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Alaska without Denali


Jaylie
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We are thinking of taking an Alaskan cruise RT from Seattle in September 2017. We realize that selection doesn't offer a land tour. Several of our friends are telling us we are nuts not to fly into Alaska (or Vancouver) and do the Denali cruise tour before or after the cruise. I'd love to hear from cruisers out there who have gone to Alaska from Seattle and whether they've regretted their decision. Thanks!

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We are thinking of taking an Alaskan cruise RT from Seattle in September 2017. We realize that selection doesn't offer a land tour. Several of our friends are telling us we are nuts not to fly into Alaska (or Vancouver) and do the Denali cruise tour before or after the cruise. I'd love to hear from cruisers out there who have gone to Alaska from Seattle and whether they've regretted their decision. Thanks!

 

We did the land portion in 2005. We did not see Denali, although we took the wilderness tour. We had much more time available then. We are doing the RT from Seattle in May, since I can not take more than 7 days vacation at at time. If you do the round trip, make sure it includes Glacier Bay.

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We've sailed Alaska itineraries 8 times and never taken the land tours. We love the water experience and take every opportunity for wildlife excursions in port. Have our next B2B booked out of Vancouver in May - can't wait! Go with your own priorities, available time and have a great vacation!

Edited by LoriPhil
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Went to Denali one time. Took the tour on a school bus with no air conditioning,dust flying everywhere, and never saw any wildlife. One positive is I did see Mt. Denali. IMO I think Yellowstone is more scenic but I can say I've been there. There are other areas in Alaska which are more scenic. Just my opinion!!!!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

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We are thinking of taking an Alaskan cruise RT from Seattle in September 2017. We realize that selection doesn't offer a land tour. Several of our friends are telling us we are nuts not to fly into Alaska (or Vancouver) and do the Denali cruise tour before or after the cruise. I'd love to hear from cruisers out there who have gone to Alaska from Seattle and whether they've regretted their decision. Thanks!

 

You chose your cruise for your OWN reasons. Frankly- ok, I'm going to, again, be blunt, but sorry, it is the wrong thinking to worry about "other's" claims of must dos. In Alaska there are "must dos" that would place you there a YEAR and still you are missing something. I think it's a big mistake- to not make your own choices and plan the best you can with what YOUR ideas are.

 

I do a lot of round trip cruises, and enjoy every single one of them. :) IF you find you DO want to include Denali by all means- do so, with the MOST important factor being time, and going for as long as you can afford, it's even worse to be on a marathon road trip with no time at destinations- which happens frequently.

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Head to your library and check out Frommer's or Fodor's guide books. See what Alaska has to offer, the reason that you are going there.

 

I like to create a graph chart with the cruiselines/ships across the top then the things of importance to me (size of ship, ports, times in port, cabin, price, sights to see, etc) down the side. As you research put an "X" in the conjoining box. As you near the end of your research, one should have more X's.

 

Only you know if you would be bored on a bus or train ride. And not everyone gets to see Mt. McKinley (Denali), it likes to hide most of the time. As to the animals, it is not a zoo, so no guarantee you will see any wildlife.

 

My first trip to Alaska was a cruise only. When I booked, I wanted to go a couple of days early but my travel agent said Denali would not be accessible, so we just did the cruise. We loved the quaint village of Sitka and the surrounding woodlands. SOOOOO, fast forward 10 years later we returned to Alaska on a cruisetour that included the Yukon. We saw Denali from the train in all it's glory, then did the Tundra Wilderness Tour and saw lots of wildlife. We only cruised for 3 days then 8 days on land. It was an awesome trip!

 

Set YOUR priorities and do what best suits your needs. We can tell you what we did or make suggestions, but you have to ultimately decide what you want to do. Have fun planning then taking your trip to Alaska!

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I have done two roundtrips, and don't feel I have missed out. We did one from Seattle and one from Vancouver.

 

We are going up to Alaska in June and sailing southbound after visiting my sister in Anchorage. she is going to go exploring with us, and be our tour guide .

 

Remember, Alaska is so large it covers almost half of the lower 48, and seeing everything is not possible. Make a list of what you want to see, not what I want to see or even what budgetqueen wants to see, and choose the cruise which fits your priorities!

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We have chosen to do Alaska without Denali and we ARE doing a land tour after our cruise this June. As others have said there is just so much to see and do in Alaska you can't see it all no matter what. After reviewing our priorities we decided to spend more time in less places to cut down on our driving time and maximize our touring time, and I still feel like we might be cutting it short in a couple of areas spending 7 days on land without Denali - so - it really is about your priorities and what you want to see. I don't think we will regret our plans to skip Denali at all (but if/when we ever go back we will likely want to fit it in).

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We have chosen to do Alaska without Denali and we ARE doing a land tour after our cruise this June. As others have said there is just so much to see and do in Alaska you can't see it all no matter what. After reviewing our priorities we decided to spend more time in less places to cut down on our driving time and maximize our touring time, and I still feel like we might be cutting it short in a couple of areas spending 7 days on land without Denali - so - it really is about your priorities and what you want to see. I don't think we will regret our plans to skip Denali at all (but if/when we ever go back we will likely want to fit it in).

 

There are many posts from folks who make Denali their primary destination for a land tour. They head there directly from the ship, driving for 6 or 7 hours and by doing so have just missed dozens of opportunities along the way. Too many people plan a land tour around a Denali visit rather than including Denali into a well planned itinerary, if it can be included. It is many times an excellent place for wildlife viewing although the mountain itself is only visible ¼ of the time.

 

Depending on the details, you’ve got a good plan started.

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I think that anyone who goes to AK and just does a cruise without adding a land trip by that I mean a DIY land trip and not a CruiseTour is crazy. For example, on our last trip we drove to and from AK and spent 2 1/2 months in AK. Not for most people but best for us. However, that is just my opinion and I realize that other people will totally disagree w me.

 

My point is that you have to make your own decision based on your own interests, your own cost restraints, and your own time limitations. What I or anyone else feels is important has no relevance at all to what you feel is important. Go the library, view some videos and then make a decision that is best for you, not for me.

 

DON

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We are thinking of taking an Alaskan cruise RT from Seattle in September 2017. We realize that selection doesn't offer a land tour. Several of our friends are telling us we are nuts not to fly into Alaska (or Vancouver) and do the Denali cruise tour before or after the cruise. I'd love to hear from cruisers out there who have gone to Alaska from Seattle and whether they've regretted their decision. Thanks!

 

No regrets here. Previous was 7 nights round trip our of Vancouver (incl. Glacier Bay), next is 14 night round trip out of Seattle.

 

The trip after that one might include Denali... (That might also be our RV trip.)

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