Here I am!
First, Wonders10, I'm going to suggest you read my Trip Report about my Alaskan
ABD if you want more details & impressions of the trip (see the link in my signature below). It was WONDERFUL!!!
I, too, didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the Alaska ABD at first. I'd already done an Alaskan cruisetour with Princess in 2006, and it was an absolutely *FABULOUS* trip. I really, really loved it. So I focused my attention on ABD's that went places I hadn't been. I mean, what are the chances of an ABD topping the experience I'd had on the cruisetour?
I chose the Canadian Rockies trip.
Last year, ABD had just done a tremendous amount of expansion, and then the economy tanked, and ABD ended up having to cancel several trips. As more & more trips got canceled, I started looking for a contingency plan, for just in case. I wasn't going to be able to shift the dates of my vacation by much, so I concentrated on the departures around the same time period. It turned out there was an Alaskan trip that left 2 days before my scheduled trip. So when ABD *did* end up calling me with the dreaded cancellation, I proposed, and they agreed, to transfer me to the Alaska ABD with no additional charge. I figured what the heck, give it a try.
And you know, the more I actually looked at the itinerary, the more I liked it. There were only 2 activities that overlapped with what I'd done before (panning for gold and visiting the Alaska pipeline), although they both went to a few of the same locations. There was an activity (Kenai Fjords cruise) that I hadn't done during the cruisetour, and had kind of regretted, because everyone who did go raved about it.
And I found, to my joy, that I loved this vacation every bit as much as the cruisetour. They were different experiences.
The land portion of the cruisetour was in & out & in & out of hotels, moving around a lot, early mornings, etc. We were responsible for our own meals. Only some activities were included, others were extra. But I loved everything I did, saw some great things, but it was not terribly relaxing. Princess did take care of shlepping our luggage from hotel to hotel, and checking us in, but there were no consistent guides (frequently we only had the bus driver while we were in transit and the guides for most of the locations joined us once we arrived at an area.) People came & went off the tour depending on which combination of destinations their particular cruisetour covered. At one point there were 3 busses of us, but we didn't all go to the same places at the same time (the destinations were alternated).
I saw FABULOUS scenery. I did MARVELOUS hikes, I stayed in immaculate Princess-owned hotels. We traveled IN STYLE on Princess' motorcoaches and their privately-owned Alaskan Railroad cars, which were spacious and had domed windows and a dining room downstairs. And all of this was before I ever got near the ship!
Once we got on the ship, we unpacked and relaxed. Things moved much more slowly on the boat (the only early mornings were Glacier viewing). All meals onboard were included (yummy food!) and we sailed past, and saw even more spectacular scenery. Our ship took us right up to a Glacier, and we sat & watched it calve. For part of it, I sat on my balcony, and reveled in the beauty around me. There were things to do if I wanted to, or time to just unwind. I'm not a huge fan of Sea Days, but with all the gorgeous scenery, it wasn't hard to deal with.
When we got to the ports, all activities were your choice. You could pay to do excursions from the boat, go off on your own, or do nothing. Most of the excursions were great (Yukon & White Pass Railroad in Skagway, hiking near the Mendenhahl Glacier in Juneau, flying over the Misty Fjords out of Ketchikan.) But, for me, I found most of the interesting stuff was well outside of the ports; the ports themselves weren't all that interesting unless you wanted to shop. I like to shop, but it's gotten rather commercial, and I don't like to spend *too* much of my vacation doing it.
For me, I enjoyed both parts of the trip, but it was *really* the Land portion that I enjoyed the most. The ports were a nice starting point for activities, but the real beauty, and the real grandeur was in Denali, and on the Kenai Penninsula and driving the Turnagain Arm. I must admit, while I thoroughly enjoyed the cruise portion of my trip, I cannot imagine having gone and not gone to the interior of Alaska. Just the cruise ports would not have been as great for me. The obvious exception to this was Glacier Bay, which all by itself would have made the cruise worth it. Spectacular, grand, absolutely awe-inspiring.
And I came away from the whole experience with a huge "Wow!" feeling, and a love for the vastness that is Alaska, and fifty kajillion photos.
Then there's the ABD. Almost all the activities were pre-chosen for us, and were very enjoyable. The hotels were at least as nice as Princess', some, like the Alyeska, were far superior. There was a mix of meals covered & not covered. There was a lot to do, but it never felt rushed. Just the right mix of activity and time on your own. Much more relaxing than the land portion of the cruisetour.
We had 2 dedicated, Disney-trained Guides who took care of EVERYTHING for us. Our luggage was whisked from place to place, we were told where to show up for included meals, or taken there by the Guides. We had one dedicated bus & bus driver for the entire trip, and the same group of people for the whole tour. You got to know people pretty well, and we became a group pretty quickly.
The entire trip is in the interior of Alaska. Fairbanks, which I actually got to see this time. A talk by a long-time trapper about the lifestyle they used to live, and that some of them still live. Instead of sailing past Trail Breaker Kennels with hundreds of people on a riverboat & watching a demonstration on the shore, we had lunch with the owner of the Kennels, heard about his late wife Susan Butcher, and got to meet the puppies.
It was just such a more *intimate* experience, where you got to know people, and see fabulous things, and do fabulous things, and be taken excellent care of, amongst people who became friends. And I came away from the whole experience with an even bigger "Wow!" feeling, and an increased love for the vastness that is Alaska, and sixty kajillion photos.
I know, I know, this is long winded! (Understatement, anyone?) But I'm trying to explain the feel of the trips, the differences between the trips. I think the reason you hear folks say the only way to do Alaska is on a cruise is because that *is* the way most people see it. It's the most accessible. But I'm here to tell you that it's Alaska that's the star, not the cruiseship. And that I would be terribly sad to go to Alaska, and only do a cruise (I was going to say I would never go to Alaska and only do a cruise, but that's silly, because an Alaska cruise is still far superior to a lot of other vacations & cruises I've been on. If all I could do was the cruise, I'd still go.)
Does this in any way, shape or form answer your questions???
I know I've thrown out a lot of rambly impressions. I hope it's somewhat coherent!
Feel free to ask me any questions you like. I'd be happy to answer.
Summary: Alaska Cruisetour: Marvelous. Alaska ABD: Marvelous. Is one better than the other? Really depends on what you're looking for. I loved them both. You can't go wrong with either.
If you're contemplating the Alaska ABD, I say go for it! I think it's just as fabulous a way to see Alaska as the Cruisetour. Just different.
If it was the choice between the Alaska ABD and the
DCL Alaska cruise (which doesn't do Glacier Bay, and has no associated land portion) I'd have to say: my choice would be the Alaska ABD.
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