Princess Alaska with Land Tours - Advice and Suggestions

[cusematt4]

Hi All,

 

We didn't realize we had to book a Princess land tour at the time of booking a Princess Alaska cruise.  It seems we need to cancel and rebook.

 

For land tours, we are looking at 3 and 4 night pre-cruise options that include the below

 

We are looking at all options from A-F.  A few questions for anyone who has gone through this:

 

-Is it worth doing an itinerary that has Mt. McKinley included in it?

 

-The 3 and 4 night options either have Anchorage OR Fairbanks, but not both.  Doesn't the ship leave from Fairbanks?  How would an itinerary work that has Anchorage in it if we ultimately need to get to Fairbanks?

 

-For Anchorage vs Fairbanks - any insight into what the differences are?  Is there more to see and do in Anchorage or Fairbanks?  Is one more preferred or recommended?

 

Thanks so much for any insight.

 

 

[NavyVeteran]

1 hour ago, cusematt4 said:

Hi All,

 

We didn't realize we had to book a Princess land tour at the time of booking a Princess Alaska cruise.  It seems we need to cancel and rebook.

 

For land tours, we are looking at 3 and 4 night pre-cruise options that include the below

 

We are looking at all options from A-F.  A few questions for anyone who has gone through this:

 

-Is it worth doing an itinerary that has Mt. McKinley included in it?

 

-The 3 and 4 night options either have Anchorage OR Fairbanks, but not both.  Doesn't the ship leave from Fairbanks?  How would an itinerary work that has Anchorage in it if we ultimately need to get to Fairbanks?

 

-For Anchorage vs Fairbanks - any insight into what the differences are?  Is there more to see and do in Anchorage or Fairbanks?  Is one more preferred or recommended?

 

Thanks so much for any insight.

 

 

The ship leaves from Whittier, which is 2 1/2 hours from Anchorage. Fairbanks is in central Alaska a lot farther away.

All of the tours you list above are post-cruise tours. You end in either Anchorage or Fairbanks and fly home from there. Notice they start with the cruise followed by "Direct-to-the-Wilderness" train. You get on the train in Whittier after disembarking the ship and take the train to a station and transfer to a bus to get to either Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge or Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge.

Princess also has pre-cruise tours, but you didn't list any. They will start with an airport transfer and hotel stay in either Fairbanks or Anchorage and then take either train or bus to one of the Princess Lodges. The pre-cruise tours will often end with a Direct-from-the-Wilderness train from a station close to your last lodge to Whittier to catch the ship.

I can't comment on the details of the various tours, because it has been a long time since I've been on one. One of the first decisions is whether you want the tour pre-cruise or post-cruise.

It is worth seeing Denali (formerly known as Mt. McKinney) but don't count on seeing it. It is hidden by clouds almost all of the time. It is now normally referred to as Denali (the earlier native American name) instead of Mt. McKinley (the name assigned much later by non-native explorers).

When you asked "Is it worth doing an itinerary that has Mt. McKinley included in it?", I suspect you were asking if it was worth going the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. You will actually see Mt. McKinley (weather permitting) from the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge. Both of these lodges are named for the same mountain.

If you stay at two lodges, you have the advantage of seeing another area. But you have the disadvantage of spending time on a bus traveling from one to another and having to move hotels. If you stay at one lodge, then you don't have to change hotels. Make sure you look at the full itinerary for each tour to see exactly what is included.

[cusematt4]

Thanks for all of the info so far.

 

Does anyone know if the itinerary in each location is the same for each.
For example - is the Denali day/night the same for A vs B? Would the Fairbanks day/night be the same for B and C?

[t&atravel]

Delete

Edited September 26, 2023 by t&atravel

[WisCruiser2]

FYI, I don't think that Denali is actually visable from the Denali Lodge, just the Mt McKinley one (if he decides to show himself). The Princess Cruisetours (2) we've taken included a bus tour into Denali, and the second time we could see the mountain briefly way in the distance at one of the stops.

 

OP, if you are planning to do a cruisetour, I'd recommend doing it pre-cruise if possible. We liked having everything taken care of for us, but others are more comfortable making their own arrangements. IF we have the opportunity to ever go again, I would look into the rail tour and stay at the lodges.