Denali tundra wilderness tour

[canuck742]

We received a notice from HAL regarding our wilderness tour in Denali. We are considering taking the shorter tour, any advice about this? Thanks in advance 

[wolfie11]

The Natural History tour is rubbish.  Don’t switch! The only good alternative to the Tundra tour is to get on a green shuttle bus that goes the same place as the Tundra tour. 

[canuck742]

Thank you for your prompt reply! We aren’t going to switch !

[CCJack]

Agree,   the wilderness tour increases chances of seeing wildlife.    Plus, unlike other national parks Denali is not easy to  experience on your own with just a couple hours.   It is very vast.  We did have a nice 1/2 day hike near our lodge but that was just outside of the park.   

Edited April 8 by CCJack

[Kat915]

Don't switch. A lot of bad reviews on the natural history tour.  You can read up on them on the Denali National Park website. 

[LynKev]

Do you mind me asking when your Cruisetour is with HAL?  We are scheduled in late May with a 3 night Denali stay. I don't find the communication from HAL to be that great.

[AKStafford]

Use the transit bus: https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/shuttles.htm

[canuck742]

We are on  June 16 cruise out of Vancouver to Whittier.  We’ve cruised many times with Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Princess, we are new to HAL.

We booked direct with HAL, and wish I would have booked with a travel agent since it is so hard to get any information out of HAL regarding this cruise/tour.

their website is by far the worst site to navigate.

I had so many questions re: 3 day Denali add on, you really have to do your own research and be your own advocate.

my friends tell me that HAL is best for Alaska, I’m hoping for the best.

[Crew News]

Here is a link to HAL's Alaska Cruisetour tips that can answer some of your questions:  Alaska Cruisetour Tips 2024

 

After reading the tips, you will have questions about luggage.  Feel free to pose them here. 

 

Here is a link to information from my previous HAL cruisetours to Denali:  Denali Experience

 

I strongly recommend a HAL flight excursion with landing in the snow on your free day in Denali.  The views are breathtaking.

 

[dccruisin]

Not sure where the wilderness tour usually goes but there is this warning on the NP site:  An ongoing landslide at Pretty Rocks is impacting bus service. All transit buses will travel only to Mile 43 of the 92-mile long Denali Park Road.

 

Elsewhere it says all buses including tour buses can only go to mile marker 43.  So not sure what we will see.  We are on RCL's 7A tour from the May 17th out of Vancouver.  I am trying to find out more info also on our land portion.

Linda 

[dccruisin]

Hi crew news.  Would you happen to have this type of info (links) for RCL?  I have been trying to workthrough the CC postings on Alaska.

Thanks. Linda

[Crew News]

22 minutes ago, dccruisin said:

Hi crew news.  Would you happen to have this type of info (links) for RCL?  I have been trying to workthrough the CC postings on Alaska.

Thanks. Linda

I have been cruising with Holland America since 2008 and have no insight to RCL operations.  The HAL tour tips should be similar to other cruise lines for the transportation/luggage restrictions.

 

Feel free to post questions here to get more Alaska answers to help in your planning.

[KruisinKath]

22 hours ago, dccruisin said:

Not sure where the wilderness tour usually goes but there is this warning on the NP site:  An ongoing landslide at Pretty Rocks is impacting bus service. All transit buses will travel only to Mile 43 of the 92-mile long Denali Park Road.

 

Elsewhere it says all buses including tour buses can only go to mile marker 43.  So not sure what we will see.  We are on RCL's 7A tour from the May 17th out of Vancouver.  I am trying to find out more info also on our land portion.

Linda 

There is only the one road in the park, so all three of the tour options use just that one. 

[LynKev]

Here's a link about the different bus tour descriptions at Denali:

 

https://www.travelalaska.com/explore-alaska/articles/denali-bus-tours