Pre and Post Alaska cruisetour questions

[txwriter]

We are booked for 2018 Alaska connoisseur cruisetour starting in Fairbanks on May 25th. I know we want to come in at least one day to give us some chance to adjust. On the return, the most time I can stay after we disembark from ship is one night, because I will need a couple of days after we get home to reorient before heading back to work.

 

I'm looking for some advice for those who have gone before.

 

 

I could do precruise package with Princess or book on my own. Anyone with experience in this area? Glad you did one or the other? Wish you'd done it differently?

 

 

We can return from either YVR or SEA. Any thoughts on which is better or worse based on your experiences?

 

 

I hesitate to fly back same day ship arrives in YVR. Our one previous cruise we took left a bad taste after arriving at NYC, being dropped off at gate late, barely making flight after practically running through airport. Cannot rush this time due to my mom using a walker and needing assistance.

 

 

As I said, any thoughts are appreciated. Still a little too early to book flights, so I'm just lining up my duckies. 🦆

 

 

Jamie

[TourBusGuy]

We did the land tour/cruise May 24-June 7. Started in Fairbanks, ended in Vancouver. We flew in the night before tour started. After disembarking, we stayed a night at the Stone Hedge B&B near the YVR airport which was very easy to fly out of. The best advice we got was to do the land tour before the cruise.. They were absolutely right.

 

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[txwriter]

Yes, we too are doing tour before cruise.:)

 

I think we will enjoy cruise more if we fly in, have a day, then start tour. Trying to decide if we should stay at another property first night to save money.

 

Also, looking for leaving from YVR or SEA advice. Has anyone been glad they decided to trek to Seattle or wished they'd decided to leave from Vancouver?

[pklein9747]

We did the same tour back in May of 2015. One of our best and favorite vacations! We flew in one day before from the East Coast and we were glad we did. We booked a room at the Princess Fairbanks Lodge. It was just easier than having to repack all of our stuff again. Rented a car the following day and toured Fairbanks, went to the home of Mary Shields, the first woman to complete the Iditarod, went to the North Pole to see the "real" Santa and stopped at Pioneer Park. Great way to start our vacation.

 

On the back end, we disembarked in Vancouver and stayed three nights and then two nights in Seattle. We figured if we were going all that way, it was worth it to stay a little longer and see the sights. Loved, loved, loved Vancouver. If you can, stay a bit longer and enjoy all the city has to offer. We took Amtrak to Seattle as it was a bit cheaper to fly home from there.

 

You definitely can't go wrong with the connoisseur package. We never regretted the extra money it costs us. And as for Alaska...I was just looking through our hundreds of pictures the other day...and I am ready to return. The sites, the wildlife, the people...it is an amazing place. Have a wonderful trip :)

[tamsocal]

I would possibly look at what you want to do while in Fairbanks. Chena Hot Springs resort has an Ice museum, horse back riding, sled dog ride & tour and the hot springs- its an hour from town. you could stay there the first night then move.

When I priced Hollands or Princess hotel from the cruise line the prices were double to triple what I could get on Hotwire.

I have used better bidding dot com and other sites to get assistance with sorting out which hotel I will end up with if booking on Hotwire . with this have been able to successfully book same hotel I am staying with with cruise line in order to not have to change hotels

If you want same hotel typically booking on your own vs thru cruise line will be cheaper and at least you can secure a reservation and still be able to cancel should you find something cheaper or decide you don't want the same place both nights.

we don't unpack when on these cruise tours- we strategically pack to make arrival and departures simplistic- so I personally would save the $$ vs focusing on staying at the same place but everyone has their own preferences.

Our upcoming cruise they wanted over $400 for us to add a night- Hotwire was ~$90.

We have visited Museum of North, Morris Thompson cultural center, pioneer park, running reindeer ranch, China Hot Springs- resort & ice museum, North Pole , Antique car museum,aleyeska pipeline, creamers field, large animal research station, Fairbanks ice museum-- there is a lot to choose from- we really enjoy the ice museums

[nanabananna]

Hey Jamie..its Sandra!

 

We flew in a day early to Fairbanks. The Fairbanks airport is not big...really small, if not extra small! Having the Princess rep there was very easy to spot, is great. We waited for our luggage and then followed a Princess rep to the Princess bus. It is size of a Greyhound bus. We arrived at 2:15pm and I believe there were 6 passengers.

The Princess luggage handlers took care of our luggage...buy the transfers. They are worth the cost.

They took care of that and it was in our room when we hit the door. Go ahead and stay at the lodge an extra night. They have 3 different restaurants plus pizza. There is a hospitality room that makes a good hang out for cards, games, etc. Also you will see several large sitting areas where people gather by the fireplace. A nice gift shop is in that area too. If you do not want to pack your coat, you will find very warm jackets that are reversible on sale for $29.95. Victor and I bought one each...we wore it the whole trip! Easy to pack to as it folds up into the hood. oh, best of all---no taxes in Alaska!! You pay what you see.

 

As for the YVR airport....it is huge and crazy so much larger that DFW. We did YVR never again, even though we had Princess transfers with pre=customs, we still had to do that. The lines are long, very long.

If I had a choice, transfer from the ship to Seattle and stay in a hotel there. Several ways to get to Seattle, clipper ship, bus, or train. Check them all out for the prices. Sea-Tac sure is better than YVR. Perhaps easier for your Mom too.

If you have any questions here is my email:

sandra1956@suddenlink.net

Go look at the roll call we had, Peg posted a picture of us. Peg is on the far Left side facing the camera.:)

 

take care, Sandra

[txwriter]

Hey Jamie..its Sandra!

 

We flew in a day early to Fairbanks. The Fairbanks airport is not big...really small, if not extra small! Having the Princess rep there was very easy to spot, is great. We waited for our luggage and then followed a Princess rep to the Princess bus. It is size of a Greyhound bus. We arrived at 2:15pm and I believe there were 6 passengers.

The Princess luggage handlers took care of our luggage...buy the transfers. They are worth the cost.

They took care of that and it was in our room when we hit the door. Go ahead and stay at the lodge an extra night. They have 3 different restaurants plus pizza. There is a hospitality room that makes a good hang out for cards, games, etc. Also you will see several large sitting areas where people gather by the fireplace. A nice gift shop is in that area too. If you do not want to pack your coat, you will find very warm jackets that are reversible on sale for $29.95. Victor and I bought one each...we wore it the whole trip! Easy to pack to as it folds up into the hood. oh, best of all---no taxes in Alaska!! You pay what you see.

 

As for the YVR airport....it is huge and crazy so much larger that DFW. We did YVR never again, even though we had Princess transfers with pre=customs, we still had to do that. The lines are long, very long.

If I had a choice, transfer from the ship to Seattle and stay in a hotel there. Several ways to get to Seattle, clipper ship, bus, or train. Check them all out for the prices. Sea-Tac sure is better than YVR. Perhaps easier for your Mom too.

If you have any questions here is my email:

sandra1956@suddenlink.net

Go look at the roll call we had, Peg posted a picture of us. Peg is on the far Left side facing the camera.:)

 

take care, Sandra

 

Sandra! So glad to "see" you again. Thank you SO much for info on YVR. I was leaning towards SEA departure since we both are TSA Precheck, and I think a bus ride sounds better than what you've described. Giving the DFW reference helps a good deal.

 

I will see if I can check out the old roll call. Last time I tried, it had disappeared...had hoped you guys would post something afterwards so I could live vicariously. Still no roll call started for next cruise:(. I could never do what Peg did. She was excellent at bringing everyone together.

[TW6cruiser]

We also did a connoisseur tour starting in Fairbanks. We also flew in early to be sure we got there. We had our travel agent book us an extra two nights at the Fairbanks Princess Lodge. We were still able to get the Princess transfer even though we went in early. We got in very late at night the first day of arrival. The next full day, we used the public buses that stop at the Princess lodge (well, at the end of the street...very short walk) and went to the Museum of the North which I highly recommend. The next day we went into downtown Fairbanks to walk around and have lunch.

[MommyCPA]

As far at SEA TAC goes, we just flew in and out of there for an Alaskan cruise. My dad has mobility issues and definitely needed a wheelchair. He gets around pretty well normally but we didn't see any moving sidewalks, etc that make getting around in a large airport easier. We fly in and out of IAH in Houston and I've been through many large airports (used to live in Dallas as well) and found Sea Tac to be not very well organized and really spread out and hard to get around for the actual numbers of flights in and out.

 

Make sure you get her a wheelchair.