Three Denali Options

[RBAlbany]

I will move this to Alaska thread if need be. Question is; what are three options that Princess has in Denali? The default one is "Morning Denali Natural History Tour". What are the other two options? Are there numbers so I can look them up, and possibly change now. Any opinions?

[TW6cruiser]

The Tundra Wilderness tour is an all day tour. We did that one it was wonderful. It goes much further into the park than the natural history tour. We were on a Princess connoisseur tour that included it. I have heard of other who have upgraded their half day tour to the full tour but you need to do that in advance as the all day tour gets sold out

 

 

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[TW6cruiser]

Also note that the princess lodges have their own web sites where there is more information than on the cruise site regarding excursions etc

 

 

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[TW6cruiser]

Also, for the all day tour, we ordered lunch boxes from the lodge the day before and picked them up the morning of the tour. The tour itself provides a small snack box but it would not have been enough food to get us thru the long day. We were there last summer so maybe something has changed but it is worth checking into.

 

 

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[rockdoctor]

Denali options are on the Princess Excursion web page. From experience, don't bother with the NHT. In fact don't use Princess at all and go to the DNP website and book the Eilson Shuttle from the Wilderness Access Center.

[Rocknie]

I agree with not wasting your time with the offered NWT. We opted for the Kantishna Experience.... it was incredible! Know that the time on the tour information pages says eleven hours; however, our tour lasted over fourteen hours... and it was worth every minute. The tour takes you to the very end of the Denali Trail. Our guide was excellent in pointing out wildlife and unusual locations always stopping when ask by passengers for photo opts! (I will tell you during hours thirteen and fourteen there were very few passengers requesting to stop😊!) It was the second best tour of our Alaska trip (landing on Ruth Glacier and walking around looking at the "Blue" ice and unique landscapes has been our all time favorite excursion)!

[geoherb]

If you're at the Denali Lodge for two nights, you have time to take one of the shuttles into the park and scuttle going on the Natural History Tour. If you are there just one night, you still might have enough time to go on the Tundra Wilderness Tour. My travel agent was able to upgrade us to this tour. I can't remember how much more it was than the Natural History Tour, but it was very much worth it. Our train did not arrive at the Denali station until around noon, and our tour left at 2, giving us enough time to take things to our room at the lodge and eat some sandwiches from a coffee shop at Glitter Gulch.

[azbirdmom]

Nice to hear about the Kantishna upgrade. We will probably try that one next time. In August we did the Tundra Wilderness tour and loved it. We went 62 miles into the park and I think the upgrade cost was roughly $65 per person paid upfront. Well worth it!

[dreaminofcruisin]

Book the Shuttle yourself through the NPS website:

http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/visiting-denali.htm

 

Go as far as Eielson Visitor Center for an awesome experience!

Also, much cheaper than the TWT ($34 /person in 2016 --- 2017 prices to be posted about 12/1).

 

Note that all buses in Denali are school buses not big tour buses regardless of whether you go on a tour or a shuttle. (Shuttle buses are green, tour buses are brown.)

 

For best potential wildlife viewing, try and take one of the earlier morning shuttles. You will need to be sure the time works out with the Princess shuttle from your hotel. Book it as early as possible as they do fill up.

 

You should be able to order a box lunch at your hotel the night before to bring along.

 

Here's a thread from Trip Advisor describing the experience, but note that the prices are from 2011. See post #13:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g143022-i1271-k4683221-o10-Wildlife_Viewing_in_Denali-Denali_National_Park_and_Preserve_Alaska.html

 

Have a wonderful trip! :)

[Nukesailor]

Another option for sandwiches is the Subway across the highway from the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. It's open 24 hours.

As I remember, when we did the Wilderness Tour, they picked us up at 5:30AM at the lodge.

Take some time to check out the Denali Visitor's Center. It's pretty good.

 

Art