Precruise land tour options for Alaska? and Princess or Holland America?

[DVCLinda]

We are looking to do a 7 night Alaskan Cruise in July 2025.  We are familiar with cruises, but this will be the first time for all of us for Alaska.  We are down to either Princes (Coral Princess) or Holland America (Noordam or Nieuw Amsterdam)..and the cruise portion and ports on these are almost identical.  We will have some family members ages 19-25, along with parents- ages 50-5 and about 4 families total.  We are leaning toward Princess as it seems like the average age might be slightly younger, but not sure if this is true?  We like both of these cruiselines as they have the option to include a pre cruise 4 day land option to see more of Alaska and they have the license to go into Glacier Bay.  We also like the educational aspect of learning about Alaska as we go.  

 

I have two questions: 

ONE:  which cruiseline and ship is best for our family if we are looking to please all ages with enough on board activities and ammeneties

TWO: we have two choices of pre cruise land tours, both which are 4 nights.  which would be best and why??

LAND TOURS ARE  EITHER: ONE: fly into Anchorage (1 night) head up by bus/train to Denali Princes Wilderness Lodge (spend 2 nights) then head down to Whittier to catch the cruise (one night)  OR TWO:, fly into Fairbanks (1 night), head to Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge (1 night), then onto Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge (1 night) then onto Whittier to catch the cruise (1 night) 

 

Thank you! 

 

[AKStafford]

The cruise line's do a great job of cruising through Southeast Alaska. But I am not fan of their land tours through Southcentral Alaska. This opinion is based on two years as a tour bus driver for those tours. 

I think a better option is renting a vehicle and putting together your own great trip. With your large group, that may be more challenging...

Of the two choices you listed,  I would go with option 1. Option 2 uses McKinley Princess Lodge which is just a passenger warehouse in the middle of no where.

[DVCLinda]

8 minutes ago, AKStafford said:

The cruise line's do a great job of cruising through Southeast Alaska. But I am not fan of their land tours through Southcentral Alaska. This opinion is based on two years as a tour bus driver for those tours. 

I think a better option is renting a vehicle and putting together your own great trip. With your large group, that may be more challenging...

Of the two choices you listed,  I would go with option 1. Option 2 uses McKinley Princess Lodge which is just a passenger warehouse in the middle of no where.

Thank you!  Helpful to know that there isn't much to see near McKinley Princess Lodge.   and yes, I agree about our own land tour as a better option but being our first time, and planning with a large group makes it more challenging.  Any other suggestions on what to see and do, or not do along the way are welcomed! 

 

[Coral]

I would not do a 4 night excursion that includes Fairbanks. Too much travel time. I would only do Fairbanks if doing a 7 night tour.

 

I would suggest renting a car and driving to Denali yourself or renting a car and driving to Seward area and spend time there.

 

People have posted their self driving plans here and you can get some good ideas. Also TripAdvisor has some great info on land trips.

 

Sorry - just saw 4 families (not 4 people). I get it. There is a website I will list in the next post.

Edited April 11 by Coral

[Coral]

A friend planned their own land trip through Princess's lodges that included train travel.  You can compare prices with a land trip:

 

https://www.princesslodges.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI15CWw_S4hQMVvzjUAR2u6AptEAAYASAAEgJEe_D_BwE 

[DVCLinda]

On 4/10/2024 at 8:33 PM, Coral said:

A friend planned their own land trip through Princess's lodges that included train travel.  You can compare prices with a land trip:

 

https://www.princesslodges.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI15CWw_S4hQMVvzjUAR2u6AptEAAYASAAEgJEe_D_BwE 

Thank you so much- i am exploring this option as well!  looks like reservations only go out through summer 2024 at this time.  Do you have any opinions on Princess vs. Holland America for the cruise portion?

 

[Coral]

45 minutes ago, DVCLinda said:

Thank you so much- i am exploring this option as well!  looks like reservations only go out through summer 2024 at this time.  Do you have any opinions on Princess vs. Holland America for the cruise portion?

 

I have only done Princess and RCCL in Alaska. I can only speak on those lines for cruise portions. I believe Princess has more Alaska programming onboard (more speakers, etc...) compared to HAL. Some of them are amazing. HAL has a great reputation in Alaska, I have just only been on their ships in other locations.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13 by Coral

[Kirsten T]

I've done both Coral and Zuiderdam (sister to Noordam) to Alaska and loved both. Alaska itineraries involve so much off-ship time that you'd likely be happy with either; both lines provide a similar experience and I'd happily choose either again. Price and cabin selection would likely be the deciding factor for me.

 

When looking at Coral, note that not all verandas are covered, which can make a difference in Alaska weather. You'd want one that's fully covered. There's an old but still useful guide that's now part of this site:

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/Princess/odell/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html 

 

[DVCLinda]

2 hours ago, Kirsten T said:

I've done both Coral and Zuiderdam (sister to Noordam) to Alaska and loved both. Alaska itineraries involve so much off-ship time that you'd likely be happy with either; both lines provide a similar experience and I'd happily choose either again. Price and cabin selection would likely be the deciding factor for me.

 

When looking at Coral, note that not all verandas are covered, which can make a difference in Alaska weather. You'd want one that's fully covered. There's an old but still useful guide that's now part of this site:

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/Princess/odell/res76zxu/princessbalconies/index.html 

 

This information is so incredibly helpful and the covered balconies are something I would have not considered.  Good feedback  on comparison of ships as well. Thank you!