Realistic to do 4 days DIY Fairbanks to Seward --add on to cruise is very expensive

[brzymom]

Hello fellow cruisers! Just booked an 11 night on Celebrity for 9/2025 with a 4 night pre cruise add on tour that includes Denali, Fairbanks & Anchorage.. Wondering would it be realistic and more economical to book the pre-cruise portion on our own? 

[AKStafford]

I recommend DIY over the cruise line tours. I drove tour bus for the cruise lines for a couple of years and my opinion is based on that.

It's getting pretty late to get a good deal on a rental car for 2024. And you'll have to pay the one-way drop off fee.

4 day for Fairbanks to Seward is tight. It all depends on what you want to see and do.

I'd also suggest some research at the TripAdvisor forum for Alaska travel to get more ideas for the land portion of your trip: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28923-i349-Alaska.html

[Northern Aurora]

We live in Fairbanks.  It is difficult for folks who have not visited Alaska to understand how large Alaska is.  That four night pre-cruise package is essentially a lot of time in a motor coach.  Instead consider focusing on the Kenai Peninsula. 

[TMLAalum]

@brzymom

You have plenty of time to research DIYing. Depending on your schedule you might be able to add a few more nights to your Alaskan land trip, You might want to exclude Fairbanks and make Denali your furthest point. I recommend Hatcher Pass for a night in the lodge there- it's between Anchorage and Denali.

 

[brzymom]

Thank you all for your very helpful information. Trip is 9/2025, so I will begin the research! 

 

Funny note--we then noted the ship was repositioning right after our sailing and we were considering a B2B for the next leg from Vancouver to LA--prices were awesome. My TA advises there is some weird old law that prohibits this. She thought it was the Jones Act or something like that. Who knew? 

[Coral]

1 hour ago, brzymom said:

Thank you all for your very helpful information. Trip is 9/2025, so I will begin the research! 

 

Funny note--we then noted the ship was repositioning right after our sailing and we were considering a B2B for the next leg from Vancouver to LA--prices were awesome. My TA advises there is some weird old law that prohibits this. She thought it was the Jones Act or something like that. Who knew? 

You can not do Seward to Vancouver to LA. You can do Seward to Vancouver and back to Seward. Or Vancouver to Seward to Vancouver.

 

You can not start in one US port on West coast and go to another US port on West coast with out switching ships.

 

Your TA is one of the few that understands this law properly. Passenger Services Act. Jones Act deals with cargo (not passengers).

Edited March 31 by Coral

[brzymom]

Yes—after she mentioned it I looked it up and now understand. Was surprised though! You’d think there’d be exceptions for cruise ships bringing tourists to US ports!!

[AKStafford]

1 hour ago, brzymom said:

You’d think there’d be exceptions for cruise ships bringing tourists to US ports!!

Alaska has been fighting for an exception for years with no luck.

[Coral]

5 minutes ago, AKStafford said:

Alaska has been fighting for an exception for years with no luck.

Yea - Congress doesn't even want to talk about this.

[brzymom]

Isn't that a damn shame? 

[wolfie11]

4 hours ago, brzymom said:

Isn't that a damn shame? 

No.  You can't make an exception for a fleet (68 cruise ships in Alaska this summer) of foreign-owned, foreign-registered ships who pay no taxes, violate any number of US labor laws, don't have to adhere to US Coast Guard safety standards (they answer to IMO) and would happily not see a dime of passengers money spent in the local economy if they could help it. 

Edited April 1 by wolfie11

[AKJonesy]

I don't recommend Denali and Fairbanks.  It is way too far to drive and at least on the Parks Hwy going northbound, it's not that interesting.  Also, don't spend time in Anchorage.  I don't recommend Talkeetna either.  Talkeetna is a great little town to spend a few hours at most and for your very short number of days, I would not recommend driving all that way to spend just a few hours.  The problem is your 4 days; it's not enough time so use it extremely well.  Upvote for #2 post.  There are some great posters on TA who will help you with an itinerary.   

[GORDONCHICK]

We did 9 days post cruise on our own and it was very easy and much less expensive.  We had several favorite things we did/visited.  One of my faves was white water rafting around Denali.

[BuckeyeMark]

12 hours ago, GORDONCHICK said:

We did 9 days post cruise on our own and it was very easy and much less expensive.  We had several favorite things we did/visited.  One of my faves was white water rafting around Denali.

Please post details on how you managed the DIY - did you use a guide, book your own hotels (which one), who you used to go rafting, etc. This sounds very hopeful and we'd like to try do the same thing. Any and all info on that would be much appreciated!

[GORDONCHICK]

4 hours ago, BuckeyeMark said:

Please post details on how you managed the DIY - did you use a guide, book your own hotels (which one), who you used to go rafting, etc. This sounds very hopeful and we'd like to try do the same thing. Any and all info on that would be much appreciated!

I just researched and found places we wanted to go and grouped them together by the areas to figure out where to stay and how long.  We stayed at one of the Princess lodges for 4 nights.  I know we stayed at a B&B on the outskirts of Anchorage, too.  Denalirafting.com is who we rafted through.  I scoured tripadvisor for things to see and do, and used them for lodging on some except the Princess lodge.  There's tons of info on tripadvisor.  We found great restaurants there too.

 

 

Edited April 3 by GORDONCHICK

[poohbear8]

6 minutes ago, GORDONCHICK said:

I just researched and found places we wanted to go and grouped them together by the areas to figure out where to stay and how long.  We stayed at one of the Princess lodges for 4 nights.  I know we stayed at a B&B on the outskirts of Anchorage, too.  Denalirafting.com is who we rafted through.  I scoured tripadvisor for things to see and do, and used them for lodging on some except the Princess lodge.  There's tons of info on tripadvisor.  We found great restaurants there too.

 

 

Thank you! I am not the OP, but am also booked for Sept 2025 and want to do a DIY before the cruise. Your experience helps!

[sr71_1]

Our Cruise is Seward to Vancouver:   Friends whom have taken the cruise add on noted that it was too much bus time ... next time they'd do the land part on their own.   Sooo... we considered flying to Fairbanks, renting an SUV and making our way to Seward.   The wheels started to come off the idea when a few places we wished to stay overnight had mandatory multi-night minimums.   We are locked in (for better or worse) to fly to Anchorage – weather permitting a day trip to Talkeetna for a flight around Denali (glacier landing) and train to Seward / trip to Kenai fjords before we board cruise.  Got a lot of info from this board, weighed the opinions and made the plans on our own.     

    

Edited April 3 by sr71_1

[nordicacres]

For just four days I would choose two areas close together. We have two full days we will spend in Seward and wish we had another because there are so many things we are interested in doing there! It will make your time more enjoyable and less rushed. 

[donaldsc]

On 4/2/2024 at 5:06 AM, AKJonesy said:

I don't recommend Denali and Fairbanks.  It is way too far to drive and at least on the Parks Hwy going northbound, it's not that interesting.  Also, don't spend time in Anchorage.  I don't recommend Talkeetna either.  Talkeetna is a great little town to spend a few hours at most and for your very short number of days, I would not recommend driving all that way to spend just a few hours.  The problem is your 4 days; it's not enough time so use it extremely well.  Upvote for #2 post.  There are some great posters on TA who will help you with an itinerary.   

 

You did not mention that you can only go 43 miles into Denali because of the road closure.  IMHO it is hardly worth doing Denali at all at this time.  My opinion about Talkeeetna is even worse than yours.  On our 2 1/2 month AK driving trip where we had all the time in the world we drove off Parks Highway to Talkeetna which was only 14 miles..  We stayed there maybe 1 or 2 hours and then left.  The visit and the 14 mile drive was not worth the effort.

 

DON

[wolfie11]

3 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

You did not mention that you can only go 43 miles into Denali because of the road closure.  IMHO it is hardly worth doing Denali at all at this time.  My opinion about Talkeeetna is even worse than yours.  On our 2 1/2 month AK driving trip where we had all the time in the world we drove off Parks Highway to Talkeetna which was only 14 miles..  We stayed there maybe 1 or 2 hours and then left.  The visit and the 14 mile drive was not worth the effort.

 

DON

I disagree with Don about Denali.  It’s only 43 miles compared to the 70-odd miles you used to be able to do, but they are still some of the most beautiful and scenic miles in Alaska.  People will tell you to wait until 2026 or 2027 until the road is fixed, but climate change is accelerating and who knows how long, if ever, it will be before the entire park is accessible again.  However, if Denali is just a quick check off for you, don’t go.  You need time in the park to appreciate it.  Take the shuttle into the park.  Drive to Savage River or Tek a few times in your car.  Slowly. Take a couple of short hikes.  Walk the Savage River trail in the evening when no one’s there.  Listen to the river and the birds, look for Dall sheep on the mountains, and watch the marmots clowning around in the rocks.  Denali has a lot to offer that you won’t find in the tourism madness that is Alaska these days.

Edited April 4 by wolfie11

[frugaltravel]

On 3/31/2024 at 7:14 PM, wolfie11 said:

No.  You can't make an exception for a fleet (68 cruise ships in Alaska this summer) of foreign-owned, foreign-registered ships who pay no taxes, violate any number of US labor laws, don't have to adhere to US Coast Guard safety standards (they answer to IMO) and would happily not see a dime of passengers money spent in the local economy if they could help it. 

Sounds like you would rather see the cruise lines not sail to Alaska at all 🙂

 

[wolfie11]

21 minutes ago, frugaltravel said:

Sounds like you would rather see the cruise lines not sail to Alaska at all 🙂

 

This isn’t even about the cruise lines sailing to Alaska, although I think there need to be limits.  This is about the PVSA which is the law that protects US shipping from cheap foreign competition.  It’s the equivalent of not allowing foreign airlines to fly domestic routes.

[tetleytea]

On 3/31/2024 at 2:28 AM, Northern Aurora said:

We live in Fairbanks.  It is difficult for folks who have not visited Alaska to understand how large Alaska is.  That four night pre-cruise package is essentially a lot of time in a motor coach.  Instead consider focusing on the Kenai Peninsula. 

 

On 4/4/2024 at 1:51 PM, nordicacres said:

For just four days I would choose two areas close together. We have two full days we will spend in Seward and wish we had another because there are so many things we are interested in doing there! It will make your time more enjoyable and less rushed. 

That is true.  While you CAN do Fairbanks to Seward in 4 Alaskan summer days, it is better to slash part of it and focus on a smaller locality.   Seward+Anchorage in 4 would work.  

[TMLAalum]

We did our DIY self-drive Alaska trip in the pre-internet days! We rented our car in Anchorage and our northernmost point was here: Alaska Lodging | Camp Denali (which at the time stayed in its sister accommodation- North Face Lodge). I previously posted about the Hatcher Pass Lodge: Hatcher Pass Lodge – Alaska's Favorite Mountain Playground. We spent several days on the Kenai Peninsula staying in Seward, at a BnB, and Soldotna, where we stayed and played golf-Lodge Accommodations - Birch Ridge (birchridgegolf.com) DH fished a day and we also traveled to Homer while in Soldotna. From the Kenai Peninsula we headed to Valdez via auto train to the Alaska Marine Highway, but the auto train is no longer an option, instead there is a one-way road tunnel. Alaska Marine Highway System - The Alaska State Ferry

 

With a shorter time you can focus on elements that interest you. The Kenai Peninsula alone would be worth spending your 4 extra days.

 

Edited April 6 by TMLAalum