What's thge difference between the Alaska cruise tour and the Connoisseur cuise tour?

[ILoveStThomas]

Looking to book a cruise tour to Alaska for next June.Confused to what is better, just a cruise tour and a connoisseur cruise tour? I know some food is included but is it worth the extra money!! Want to do 13 or 14 days ,so which cruise tour would be best to pick.Want to see as much as possible in alaska!

[DRPWDunIL]

Absolutely worth it in our opinion. My parents did a connoisseur tour in 2012 and they are on the cruise part of another one right now. Having a dedicated guide, having most meals included, having a relatively small group (50) that you get to know well during the tour. Having essentially a concierge with you at all times who you can contact 24 hours per day. Our guide said that we were considered to be the top 2% of Princess Cruisers and should expect to be treated that way. In addition, many land tours were included in the price including the upgraded Tundra Wilderness Tour at Denali. We felt we MORE than got our money's worth for the price difference. World travelers, including my parents, said that the Princess guides were the best they had had on any trip anywhere in the world. You can tell that I am a big fan.

[DRPWDunIL]

If you have the money do the tour that is 2 nights in Fairbanks, 2 nights at Denali, 2 nights and Mt. McKinley, and 2 nights on the Kenai Peninsula. You really see a lot of Alaska and have a wide variety of experiences. I recommend land tour first, cruise second.

[Thrak]

We did the connoisseur tour and loved it. If you are interested I would suggest checking out THIS THREAD by caribill which has lots of good info.

[ILoveStThomas]

Thank You all for your advice and input.Princess Connoisseur cruise tour it is! :)

We are going to do the land tour first then the cruise.Just trying which ship to take

:P

[reedprincess]

Thank You all for your advice and input.Princess Connoisseur cruise tour it is! :)

We are going to do the land tour first then the cruise.Just trying which ship to take

:P

To throw another opinion in there - we did Off The Beaten Path cruisetour with Princess and we're extremely satisfied with our experience, and extremely happy we weren't tied to the lodge restaurants. We enjoyed eating local in McKinley/Talkeetna, Denali (lots of options right across the road), and only ate Lodge meals at Copper River as the town's "limo" for the restaurant was out of commission, and the lodge shuttle came back at 2pm.. The menus at the lodges are repetitive and we were quite happy to try local spots and different foods and flavors.

And we saved a fortune over what the connoisseur tour would have cost. We didn't find the food or drinks any more expensive in Alaska than we do in any large city in USA.

We had s guide with us along the entire way, had some great rooms in the lodges, wondeful personable drivers, Luggage handled expertly, etc. It was great. If we did it again, we would absolute do it the same way. We loved the freedom and flexibility it offered and the big money savings...

[azbirdmom]

We've done the non-Connoisseur Denali Explorer tours the last two years and loved it. Both times we did the tour first and both times we upgraded to TWT vs. the included Natural History tour at Denali. We did end up eating most of our meals on property as the food is so good and we did find enough variety between the Denali and McKinley lodges to satisfy us. The Denali Explorer tours include the train from Denali to Whittier whereas the on your own would be via bus so that's another plus for not doing on your own versions. They will also move your luggage around regardless. Princess does it right in Alaska so it's just a matter of what your interests are.

[azbirdmom]

I took some pictures of the menus two weeks ago for friends who are going in August. The first three are from the Princess McKinley Lodge and the final three are from the Princess Denali Lodge. The Denali Lodge also has a breakfast buffet available. This should give you an idea of pricing if you're comparing Connoisseur to the non-Connoisseur options.

 

Base Camp Bar May 2017 Menu - McKinley Lodge

 

 

 

20320 Restaurant May 2017 Menu - McKinley Lodge

 

North Fork Restaurant May 2017 Menu - McKinley Lodge

 

Grizzly Bar and Grill Menu May 2017 - Denali Lodge

 

 

King Salmon Lunch Menu May 2017 - Denali Lodge

 

 

King Salmon Dinner Menu May 2017 - Denali Lodge

[reedprincess]

FWIW - all the menus from all the restauranrs at all the lodges are available at the Princess Lodges website. So you can see for yourself the hotel pricing, options, variety...

[txwriter]

I am interested in this as well. We are booked on the non-connoisseur tour that includes the Kenai Lodge next year and are considering an upgrade to connoisseur.

 

My question is regarding the tour director. I know the connoisseur tour has one that stays with you. I have heard and read some reports that indicate the non-connoisseur tours also have a tour guide on board the bus with them though I believe they may change out each leg of the trip. Is this true? Can anyone give info about these guides if they exist?

[azbirdmom]

I am interested in this as well. We are booked on the non-connoisseur tour that includes the Kenai Lodge next year and are considering an upgrade to connoisseur.

 

My question is regarding the tour director. I know the connoisseur tour has one that stays with you. I have heard and read some reports that indicate the non-connoisseur tours also have a tour guide on board the bus with them though I believe they may change out each leg of the trip. Is this true? Can anyone give info about these guides if they exist?

 

There are no tour guides on the Denali Explorer tours. The bus drivers will narrate along the way but no separate tour guides.

[kodidog]

Thanks azbirdmom for the menu photos! :D