Which itinerary on land is best

[TPotthast]

We are planning a trip to Alaska July 2025 that will be land and cruise.  We have chosen Sapphire Princess and are trying to decide between the following 2 itineraries:

CHOICE # 1      13 Day 6 nights on land 7 nights on the ship 

     Land first:

     July 13th Arrive in Anchorage Hotel Captain Cook for overnight stay

     July 14th Princess Rail from Anchorage to Talkeetna to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge afternoon at leisure

     July 15th Motorcoach to Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge afternoon at leisure

     July 16th Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, Natural History Tour, remainder of day at leisure

     July17th Sightsee by motorcoach to the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge 

     July 18th Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge full day of leisure

     July 19th Motorcoach to Valdez, catamaran to Whittier.

     July 19th Motorcoach to Pier, ship sails at 8:30pm

     Cruise:

     July 19th ship sails at 8:30pm

     July 20th Hubbard Glacier 3:00pm - 8:00pm 

                    Scenic cruising

     July 21st Glacier Bay 9:15am - 7:30pm

                  Scenic cruising

     July 22nd Skagway 7:00am - 8:30pm

     July 23rd Juneau 6:30am - 4:00pm

     July 24th Ketchikan 10:00am - 6:00pm

     July 25th At Sea

     July 26th Vancouver 7:30am

 

CHOICE # 2          12 day 5 nights land 7 nights on ship

     Land first:

      July 14th Fairbanks 

     July 15th Cruise on Sternwheeler down the Chena River 

                    Motorcoach to Denali National Park and Princess Wilderness Lodge, afternoon at leisure

     July 16th Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge Natural History Tour, remainder of day at leisure

     July 17th Princess Rail to Talkeetna, motorcoach to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge

     July 18th Motorcoach across Kenai peninsula to Cooper Landing, Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge.  Remainder of day at leisure.

     July 19th Motorcoach to Whittier to embark and sail at 8:30pm

     Cruise is the same as above.

 

The land portion is the only part that is different and I don't know if one choice is better than the other?  Anyone who can share any advice would be greatly appreciated!   I need to get my reservation secured and I just don't know which would be the better option, or if there is a better option.  This will be our first trip to Alaska and most probably our last.  We will fill as much leisure time as we can with excursions.  We are in our early and mid sixties so don't plan to do any big hiking excursions (don't want to kill my hubby, lol) also don't plan to fish.  Probably more on the lines of Whale/wildlife watching, glacier tours.

 

Thank you!

[Essiesmom]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  The best place for your question/dilemma is the Alaska board under Ports of Call.  Lots of experienced cruisers and locals there.  You could also ask on the Princess board here, under Cruise Lines P-Z.  EM

[TPotthast]

4 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  The best place for your question/dilemma is the Alaska board under Ports of Call.  Lots of experienced cruisers and locals there.  You could also ask on the Princess board here, under Cruise Lines P-Z.  EM

Thank you. New here and trying to figure it all out. I appreciate it. 

[crystalspin]

33 minutes ago, TPotthast said:

Thank you. New here and trying to figure it all out. I appreciate it. 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/33-alaska/

[GeezerCouple]

Welcome!

 

You also might do well to ask this on the Princess Cruise Line section of CC:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/119-princess-cruises/

 

Hopefully, you'll catch the attention of some who have actually done these itineraries, or something similar.

 

When we took our Alaska cruise (we'd love to take another... we'll see...), a serious highlight was Hubbard Glacier.  I don't know if it was particularly active when we were there, but the calving was *amazing* (that's big chunks falling off the glacier face, into the water).  The ship stayed for quite some time, and was slowly spinning so everyone got a 360 degree view even if they didn't move from on viewing point.  But better to keep your eye on that glacier if it's doing the same! 😄

 

If you have a choice of cabin/suites and you don't have an inside, for southbound, try to get a portside view.  We sailed north, and had starboard, so we could see the land a lot.  Those MOUNTAINS!  We went early in the season so we could see lots of snow-capped peaks, and we sure did.  (Other times, there are other special sights.  It's ALL good.)

 

Enjoy!

 

GC

[TPotthast]

47 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

Welcome!

 

You also might do well to ask this on the Princess Cruise Line section of CC:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/119-princess-cruises/

 

Hopefully, you'll catch the attention of some who have actually done these itineraries, or something similar.

 

When we took our Alaska cruise (we'd love to take another... we'll see...), a serious highlight was Hubbard Glacier.  I don't know if it was particularly active when we were there, but the calving was *amazing* (that's big chunks falling off the glacier face, into the water).  The ship stayed for quite some time, and was slowly spinning so everyone got a 360 degree view even if they didn't move from on viewing point.  But better to keep your eye on that glacier if it's doing the same! 😄

 

If you have a choice of cabin/suites and you don't have an inside, for southbound, try to get a portside view.  We sailed north, and had starboard, so we could see the land a lot.  Those MOUNTAINS!  We went early in the season so we could see lots of snow-capped peaks, and we sure did.  (Other times, there are other special sights.  It's ALL good.)

 

Enjoy!

 

GC

Thanks for all the great information!