Alaska land and sea package

[Banana15]

I just booked a land and sea package in Alaska for 2024. We are doing the land tour BEFORE the cruise. It says we arrive in Fairbanks, but there isn't really much guidance on how everything works. Will we be picked up from the airport? Do we need to make any reservations for hotels? Do we need to book excursions? Is any dining included? The itinerary doesn't really tell me much, aside from where we'll be each day. I know I still have a year plus to go, but I just want to know if we'll get any instruction as we get closer. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

8 minutes ago, Banana15 said:

I just booked a land and sea package in Alaska for 2024. We are doing the land tour BEFORE the cruise. It says we arrive in Fairbanks, but there isn't really much guidance on how everything works. Will we be picked up from the airport? Do we need to make any reservations for hotels? Do we need to book excursions? Is any dining included? The itinerary doesn't really tell me much, aside from where we'll be each day. I know I still have a year plus to go, but I just want to know if we'll get any instruction as we get closer. 

Suggest you visit the Alaska forum where your questions are answered.   There are several options for pre cruise tours in Alaska.  Your itinerary should be details such as transfers and the other questions you are asking.

 

[Banana15]

4 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Suggest you visit the Alaska forum where your questions are answered.   There are several options for pre cruise tours in Alaska.  Your itinerary should be details such as transfers and the other questions you are asking.

 

I asked this question over there and was suggested to come to the Celebrity board and ask since it would be specific to Celebrity and every cruise line is different. -- Unfortunately, my itinerary doesn't tell me much. It shows where we are each day, but I don't know if it's just too far out to be able to get into specifics. 

[dcbiker97]

If I recall correctly, in general hotels and transportation are included in the fare.  Meals generally are not.  

Edited February 8, 2023 by dcbiker97

[blackshirt]

Your land portion includes hotel, not meals. There may be excursions included (like Denali National Park) and there may be additional excursions available at each land stop. Transportation from the airport may or may not be included but if not, should be available as an extra. I did an Alaska land tour on Royal, I presume Celebrity is the same. 

[Banana15]

2 minutes ago, blackshirt said:

Your land portion includes hotel, not meals. There may be excursions included (like Denali National Park) and there may be additional excursions available at each land stop. Transportation from the airport may or may not be included but if not, should be available as an extra. I did an Alaska land tour on Royal, I presume Celebrity is the same. 

Thank you!

 

Do you recall if they sent a more detailed itinerary as you got closer to sailing? Since we're still a year and a half away, I imagine they don't have details, but I am hoping as time passes, they may send us some information so that we can plan for everything not included. 

[garyl62]

@Banana15 We are taking a land tour this summer which leaves from Anchorage so while not the same one you will be on, I've had many of the same questions.  There are a few threads here and on the Alaska page that I started, but this one seems to give the best overview of what you're currently asking about.  

 

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by garyl62

[blackshirt]

11 minutes ago, Banana15 said:

Do you recall if they sent a more detailed itinerary as you got closer to sailing?

I don’t really recall getting anything more detailed. We did the land portion staring from Anchorage. I knew that the train from Anchorage to Takeetna was included, I knew the tour through Denali National Park was included, I believe I also got information on what hotel we had at each stop. I did not know what extra excursions were available at each stop until we got to the first hotel where the land portion tour guide provided that information.

[Northern Aurora]

@Banana15:  What was your understanding of what you booked at the time of booking?

 

While there may have been some land tours in the past which did not include lodging I haven't heard of one.  Every review I've ever read of an Alaska land tour mentioned that the hotels were included.  Unless you have booked something very unusual Celebrity will select and book the hotels.  I suspect I know which two they will use in Fairbanks (based on what they used in the past) and suspect they will use the Denali Park Village in Denali.

 

At the Fairbanks airport there will be staff with signs (such as "Celebrity" with the X logo)  near the baggage claim area greeting flights.  There will also be kiosks for each cruise line with information there for folks who missed flights or had very delayed flights.  There will be information at the kiosks with where to go and phone numbers to have the hotel van pick you up.  

[Banana15]

38 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

@Banana15 We are taking a land tour this summer which leaves from Anchorage so while not the same one you will be on, I've had many of the same questions.  There are a few threads here and on the Alaska page that I started, but this one seems to give the best overview of what you're currently asking about.  

 

 

Thank you!! I will read through this board!

[Banana15]

8 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

@Banana15:  What was your understanding of what you booked at the time of booking?

 

While there may have been some land tours in the past which did not include lodging I haven't heard of one.  Every review I've ever read of an Alaska land tour mentioned that the hotels were included.  Unless you have booked something very unusual Celebrity will select and book the hotels.  I suspect I know which two they will use in Fairbanks (based on what they used in the past) and suspect they will use the Denali Park Village in Denali.

 

At the Fairbanks airport there will be staff with signs (such as "Celebrity" with the X logo)  near the baggage claim area greeting flights.  There will also be kiosks for each cruise line with information there for folks who missed flights or had very delayed flights.  There will be information at the kiosks with where to go and phone numbers to have the hotel van pick you up.  

The website does tell you some of the information. Basically it shows that there is a transfer once you arrive, and then you check into the hotel, and what their itinerary is for the day. But then it also says you can have the remainder of the day to yourself to eat or do other excursions. It didn’t really give you a list of what the excursion options are, or if there would be transportation to get to dining or anything like that. I assume they will need to know my flight information if the airport transfer is included, but it doesn’t specify.  Just things like that. I guess I just been such a detail planner that not knowing everything makes me a little nervous.

[Jim_Iain]

I posted this link to the Alaska Cruise Tour Brochure

 

For some details you might look at this PDF

https://www.celebritycruisetours.com/content/uploads/2016/06/Celebrity-Alaska_Cruisetour_Brochure.pdf

 

A couple answers to your questions

1.  When you arrive at airport there will be an agent holding a sign like at Florida Ports.

the agent will point out the porter -  just give him your luggage and you will get a tour number sticker like any tour.   This represents your bus if multiple passenger or they will have other transportation arranged for you to the hotel.

 

2.  Hotel is included for the first night and all other stops on the tour.

 

3.   Upon arrival at the hotel they will have an agent that will either brief you or let you know which group briefing you will attend.

 

4.  You will be given two colored baggage tags -  one color for things to be kept on the bus and the other to be delivered to your room at each overnight.

 

5. Your excursions will have some sightseeing but on the first night you will be given a list of all the excursions you can add to your tour.  These are all extra and could include anything from Airplane tours, ATV excursions, Fishing etc etc.

 

6.   Food is not included -  There will be rest stops along the way where you will have time on your own to shop, eat and clean up.

 

Another thing they really don't tell you is that you will accumulate CC points at the same rate as your room.

Edited February 8, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[Northern Aurora]

25 minutes ago, Banana15 said:

The website does tell you some of the information. Basically it shows that there is a transfer once you arrive, and then you check into the hotel, and what their itinerary is for the day. But then it also says you can have the remainder of the day to yourself to eat or do other excursions. It didn’t really give you a list of what the excursion options are, or if there would be transportation to get to dining or anything like that. I assume they will need to know my flight information if the airport transfer is included, but it doesn’t specify.  Just things like that. I guess I just been such a detail planner that not knowing everything makes me a little nervous.

 

@Banana15:  In your first post you asked if you would be picked up from the Fairbanks airport, and you have now answered your own question because you know there is a transfer once you arrive.  But if you miss a flight or another travel issue happens the cruise line information kiosks at the airport will tell you which hotel to contact (ie. Tour 1B  calls such and such hotel to arrange pick up).  

 

Once you know your Fairbanks hotel I can suggest near-by dining options.  Possibly someone else can comment but my suspicion is that the excursions on your free days are ones you purchase.

[D. B.]

If you can, arrive in Fairbanks a day or 2 Before your Tour starts.

 We booked 2 nights in the Hotel Celebrity was using and the Hotel made it so we would not have to Move to a different room the First night of the Celebrity Tour.

  The Hotel for our Tour had a Free shuttle from the Airport that required us to Call but it was prompt and Free. 

 Why get there Early?

 There is a lot to see and Do around Fairbanks that it worthwhile.

 The area around the River Walk is fun to explore with a nice Museum and Cultural Center. If you are in Fairbanks on a weekend there maybe activities at Pioneer Park. We used UBER to get around.

 The First Full day for  the Celebrity Tour spends very little time in Fairbanks.

    Depending on the Hotel there are choices other than the hotels dinning room for your dinning pleasure. Our Hotel room at (Sophies Suites) had a well equipped Kitchen so we bought some high quality Steaks and  fixings and relaxed.

  

[Banana15]

19 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I posted this link to the Alaska Cruise Tour Brochure

 

For some details you might look at this PDF

https://www.celebritycruisetours.com/content/uploads/2016/06/Celebrity-Alaska_Cruisetour_Brochure.pdf

 

A couple answers to your questions

1.  When you arrive at airport there will be an agent holding a sign like at Florida Ports.

the agent will point out the porter -  just give him your luggage and you will get a tour number sticker like any tour.   This represents your bus if multiple passenger or they will have other transportation arranged for you to the hotel.

 

2.  Hotel is included for the first night and all other stops on the tour.

 

3.   Upon arrival at the hotel they will have an agent that will either brief you or let you know which group briefing you will attend.

 

4.  You will be given two colored baggage tags -  one color for things to be kept on the bus and the other to be delivered to your room at each overnight.

 

5. Your excursions will have some sightseeing but on the first night you will be given a list of all the excursions you can add to your tour.  These are all extra and could include anything from Airplane tours, ATV excursions, Fishing etc etc.

 

6.   Food is not included -  There will be rest stops along the way where you will have time on your own to shop, eat and clean up.

 

Another thing they really don't tell you is that you will accumulate CC points at the same rate as your room.

Thank you! This is definitely super helpul. I will look at that brochure since I don't believe I've seen it before. --- That's also great to know about the CC points. I'll take them where I can get them Haha!

[Banana15]

17 hours ago, D. B. said:

If you can, arrive in Fairbanks a day or 2 Before your Tour starts.

 We booked 2 nights in the Hotel Celebrity was using and the Hotel made it so we would not have to Move to a different room the First night of the Celebrity Tour.

  The Hotel for our Tour had a Free shuttle from the Airport that required us to Call but it was prompt and Free. 

 Why get there Early?

 There is a lot to see and Do around Fairbanks that it worthwhile.

 The area around the River Walk is fun to explore with a nice Museum and Cultural Center. If you are in Fairbanks on a weekend there maybe activities at Pioneer Park. We used UBER to get around.

 The First Full day for  the Celebrity Tour spends very little time in Fairbanks.

    Depending on the Hotel there are choices other than the hotels dinning room for your dinning pleasure. Our Hotel room at (Sophies Suites) had a well equipped Kitchen so we bought some high quality Steaks and  fixings and relaxed.

  

Thank you for this. We were actually discussing arriving a day or two early and I was wondering if we'd have to switch rooms or if we'd have to get a transportation on our own. -- We are "supposed" to arrive on Sunday, but were were definitely thinking to arrive Saturday, if not Friday, so hopefully we do get some of the weekend activities. --- For the hotel, I guess that is one of my questions: When do you get an actual confirmation of the name of the hotel you'll be at each night? The brochure @Jim_Iain shared shows Sophie's Suites as the hotel, so I assume they just consistently use the same places. 

[D. B.]

3 hours ago, Banana15 said:

Thank you for this. We were actually discussing arriving a day or two early and I was wondering if we'd have to switch rooms or if we'd have to get a transportation on our own. -- We are "supposed" to arrive on Sunday, but were were definitely thinking to arrive Saturday, if not Friday, so hopefully we do get some of the weekend activities. --- For the hotel, I guess that is one of my questions: When do you get an actual confirmation of the name of the hotel you'll be at each night? The brochure @Jim_Iain shared shows Sophie's Suites as the hotel, so I assume they just consistently use the same places. 

Sophie"s Suites was the one X booked us in last July. Google it for photos.

 They (at that time) had a free shuttle from the airport for booked guests (we came 2 day early) and noted we were on Celebrities Tour and put us into a room we could stay in.

 If you can arrive 2 days early that first day is pretty much used up with getting there and checking into the hotel?

 The location is outside town but there are dining options within walking distance. 

 The hotel had a shuttle into Fairbanks, but we used Uber to get around and you get to meet the Local Uber drivers and hear their Alaska stories! Everyone in Alaska has a Moose story.

 There is a Huge Fred Meyer store (like a super Walmart) a block away where you can buy Anything you may have forgotten like Insect Repellant. Yes the Mosquito is the unofficial Alaska state bird and they come in 2 sizes single engine and twin engine.

   

[D. B.]

Another point about the X land tour. The Wilderness Express train is a Vista Dome area upstairs and a dining car downstairs.

 The Dining arrangements are a little cramped, but we found the food very good and worth doing.

 

[garyl62]

Here's a luggage question.  I read a review (don't recall if it was about a Celebrity trip or a different cruise line) where the poster stated they packed two bags, one for the cruise and a smaller one for the land portion.  At the first point luggage was checked they were asked if there was any luggage they didn't need until the cruise so those bags were tagged for the ship and not seen again until they were delivered to the stateroom.  Thus it was easier moving into a hotel room with just one smaller suitcase.  Has anyone on a Celebrity Land Cruise experienced something similar?

[Banana15]

On 2/9/2023 at 5:36 PM, D. B. said:

Another point about the X land tour. The Wilderness Express train is a Vista Dome area upstairs and a dining car downstairs.

 The Dining arrangements are a little cramped, but we found the food very good and worth doing.

 

I did see that it was an option on the train, so I am glad to know the food was good. -- Were you able to just head downstairs or were you required to make some sort of reservation?

[Banana15]

21 hours ago, garyl62 said:

Here's a luggage question.  I read a review (don't recall if it was about a Celebrity trip or a different cruise line) where the poster stated they packed two bags, one for the cruise and a smaller one for the land portion.  At the first point luggage was checked they were asked if there was any luggage they didn't need until the cruise so those bags were tagged for the ship and not seen again until they were delivered to the stateroom.  Thus it was easier moving into a hotel room with just one smaller suitcase.  Has anyone on a Celebrity Land Cruise experienced something similar?

I saw something similar and I don't recall where either. I don't necessarily mind this, but that requires us to take two separate suitcases on the plane, which may be a pain. I assume they will allow you to take anything you need....maybe just trying to avoid having to take EVERYTHING out of the motorcoach each night. 

[Mark_K]

13 minutes ago, Banana15 said:

I saw something similar and I don't recall where either. I don't necessarily mind this, but that requires us to take two separate suitcases on the plane, which may be a pain. I assume they will allow you to take anything you need....maybe just trying to avoid having to take EVERYTHING out of the motorcoach each night. 

If you’re managing a land tour and a seven day cruise with only one suitcase per person, I doubt they will care that you didn’t separate it into two suitcases.

[Banana15]

3 hours ago, Mark_K said:

If you’re managing a land tour and a seven day cruise with only one suitcase per person, I doubt they will care that you didn’t separate it into two suitcases.

On a million dollar bet, I couldn’t fit 12 days into one suitcase for the Caribbean, never mind those bulky clothes for Alaska 🤣🤣 I meant two EXTRA suitcases. One for me and one for my husband. I’m assuming we’ll already be at two each….and that’s gonna be tough for me (I’m sure I’ll be in most of his second one 😬). If I need to, I will gladly grab my own suitcases each night, but it would be a pain for me to have to try to work out of just one, especially since I have to put all the liquids separate from clothes to avoid a nightmare when they get tossed around on the plane.  Hopefully we’ll get some feedback on how much they push the one suitcase thing. 

[Jim_Iain]

On 2/14/2023 at 3:53 PM, garyl62 said:

Here's a luggage question.  I read a review (don't recall if it was about a Celebrity trip or a different cruise line) where the poster stated they packed two bags, one for the cruise and a smaller one for the land portion.  At the first point luggage was checked they were asked if there was any luggage they didn't need until the cruise so those bags were tagged for the ship and not seen again until they were delivered to the stateroom.  Thus it was easier moving into a hotel room with just one smaller suitcase.  Has anyone on a Celebrity Land Cruise experienced something similar?

On our Land Tour - At the hotel meeting first night they gave us two colored luggage tags -  You make the decision.   One color stays locked on the bus and the other is delivered to your room at each stop.   Some chose to have it all delivered every night but added to the work of the porters.

 

You were advised at each hotel what time you needed to have your bag outside your room in the morning.

 

We usually travel with a Medium to Large Suite case and a LARGE Suitb ag that holds about as much as a suite case but mostly dress clothing, dinner jackets, dress shoes etc etc.  At home we split out what we would need for the 3 days on land -   of course didn't nee dress clothing and much of our heavy coats and sweaters etc we were wearing.   We also Carried a Backpack and Small Duffel with us as hand luggage.

 

The land portion is Casual and you can survive easy with just jeans, sweater, casual shoes and heavier jacket.  

Edited February 16, 2023 by Jim_Iain

[garyl62]

Thanks @Jim_Iain  I don't want to take more than 1 for each of us into our room at each stop, but doing a 6 night land portion we'll probably need to do some serious planning as my DW is convinced she's going to need several types of shoes (hiking, water proof, and at least a couple to match outfits for just general walking), not to mention all the coats and layers for every condition imaginable.  The backpack is a good idea to throw a puffer coat or other layered outer ware into.  Hopefully we'll still get all the info when we check-in although our plane doesn't land until 8:30PM and I think they leave the lobby before then.  How did you make your transfer from ANC to the hotel?