Difference between Alaska Cruisetour "ON YOUR OWN" and regular cruisetour?

[buzymom3]

Hi!! We are planning on taking the Star Princess on August 1, 2017. We are doing the cruise tour first and the cruise after. This is Alaska.

 

I just noticed that when I booked the package I booked the 'On Your Own' instead of DB4. We are booking a mini-suite - (it was only $300 more over a balcony and we were able to get the new promotion for the Premium Beverage Package.)

 

What am I losing by booking On Your Own?? The difference in cost is $800 for the two of us. That's quite a few shore excursions, but I don't want to miss anything either.

 

We are really excited about this vacation and it is a ton of money so I don't want to mess this up. HELP!

[cherylandtk]

As the name says, you are on your own for the tours during the day. Princess will provide lodging and transportation, but you will need to book your own excursions. Yes, you have those options on the website, but do choose them early so as not to be disappointed if they are sold out.

[buzymom3]

What tours would we miss? I can only find the Denali tour and we would upgrade that anyway. Do we miss out on any transportation?

I used the chat feature on the Priincess website and they were unable to tell me the differences...

 

We are two couples and I am the one in charge of booking everything...

[cherylandtk]

What tour did you book in place of DB4? If it is DBX then you are correct, the only thing different is the inclusion of the Denali Natural History Tour (@$99 through Princess) or you can upgrade to the Tundra tour or the Kantishna.

[buzymom3]

If that is the only difference than I am saving $800 :eek: by doing DBX (on your own) vs DB4. THAT IS CRAZY! Exact same cabin ... same ship ...

 

I just want to be sure that all of our transportation is included and I really don't trust calling Princess...but I may just to be sure.

[Cruisen Elf]

I found this on the Princess website: http://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/cruisetour-options/

 

While it doesn't spell out everything, it may be helpful. It looks like the main difference is that the tours are not included, but I would check with Princess to confirm. We are leaving soon for Alaska on our first Princess cruisetour, and it is a challenge to find the information and figure it all out! Good luck!

[LeeW]

In our two trips, there weren't many tours included, so you may be better arranging your own. We had the Natural History Tour (which we had our TA upgrade to Tundra Wilderness twice), and a paddle wheel tour in Fairbanks (which you can book on your own). If you want to use Princess tours, just contact the lodges tour desk directly.

 

The only problem with touring on your own may be making sure the tours don't interfere with the Princess transportation schedule. This is critical for the Tundra Wilderness tour - takes 8-10 hours. You need two nights at Denali to take this because trains and buses leave mid-day on your departure day.

[RBAlbany]

We are going next year. We booked Denali package over on your own. If I read things correctly a big difference is travel from Denali to Whittier. The Denali package is by train. On your own is by motor-coach. Did I read that correctly?

[Frequent Floater]

Planning my small group of family for Alaska in 2018. Have cruised AK twice but never did Denali. We like to be active and thinking the 3 day is good enough if we upgrade to the Tundra tour in Denali even if rushed a bit. For anyone that has done 3 or 4 days opinions please. We are looking at Aug. on Golden but the other smaller ships are in consideration so opinions of that as well are appreciated.

We are picky about our cabin preference being on deck 10 Caribe aft.

[caribill]

As far as budgeting, please remember that unless you are on a Connoisseur tour, no meals are included in your land package.

[azbirdmom]

We are going next year. We booked Denali package over on your own. If I read things correctly a big difference is travel from Denali to Whittier. The Denali package is by train. On your own is by motor-coach. Did I read that correctly?

 

Yes you did. I researched the differences last year between DB4 and on your own last year. The two discernible differences are the included Natural History tour and the train from Denali to Whittier. As the train was something we wanted to do, we opted for DB4.