Looking for a Cruise Tour

[bonniboo1]

I was wondering if I can get some opinions. I am trying to find an Alaskan Cruise and would like 2-3 days of a tour before hand. I know that several lines offer this and several don't. At this point I am looking for a recommendation of a Cruise tour company. Any thoughts?

 

Bonni

[Keith1010]

If you are looking for cruise lines that offer land tours consider Princess, Holland America and Celebrity.

 

Keith

[bonniboo1]

Thank you so much Keith, I appreciate you taking the time. Which line did you take?

 

I am also considering NCL as I am Platinum and love the

Benefits. I am also very comfortable on NCL and love the entertainment. If I take NCL I'll have to book a pre cruise tour. If anyone has any input it would be appreciated.

[mapleleaves]

Alaska is huge ..... a 2 or 3 day tour isn't going to get you very far. Most of your time will be spent in transit. ie it's an 8 hr train ride to Denali, day 2 would be in the Park and day 3 would be the 8 hr train ride back to Anchorage.

If you're looking a short cruisetour, be very mindful of the details, especially your arrival and departure times. Otherwise you may find yourself arriving late afternoon and leaving at 6am the next morning.

There are several trip reports posted in STICKYS near the top of the page. The first line will indicate if it's a cruisetour ...... read thru several to get an idea of what's available.

 

And with your short amount of time, you might want to consider DIY land travel. Rent a car, or take the train or bus to Seward for a couple of days ....take a kenai fjords cruise, visit Exit Glacier, wander around the busy harbor and watch otters and bald eagles.

[Keith1010]

Thank you so much Keith, I appreciate you taking the time. Which line did you take?

 

I am also considering NCL as I am Platinum and love the

Benefits. I am also very comfortable on NCL and love the entertainment. If I take NCL I'll have to book a pre cruise tour. If anyone has any input it would be appreciated.

 

You are very welcome.

 

We have taken several lines but of these three we took Celebrity two different times.

 

But that was back in the days when Celebrity was allowed to sail Glacier Bay.

 

These days I would likely take Princess if I wanted to add in the land package because in addition to the land package they sail Glacier Bay and preferred them over HAL.

 

Keith

[bonniboo1]

Thank you Mapleleaves, I will take a look.

Keith, Princess will probably be my best bet because adding it on before the cruise should be seamless!

 

Thanks again!

[Budget Queen]

Just my opinion, but this amount of time investment is simply too short with any "tour" being way too much time in transit and doing little else. A costly mistake in most cases. IF an option- you can make the best use of your time- by far, going independent. With only 2 days, I would simply recommend you determine which area you prefer- either Anchorage or Seward http://www.anchorage.net http://www.seward.com and go there. Enjoy your short time with touring.

 

If you go with Princess- then look at Whittier area activities.

 

All the cruise lines have add on tours.

 

You seem fixed on a south bound cruise? In the fringe cruise season, this direction could be less ideal.

 

I'm a firm advocate of spending as much time, mainland Alaska touring, taking full advantage of being all the way there. Even once/year visiting is a very limited time. :)

[kgm0612]

We recently did a 4-day Wilderness land tour prior to our Southbound cruise on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of The Seas.

 

We flew into Fairbanks on Monday, July 31st and spent two nights there before heading to Denali for another two nights. We boarded the ship on Friday, August 4th in Seward. Great trip!

 

I highly recommend you do the land portion FIRST because you are on the go all day. This way you can board the ship and relax.

 

Karen

[Budget Queen]

We recently did a 4-day Wilderness land tour prior to our Southbound cruise on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of The Seas.

 

We flew into Fairbanks on Monday, July 31st and spent two nights there before heading to Denali for another two nights. We boarded the ship on Friday, August 4th in Seward. Great trip!

 

I highly recommend you do the land portion FIRST because you are on the go all day. This way you can board the ship and relax.

 

Karen

further important details to consider with this recommendation. Going from Denali to Seward in a single day, is about a 10 hour trip with the couple stops. I'd suggest before considering this, to be certain you have no interest in Anchorage or Seward. along with having singnificant interest in Fairbanks and taking advantage of touring there.

[kgm0612]

further important details to consider with this recommendation. Going from Denali to Seward in a single day, is about a 10 hour trip with the couple stops. I'd suggest before considering this, to be certain you have no interest in Anchorage or Seward. along with having singnificant interest in Fairbanks and taking advantage of touring there.

 

We left Denali by motor coach at 7:30am and arrived in Downtown Anchorage at 12:30, with two restroom stops along the way. We had an hour and a half to look around or grab lunch. Due to an accident on the road to Seward, we departed at 3:30 and pulled into the port at 6pm.