Cruise tour lodging

[screamin400]

Looking at NCL and Princess. Who has the best land tour and the best lodging? Is there a big difference? I am not real fussy but don't want to be in a shack either. Really looking at keeping the comparison between these two. It appears to me that Princess owns their facilities and NCL leases. Who has been to both? Thanks

[oaktreerb]

Princess has the best experience with their own lodges and the best docking locations for the cruise portion of your trip.  The Princess Denali Lodge is near the national park visitor’s center and they have free busses running all day to and from, it’s also walkable.  The Princess lodge outside Talkeetna is nice but not near activities unless you book an excursion.   Princess uses the Captain Cook hotel in Anchorage.  Nice hotel, great location.

[Coral]

I can't say Princess always has the best docking locations. For example - in Juneau, they are often at Franklin dock which was built so that their ships can hook up to Juneau power and save energy. It is not bad but not the best. They do it to be energy friendly. It was a joint venture between city of Juneau and Princess.

 

Though NCL does have the worst docking location in Ketchikan.

 

I agree about Captain Cook in Anchorage. It is a great hotel, great location.

[Suzanne123]

I’ve stayed at Kenai Princess Lodge several times ( not on a land tour), and it’s very nice. Not fancy, but the rooms are clean, fairly large, and the food is good at both the main dining room and the smaller bar area.  The view from the deck overlooking the river is beautiful. There is a small gift shop. You can walk down a steep hill to the river, but sometimes they will have a bear sighting, so be careful. 😳.  
Their web site just shows the main building, but the smaller cabins are arranged in rows around that.  
Kenai Princess is not near anything, but if you’re on the land tour, you probably don’t need anything. They do offer excursions. 

[Northern Aurora]

I also can't agree that Princess has the best docking locations for their ships.  I've seen Princess ships docked out in the "hinterlands" a number of times.

 

We have stayed at both the Denali Princess and the McKinley View Princess a number of times.  We have only stayed limited times at the Copper River Princess lodge.  I can't say that we have enjoyed "the best experience with their own lodges" either.  The Denali and McKinley View Princess are built using the same model -- a complex of two story buildings with guest lodging, and stand alone buildings housing restaurants, bars and retail space.  These buildings are not designed to be operated during the winter so not much insulation; you will hear people walking outside and in the hallways.  The story guest lodging buildings do not all have elevators.  We have seen guests struggling with the stairs.  We have been in rooms both in the DP and MVP which had torn window screens (remember -- Alaska has mosquitos).  No air conditioning -- just standing fans you can position on a desk or so forth.  

 

When we have stayed at the Copper River facility it was newer so in better condition. For example, dresser drawers readily slid in and out.

[Coral]

48 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

I also can't agree that Princess has the best docking locations for their ships.  I've seen Princess ships docked out in the "hinterlands" a number of times.

I have seen where one Princess ship had prime docking location and another had the worst on the same day. And it can change from week to week or day to day.

 

@screamin400 Hotels in Alaska are not the same as hotels elsewhere. The only exception I can say is Harbor 360 in Seward (was built as a Holiday Inn Express) and Alyeska resort in Girdwood. Things are more "rustic" in Alaska. I do like Captain Cook - it comes across as nautical with the dark wood, etc... Service is exceptional but the rooms are not something I rave about but I do like the hotel and location and would stay there again. It is Alaska, just don't expect high end hotels.

Edited January 30 by Coral

[oaktreerb]

Which hotels does NCL use?  This is a one sided discussion of Princess lodging.  Maybe OP should ask this question on the NCL board for NCL land tour experiences in Alaska.

Edited January 30 by oaktreerb

[screamin400]

After many talks with NCL I decided I could not spend that kind of money without knowing my where I would be staying. I switched to Princess and booked yesterday. Seems like they have their act together much better. Thanks everyone that answered on here.

[Coral]

10 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

Which hotels does NCL use?  This is a one sided discussion of Princess lodging.  Maybe OP should ask this question on the NCL board for NCL land tour experiences in Alaska.

I actually looked this up because nobody ever talks about NCL cruise tours and I was curious what their cruise tour uses. They do list hotels but it sounds like you really don't know what you are getting. 

*Hotels are assigned at Norwegian’s discretion. We are unable to accept requests for specific hotels. Hotels are guaranteed at 30 days prior to the start of the tour. Norwegian Cruise Line reserves the right to substitute hotels of equal or greater quality.

 

Edited January 30 by Coral