Alaska Cruisetour advice needed

[the2ofus]

We are considering a family trip next year. Six adults and two children, nine and eight years old. Can anyone offer advice as to which direction is preferred? (Southbound, with the land portion first and cruise last, or northbound finishing up in Denali or another land tour.)

 

If you had children of similar age with you on your cruisetour, which ports or shore excursions interested them the most?

[RuthC]

You do mean touring privately, don't you? I can't see children that age enjoying a HAL tour. :confused:

Anyway---to the question at hand:

I would recommend doing the land portion first then the cruise southbound. Land touring is very tiring---there's so much to see and do. Get exhausted then take the cruise portion to rest and recouperate.

Also, I think it's easier to get back to the Lower 48 from Vancouver than it is from the interior destinations.

[ocngypz]

You always want to do the land portion first, then cruise southbound.

 

Regarding the cruisetour itself, chose one with Double Denali. One night in Denali doesn't cut it. I would also try for more train than coach.

 

Your children are rather young for any cruisetour product. I would talk this over with your travel agent.

[calteacher]

We have cruised both directions, and have taken the land tour once with HAL and have done our own land tour one time. When cruising northbound, the land tour was at the end. When we cruised south, we did our own land tour before the cruise.

 

I know that nearly everyone suggests taking the land tour first and then cruising. The only problem with that is, IMHO, the northbound cruise is more exciting since the most spectacular scenery is at the northern end--in other words, every day just keeps getting better. When cruising south, the most spectacular scenery is at the beginning of the trip. Just my reaction, and one that I know is not the one normally suggested.

[wander]

Ideally I would prefer to tour first and then cruise. However, I much prefer the northbound cruise as the best scenery is at the end.

 

In August there were two children, about 8 and 10, on our land tour and they seemed to do just fine. They were always well behaved and very excited about many aspects of the trip and tours. Now I am sure that their folks brought an extra suitcase just for stuff the keep them occupied on the train trip, but they were right there looking at interesting things as we passed through.

 

I also agree with the double Denali - well worth the extra night, IMO.

[Budget Queen]

Extremely few kids are on cruisetours and rarely are kids interested in scenery and wildlife is not like the zoo. This is a very very costly way to go. Superior would be to consider independent travel for the interior portion. Having your own schedule and the ability to stop when and where you wish is a big bonus.

 

I disagree to always go southbound. NEVER are my interior trips "hectic" nor on the go. Big difference is I budget enough time and go with good planning. AND the scenery northbound doesn't always get "better", if your ship doesn't go to College Fjords- it will be open ocean with no scenery stright across the gulf. A big mistake to also miss Seward if that is your port, most people just pass though missing an excellent touring opportunity.

 

Do your homework, if possible, factor out independent travel. Plenty of help on the Alaska board, if needed.

[rhsjr]

First, northbound is cheaper as more want the SB. We are going to go NB, but what about the land meal options. Are they worth it or should we find our own resturants?

[obriendan]

When we took the cruise tour several years ago, we took the meal plan. It was definitely a mistake. It was overpriced and we would have saved money by doing it on our own. As far as choice is concerned, at the remote stops (Whitehorse, Dawson City, and Tok) the best choice was the hotel. At the other stops (Skagway, Fairbanks, and Anchorage) it would have been and advantage to have a choice.

[Tricia724]

I vote for tour first then southbound cruise. I like to get the longest leg of the trip over first by flying to Anchorage. Since you are in Ohio, you have close to the same amount of travel time we have in PA. If you cruise first and tour last, you have to fly out of Anchorage and many times they are overnight flights and by the end of your land tour, you will be tired. Also, I'm not sure how much difference the scenery thing makes. You're going to see a lot of spectacular scenery...be it first, last, or in between. It may be exciting to see the scenery getting better and better, but it's also pretty exciting to head to Denali Park and have a moose walk out in front of your bus or see a grizzly bear and three cubs romping in the tundra.

 

I think one of the posters made a valid point about the NB cruise being less expensive than the SB, and in that case it might be a more attractive option since you have 8 people. But there are also differences in port times on the different sailings, and you will want to check out the cruiseline schedules to see where they stop and how long you have in port.

 

I agree with Budget Queen...hop on over to the Alaska board. I think you'll find this topic discussed in great detail, as well as a lot of other things you probably haven't even thought of yet.