Need help getting started.. Anchorage for 4 days then 7 day Princess Cruise

[Mr. Baloo]

Hello,

 

Fresh off a Viking Ocean cruise to Greece and Croatia, now it is time to plan out our first Alaskan Cruise.  Need a little help planning out my pre cruise land portion in the Anchorage area.

 

I really have no idea of what is doable and what is not.  How many days should we fly in early?  We didn't book the land and sea with Princess.  First time going to Alaska, and have know idea how long it takes to get from place to place.  So, I will just give you my initial thoughts and we can go from there.

 

Looking at the Princess land portion of the combined trip..  you would stay in 3 different hotels for 3 different nights..  that doesn't sound like fun to me.  Yes, I want to visit Denali National Park, but would rather drive on out in one day and spend some time in all its glory.  Being from Louisiana, I am sure we will be happy just seeing the countryside.  I have seen wildlife before, so seeing a bear is not a necessity... 

 

Wants...  See Denali, eat some crab legs and halibut, maybe a bicycle tour???  360 view train ride.... heck..  see the area and eat some local food...  then..  after a couple of days... head to the port and board the trip.  Like another poster said, since we will be seeing coastal towns and glaciers on our cruise...  may as well see the mountain side on the land portion of the trip.

 

Thanks in advance for all your tips and comments.

[KruisinKath]

I recommend you go to Trip Advisor community forum/Alaska and start reading some posts where people give their general itineraries for feedback.  That forum is geared more toward do-it-yourself trips.  This will give you a good sense of some popular stops, how long it takes to get from place to place, and things to do in each area. Then based on what interests you, you can come up with a tentative itinerary.  
 

The moderators will not create itineraries for you, but most, if not all, are locals, and they are awesome at helping people work through their trips and any problem areas.

 

Good luck!

[lucywestie]

We just got off the Voyage of the Glaciers on the Sapphire Princess (returned Sept 20). Our turn around day was in  Whittier which is where I am assuming you will be boarding the ship. We did the Phillips 26 Glacier cruise out of Whittier. I think it was about $200 per person. We had a very wet and rainy day with a lot of cloud cover. They don't promise to see wildlife but you hope you do. The problem is on the way out of Whittier we passed a raft of sea Otters and the boat just flew by them without commenting or stopping. There were probably a good 150 people on board. 

 

Why I mention this is that we shared a table with a couple who were doing Alaska their own way. They were staying at a hotel in Anchorage called the Alyeska or something similar. They loved it. They had rented a car and were doing their own thing their own way. The husband was also renting a bicycle the following day to get out and about to have a look. They were really happy about their decision though they weren't actually doing a cruise.

 

We also met a lot of people fresh off the Princess land tour portion and quite a few of them seemed to be moaning that they hadn't seen any wildlife and that they would have had to pay for extra excursions to get deeper into the parks etc.

 

This was our third trip to Alaska and probably our last. The big think for Alaska is the ports and what you can do while in port. So whale watching out of Juneau etc. The towns themselves like Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan are pretty much just gateways to the interior. Lots of souvenir shops in all the towns which got a bit tiring on this trip as they all sell the same crap. You really have to book excursions to get outside. Skagway has the White Pass Railway etc.

[Suzanne123]

I think the “Alyeska” hotel you mentioned is probably the Mt. Alyeska Lodge located in Girdwood, about 45 minutes south of Anchorage.  I have stayed there several times on our DIY land tours of the Kenai.  Highly recommend. Prices are high, but no worse than some of the Anchorage hotels ( look for AARP and AAA discounts.) and in a much, much nicer location.

 

https://www.alyeskaresort.com/?_gl=1*176cpwg*_gcl_au*MjA2MTM1NTc4Mi4xNjk1NzMzNDQw

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g31000-d73070-Reviews-Alyeska_Resort-Girdwood_Anchorage_Alaska.html

[AKStafford]

On 9/24/2023 at 2:58 PM, Mr. Baloo said:

Denali National Park, but would rather drive on out in one day and spend some time in all its glory

Don't underestimate your driving time in Alaska. Denali National Park is a six hour drive from Anchorage, so it is not a day trip. Best to plan for a day of driving each way, and then how many ever days your want at the Park.

 

The more days you have for the land portion, the more you can do. 3 days will let you do Denali National Park. Seven days is even better, 10 days is really good.

 

[Mr. Baloo]

Thanks everyone.  As recommended, been reading and posting over on trip advisor too.  I think I agree with the post to do our own thing.  
 

how is taking the train from anchorage to Whittier?  Specifically in Whittier, how is luggage handled? Or is the train station close enough to walk?  If so, is walkway smooth enough to roll luggage? 
 

thanks in advance

 

Baloo

[SirTomster]

I would check out this thread by @no1racefan1 

    They plan on doing some Denali plus you can see their plans and get some ideas.  Plus others have added their plans.

[KruisinKath]

5 hours ago, Mr. Baloo said:

Thanks everyone.  As recommended, been reading and posting over on trip advisor too.  I think I agree with the post to do our own thing.  
 

how is taking the train from anchorage to Whittier?  Specifically in Whittier, how is luggage handled? Or is the train station close enough to walk?  If so, is walkway smooth enough to roll luggage? 
 

thanks in advance

 

Baloo

In 2013, we did a mini land trip, staying based in Anchorage as we didn’t rent car. Did train to Whittier one day for 26 glacier cruise, then train to Seward the next day, Kenai Fjords Tours 6 hr tour, then got on our ship. 
 

We had to take 6:45 AM train ride. If memory serves, they stored our luggage during the boat tour, then we got it and there was a shuttle to the ship, but I was stupid enough to go along with my boyfriend’s desire to walk. Not a bad walk if you don’t have to roll heavy luggage, lol.

 

Train to Whittier left Anchorage later I think, but you can ck schedule on Alaska Railroad site.  Hope that helps!

Edited October 1, 2023 by KruisinKath

[LeeW]

On 9/30/2023 at 1:26 PM, Mr. Baloo said:

Thanks everyone.  As recommended, been reading and posting over on trip advisor too.  I think I agree with the post to do our own thing.  
 

how is taking the train from anchorage to Whittier?  Specifically in Whittier, how is luggage handled? Or is the train station close enough to walk?  If so, is walkway smooth enough to roll luggage? 
 

thanks in advance

 

Baloo

 

Old post, but the train stops adjacent to the pier in Whittier (if it went any farther it would be on a barge).  Luggage dropoff is right there.  Walk about 100 yards and you are on the ship.  Sit on right side of train for best views.

 

[Mr. Baloo]

Thanks Lee!

 

waiting for Whittier car rental place to open back up so we can see if we do the train or rent a car.

[AKStafford]

2 hours ago, Mr. Baloo said:

Thanks Lee!

 

waiting for Whittier car rental place to open back up so we can see if we do the train or rent a car.

You can also call AvisAlaska's Anchorage Airport's location directly. and they should be able help you out: https://www.avisalaska.com/locations/anchorage-airport/   907-249-8260

[TMLAalum]

For a splurge I would stay at North Face Lodge or Camp Denali which are up close to the mountain.

north-face-lodge.com. Click on the Alaska Itineraries link for some suggestions.

On our land visit in the mid-90s we stayed there but at current prices we couldn't afford to!