Are alaskan cruisetours worth the money?

[kellig]

We are looking at booking an alaska cruise, and I am wondering if the cruisetour is worth the money, or if I should take care of the land based option on my own? It appears that the extra 4 days cost a total of 1800 more dollars for two people, that's more than the cost of the 7 day cruise. Is it terribly difficult to get around and book activites on your own up there? Thanks.

[NancyIL]

There are quite a few of us that post on the Alaska board who have planned independent land trips. It's a lot more work to plan your own trip than to pick a cruiseour, but I thoroughly enjoyed the planning part. With 4 days before or after a cruise, it would be quite easy to rent a car in Anchorage, drive to Denali for 2 nights, then drive back to Anchorage. You would also have time before after a cruise for a glacier/wildlife cruise, either from Seward or from Whittier.

[Red Rox]

There's no question that if you choose to plan your own land tour in Alaska either before or after your cruise, you can do it for less money than the cruise line will charge you for their package. However, there is plenty of added value in using the preplanned package. We were just as glad to buy our tour from Princess since it included stops at the places we believed we wanted to go. Having never been to Alaska before, we were glad to have someone else coordinating all of the aspects of the trip for us. One of the things that Mrs Red Pony and I loved the most, was the way they managed our luggage. We were able to leave our cruise bags with Princess when we arrived at the airport in Anchorage, and they took our other bags to the hotel for us. Each morning they would pick up our bags in the room and we would go off on the trip of the day. When we reached our hotel at night, our bags were waiting for us in the room. And when we finally reached the ship, all of our bags were there waiting as well. This one aspect alone made it worthwhile for us.

As I noted in my trip review, we were impressed by the general efficiency of the tour and would opt to do it again. In fact, we have booked a Princess cruise/tour in Australia and New Zealand for this winter. I look forward to the simplicity of having them manage the trip for us so that we can focus on our vacation.

[ysr_racer]

This cost us about $1500 each for 7 nights

 

http://www.ysr-racer.com/ak.html

[NancyIL]

As I noted in my trip review, we were impressed by the general efficiency of the tour and would opt to do it again. In fact, we have booked a Princess cruise/tour in Australia and New Zealand for this winter. I look forward to the simplicity of having them manage the trip for us so that we can focus on our vacation.

 

Take good notes, because a cruise to Australia/New Zealand is on my wish list!

[stired]

I am one of those who did an independent land tour and not only saved quite a bit of money, but think it was definitely better for us. We did what we wanted to and we did it when we wanted to do it. Check out my trip review in my signature.

[BrissieSnowDogs]

I am one of those who did an independent land tour and not only saved quite a bit of money, but think it was definitely better for us. We did what we wanted to and we did it when we wanted to do it. Check out my trip review in my signature.

 

Thanks for sharing those wonderful photo's. The scenery was just brilliant.

It looks like you were blessed with perfect weather. There was plenty of snow around in the shots. We will be overthere in only two more weeks. :) :)

We have decided to do the land package ourselves, that way we are more independent and flexible.

[lthomas]

I vote for independent. While it is convenient to book through Princess and there are alot of benefits, we wanted to be at our own pace and see what we wanted to see. After reading and getting advice from these boards, it was very easy. We did five days prior to the cruise. We rented a car in Anchorage and went to Homer and Seward and areas in between. It was great. I think you will find it very easy to map your own trip and it probably does save money as well. Again, we just like being in control of where we stop, eat etc and that may not be for everyone. However, never having been to Alaska, if I can do it............anyone can!! ha We did a tour in Europe a few years ago and I was always feeling like I wanted to stop there or have a few more minutes here so I think that is why we went independent.

 

You will have a great time whichever route you choose.

[Budget Queen]

No matter how you go, I think it is vitally important to invest time anyway in your travel selection and understand fully what you are purchasing, many people do not. Do your homework.

 

It is simple to plan your own interior Alaska travel and in my opinion way superior to any cruisetour, which is group point to point. Clearly they do NOT go anywhere you can not go yourself and actually miss far more. They do stay in some very nice lodging. Determine what is important for you. I find it very difficult to put so much emphasis on luggage, if it is a priority, then make your choices based on that. It isn't that difficult to have your bags in the trunk of a car. :)

 

It's important to do what is right for you. If independent is of interest. This board is superb for trip planning with factual accurate information.

[Budget Queen]

]

In fact, we have booked a Princess cruise/tour in Australia and New Zealand for this winter. I look forward to the simplicity of having them manage the trip for us so that we can focus on our vacation.

 

I am too, but independent, going in November, for a 2 week cruise with RCI. After a week cruise in October to Hawaii. :)

 

Please write another review, they are very helpful for ideas, although I'm going before you. :)