RCCL vs Princess Alaska Cruise Tours?

[petrus]

Hi, we are planning our 6th cruise and I finally got my wife convinced to cruise Alaska. (She loves the Caribbean). We would like to extend the cruise by taking advantage of the cruise tours. The questions we have are:

 

Is there a difference in the "tour" portion of the trip between cruise lines?

 

Is there a significant difference in temps, rain etc. between let's say early June (anniversary) and July/August?

 

I have researched the actual tour offerings but would like to get as much insight from others who have experienced these type of itinerary's.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice!!

 

Pete

[Keith1010]

If you want to do a pre-cruse or post-cruise land tour than I would highly recommend selecting Princess over RCL. Priincess has been sailing Alaska longer than almost all other lines and one of their advantages are pre or post cruise land packages. If you are asking about regular shore excursions in the ports then I wouldn't be too concerned about which cruise line you select as many of them are the same or similar. Princess is a bit more organize though.

 

I have been to Alaska three times; once in June, and twice in July. Each time was different in terms of the weather. I would pick whichever month you prefer and not worry too much about the differenc in weather as weather up there just like in other parts of the world varies year to year and day to day. I've been there where it's been sunny all week and another time where it was rainy and overcast most of the week.

 

Keith

[petrus]

Thanks for the reply Keith, we are planning a pre or post cruise land package. The Princess tour info sounded better to me also, but there is nothing like personal info from someone who has been there.

 

I agree with your advice about the weather, but wanted to ask just in case someone would come back with for example "it's sunnier/rainier in July, etc"

 

Pete

[Mr_Cruise]

You have to factor in what YOUR priorities are. Personally, I like RCI/CEL better for AK Cruisetours than PCL. Here are a few differences...

 

Princess: sails to Glacier Bay (#1 on most pax list), owns their own lodges overlooking rivers (some a little too out of the way though), has area specialists (guides) join the tour in each destination, train cars are pretty good, many ships to choose from (670pax to more than 3000)

 

Royal Caribbean/Celebrity: sail to Hubbard glacier (a close 2nd), have contracts with excellent properties in AK including the Alyeska Prince (highest rated property in the state), the land tour is entirely hosted/guided by the same people from start to finish so it is much more personable, their glass domed train cars are the best IMO, one ship in each line doing cruisetours (both are great)

[Budget Queen]

With any cruisetour, be sure to fully do your homework, there is plenty that is not understood by a lot of visitors. I give RCI and edge for Seward, but they usually don't allow any times there, a few tours do, and those would be my only recommendation. RCI also stays in Talkeetna at the Talkeetna Alaska Lodge- very convenient for touring. Princess is 50 miles away out in the middle of nowhere at the McKinley lodge, requires a little more planning, and do NOT make the mistake of thinking you can get into Denali National Park from here, you can not. Princess also includes the Natural History tour on way too many cruisetours.

 

One of the most important features of cruise tours is Denali Park, the Tundra Wilderness tour is my only recommendation, the Natural History tour is a waste of time and more important, you have significantly shortchanged yourself by missing out on significant scenery and wildlife viewing. Difference is going to mile 53 or mile 16. But the Park Road in is 90 miles. So even the Tundra Wilderness is lacking, big bear viewing habitat mile 53-66. Be sure to have 2 nights here, far superior.

 

Research fully and determine what is your priority, go for as long as you can afford, at least 6 add on days. Any shorter has more time in transit rather than at the destination. Factor in extra "wait" times on cruisetours- loading, unloading, meeting etc. Budget 50% more for meals than you would at home, will give you a cushion.

 

Also look at independent for comparism, if of interest. Especially with http://www.toursaver.com can be significantly cheaper plus the freedom to make your own schedule and concentrate your time on your priorities rather than a generic fixed schedule.

[petrus]

Thanks for the feedback and advice. I will certainly check out the independent option. I was planning at least 2 nights at denali. When I talked to Princess about the trunda wilderness tour for 07 last week, they told me that they are offering only the natural history tour and that there would be limited availability for the tundra tour because "the park was limiting access for environmental reasons". That sounded plausable but I wondered how much of it was a cost cutting move.

 

Any additional information about cruise tours, destinations or independent options would be great!!

 

Pete

[NancyIL]

We will be on a Princess cruise next summer, but we'll most likely be doing our own independent land tour post-cruise. But if I were seriously considering a cruisetour - I like HAL's best. Many of theirs have the "Double Denali" feature. I could see myself on one of their 3 or 4-day cruises into/out of Skagway, with a week of touring the Klondike and Fairbanks/Denali - but that would have to wait until our 2nd trip to Alaska!

[DukeFamily]

My family did the Alaska cruise/tour with Princess. It was absolutely fabulous. Things may have changed, but we did stay at Denali ( I think it was called the Denali Wilderness Lodge?) Our group opted out of the bus tour of Denali - it's really long (about 5 hours) on an old school bus, and we had little kids and grandparents with us. We went horseback riding instead and that was awesome - so much fun. Princess's cars on the train were really nice, too. We were a group of about 9 and had the very last seat in the very last car on the train, so we had the windows on both sides and the whole back - I'd fight tooth and nail to get THOSE seats if I got to do this again!

 

There was a naturalist onboard the ship the whole time. Never saw her, but she was always on the PA talking about where we were and pointing out wildlife. She was great. The second day the captain even went a little off course to a place where they had seen pods of whales the week before - we saw so many of them! They're so good - the captain (or the naturalist) will tell you what time in the a.m. you need to be up on deck in order to see such and such. You never miss a thing.

 

We did the land tour first starting out in Fairbanks and boarded the ship in Seward. I highly recommend doing it in that order, too. The land tour is fun and exciting but exhausting because you are on the go all the time, so it was wonderful to do all that then get on the ship and decompress! We did have time in Seward to see the Aquarium which was cool.

 

Princess was great - we never had to worry about one thing from the time we got on the plane in Dallas. Everyone was very friendly and professional and VERY prompt - they've definitely got their game face on! I'd go again in a minute - and plan to!

[Budget Queen]

Our group opted out of the bus tour of Denali - it's really long (about 5 hours) on an old school bus, and we had little kids and grandparents with us.

 

 

We did the land tour first starting out in Fairbanks and boarded the ship in Seward. I highly recommend doing it in that order, too. The land tour is fun and exciting but exhausting because you are on the go all the time, so it was wonderful to do all that then get on the ship and decompress! We did have time in Seward to see the Aquarium which was cool.

 

Princess was great - we never had to worry about one thing from the time we got on the plane in Dallas. Everyone was very friendly and professional and VERY prompt - they've definitely got their game face on! I'd go again in a minute - and plan to!

 

 

For clairfication, they are NOT "old school buses", actually not bad seats at all, they certainly are heavy duty suspension, but since you did not ride them, you have the wrong idea in my opinion. Also you need at LEAST 6 hours and my min. 8 hours to Fish Creek to get the most out of Denali Park. Princess does NOT go to Seward any more, only in/out of Whittier which is superb for glacier boat tours. But do consider getting to Seward, just excellent touring opportunities. As for having an exhausted schedule, this is a problem with cruisetours. On the go especially on the short tours, but then wasted time waiting, loading/unloading etc. This doesn't have to be true for independent with proper planning, mine never are a marathon trip.

[TeeBuccs]

My husband and I returned from our first Alaskan cruisetour in early June - we sailed Radiance of the Seas northbound with five days inland afterwards. Although I can not speak for the other lines (as my only experience has been with RCI), we were extremely pleased with the efficiency and itineary with Royal Carribean.

 

I posted a review (but by now it is buried on this site somewhere) that detailed the land portion separate from the actual cruise. To me the RCI Wildnerness Express glass-domed train cars, can't be beat. They are spacious, extremely comfortable and provide viewing from any vantage point.

 

When moving about on land and staying at the various lodges - RCI had a system for moving luggage around for us that was quite efficient. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and are even now planning to get back there. If you have any specific questions I can try to answer them for you!

[petrus]

I appreciate the advice and info. As of right now, we are leaning heavily towards a princess northbound cruisetour in early june. The itinerary fits our schedule and allows 2 nights and a tundra wilderness tour at Denali. There was an RCL southbound option but required a move every day (which sounds very hectic) and did not allow enough time for the tundra tour at Denali.

 

The independent option still sounds interesting but for this first time, we will probably just "play it safe".

 

Any other advice or insights out there?

[mike35]

We'll be on a Princess southbound tour in a few days. We opted for the Southbound, based on advice regarding the rather exhausting land portion, and the fact that we can recover during the first two days of the cruise portion, which is "at sea". Also based on advice on this board, we canceled the Natural History Tour that was part of Princess' itinerary, and they gave us full credit. In its place we independently booked the Tundra Wilderness Tour. I'll report on this deviation upon its completion.

 

Mike

[petrus]

We'll be on a Princess southbound tour in a few days. We opted for the Southbound, based on advice regarding the rather exhausting land portion, and the fact that we can recover during the first two days of the cruise portion, which is "at sea". Also based on advice on this board, we canceled the Natural History Tour that was part of Princess' itinerary, and they gave us full credit. In its place we independently booked the Tundra Wilderness Tour. I'll report on this deviation upon its completion.

 

Mike

Thanks for the insight. Also your experience with the tundra tour would be greatly appreciated.