14 day land/cruise to Alaska

[Starfire2]

Has anyone ever gone on Princess' land/cruise tour? We are debating between this trip or going through Tauck Tours that basically does the same trip (even going on Princess cruise) but has the entire trip planned out for you (all hotels, most meals on land tour, all excursions, etc). I would appreciate any feedback on either tour.

[umma]

Starfire2, we just got back from a 12 day cruise/landtour with Princess. One thing that it doesn't tell you in the tour book is there are long travel days if your destinations are far apart. We landed in Anchorage on the 23rd of May, took a 8 hour train ride to Denali the 24th. Train was wonderful, scenery was great. Stayed at Princess Denali Lodge, rooms okay, but food was not too good and you do pay for all food. The 26th was a 9 hour bus ride to Copper River Princess Lodge. Way too long....Lodge was okay, food was awful. The 28th, another 2 hour bus ride to Valdez, then to the ship for 7 days of cruising which was wonderful. Princess handles all transportation, lodging, transfers, but you pay for all food and anything else you want. If you go through a TA, make you you find out how long travel time is and how many "actual" days you stay at each lodge.

[NAS-KARR]

Been there.....done that ! Loved it ! Do it again in a heart-beat after we see the rest of the world.

Go for it.

 

 

CIAO,

[Toto2Kansas]

We did a week land with Princess, then a week cruise (14 days total). Only thing we would change if we were to do it again is book the cruise portion first, land tour afterwards. After a week on land, we were pooped with all the traveling and would have rather had it the other way around.

[fti]

Be sure you know what you are getting with your land tour. As was already mentioned - check travel distances, see what types of tours are included (if the Natural History Tour at Denali, you are VERY unfortunate).

 

Personally, I would recommend an independent tour - you can do and see more for less cost and be less tired than doing a cruisetour.

[ANNIEPG]

Just got back from an 11 day cruise & land tour. (See separate review under Sapphire.) Our 3 day land portion was our favorite part. Yes, it was a Princess tour.

 

As previous poster mentioned there can be some long travel from point to point but we found the travel (bus or train) to be just another way to see the scenery. We were very busy for our 3 days. We stayed at the Denali Princess and the McKinley Princess. The lodges were both beautiful in a more rustic kind of way. The rooms were basic but comfortable. The views and settings were fantastic.

 

You probably can arrange a similar tour on your own but for our first effort, we liked having Princess handle all of the luggage and timing issues. We never had to touch a piece of baggage.

 

I have to disagree with previous poster who would put the land tour post (rather than pre) cruise. We were so tired from our 3 day tour that the rest and luxury of the ship was a welcome change of pace. It also worked out well that our first 2 days onboard were "sea days" and allowed us to catch up on much needed rest.

 

I too had read some bad things about the Natural History tour in Denali. Perhaps we lucked up but we took that tour, saw all kinds of wildlife (including bears), beautiful views of Mt. McKinley, and had a wonderful tour guide. To be honest though, the guide did tell me it was an unusual day.

 

No matter how you handle the details, I trust you will love this trip!

[margord]

We have done Tauck before and also a Princess land tour. The land tour we did was the Caribbean Rockies and it lived up to Tauck. Of course, this tour was escorted. If you like Tauck I would not do one that wasn't excorted and did not include meals. Tauck is definiately the top of the line as far a touring companies go. I must say the escorted Canadian Rockies tour was right up there with the best.

[clarencebyer]

I agree with the thoughts of Anniepg. We just returned from a 4 day land tour first, starting with 2 days in Fairbanks, one day in Denali, and another day at Mr. McKinley. We were really glad that we did the land portion first. It was quite nice having the two at sea days first to settle in and relax a bit. It would have been hard to be pampered and fed so well on the cruise first and then have to "fend for ourselves" after that on the land tour. In addition, it would have made it more difficult to pack the bags for the land tour if that was done after the cruise. You can each only keep one suitcase with you on the land tour and the rest are sent ahead.

 

We did do the Natural History Tour in Denali since I really didn't get the drift about the tours until it was too late to change anything. I was fully expecting to be disappointed with it. But we too had an excellent guide who spotted wildlife and even stopped to set up a scope so everyone could have a chance to view. We enjoyed it quite a bit, but knowing that there was more out there, it would have been nice to see further into the park. So I wasn't disappointed in the tour at all... it just kind of left me wanting more!

[tapia]

Personally, I would recommend an independent tour - you can do and see more for less cost and be less tired than doing a cruisetour.

 

I agree with that. I was going to book a princess cruise at first with the land tour, but after a lot of research I got things cheaper + got extra great excursions for the same cost as Princess's.....The Alaska board is A LOT of help!

[fti]

re: seeing wildlife on the Natural History Tour. That is much more common early in the season. If you go in June/July/August/September it gets much less common to see the varied wildlife between mile marker 0 and 15 of the park road. But hey, if you were satisfied with what you experienced, that is the most important. Usually people don't know what they are missing.

[fti]

I agree with that. I was going to book a princess cruise at first with the land tour, but after a lot of research I got things cheaper + got extra great excursions for the same cost as Princess's.....The Alaska board is A LOT of help!

 

I can tailor my landtour to my interests and do it far cheaper than the cruiseline can. I don't mind taking a suitcase into my lodging - would rather do that for example than be waiting in hotel lobbies or buses for the last of the cruisetour participants. But, everyone is different and has different interests and priorities.

 

My 10 day landtour next month will cost about what the cruiseline charges for a landtour about half that long. And I get to do and see just what I want - three national parks (Denali, Kenai Fjords, Katmai), not to mention the fun stuff in between.

[Starfire2]

Are you doing the land portion on your own or with a separate tour group?

[fti]

Are you doing the land portion on your own or with a separate tour group?

 

I am doing the land portion totally on my own. In fact, this year it will be just a land tour, no cruise. Leaving Monday July 2, return Friday July 13th. I tend to plan way ahead because I like to use freq flyer miles for my flights (very few freq flyer seats are available to Alaska the longer you wait to book), tentatively book hotels and car rentals early (can always change later but if I keep them, the best bargains are usually had early on). For example, I am paying $50/night including tax for Extended Stay Deluxe in Anchorage for two separate one-night stays. Paid $100/night for two nights at the HI Express in Seward (bought Holiday Inn's Priority Club points - 20,000 points cost $200 and it took 10,000 points/night when I booked - I heard it costs more points now). My rental car is costing $160/week including all taxes (pick up in town, not at the airport). I got a free night in Anchorage at the Days Inn due to Best Rate Guarantee (Days Inn gets some bad reviews but I am literally only sleeping there). All told, including Katmai flight, Talkeetna flightseeing, Kenai Fjords boat trip and all else I am paying well under $2,000.

 

I already have a tentative plan for summer 2008 so I can book flights in August (11 months in advance). It is a game and I like playing games! But by keeping my costs down, I can travel more often.

 

It really is not hard to plan your own tour to Alaska if that is what you want to do. Lots of people here will give ideas. If you have a lot of people, it does get more difficult, though we had 7 last summer and we planned it entirely on our own. Then 5 of the 7 went on a Princess cruise, the other 2 spent an extra couple of nights in AK and flew back home.

 

There are companies that will create an itinerary for you and do all the bookings if you want to do the independent thing but not want to do all the planning. Find the thread about Alaska itineraries for 2007. I think Host Caroline mentioned the company she used to plan hers. I don't remember the name since I prefer to do the planning myself. But it seemed like a good compromise and really didn't cost much more than planning it yourself.

[smvthecpa]

We did our own land tour of Alaska for 5 days and finished the tour with a 7 day cruise from Seward to Vancouver and saved a fortune. Started out in Anchorage, then flew to Fairbanks. I purchased the "entertainment book" for Alaska and used their coupon to book Alaska train from Fairbanks to Danali for about $250 for me and my wife.(1/2 the $500 price) The $250 included trainfare and 2 nites stay at the Denali Lodge. Would you believe train tickets allowed me to join the Princess land tour which had its own private train car. Saved a fortune! The last day we took a public bus service for $100, (1/2 the cost of $200, via the entertainment book), which took us from Denali back to Anchorage, short stopover, and then ride to Seward right to the cruiseship. Do the land tour yourself and save a fortune, like we did.

[bhammom3]

We just got back from Princess Tour 19S, which was 6 nights on land and 7 on the cruise. I will add my 2 cents worth. I definitely agree with the others about doing the land before the sea because it is much more tiring (having to have your bags packed and outside your door at 6am and covering such vast distances.) Also, the cruise is much more fun than the land, so it would be hard to have the land at the end.

 

I cannot see how the Tauck could be much more escorted than the Princess. Princess was very efficient, and all of the buses and trains had knowledgable and interesting tour guides. We were on our own for meals, but I enjoyed having some time away from the group. Usually, you will eat at the Princess lodges. You do have other options at Denali and Fairbanks, but not at McKinley and Kenai as they are isolated on hillsides.

 

We were able to upgrade from the Natural History Tour to the Tundra Wilderness Tour, because I did not want to miss out on anything. It made for a very long day (departing Fairbanks Princess at 7:15am, arriving Denali at 1pm, and Tundra Wilderness from 2-9pm. Unfortunately, we did not see much wildlife; but if we had not gone all the way to Toklat, I always would have wondered what was at the end of the road!

 

I'm sure it would be less expensive to "do-it-yourself", and I was tempted since I am an experienced independent traveler; but I must say that it WAS nice for once to leave the driving to Princess!