Need info on Alaska cruise tour

[EMS8]

Hello Princess cruisers. My DW and I need some help with Princess Alaska cruise tours. I think I understand the details of a connoisseur cruise tour and that you have a cruise director with you until you reach the ship or the airport.

On the other Alaska cruise tours, who takes care of the transportation, luggage and Princess lodges details?

When we did an Alaska cruisetour and cruise with Celebrity in 2015, we had a cruise director and the same bus driver/luggage handler from Anchorage to Seward.

 

Thanks for your help.

[geoherb]

We took the regular Princess cruise tour a few years ago. Princess coordinated the details fine. We received our room assignment and key on the bus transfer from the airport to the lodge in the Fairbanks. Right before the train got to the lodge near Denali, we received our keys again. They moved the big pieces of luggage from room to room. You can send some big pieces of luggage ahead to the ship if you'd like.

[EMS8]

Geoherb,

Which cruise tour did you take? The Denali Explorer, On Your Own or Off the Beaten Path? Was there someone from Princess on the the tour with you who handled the luggage, transportation and lodging?

[Alaskanb]

This is my detailed review of ours https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2371972

[EMS8]

This is my detailed review of ours https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2371972

 

Thank you. I remember reading this review when you first published it. It was an excellent review. So was this the Denali Explorer cruise tour? When we were in Alaska in 2015, we were one of the lucky ones who saw Denali in full glory as we arrived in Talkeetna.

[reedprincess]

We did Off the Beaten Path, and our details, itineraries, keys, etc were given to us on arrival at each Lodge by a Lodge member, who was waiting right where the bus parked with all our info.. We had a "cruise director" aka tour guide with us on a couple legs who spoke about the area, gave tips on where to visit, what to see, where to eat if we didn't want to dine at the lodges, and so on.

We loved it - loved not being tied to the lodges for all our meal, loved exploring the nearby towns (when available - Copper River was too far out and the shuttles didn't fit our time tables, thankfully we hadn't had any meals at the other lodges yet, so the menus felt fresh and new versus same thing over again)... We don't significantly less than the connoisseur tour would have cost, and didn't find meal prices to be much different than in any largish city in USA...

Enjoy.

We would do it again in a heartbeat!

[Alaskanb]

Thank you. I remember reading this review when you first published it. It was an excellent review. So was this the Denali Explorer cruise tour? When we were in Alaska in 2015, we were one of the lucky ones who saw Denali in full glory as we arrived in Talkeetna.

Yes --the Denali Explorer Tour. For us it was the best use of time. A truly wonderful vacation. Princess has changed the numbering system of their cruise tours so go by description not our number.

Edited November 30, 2017 by Alaskanb

[EMS8]

Reedprincess, thanks for the info. BTW, we LOVE St Lucia and will be there in March.