Princess Alaska - pre cruise land tour and/or airfare

[cusematt4]

Hi all - we are in the process of planning a possible first time trip to Alaska.  We are looking at the Grand or Sapphire from Anchorage to Alaska.

 

Does anoyne have a recommendation for a pre-cruise Princess land tour?  We would only want to do either 3 nights or 4 nights max, prior to the cruise.

 

It seems like there are over 50 options for Princess-organized pre or post cruise tours.  Has anyone done research as to which would be the best pre-cruise Alaska tour among the 3 or 4 night options?

 

Also, are there any advantages to doing both a Princess land tour combined with a Princess Alaska cruise?  Does Princess offer any specials/discounts for doing a land tour and cruise with them, opposed to only doing one of these with them?

 

As for airfire if we do a land tour + cruise - are there any deals or advantages to having Princess take care of the airefare as well?  We typically always book air on our own, but if there are pricing advantages/specials to do all 3 (air + land tour + cruise) with Princess, we would definitely prefer the best deal and offers.

 

Thank you.

[skynight]

I expect that a very large percentage of people that take a Princes land tours book a pre or post Princess Cruisetour. This includes a north or southbound 7 day cruise plus a land tour. Land tour portions can be from 3 days to 10 days. They are all shown on the Princess web site under cruisetours. There are around 50 options. You should research all the options to narrow down your choices. The voyage portion of the cruise tour gets you to glaciers as well as towns along the panhandle. These towns and sites can only be accessed from Alaska via water or air.

You book your own air. This can be done through Princess EZ Air, an air consolidator, direct through the airline or through other air consolidators. EZ Air has both flexible and restricted air fares. Most times the flexible fares are really good and you can change up to 45 days prior to your flight without penalty. EZ Air is also covered under the Princess insurance. Occasionally Princess has promos that include some credit for booking EZ Air. You would have to check with a T.A. to see what promos are currently available for next season.

I would select a sailing on one of the older ships. Sapphire would be my 1st choice. Royal Class ships do not have the great viewing areas that are available on the older ships. Royal class ships also have 1,000 additional passengers. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by skynight

[SCX22]

Princess recently published the 2024 Alaska brochure which can be found below:

https://www.princess.com/html/global/brochures/pc/2024-alaska.pdf

 

It's worth a browse.

[Torfamm]

I did a Princess Lodges rail tour that was completely separate from my cruise and loved it. To me, traveling every leg by train was way better than doing half by bus on a cruisetour. 
 

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

[portiemom]

On 7/16/2023 at 2:52 PM, cusematt4 said:

Hi all - we are in the process of planning a possible first time trip to Alaska.  We are looking at the Grand or Sapphire from Anchorage to Alaska.

 

Does anoyne have a recommendation for a pre-cruise Princess land tour?  We would only want to do either 3 nights or 4 nights max, prior to the cruise.

 

It seems like there are over 50 options for Princess-organized pre or post cruise tours.  Has anyone done research as to which would be the best pre-cruise Alaska tour among the 3 or 4 night options?

 

Yes, there are lot of options, so you will need to set your priorities. Do some research. Are you aware that CC has a forum dedicated to all things Alaska? Scroll down to Ports of Call. Realize that Alaska is a vast land. With only 3 or 4 nights on the land, you will eat up a lot of time just traveling from one place to another. So if you have any 1 night stays in any one lodge, you will have a few hours that afternoon or evening that you arrive for an excursion or tour. The next day you will be back on the train or bus to move again. So how important is Denali National Park to you? How about Fairbanks? Decide what YOUR must-dos are BEFORE you select your cruisetour. Best of luck.

[kitkat343]

We actually did the cruise tour independently, and it was quite a bit cheaper (but we booked our cruise last minute six weeks out, so you might be able to get a better price with Princess if you book far in advance).  A significant advantage of going with princess is they will handle all your luggage.  

 

Also, please note that since you seem to be in the beginning stages of your research, please note that the road into Denali is currently being repaired and you'll need to keep an eye here on the NPS website or the Alaska forum for updates https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/conditions.htm .  Currently, NPS is forecasting closures through summer 2026.

Edited July 19, 2023 by kitkat343

[MudderBear]

First off, decide whether or not you want to fly into Anchorage or Fairbanks.  We did DB4 last year, and although we had three nights in Denali which I thought at the time was a bit too long, looking back, it was probably the best.  I want to go again in 2025, and might reduce it down to Denali on your own.  It will cost less and I think the only thing I will be missing is two vs. three nights in Denali and the Natural History Tour (or whatever you call it).  I think I get a night at Mount Mckinley which could be boring, but I will be saving about $800.  

[Worldtraveler 4727]

I did a very comprehensive day-by-day report of our land tour/sea cruise with Princess to Alaska. You might want to read through it. I think it will help you to make a decision about what you want to see, where you want to stay, and how many days you’d like to include in your trip. 
 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2560841-trip-review-connoisseur-land-amp-sea-rb8-june-19-july-4-2018/