Alaska Cruise-Tour in September

[vistapat]

We are considering an Alaska Cruise-Tour in September of 2018. The tour would leave mid-September and end in late September. I'm a bit concerned that some of the things listed for the tour might not be available due to winter closing in up there. I'm specifically worried about the Denali Wilderness Tour listed as 6-8 hours long, and activities offered from the lodge at Denali or in Anchorage. For anyone who has done a cruise-tour that late in the season, were there any problems due to the weather? Were any activities not available or altered significantly? Also, where in Denali were you lodged?

 

Thanks for any information.

 

Pat

[Crew News]

We are considering an Alaska Cruise-Tour in September of 2018. The tour would leave mid-September and end in late September. I'm a bit concerned that some of the things listed for the tour might not be available due to winter closing in up there. I'm specifically worried about the Denali Wilderness Tour listed as 6-8 hours long, and activities offered from the lodge at Denali or in Anchorage. For anyone who has done a cruise-tour that late in the season, were there any problems due to the weather? Were any activities not available or altered significantly? Also, where in Denali were you lodged?

 

Thanks for any information.

 

Pat

 

My cruise tour was June 2017 so I cannot answer your "open" question for September but here are my photos of the Denali McKinley Lodge where my tour stayed:

 

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/place/alaska-2/denali/mckinley-lodge/

[jtl513]

We did the last Double Denali of the season in 2007, Sep 12 to 23. We had beautiful sunny 70 degree weather in Fairbanks for two days. By the time we got to Denali it was snowing lightly. Most of the shops and restaurants were closed or closing early for end-of-season parties. The next day our Denali Wilderness tour was cut in half by snow. We couldn't see the upper half of the mountain. The weather got a little better as we headed for Seward, but the most of the cruise itself was grey and/or mixed snow and rain. Very cold in Glacier Bay. Hard rain and cold in Juneau and Sitka. I would not do a late Sept C/T again. However: AK is really very unpredictable and you could be a lot luckier than we were! :)

One highlight as far as DW was concerned was good sales on end-of-season goods in the shops that were open in Denali, and on the ship.

At the McKinley Chalet Resort we in the newest building at the time, the Chalet Canyon Lodge, and it was very nice. I don't think the building that Roger (Crew News) shows in his pics was built yet when we were there.

 

Edited November 4, 2017 by jtl513

[jtl513]

Hard rain and cold in Juneau and Sitka.

I meant Juneau and Ketchikan. Didn't go to Sitka that trip.

[vistapat]

Roger and John - thank you both for your information. John - I could hope that global warming might change the weather we would encounter, but there would still be lots of closures for the season. Roger - your pictures are beautiful. I have seen that some recent cruisers were lodged in the old Denali Park Lodge - sure would prefer the McKinley Resort. Still don't know what we will do about booking this for next year.

 

Pat

[IllinoisGirl1978]

I did the tour on the Zaandam last year, our weather was perfect until Juneau, it rained all day. The highlight was seeing Mt. Denali and Husky Homestead.

Enjoy your trip and live in the moment.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kwb101]

We are considering an Alaska Cruise-Tour in September of 2018. The tour would leave mid-September and end in late September. I'm a bit concerned that some of the things listed for the tour might not be available due to winter closing in up there. I'm specifically worried about the Denali Wilderness Tour listed as 6-8 hours long, and activities offered from the lodge at Denali or in Anchorage. For anyone who has done a cruise-tour that late in the season, were there any problems due to the weather? Were any activities not available or altered significantly? Also, where in Denali were you lodged?

Hi, Pat.

 

We were there May 25-28 for three nights at McKinley Chalet (it opened for the season on May 20). We got some snow on the train from Anchorage on the 25th, and learned the next day that the park road had been closed and all Tundra Wilderness Tours cancelled. Our bus on the 26th was delayed until about 10.30 (we were originally scheduled to depart about 8), and, because we were there before June 1, we were in "shoulder season", when the bus only goes to the 52-mile point, rather than 62 miles later in the season. There was some snow, but the gravel road was clear and relatively fast (35mph speed limit that our driver seemed to try to exceed). It was cold and breezy at McKinley Chalet, and none of the trip was warm, but we managed to avoid rain throughout the trip. I don't recall any schedule changes due to weather, although we were about 30 minutes late to board the White Pass & Yukon in Fraser because of road construction, which wasn't weather related.

 

 

Hope you have good weather, and a good time.

 

-bruce

[vistapat]

Thank you all for your responses. We're not worried about the weather as such - the reason we want to do the tour at that time is that our last several Alaska cruises have featured warm to hot weather. Not what we travel there to experience. I'm just worried about spending the not-inconsiderable money for the trip and then not being able to enjoy the features we were expecting. Will definitely have to weigh our options.

 

Pat

[vistapat]

I do have one more question. How long is the bus ride from Denali to Seward? I know about the train ride from Anchorage to Denali - I've done it. But Denali to Seward on a bus sounds like a long time.

 

Pat

[catl331]

Ours was about 8 hours wall-clock time, but that included an hour-ish stop for lunch in Wasilla (no charge) and an hour-ish stop at a wildlife preserve (no charge) about half way between Anchorage and Seward. Unfortunately there were no other photo-op stops. It was quite a pleasant ride and not the tedious trip I expected. The bus had the most comfortable seats I've ever had on a bus - soft leather, and plenty of leg and elbow room. There was a domed roof giving excellent views, and much of the trip was very scenic. In areas that weren't as scenic they showed a movie about living in AK, or the on-board guide had games to play to pass the time. The bus driver was a high school teacher in the winter and was very knowledgeable about AK, and interesting. I'd say it was a very positive part of the Tour. :)

Edited November 5, 2017 by catl331

[Crew News]

I do have one more question. How long is the bus ride from Denali to Seward? I know about the train ride from Anchorage to Denali - I've done it. But Denali to Seward on a bus sounds like a long time.

 

Pat

 

My bus ride, June 2017, took nine hours (8:00 AM to 5:00 PM arrival in Denali). There were several stops for bathrooms (porta-potties disguised as small cabins).of 20 minutes each. Prior to lunch in Wasilla since we arrived too early, we detoured to the Iditarod Dog Sled Headquarters:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/place/alaska-2/wasilla-iditarod/

 

 

Several miles from from our Denalidestination, a HAL representative boarded the bus with our room keys for the McKinley Lodge.

 

No movies for us. Most of the passengers had been awake early for breakfast at 5:00 AM in the Lido Market and were very happy to just sleep.

[avian777]

We are considering an Alaska Cruise-Tour in September of 2018. The tour would leave mid-September and end in late September. I'm a bit concerned that some of the things listed for the tour might not be available due to winter closing in up there. I'm specifically worried about the Denali Wilderness Tour listed as 6-8 hours long, and activities offered from the lodge at Denali or in Anchorage. For anyone who has done a cruise-tour that late in the season, were there any problems due to the weather? Were any activities not available or altered significantly? Also, where in Denali were you lodged?

 

Thanks for any information.

 

Pat

 

Pat,

Of our 5 Alaska cruises, 2 were in June, 1 was in August and 2 were in mid-September. Both of the September cruises included a stay in Denali Park. We had absolutely no weather problems, other than brisk nighttime temperatures. None of our excursions or other planned activities was cancelled or altered by inclement weather. On both Denali stays, we had crystal clear views of Mt McKinley, which our guides told us was very rare - probably a Chamber of Commerce line to make us feel special ... and it did!!!

For a variety of reasons, our September Alaska cruises are our all-time favorites, and I would heartily recommend a mid-September Alaska land-cruise trip to anyone who doesn't mind some cold temperatures and the possibility of snow. Just be sure to pack a good selection of water-resistant and layer-able outfits

Whichever Alaska cruise you choose, IMO you can't go wrong.

Smooth sailing :):):)

[vistapat]

Thank you for all your kind replies. My husband was quite reluctant based on the long bus ride to Seward, and on the possibility of things being closed/unavailable in September. I read him your replies, we talked it over, and we decided to go ahead and book it. We leave September 5, 2018 and I'm really looking forward to it. While I know there are no guarantees that our experience will be like yours, I'm really excited to be going back to Alaska and I want to thank you again for sharing your comments.

 

Pat

[avian777]

You are most welcome. Hope you have a great time on your cruise.