First time land and sea cruise to Alaska with 20 ppl, please help

[mapleleaves]

My 2 cents ....

Since this is the in-laws dream trip, and there are so many little kids, it would make life a lot easier if the in-laws do the land portion on their own and everyone else meets up in Whittier or Seward for a family cruise.

My guess is that they don't understand the distances involved and how difficult it would be for young families to have suitcases at the door by 7am every morning, with kids dressed and fed, then to sit on buses/trains for several hours a day. So with that info, perhaps they would be open to doing the land portion on their own.

 

BTW, to avoid you having to research cruisetours, which is difficult to do since they aren't forthcoming with the details, you could arrange the land portion thru a pkg trip from Princess Lodges or the Alaska Railroad or train/bus combo with Alaska Tour & Travel.

They could fly into Fairbanks, spend a few days there, then train to Denali for 2 nights, 1 night in Talkeetna, then train to Anchorage.

 

https://www.princesslodges.com/alaska-rail-tours/

https://www.alaskarailroad.com/travel-planning/packages/summer-packages

https://www.alaskatravel.com/

 

As for meeting up for the cruise, the ships depart from Whittier or Seward.

Whittier is about 60 miles and 1 1/2 hrs from Anchorage.

Seward is about 130 miles and 3 hrs from Anchorage.

Both can be reached by train, Park Connection bus, rental car, cruiseline transfer or private transfer. With 20 people a private van with Magic Bus might be the cheapest option plus you could include a stop at the Wildlife Conservation Center and a few other places.

Good luck !

[Roz]

Great advice, Maple Leaves! I like the idea of the in-laws doing the land portion on their own, and then joining the rest of the family for the cruise. A good compromise.

 

Roz

[nytoalaska23]

It's a good suggestion, if we need to we may skip out on the land portion and meet up with the family for the cruise part, but I know it would disappoint my in-laws, which I really don't want to do. There are really only 2 families with very young children - mine (a 2 and 6 yr. old), and another family has a 1 year old. All the rest of the kids are 11 and up, so their families will be fine with the land tour I think. I'm finding it difficult to find actual details about the land/cruise tours, like the time we would need to leave our hotel, how long the train/bus ride would be to Talkeetna (or wherever), and etc., the actual itinerary for each day. I'm hoping that a travel agent will be able to give me more nitty gritty details so I can figure out what to do about the land tour? Or am I just missing this information somewhere?

[mapleleaves]

Personally, I think the cruisetours intentionally leave out the details. That's because many of them, esp the 3 or 4 day ones, are mostly spent in transit. ie the 2 day Denali visit often arrives midafternoon on Day 1 and leaves at noon on Day 2, which doesn't leave enough time to do a bus trip into the park. Yet you'll have 2 days in Talkeetna which is overkill.

 

Anchorage to Talkeetna is about 2 1/2 hrs by car/bus. 4 hrs by train. Same asTalkeetna to Denali.

 

This link provides distances and travel times between popular destinations. I've found it quite accurate. alaska.org is a good resource in general

http://www.alaska.org/advice/mileage-chart

Edited September 10, 2018 by mapleleaves

[capriccio]

Have you posted on the cruise line boards asking folks with experience from this season how they were structured? The HAL board is at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=171; the Princess board is at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197.

[nytoalaska23]

No, I haven’t done that yet, but good idea - I will ask the cruise boards, thanks.

[peachykiehn]

We just returned from a 13 day land/cruise Princess tour and would be happy to correspond privately with you on any specific questions you might have. It is beautiful but as others have mentioned the travel between sites was a bit much at times especially having to put luggage out at 6:30-7:00 in the morning. We did fine but many on our trip were exhausted when we arrived at the ship. My email is teri.kiehn@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

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[mapleleaves]

There are a number of cruisetours posted in the past trip report lists at the top of this forum page. Many are detailed photojournals, with lots of info and photos of the experience.

Such as this one from last year on RCL:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2516703

[Editrix]

I agree with everyone else. Planning a trip like this for a small group would be daunting. Planning for a group of 20 spanning three generations of in-laws? I wouldn't.

 

My husband and I cruised three times to Alaska with 10 other family members (parents, siblings, and siblings' spouses). The 12 of us cruised a fourth time (and only once!) with my then-teenage daughter and three teenage nieces. My parents paid the cruise fares for everyone, but we each had to pay for our own airfare, transfers, airplane meals and drinks, hotel meals and drinks, shore excursions, gratuities, bar drinks on the ship, etc.

 

With that in mind, you need to know the answers to these questions.

 

What exactly have your in-laws agreed to pay for? Everything, as in every little thing? Or just the land/cruise fare? You need to know your budget and what specifically that budget includes. The extra costs can be just as expensive as the base cruise fares.

 

Will you and the other families have any financial burden? If so, can all of you afford to pay equally?

 

Do you get along with all of your in-laws? Do they all get along with each other?

 

Are your husband's parents easy to please?

 

You are getting very good advice on this board. I hope you take it seriously. A trip such as the one your in-laws are proposing could easily cost upwards of $75K. That's a lot of money and a lot of responsibility.

[epixx]

If there were 14-day cruises where you could unpack once and let the captain do the driving for the whole two weeks, that would be fantastic.

 

Unfortunately, there aren't any in August.

 

Of course there is. As oaktreerb posted twice above, HAL Amsterdam offers this fabulous itinerary, the 14 Night Great Alaskan Explorer, on 12 August 2019. We sailed this one twice with our teens, and I would highly recommend it for a large family group such as the one you have.

[Cruise_More_Often]

Of course there is. As oaktreerb posted twice above, HAL Amsterdam offers this fabulous itinerary, the 14 Night Great Alaskan Explorer, on 12 August 2019. We sailed this one twice with our teens, and I would highly recommend it for a large family group such as the one you have.

I would recommend this one, too. That way you would see a lot of Alaska and have your traveling hotel room (i.e., your ship cabin) to return to whenever you need to.

[Editrix]

This also gets my vote.

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/A9L14A/A937.html

[Gardyloo]

Of course there is. As oaktreerb posted twice above, HAL Amsterdam offers this fabulous itinerary, the 14 Night Great Alaskan Explorer, on 12 August 2019. We sailed this one twice with our teens, and I would highly recommend it for a large family group such as the one you have.

My mistake, apologies. That would be the easiest option for the OP's group. If they wanted to see Denali they could take the day in Anchorage and do a flightseeing tour of the mountain on a floatplane from Lake Hood right in central Anchorage.

[thegoaliegirl]

I know it has been mentioned already, but look into the travel times to get to/from Denali, plus read the trip reports of those that have done a land tour to Denali. After my own research, I am deciding to skip going to Denali next summer with my kids (who will be 6 and 8 at the time), as the travel time is too long plus being on a bus for 8 hours with stops every 1 1/2 hours or so to get off and stretch their legs (with no bathrooms on the bus) just would not be enjoyable for any of us, as they would get fed up after awhile. Combined with the fact that you have a much better chance of NOT seeing Denali, meant we skipped this bucket list item for us. We are exploring the Kenai Peninsula and doing much shorter more manageable drives on our own and in the end, spending more time out in Alaska, rather than on a bus or train.

 

Have you talked about budget with your in-laws? Are they covering any of it? It is going to be an expensive trip. You will have the cruise, taxes, gratuities, anything spent on board (alcohol, specialty dining, etc), shore excursions, plus anything for the land portion of the trip.

 

If you decide to do a land portion (or just a one-way cruise and with optional land for those that want to), I would start in Alaska. Do the longer flights while the kids are excited and not exhausted at the end of the vacation. You could look into a stopover in Seattle on the way to break up the flight, if the parents of young kids think it is necessary.

 

Roundtrip Seattle is going to be the easiest. The 14 day cruise that has been mentioned would be a great compromise- see more of Alaska without the hassle of long travel days by bus/train.

 

If your in-laws have their heart set on Denali, I'd suggest booking the cruise as a Southbound (starting in Seward or Whittier depending on the cruise line) and then let every family book their own pre-cruise option. Then everyone meets up at the ship. It will be a lot more enjoyable for everyone.

 

Does everyone have a passport? Flying into/out of Vancouver, every person will need a passport, including the children.

[nytoalaska23]

I will definitely talk to my in-laws about the difficulties that going to Denali may present. I would be on board for the 14 day cruise option, it would be the easiest for my family, but i'm not sure they will want to do that, it does seem like a LONG time on a boat and I think seeing Denali and doing some type of land tour is important to them. They are paying for most of the trip, they don't seem too concerned with the costs since the different cruises we've looked at seem pretty comparable so far, the families are happy to pay for whatever portion my in-laws decide; it may be that we pay for our own flights, not sure yet, they want a cruise that's all inclusive as far as dining and drinks anyway. I think the perfect compromise for us (and i'm sure this doesn't exist of course) would be a round trip cruise out of Seattle or Vancouver that took about 5 days north bound, and then we could do a 3 day break in Anchorage and everyone could do what they wanted (go see Denali, or just hang around close by) and then do another 5-6 day southbound cruise back to Vancouver or Seattle. I am going to see if this is a viable option, but I'm guessing we would have to book 2 one-way cruises, maybe with different cruise lines, and that sounds like it could cost considerably more money. Doing it this way would eliminate the 11-12 hour flight (or more) to Alaska, which would be a huge bonus, not just for my family but for everyone i think. I'm sure i'm just wishful thinking with what is basically 10-11 day round trip cruise with a 3 day layover in Anchorage though. : ) Thanks again so much for all your advice everyone, I am taking it all in.

[nytoalaska23]

Ok, so it was easy to determine fairly quickly that we could only do that type of itinerary if we wanted to travel for 17 days, because no one appears to offer 5-6 day one way cruises... and i still haven't looked at if it would be more costly to do a Princess cruise one way and then HAL (or a diff one) the other; but it might be fun to get to experience 2 different ships. Has anyone done this? Wolfiee recommended an itinerary similar to this awhile ago, so thank you for that.

[oaktreerb]

I will definitely talk to my in-laws about the difficulties that going to Denali may present. I would be on board for the 14 day cruise option, it would be the easiest for my family, but i'm not sure they will want to do that, it does seem like a LONG time on a boat and I think seeing Denali and doing some type of land tour is important to them. They are paying for most of the trip, they don't seem too concerned with the costs since the different cruises we've looked at seem pretty comparable so far, the families are happy to pay for whatever portion my in-laws decide; it may be that we pay for our own flights, not sure yet, they want a cruise that's all inclusive as far as dining and drinks anyway. I think the perfect compromise for us (and i'm sure this doesn't exist of course) would be a round trip cruise out of Seattle or Vancouver that took about 5 days north bound, and then we could do a 3 day break in Anchorage and everyone could do what they wanted (go see Denali, or just hang around close by) and then do another 5-6 day southbound cruise back to Vancouver or Seattle. I am going to see if this is a viable option, but I'm guessing we would have to book 2 one-way cruises, maybe with different cruise lines, and that sounds like it could cost considerably more money. Doing it this way would eliminate the 11-12 hour flight (or more) to Alaska, which would be a huge bonus, not just for my family but for everyone i think. I'm sure i'm just wishful thinking with what is basically 10-11 day round trip cruise with a 3 day layover in Anchorage though. : ) Thanks again so much for all your advice everyone, I am taking it all in.

The land part of the trip will be the most challenging. That is why most people do the land first, so they can rest when they get to the ship. Each day you are in port you will get off the ship so you will be “on land”. A cruise in Alaska is mostly scenic cruising from one port to another (not a bunch of sea days in a row).

 

You really need to get a firm estimate of costs. This will be expensive. Cruise fares start with a small inside room and go up from there and gratuities of appx $15 per person per day are usually extra. For the land portion keep in mind that food is expensive in Alaska.

 

Do you have a auto club membership? Have them work up some options to present to the inlaws.

[Roz]

"all inclusive as far as dining and drinks"

Most mass cruise lines include food (with the exception of specialty restaurants), but if you want alcohol included, that's another kettle of fish. That will narrow it down to a couple of premium lines that aren't going to have much, if anything, for children.

Roz

[capriccio]

A couple of other things to consider:

 

 

 

• Many tourists never see Denali due to clouds and the weather. We saw it on two days (out of 3 at Denali and Talkeetna) of our cruise tour but that was pure good luck.
  
• Add the cost of the hotel rooms for the night before your departure to the budget.
  
• Research excursions since some have age restrictions. With our well behaved 3 1/2 year old granddaughter, Grandpa and I babysat while her folks, aunt and uncle went on a whale watching (Juneau) and Butchard Gardens (Victoria, BC) excursions. Mom and Dad stayed with her in Skagway (which has a very nice outdoor playground) while the rest of us took the train up/van back from Frasier. In Ketchikan we all went to the Lumberjack show and then our separate ways. I couldn't imagine subjecting other people to the possibility of a toddler meltdown and I'm glad we didn't because her nap schedule (still can count on an afternoon nap of +/- 1 hour) was totally out of whack the first half of the trip.
  

[Editrix]

They are paying for most of the trip, they don't seem too concerned with the costs since the different cruises we've looked at seem pretty comparable so far, the families are happy to pay for whatever portion my in-laws decide; it may be that we pay for our own flights, not sure yet, they want a cruise that's all inclusive as far as dining and drinks anyway.

 

The published fares do NOT include port fees, daily gratuities, shore excursions, bar drinks, coffee drinks, bottled water, specialty meals, and other amenities. The base fares are misleading, especially in Alaska, which is every expensive. At a minimum, your in-laws' per-person cost will be double the advertised base fare, depending on the shore excursions you choose.

 

Advertised prices are designed to lure you. Budget wisely.

[Shellbelle28]

I can't offer you much advice on itineraries, but as an event planner, I have some things you might consider:

-Don't take on all of the decision-making responsibility yourself. It's great if you collect and organize all of the options, but include representatives from each family subgroup in the conversation when deciding (parents in-law get final say). That way if something goes sideways, everybody was in on it, you're not the scapegoat.

-I think the size of this venture genuinely calls for a travel agent (and one with specific experience in the region). They might get you better pricing, they know what's workable, they can warn you of pitfalls.

-Have a really clear discussion with the parents in-law reminding them of the realities of traveling with littles and negotiate what genuinely is logistically do-able if they want both their "dream" trip AND their grandkids going.

 

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[nytoalaska23]

Well, I have spoken with 2 travel agents so far, neither of whom seem to know half of what you all do about Alaskan cruises, and both seem to want to heavily push Princess. I'm learning a lot, just in the past few days of researching and i'm starting to at least narrow down our options so that we can decide what we want to do, then we'll probably just have the travel agent take care of the booking process. Because of the "not really wanting to take a 12 hour flight into Alaska" issue I've been looking for alternatives other than the 14 day cruise (which is still a possible option) and I came across a few cruise tours from HAL that claim to be 14 day land and sea tours that depart and return to the same city, either Seattle or Vancouver. I can't find any details about the actual itinerary of the tour really, but am curious about how they get from Vancouver up to Denali/Fairbanks (which is what the map shows) or from Denali down to Seattle (depending on which option you pick). Has anyone done one of these type of cruise tours? Do they fly you from one to the other for a portion of the land tour, or is this a really long train or bus ride? It just didn't seem they'd have time to get you from one to the other on land in 7 days? Here are the cruises I'm talking about, i'll post on the Holland cruise board also:

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/A9S07BY2L/W946.html

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/find-a-cruise/A9N07AR1C/W943.html

[mapleleaves]

Did you ask the inlaws if they are agreeable to doing the land portion on their own then meeting up with everyone else in Anchorage pre-cruise ?

That would be the easiest option.

[nytoalaska23]

I haven't yet, but it isn't only the in-laws that want to do the land portion - i think its basically everyone else on the trip except for my family and maybe the family with the 1 yr. old (but they may still want to go for it); so about 14 of the people in the group want to do the land and are old enough to enjoy it, 6 of us may not. I'm going to meet with them soon and lay out all the options, so that we can decide what works best for the group - possibly the 14 day sea only cruise (if the really want all of us to be together the whole time); or if they don't care about splitting up a few of us may skip the land tour portion and just meet up for the cruise. I'm still trying to decide if the land tour is doable for my young family, we WANT to do it, but i don't want a trip that's more misery for us than happy memories, i am a realistic person. Like i said, the flight thing is a bummer, not only because a 12 hour flight to Alaska is very long but then we'd also have to get one way flights to Alaska and then home from Vancouver or Seattle, which will cost more and be more of a pain then flying round trip from the same city. We may have to do it, but i'm exploring options.

[Gardyloo]

I haven't yet, but it isn't only the in-laws that want to do the land portion - i think its basically everyone else on the trip except for my family and maybe the family with the 1 yr. old (but they may still want to go for it); so about 14 of the people in the group want to do the land and are old enough to enjoy it, 6 of us may not. I'm going to meet with them soon and lay out all the options, so that we can decide what works best for the group - possibly the 14 day sea only cruise (if the really want all of us to be together the whole time); or if they don't care about splitting up a few of us may skip the land tour portion and just meet up for the cruise. I'm still trying to decide if the land tour is doable for my young family, we WANT to do it, but i don't want a trip that's more misery for us than happy memories, i am a realistic person. Like i said, the flight thing is a bummer, not only because a 12 hour flight to Alaska is very long but then we'd also have to get one way flights to Alaska and then home from Vancouver or Seattle, which will cost more and be more of a pain then flying round trip from the same city. We may have to do it, but i'm exploring options.

As far as airfare goes, if you fly to, say, Vancouver and return from Anchorage, or vice versa, what you want is called an "open jaw" ticket. These are VERY common and can usually be arranged through the same airline. It's like a round trip, except the fare (basically) is 1/2 the round trip fare to City A (say Vancouver) plus 1/2 the round trip fare to City B (say Anchorage.) Sometimes buying two one-way tickets is okay price-wise, but sometimes an open-jaw (so called because it looks like < or > ) is cheaper.

 

For those that are set on a land tour, it's okay to go with a packaged tour provided you recognize the downsides - a bit of regimentation, no chance for spur-of-the-moment changes, and you'll be limited (or "stuck") to the destinations, accommodations, and activities the tour operator chooses. The logistics and decision-making will be all handled by the tour operator (probably the cruise line or one of its affiliates) so in that respect it's easy. In my view the tours are NOT good for kids, for what I suspect are obvious reasons, and if families or couples want to get anywhere "off the beaten track" the tours won't allow that.

 

It's funny - Alaska is humongous but because the road system is so limited, it can actually feel crowded at times; there's nowhere else to go. With hundreds of thousands of tourists in the summer, all wanting to see - sort of - the same things - mountains, glaciers, bears, etc. - and only so many miles of roads to hold them, it gets downright jammed at times. Same thing goes for the cruises. Take Skagway, a stop on the vast majority of cruises. Tiny Skagway has a population of around 900 (counting dogs) but often has four cruise ships, each carrying upwards of 2500 passengers and 800 crew (some of whom get a day off) docked on the same day. Do the math.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that with this big and diverse a group, I personally would suggest a cruise followed by families or groups making their own choices regarding a pre- or post-cruise land portion, if any. I'd imagine you aren't going to be paying for everybody's cruises then getting reimbursed (that's a helluva lot of money) so at some point the individual families are going to have to communicate with a travel agent or a cruise line, so leave it to them to decide what path to take on land. I'd pick a cruise that works in terms of timing and itinerary, and then lay out the options for individuals to decide if they want to join a group tour, or break up into smaller groups - maybe two or three couples that go in on a minivan rental, or a family with kids renting a car and doing their own thing, or maybe people just heading for home... You'll have or have had a week together on the ship, so enough time for socializing as a big group. Maybe arrange a "welcome" or "farewell" banquet in Anchorage before or after the cruise for a first or last hurrah for the big group.

 

But my suggestion is don't turn yourself into a cat-herder. It's a miserable job. Be an informed guide and "big picture" planner, but don't get into the weeds.