Please help info on the 12 day Denali-Alyeska Explore Land/Sea Tour Alaska NCL Sun

[luv2gonow]

Hi,

I just booked this tour

r.https://www.ncl.com/cruises/12-day-denali-alyeska-explorer---southbound-cruisetour-SBDENALIALYESK2SUN7SWDICYJNUSGYKTNVAN?cruiseTour=1&autoPopulate=f&destinations=4294961386&cruiseHotel=1&numberOfGuests=4294953449&pageSize=10&ships=4294960761&cruise=1&sortBy=Featured&from=resultPage&state=null&sailmonths=4294953376&currentPage=2&cruiseHotelAir=1&itineraryCode=SBDENALIALYESK2SUN7SWDICYJNUSGYKTNVAN

 

 

Hope link shows.

I do like Northbound cruise better but for work I have to do Southbound.

 

Has anyone done this. I was surprised seemed very pricey. More expensive than my Epic Land Sea in Italy and that was for 14 days and breakfast every day included as well as some dinners etc.

 

I booked this with the $50 deposit. Is this refundable if I do cancel?

I am interested if anyone knows the hotels they use?

Does it matter what side of train you sit on?

I booked a balcony and an outside cabin. I was very surprised to see that many OV gone already on Port side. This is for a July 2018 trip. Guess I am not the only crazy booker more than a year ahead LOL.

 

Any info on this itinerary....sound great would love to hear 1st hand info. Also what types of excursions are avail hotels.

Thanks

Kerri

[skierjj]

Yes I cruised this itinerary with Aleyeska cruisetour in may/June 2015, and was thrilled by the experience.

Yes it was expensive, we had about a year to plan and added four more days DIY on the Kenai peninsula. So worth it.

The NCL cruisetour gives very sketchy info on their website. We just had to trust that it wasn't too "touristy". From the moment we were gathered together from our ship after the cruise (northbound on the Sun), the company...I think it was Premier Alaska, took excellent care of us and our baggage. We had a great driver and a great guide.

First they take you to the wildlife conservation center, this is where they rehabilitate animals from the area; it's a great way to get up close and personal with the wildlife. And learn about creatures that you will see in the next few days.

More in next post:

[skierjj]

Next was our first night at the Hotel Alyeska. It is the best hotel in all of Alaska. Dinner is on your own.

Rooms were beautiful with heated towel racks, wonderful beds. Included in your stay are 2 passes up to the top of the gondola.

We booked a dinner (very far in advance) at the very small restaurant at the top of the gondola, that only has about 6 tables at the 5 star Seven Glaciers restaurant. If you like fine dining and an unbelievable wine list, go there. The views are killer and we had one of the best overall dining experiences of our lives. The clouds were so pretty they made you cry, (I think it was the Roccioli wine kicking in):')

If you don't want dinner but just a drink, the bar is also really beautiful.

Don't miss the indoor pool and huge jacuzzi with a view.

[skierjj]

The next day they request that your bags be set out in front of your rooms. They whisked away your luggage ( kind of cool), we boarded our very nice bus. They give you info on excursion add ons to your trip in Denali. We didn't add on any extras.

We saw several moose on our way up to the sled dog site. I was not looking forward to the sled dog thing, but it turned out to be one of our favorite excursions. The ididorod champion, Martin Ruser and his wife and son train the dogs for the grueling race. They have 90 dogs, 45 were off training at summer camp. The dogs are unbelievable athletes. Giving these demonstrations are how the family raises money in the summer for the race.

So interesting, I bought his book!

Next we were on our way to Denali. I chose this cruisetour because of the longer trip into Denali

[luv2gonow]

Next was our first night at the Hotel Alyeska. It is the best hotel in all of Alaska. Dinner is on your own.

Rooms were beautiful with heated towel racks, wonderful beds. Included in your stay are 2 passes up to the top of the gondola.

We booked a dinner (very far in advance) at the very small restaurant at the top of the gondola, that only has about 6 tables at the 5 star Seven Glaciers restaurant. If you like fine dining and an unbelievable wine list, go there. The views are killer and we had one of the best overall dining experiences of our lives. The clouds were so pretty they made you cry, (I think it was the Roccioli wine kicking in):')

If you don't want dinner but just a drink, the bar is also really beautiful.

Don't miss the indoor pool and huge jacuzzi with a view.

 

OMG!! Thanks so much for this info!!!

I am so happy to hear this. That hotel looks AMAZING and was the deciding factor on not doing the tour from Fairbanks.

What hotel did you stay in Denali?

Did they have lots of excursions from there?

I know they visit the dog mush kennel. Did that visit seem enough or did you want to go back and do a dog sled ride? A shore excursion does that on some ports.

Did you do ship excursions?

Thanks:-)

Kerri

[luv2gonow]

I see you are still writing thankyou so much!! Restaurant sounds amazing!!! Bar visit at very least.

Loving all your info:-)

[skierjj]

Here are some crappy photos of the gondola ride:

(The better pictures are with Mike's camera on our lap top).

 

 

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[skierjj]

We stayed at a cute and rustic sort of log cabin motel type accommodations in Denali, very nice. Cute cabin feel. We stayed here 2 nights.

We had free time that afternoon and evening. It rained, dinner on your own, nice large restaurant at the site, crowded, but good. We sat by the fire afterwords getting to know people, the sun stays out very late. Before we got to Denali, the bus driver let us buy groceries, snacks beer and wine at a store.

There is a little river on the property.

Next morning we were up early for our 8 hour adventure. National Park service is your tour operator at this point. So it is an old school bus with cushioned seats. They give you a snack for lunch,which for me was filling and fine for me. There is a naturalist/ guide who is also the spotter/ driver camera woman/ storyteller. She was great!

 

 

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[skierjj]

So they have archaic video equipment on the bus circa 1984. I hope they have updated it by now, anyway she was able to get all of the animals up on video monitors. We Saw The Big Five! We were very lucky to be able to see brown (grizzly) bears, Dahl sheep, caribou, moose and a wolf!

Unfortunately, we did not get a sighting of The great mountain Denali.

The day seemed to speed along and there was always something to see. Ptarmigan, eagles and other birds and wildlife.

Loved it!

Back to our cabin/ room for the night.

 

 

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[skierjj]

Next day bags out.

Train ride day! OMG best train ride ever for me! (Not much experience here admittedly). So we were on the Alaskan railway in one of their best observation cars: observation dome on top with full bar. Woo hoo! Dining car on bottom with great food. Lots of trees bridges, more moose. We stopped in Talkeetna and changed back to our bus I think. We were a little hammered by then! Or we took train all the way into Anchorage, it was almost two years ago. I bought the little guide book for the ride.

Next we were put up in the Sheraton, nice hotel. But nothing unusual, dinner on our own. I think I wanted to go to Humpys for dinner but we were too tired and full.

 

 

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[skierjj]

More train photos:

 

 

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[skierjj]

Next day time to go to airport: most people flew home we rented a car for 4 more days: time to visit Kenai peninsula.

 

 

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[skierjj]

The drive fro Anchorage to Kenei river area is really beautiful! There are many cabins for rent along the river, but we were early in the season; the salmon run hadn't started yet.

The next day we fished out in the Cook Inlet for 1/2 day halibut/ 1/2 day King salmon. Fun time but exhausting!

 

 

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[skierjj]

We were allowed to keep a total of 4 of the fish we caught. One above 27 inches and one below. Mike caught about 7 halibut, some he gave to other fishermen on the boat, some were too small. I caught 2 halibut. Only 1 nice fat King salmon was caught that afternoon. They took us to the cleaning and packing area. We had our fish shipped to us when we arrived back home. Fresh (ok flash frozen), Alaska halibut is like nothing you've ever tasted!

 

 

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[skierjj]

Next day we went to Seward for the Kenai fjords national park tour.

2 outfits run this tour: Major Marine and Kenai Fjords tours (I think is the name).

We chose Kenai Fjords tours.

They have several trips, lengths and types of boats.

We chose the large Catamaran about 8 hours long with salmon and prime rib dinner on Fox island.

This is where we saw more wildlife than anywhere in Alaska.

We saw otters in the first few minutes, whales, mountain goats, harbor seals, puffins, eagles, dolphins that looked like miniature orcas!

We saw beautiful glaciers, cliffs, inlets waterfalls, it was all just magical!

Bring your best binoculars.

Then they drop you off for dinner. Yummy

A ranger comes by and gives a talk and a movie. He talks about the history and natural history of Alaska and you discover how close Russia could have been to us if not for Seward's purchase. Never thought of it that way before.

 

 

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[skierjj]

That night we were going to stay at Holiday inn in Seward. We called to see if they had a room at Alyeska. They did, hooray! One more trip to indoor pool and a ride up the gondola with Mike. And one more ride for me up the gondola in the morning, Mike didn't want to go with me.

I had a really big nice surprise in the morning while waiting for the gondola eating my oatmeal.

The closest I ever got to a 1000lb mammal. We were safe because we were up on the gondola platform. Great end to our Amazing Alaska trip. We drove to the airport that afternoon.

 

 

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[skierjj]

OMG!! Thanks so much for this info!!!

I am so happy to hear this. That hotel looks AMAZING and was the deciding factor on not doing the tour from Fairbanks.

What hotel did you stay in Denali?

Did they have lots of excursions from there?

I know they visit the dog mush kennel. Did that visit seem enough or did you want to go back and do a dog sled ride? A shore excursion does that on some ports.

Did you do ship excursions?

Thanks:-)

Kerri

 

 

Story I don't remember name. They had little kitchenette.

Yes many options for excursions at Denali.

No we did not do sled dog excursion. There are many options for this in Juneau.

Yes we did many ship excursions. That part of trip was equally fun!

Ketchikan: private tour Misty fjords national monument tour by Island wings.

Juneau: Taku glacier lodge flight over Juneau ice fields and salmon lunch through ncl.

Skagway: private excursion toGlacier wilderness Safari to the Davidson glacier. You can also book this one through Ncl but it will cost you $50 more.

 

 

 

 

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[skierjj]

I never did do a review, I wonder if it's too late?

 

 

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[skierjj]

So the four day part to the Kenai peninsula was our own add on after the cruisetour. It was spectacular, the whole trip was spectacular, we paid for it little by little, each time I booked an excursion I paid all or half up front so we weren't up against such a big bill at the end.

You will be doing this trip in reverse, keep in mind.

We had 2 days in Vancouver prior to the trip that was awesome as well. We went to capitilano suspension bridge. We also went to Granville island.

 

 

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[luv2gonow]

Story I don't remember name. They had little kitchenette.

Yes many options for excursions at Denali.

No we did not do sled dog excursion. There are many options for this in Juneau.

Yes we did many ship excursions. That part of trip was equally fun!

Ketchikan: private tour Misty fjords national monument tour by Island wings.

Juneau: Taku glacier lodge flight over Juneau ice fields and salmon lunch through ncl.

Skagway: private excursion toGlacier wilderness Safari to the Davidson glacier. You can also book this one through Ncl but it will cost you $50 more.

 

 

Thankyou so much for this amazing review. I love these boards. Your pics are amazing! I wish I could extend my trip more to include Kenai peninsula.

WAs the misty fjords tour equally as scenic as Kenai? If I arrive one day earlier to hotel in anchorage, How far is that National park tour? Do they pick up at hotel?

 

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Never too late for report this is one now:-). Where is this?

I never did do a review, I wonder if it's too late?

 

 

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Edited April 2, 2017 by luv2gonow

[skierjj]

Never too late for report this is one now:-). Where is this?

This glacier is the Davidson glacier near Haines, Alaska. This was part of the glacier wilderness Safari out of Skagway. Is this your first time to Alaska? Most people do the whitepass train trip in Skagway the first time. We had done that already so we wanted to do something off the beaten path, this was definitely off the beaten path. There is a ferry ride first out to an island, than you take canoes out to the base of the glacier.

Kenai peninsula:

Yes you could do the trip from Anchorage to Seward. You'd have to catch a very early train or rent a car. It's not really feasible though, you'd have to drive back to Anchorage that night to start your cruisetour. It's quite a long drive around the Cook Inlet. I think you would need an extra day.

Ketchikan: Misty Fjords national monument:

This was a very cool flight in an old classic plane. Beautiful scenery from air, our pilot set the plane down in one of the beautiful fjords. No wildlife there, but many eagles are visible in the town and flying over the area to get to Misty fjords.

I enjoyed this excursion but it did not compare with our experience at Kenai Fjords National Park by any stretch.

Actually if my trip was in July (during the salmon run) you may want to try to book a bear tour out of Ketchikan through Island Wings, (check out the website), very difficult to get tickets for this trip called Anon creek, also very expensive, but someday I'd like to do that one.:)

 

Alaska has a way of pulling you back, so this may not be your only trip to the 49th state.

Hope you can make your decision on your itinerary.

Good luck.

[luv2gonow]

This glacier is the Davidson glacier near Haines, Alaska. This was part of the glacier wilderness Safari out of Skagway. Is this your first time to Alaska? Most people do the whitepass train trip in Skagway the first time. We had done that already so we wanted to do something off the beaten path, this was definitely off the beaten path. There is a ferry ride first out to an island, than you take canoes out to the base of the glacier.

Kenai peninsula:

Yes you could do the trip from Anchorage to Seward. You'd have to catch a very early train or rent a car. It's not really feasible though, you'd have to drive back to Anchorage that night to start your cruisetour. It's quite a long drive around the Cook Inlet. I think you would need an extra day.

Ketchikan: Misty Fjords national monument:

This was a very cool flight in an old classic plane. Beautiful scenery from air, our pilot set the plane down in one of the beautiful fjords. No wildlife there, but many eagles are visible in the town and flying over the area to get to Misty fjords.

I enjoyed this excursion but it did not compare with our experience at Kenai Fjords National Park by any stretch.

Actually if my trip was in July (during the salmon run) you may want to try to book a bear tour out of Ketchikan through Island Wings, (check out the website), very difficult to get tickets for this trip called Anon creek, also very expensive, but someday I'd like to do that one.:)

 

Alaska has a way of pulling you back, so this may not be your only trip to the 49th state.

Hope you can make your decision on your itinerary.

Good luck.

 

Your info and pics have been priceless thank you soooo much.

Yes this will be our 1st trip to Alaska. That off the beat excursion sounds amazing. We will be with my mom so we will do the White pass train, definitely no kayaking lol. Is this train ride similar to the one on the land portion of tour?

Cruise departs 7/30 so hopefully we are not too late to see the salmon run.

 

Funny we are going to Hawaii for the 1st time this summer and I want to do a helicopter tour but I am a little scared lets say of small planes especially helicopter.

I always said I have to do this in Alaska. Ahem.....you mentioned Classic Old plane....How many seats is this. Have you ridden a helicopter? Does the plane "feel safer".:o

Thanks

Kerri

[skierjj]

Hi yes we have been on the big island helicopter tour in Hawaii, up to the top of moana loa (spelling?) volcano and over to Hilo for the waterfalls, over the ranch lands, volcano national park: it was spectacular and not scary at all, very smooth ride. They give you headphones so you can hear the helicopter pilot/guide. Well worth it. It was our 25th wedding anniversary trip.stayed at Hilton waikoloa. We are now married close to 39 years!

I took a picture of our plane picture that is on our wall. Pardon the glass reflection just so you can see the plane. It seated around 5 or 6 I think.

 

 

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[luv2gonow]

Hi yes we have been on the big island helicopter tour in Hawaii, up to the top of moana loa (spelling?) volcano and over to Hilo for the waterfalls, over the ranch lands, volcano national park: it was spectacular and not scary at all, very smooth ride. They give you headphones so you can hear the helicopter pilot/guide. Well worth it. It was our 25th wedding anniversary trip.stayed at Hilton waikoloa. We are now married close to 39 years!

I took a picture of our plane picture that is on our wall. Pardon the glass reflection just so you can see the plane. It seated around 5 or 6 I think.

 

 

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Wow thanks for that pic!!

I might have to put my big girl pants on and just do it!!

 

I can't thank you enough for all of the time you spent giving me this priceless information.

Thanks so much!:D