Best Alaska Cruise/Tour for Newbie

[alabama ghost]

In your opinion, what is the best HAL Cruise/Tour for someone who has never been to Alaska before? I'm not familiar with HAL's cruise/tours and would really like recommendationsl.

 

Thanks!

[roly]

I would suggest you go to both Hal's and Princess's web sites and look at what cruise/tours interest YOU the most. Everyone has different interests so what I like may not be good for you. After you get an idea which direction you want to go then ask questions about that area of interest. You will get answers that you can better plan YOUR trip. If you like the outdoors you will like Alaska. Roly

[RuthC]

If it's cruise only, I highly recommend either a round trip out of Vancouver, or a one-way south to Vancouver. This is a much prettier ride than out of Seattle.

If it's a land and sea tour, take the longest possible tour, and do the land portion first. You'll be exhausted after the land tour, and can use the sea portion to rest up. Also, getting home from Vancouver is easier than getting home from Anchorage.

After you come home, you will want to go back, and you can plan something different for next time.

[geshaw30]

Deleted..no photo upload

[jtl513]

If you want a Cruise-Tour, I recommend one of the ones that spend at least 2 nights at Denali, and as Ruth said, land first, cruise 2nd.

[alabama ghost]

Thanks for all your help. I'm very familiar with the Princess land tours but the HAL ones seem to be so different, with some only having a 3-4 day cruise. I have some friends who have heard wonderful things about HAL and wanted us to look into a land tour with them.

 

I really appreciate the Southbound recommendation. Does HAL have lodges like Princess does or do they use someone else's lodges or hotels?

 

I wanted to tie in a 7-day cruise to some sort of land tour and definitely want the one where we can take the longer tour in Denali.

 

Thanks again for all your suggestions.

 

Pam

[RuthC]

Does HAL have lodges like Princess does or do they use someone else's lodges or hotels?

HAL has a corporate relationship to the Westmark Hotels, and that is where many of the tour nights are spent. In Denali, they have the McKinley Chalets, and the McKinley Lodge.

In Anchorage, there are local hotels used. I remember staying at the Hilton when I did a land tour.

[ksc1984]

This May I was also a newbie. I picked HAL cruise-tour because I liked the mixture of the cruise, the trains, the sights. We went on the 4 day cruise and 11 day Yukon-Alaska tour #3. It was fantastic! We took the cruise first from Vancouver, just because it felt more natural to us. We went on the Zuiderdam and I have absolutely nothing but compliments for the ship's crew and accommodations. But we are land people and the tour was terrific. With double days in Dawson City and Denali, there was time catch up on rest. One day we decided to skip the excursions and just take it easy. We stayed in Westmark hotels at all the towns and cities in the Yukon and Alaska. Some are what you would call rustic and others were top of the line. They are all on the internet if you want to see them. I wasn't sure about buying the meal ticket, but after I saw the prices on the menus, I was glad we did. Prices are high. But with the meal plan, you get anything you want to eat (3 courses) at any meal (except in Denali) and gratuity is included. The only drawback is that you have to eat on Westmark properties, but in some of the small towns, that was about all there was anyway. Marc, the tour director, was always helpful and enthusiastic and the coach drivers were very knowledgeable. They all made sure we were happy and safe, saw real wildlife and frontier life, and got our money's worth on the trip. And on the 14 day trip, we never had to keep up with our luggage until we got out at the airport to go home! We rode ships and buses and planes and trains and it all went smoothly. Our only disappointment could not be avoided--early snow melt flooded some areas, so part of our train ride and our 100 mile Yukon cruise was cancelled. I hear its probably back on line now. Alaska was amazing and for us, the only way to see it was to get off the boat. I can't wait to do it all again.

[dulcetto]

This May I was also a newbie. I picked HAL cruise-tour because I liked the mixture of the cruise, the trains, the sights. We went on the 4 day cruise and 11 day Yukon-Alaska tour #3. It was fantastic! We took the cruise first from Vancouver, just because it felt more natural to us. We went on the Zuiderdam and I have absolutely nothing but compliments for the ship's crew and accommodations. But we are land people and the tour was terrific. With double days in Dawson City and Denali, there was time catch up on rest. One day we decided to skip the excursions and just take it easy. We stayed in Westmark hotels at all the towns and cities in the Yukon and Alaska. Some are what you would call rustic and others were top of the line. They are all on the internet if you want to see them. I wasn't sure about buying the meal ticket, but after I saw the prices on the menus, I was glad we did. Prices are high. But with the meal plan, you get anything you want to eat (3 courses) at any meal (except in Denali) and gratuity is included. The only drawback is that you have to eat on Westmark properties, but in some of the small towns, that was about all there was anyway. Marc, the tour director, was always helpful and enthusiastic and the coach drivers were very knowledgeable. They all made sure we were happy and safe, saw real wildlife and frontier life, and got our money's worth on the trip. And on the 14 day trip, we never had to keep up with our luggage until we got out at the airport to go home! We rode ships and buses and planes and trains and it all went smoothly. Our only disappointment could not be avoided--early snow melt flooded some areas, so part of our train ride and our 100 mile Yukon cruise was cancelled. I hear its probably back on line now. Alaska was amazing and for us, the only way to see it was to get off the boat. I can't wait to do it all again.

HI

 

Sounds like you had a wonderful time,we are going on 28# Tour which is for 12 Land +7 cruise going into the Yukon,really looking forward to it,did you do the optional excursion in Dawson to Tomstone Park,not sure if you did Whitehorse but if so did you go to the Kluane National Park .and in Denali did you do the Dog visit!!!

 

Thanks for all the comments you made a big help

[zumaqueen]

Just completed tour 17 - double Denali. Agree, if you have the time, this is the best way to see Alaska. We were very pleased with all accomodations except theWestmark in Fairbanks--its a dump and dirty--even the glasses in the bathroom! We spent another night at Pikes in Fairbanks, and this is a very nice property.

[ksc1984]

Of the three excursions you asked about, we did the dogs in Denali. We did not see the park sled dogs, which was free, but went instead to Jeff King's dog camp. He is a champion and has some great stories to tell. It is an authenic racing sled dog facillity. They do their presentations to help support the kennel but they do a great show. You get to play with the pups, see the kennel lot and watch them hook up the dogs for a run behind an ATV. Then Jeff King does his talk, which will keep you enthralled while laughing. This was one of the best things we did in Alaska, but we're big dog lovers. He autographs anything you buy--yes, everywhere you go there is a gift shop. They transport you to and from the McKinley Lodge in a van and are careful that you don't miss your next excursion, which in our case was the train out of Denali to Anchorage. I think that the Denali Park Service kennels might let you ride behind the carts, but I'm not sure. Frankly if I'm going to ride behind sled dogs, I want to do it on the snow. Pricey, but that's on my bucket list for next time.

[dulcetto]

Of the three excursions you asked about, we did the dogs in Denali. We did not see the park sled dogs, which was free, but went instead to Jeff King's dog camp. He is a champion and has some great stories to tell. It is an authenic racing sled dog facillity. They do their presentations to help support the kennel but they do a great show. You get to play with the pups, see the kennel lot and watch them hook up the dogs for a run behind an ATV. Then Jeff King does his talk, which will keep you enthralled while laughing. This was one of the best things we did in Alaska, but we're big dog lovers. He autographs anything you buy--yes, everywhere you go there is a gift shop. They transport you to and from the McKinley Lodge in a van and are careful that you don't miss your next excursion, which in our case was the train out of Denali to Anchorage. I think that the Denali Park Service kennels might let you ride behind the carts, but I'm not sure. Frankly if I'm going to ride behind sled dogs, I want to do it on the snow. Pricey, but that's on my bucket list for next time.

Thanks for the info sounds just the thing to go and see

 

Dulcetto

[Robin7]

I went to Alaska in June to see my cruiseline-employed children. My daughter (holding the puppy) works for Princess at Denali so we did the excursion (same provider HAL uses) to Jeff King's place. It was GREAT! His stories are wonderful. He made me want to run out and do the Iditarod. (The mosquitoes there are FIERCE so wear repellent!)

 

 

We also did the "Kantishna Experience" into the park, but I'd recommend the shorter "Tundra Wilderness Tour". All the wildlife we saw was before the viewpoint for Denali (which was in hiding on our visit), and the Kantishna part was not that interesting and made the entire day MUCH longer. (Plus the road was just SCARY in that part of the park.)

 

 

Then we went to Fairbanks where my son is a cruisetour bus driver. He does the runs between Fairbanks and Eagle (and in-town shuttles when he's there).

 

 

We went to the Chena Ice Museum which I found very interesting.

 

 

We also panned for gold, went to the Gold Dredge No. 8, had a 'miner's lunch', visited the pipeline and finished with the Discovery II Riverboat on the Chena River and a visit to a Chena Indian village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was all fun and interesting! (Not as fun as my driver was, though, but I might be biased. :D)

 

Just know that on a tour you get up early nearly every day. (The guys need time to load the luggage.) The days are long, and you're always with a busload of people. (Apparently some passengers complain about being 'herded like cattle'.) Do the land part first, for certain!

 

Robin

[alabama ghost]

Thanks for the great information. The pix were wonderful! I'm sure my friends will want to do Southbound and hopefully do the Tundra Wilderness tour in Denali.

 

Pam

[dulcetto]

I went to Alaska in June to see my cruiseline-employed children. My daughter (holding the puppy) works for Princess at Denali so we did the excursion (same provider HAL uses) to Jeff King's place. It was GREAT! His stories are wonderful. He made me want to run out and do the Iditarod. (The mosquitoes there are FIERCE so wear repellent!)

 

 

We also did the "Kantishna Experience" into the park, but I'd recommend the shorter "Tundra Wilderness Tour". All the wildlife we saw was before the viewpoint for Denali (which was in hiding on our visit), and the Kantishna part was not that interesting and made the entire day MUCH longer. (Plus the road was just SCARY in that part of the park.)

 

 

Then we went to Fairbanks where my son is a cruisetour bus driver. He does the runs between Fairbanks and Eagle (and in-town shuttles when he's there).

 

 

We went to the Chena Ice Museum which I found very interesting.

 

 

We also panned for gold, went to the Gold Dredge No. 8, had a 'miner's lunch', visited the pipeline and finished with the Discovery II Riverboat on the Chena River and a visit to a Chena Indian village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was all fun and interesting! (Not as fun as my driver was, though, but I might be biased. :D)

 

Just know that on a tour you get up early nearly every day. (The guys need time to load the luggage.) The days are long, and you're always with a busload of people. (Apparently some passengers complain about being 'herded like cattle'.) Do the land part first, for certain!

 

Robin

Hi Robin

 

Thanks for all the info and photos looks great,have been on tours before so used to early starts and it being full on

 

Glad for the heads up re the insect repellant

 

Thanks Shirley

[dulcetto]

I went to Alaska in June to see my cruiseline-employed children. My daughter (holding the puppy) works for Princess at Denali so we did the excursion (same provider HAL uses) to Jeff King's place. It was GREAT! His stories are wonderful. He made me want to run out and do the Iditarod. (The mosquitoes there are FIERCE so wear repellent!)

 

 

We also did the "Kantishna Experience" into the park, but I'd recommend the shorter "Tundra Wilderness Tour". All the wildlife we saw was before the viewpoint for Denali (which was in hiding on our visit), and the Kantishna part was not that interesting and made the entire day MUCH longer. (Plus the road was just SCARY in that part of the park.)

 

 

Then we went to Fairbanks where my son is a cruisetour bus driver. He does the runs between Fairbanks and Eagle (and in-town shuttles when he's there).

 

 

We went to the Chena Ice Museum which I found very interesting.

 

 

We also panned for gold, went to the Gold Dredge No. 8, had a 'miner's lunch', visited the pipeline and finished with the Discovery II Riverboat on the Chena River and a visit to a Chena Indian village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was all fun and interesting! (Not as fun as my driver was, though, but I might be biased. :D)

 

Just know that on a tour you get up early nearly every day. (The guys need time to load the luggage.) The days are long, and you're always with a busload of people. (Apparently some passengers complain about being 'herded like cattle'.) Do the land part first, for certain!

 

Robin

Hi Robin

 

 

Forgot to mention we are doing the land first so can recover on the ship,we have never felt that we have been herded like cattle,but that they have to keep everyone close together or the tour wouldnt run to time

 

 

Thanks Shirley

[St. Louis Sal]

Dulcetto-My dh and I have done both Tombstone and Kluane and loved them both. Whitehorse is one of our favorites. I'd be glad to answer questions for you.

 

To all those taking a land tour-I'm one of the few to suggest not doing a meal plan. I've done the land tours twice and no meal plan either time. The first time it wasn't offered and we managed just fine so we skipped it the last time. One of our fellow travelers said her TA suggested just one meal plan. That saves money and the second person can always order a salad or soup and there is always plenty of food. We don't care much for the train food so we were glad to skip that. We've never gone hungry and have found favorite places everywhere we've gone.

 

St. Louis Sal

[bepsf]

Nana & Apa are sailing Northbound on Statendam in couple weeks, then taking the train to Fairbanks....

...where I'll fly in to meet them for Southbound Cruisetour 16 including a cruise to Vancouver aboard Ryndam. These will be their first Alaska trip and my first Alaska cruise that's not R/T from Seattle.

 

So keep an eye out here for "Hello from Alaska" in a few weeks!

;)

[RuthC]

So keep an eye out here for "Hello from Alaska" in a few weeks!

;)

Goodie! :D (RuthC claps her hands with excitement.)