Questions on Alaska cruisin and land

[Craig D Peltier]

Hi, im about ready to book a cruise from Alaska southbound to Vancouver. First spending 5 days around anchorage sightseeing.In those 5 days I can explore much further away due to a rental car.

My questions are.

1) I went on Princess cruises website and the cruise was there with prices. Is it better form your experience to book through a second party to get better price or perks?

2) Has anyone done the sea and land tour, where on land you get on a train. If so how was it?

3) What should I see on land? I have heard to see Mt McKinley, Denali, and someone said mush dog sled races. I had watched the show that Sara Palin had did around Wasilla and there was so many gorgeous places to see around there.

Thanks

[Mike Henderson]

I've done an Alaskan cruise. If you're really into nature you may enjoy it. If you're not that much into nature, you may find it boring. The problem is that it's all the same - lots of trees and snow, over and over and over. You stop at a bunch of small towns and the towns all look the same, and very commercial during the cruising season.

Maybe if you do the land portion it would be more interesting but otherwise, if you're not just absolutely enchanted by nature, look for alternate itineraries.

Mike

[Craig D Peltier]

I've done an Alaskan cruise. If you're really into nature you may enjoy it. If you're not that much into nature, you may find it boring. The problem is that it's all the same - lots of trees and snow, over and over and over. You stop at a bunch of small towns and the towns all look the same, and very commercial during the cruising season.

Maybe if you do the land portion it would be more interesting but otherwise, if you're not just absolutely enchanted by nature, look for alternate itineraries.

Mike

Thanks , love nature, hike all summer and winter. Parents going with, dad has hunted all his life all over loves nature. I think doing the land thing is more stressful so the cruise back down south with be relaxing.

[Bruce Page]

I haven’t taken the cruise but I have spent some time in Anchorage in both summer & winter. Winter road conditions can be a challenge. Portage Lake and glacier is a nice day outing if you’re into scenery but access to the glacier itself is closed in the winter. I didn’t make it all the way to Mt McKinley, it is a long drive from Anchorage and I ended up turning around about halfway there because of road conditions (January). Some coworkers did the Denali tour and said it was spectacular.

[Craig D Peltier]

I haven’t taken the cruise but I have spent some time in Anchorage in both summer & winter. Winter road conditions can be a challenge. Portage Lake and glacier is a nice day outing if you’re into scenery but access to the glacier itself is closed in the winter. I didn’t make it all the way to Mt McKinley, it is a long drive from Anchorage and I ended up turning around about halfway there because of road conditions (January). Some coworkers did the Denali tour and said it was spectacular.

Thanks it will be August. I will see how far McKinley is.

[Ben Hatcher]

In Anchorage, check out the tide table so you get to see the bore tide. I drove to Denali. It was a nice ride and I'd do it again. There are a few small towns on the way that are interesting to see. I was told that the show Northern Exposure was based on Talkeetna. One thing about Denali is that there's only 1 road and 1 or 2 very short trails. There's no tour, per se. There's a visitor's center where some hikers file a travel plan, but otherwise, you just go wherever you want. It is hundreds of square miles of free range on which to roam. The helecopter tour is probably the best way to take it in, but you're not going to come anywhere close to seeing all of it.

When I was there, they had a huge amount of timber lost to a beetle infestation. Many areas were mile upon mile of dead trees and brush.

There are lots of short 1-5 mile hikes on the mountains in the Anchorage area, too. There's a lot of shale, so wear appropriate footware if you're going to hike.

There's always salmon fishing, depending on when you go. Some charters will freeze and ship your catch for you.

[Don Jarvie]

It was 12 years ago so keep that in mind but I'm not sure how much is changed. My wife and I did the Princess Cruise-Land Tour for our honeymoon. Went from Vancouver to Alaska on the boat then train from Anchorage to Fairbanks. We enjoyed the Cruise, but bring warm clothes. We went the end of June and it was cold so the pool was empty. There wasn't much nightlife since the cruises average age was 65+. No disrespect to anyone here over 65. Once the entertainment was over at nine the boat was dead. We were in one of the bars around 10pm and there was 12 people in it.

As for the land trip. I probably wouldn't do it again. While the scenery was nice the Princess cars were at the back and when the moose hear the train they take off so by the time 25-30 cars pass the moose were long gone. If you go to Denali take the 12 hour tour. To really see anything you need to go deep in the park which is huge so a 3 to 4 hour tour doesn't cut it.

Overall everyone should see Alaska once in their life so its worth going. If you want to just relax and hang by the pool look elsewhere.