nice and quiet, but can get stinky from the bathroom(beware)

 

http://lclavette1.blogspot.com/search/label/VANCOUVER

[siren]

We were on 11 day RCCL cruise tour. See my blog - it has the itinery for the land portion. The land part is layed out with tour options. There are some things that are included like: Tram up Mt Alyeska, Denali Natural history tour. We opted for the Tundra Wilderness instead for a small upgrade fee. You give your guide a credit card for the extras. We did Flightseeing with glacier landing on Mt McKinley from Talkeetna.(pricey but worth it). Some people also did Husky Homestead. Some did a Jet Boat. They provide the transportation. There is not much time for other private tours unless you do at the end on your own.

You will have a fabulous time. They do the driving. The back of the bus is nice and quiet, but can get stinky from the bathroom(beware)

 

http://lclavette1.blogspot.com/search/label/VANCOUVER

 

How did you book the flightseeing in Talkeetna? Did you book while you were there or in advance, say online? This is the part I am not sure about, booking excursions on the land portion. BUT, thanks for the good tip about the back of the bus. Your pictures are awesome!!

[lovetotraveltx]

We go in June with Celebrity. If I want to upgrade to the Tundra Wildnerness and/or take Celebrity's land tours I cannot do it until I see my tour director in Anchorage. Apparently, this is common practice and everyone's tours are available.

 

Like you, I'm leery to book on my own as we don't know the timing of arrival at each land stop, no transport...

[4cats,1dog]

How did you book the flightseeing in Talkeetna? Did you book while you were there or in advance, say online? This is the part I am not sure about, booking excursions on the land portion. BUT, thanks for the good tip about the back of the bus. Your pictures are awesome!!

 

Thanks

Your tour guide will give you a list of optional tours when you meet. It has prices and descriptions. You can fill out what you want and they take care of everything. No booking, no worries. If the weather cancels your tour your guide will make sure you are not charged.

 

You will have free time in every city to explore and take pictures. The k2 people dropped us off in town for dinner and there is a shuttle until 7:00pm and a free taxi if you eat in town. Note: Denali brewing Company had good food but the hotel restaurant was a lot better.

Never did get to meet Mayor Stubbs ( yellow tabby cat is Mayor of Talkeetna)

Lynn

[siren]

Thanks

Your tour guide will give you a list of optional tours when you meet. It has prices and descriptions. You can fill out what you want and they take care of everything. No booking, no worries. If the weather cancels your tour your guide will make sure you are not charged.

 

You will have free time in every city to explore and take pictures. The k2 people dropped us off in town for dinner and there is a shuttle until 7:00pm and a free taxi if you eat in town. Note: Denali brewing Company had good food but the hotel restaurant was a lot better.

Never did get to meet Mayor Stubbs ( yellow tabby cat is Mayor of Talkeetna)

Lynn

 

ah ha! this is the answer I was looking for. so we book with ships tour guide when we are actually there. I was so afraid if I didn't do it on my own and in advance there wouldn't be any availability. thanks for the info. So that's one less thing to do/worry about! What a k2 person?

[4cats,1dog]

ah ha! this is the answer I was looking for. so we book with ships tour guide when we are actually there. I was so afraid if I didn't do it on my own and in advance there wouldn't be any availability. thanks for the info. So that's one less thing to do/worry about! What a k2 person?

 

Yes, there is no need to book land tours if you are on a cruise tour. Your guide will set everything up for you. K2 Aviation is the Flightseeing tour from Talkeetna to Mt McKinley. They pick you up and drop you off anywhere you want.

I'm sure you will have a fabulous time! This was a trip of a lifetime for us, cross off bucket list. We spent a lot of money, but we wanted to make sure that we did everything we wanted, just in case we don't get back there.

No regrets! Turned out to be the best vacation trip ever!

[Budget Queen]

One issue with booking everything through the cruise line is usually a higher cost.

 

IF you want flightseeing in Talkeetna- it is especially simple to book direct, since you are staying at the convenient Talkeetna Alaska Lodge. Another issue that I see, is people just book a flight. WITH not realizing there are several different options to consider. I am picky and choose exactly what McKinley flight I want with my preferred vendor.

[watertraveler]

We have been told that we will not be able to view the tours for the land tour until 90 days before departure. I have several questions, do they do that so you are pretty much limited to booking through the cruise company and will there be options still available at that late date if we wanted to book an excursion on our own?

 

Do most tour companies (on the land tours) keep their business strictly for the cruise lines?

[agabbymama]

We have been told that we will not be able to view the tours for the land tour until 90 days before departure. I have several questions, do they do that so you are pretty much limited to booking through the cruise company and will there be options still available at that late date if we wanted to book an excursion on our own?

 

Do most tour companies (on the land tours) keep their business strictly for the cruise lines?

 

Yes, some vendors do sign a contract and keep their business strictly for the cruise lines, but not all of them. If it is something you really really want to do, and it would ruin your trip if you didn't do it, I'd book well ahead. There are plenty of recommendations and reviews here on CC, tripadvisor, etc.

 

As others have posted, HAL always had tour openings when we arrived into the towns. They have their own tour desk and we asked about various excursions, but ended up being totally happy with the HAL trip without additional excursions. I did book one, Husky Homestead at Denali, as I wanted to meet Jeff King (4 time Iditarod Champ), but I booked that as soon as tours were available on the booking site, about 3 months before the trip.

 

I'm sure RCCL will offer excursions similar to what Princess and HAL do.

[Budget Queen]

We have been told that we will not be able to view the tours for the land tour until 90 days before departure. I have several questions, do they do that so you are pretty much limited to booking through the cruise company and will there be options still available at that late date if we wanted to book an excursion on our own?

 

Do most tour companies (on the land tours) keep their business strictly for the cruise lines?

 

If you are considering "booking on your own", then why aren't you doing so? Most any tour is going to be available independent with Princess not operating any of them. They are merely booking agents.

 

Not sure- if you are receptive to booking on your own, why the Princess release be important?

[watertraveler]

Eleanor ~ Thank you for your reply.

 

Budget Queen ~ We have booked several excursions on our own already but when it came to excursions during the land portion of the cruise tour, my husband found that fishing charters he contacted said they booked only through the cruise line. RCCL has told us we won't see those until 90 days before we go - We leave 6/13.

 

I have posted another thread to see if anyone can help with fishing charters. My husband is interested in a 1/2 day either in Hoonah or Talkeetna.

 

We'll just have to see what happens. I'm very excited about this trip and want to make sure we don't get locked out of something we both want to do.

[Budget Queen]

Eleanor ~ Thank you for your reply.

 

Budget Queen ~ We have booked several excursions on our own already but when it came to excursions during the land portion of the cruise tour, my husband found that fishing charters he contacted said they booked only through the cruise line. RCCL has told us we won't see those until 90 days before we go - We leave 6/13.

 

I have posted another thread to see if anyone can help with fishing charters. My husband is interested in a 1/2 day either in Hoonah or Talkeetna.

 

We'll just have to see what happens. I'm very excited about this trip and want to make sure we don't get locked out of something we both want to do.

 

There are several noncontracted fishing charters available in each area. First, I suggest you look over the Alaska Fish and Game site and see what fishing will be available.

[4cats,1dog]

RCCL doesn't lock you into their excursions only. The problem is not really knowing your arrival times. If you are arriving by train, then you can figure it out. DIY tours are a little cheaper, but you have to arrange transportation as well. Your Cruise Tour guide has a lot of options at each location, they take care of everything. It's nice leaving the booking, transportation and everything done for you. But if you want to go fishing, ask CC people that have done the same tour about arrival times. There was plenty of time to go fishing. Sun didn't go down until around midnight.