Alaska Cruisetour on HAL

[Carole]

Trying to plan a cruisetour but there are so many choices. Does anyone have any trip reports from their cruises or information about a particular route? Any information would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[CPT Tripss]

You will find a lot of good info on this topic over on cruisecritic.com.

I would take the tour with the longest land portion that is within your budget (and budget a lot for shoreexs and options on the land part. So much to more to see than just Denali . . .

FIL did a long land tour, Anchorage start, up and around and over to Skagway where they got on the ship for four days cruise down to Vancouver. He then stayed a few days in Vancouver and toured on his own. It was more of a land tour with a little cruise.

I would do the cruise being at the end rather than the beginning. Just keep in mind that flying from the east coast to Anchorage is a looooong flight - it's like going to Hawaii (without the palm trees and leis when you land.

You might also want to check Princess to see whether they have anything up there that interests you.

 

[MM27]

I did a land/sea tour in Alaska on Royal Caribbean. We flew into Fairbanks and stayed there a few days and then did a combo of motor coach and Alaska RR on the way down to Seward. We stopped in Denali, Talkeetna, Wasilla, Anchorage and Girdwood.

Then we left for the cruise from Seward and visited Skagway, Talkeetna, Hoonah, Juneau and ended in Vancouver.

I highly recommend the cruisetours. I did Alaska once on a cruise only and it was so much better the second time.

 

[Forevryoung]

We did a land/sea with Princess (11 of us ranging in age from 4-79). It was fantastic.

We started in Fairbanks also. Probably would have started in Denali and done a shorter land portion with hindsight.

Have a great time!

 

[JLTraveling]

I'm going to go against the majority here and say that a cruisetour is absolutely NOT worth the money. You really won't see Alaska that way, just the tourist places that have "agreements" (kickbacks) with the tour company. And you'll pay at least twice as much as you would on your own.

What we did was take an Inside Passage cruise one-way from Vancouver to Seward (Celebrity Millennium). Then we spent another month on our own, exploring Alaska on our own terms. We stayed in hostels (Alaska has an extensive hostel network that is heavily vetted, and the places are quintessentially Alaskan--if you make it to Fairbanks, you can even stay in a walled tent at Go North!) and arranged our own train travel. Renting a car would let you explore places that are more far-flung, but the train works just fine to the biggies (Denali, Talkeetna, Fairbanks, Anchorage). Staying in hostels let us get to know the locals in each town, and we followed their dining recommendations. Never had a bad meal, and never over-paid for a touristy one.

The single biggest tip I can give you: Whether you do the cruise tour or cruise and then explore on your own, get the Great Alaskan TourSaver. It's $100 by mail-order or in a few stores in Alaska, and it's got 2 for 1 coupons on everything from train trips to hotel accommodations to tours. We saved $2000 easily just using the book.

Have fun!!! I love Alaska and hope to go back this year or next!

 

[MM27]

I'm going to go against the majority here and say that a cruisetour is absolutely NOT worth the money. You really won't see Alaska that way, just the tourist places that have "agreements" (kickbacks) with the tour company. And you'll pay at least twice as much as you would on your own.

What we did was take an Inside Passage cruise one-way from Vancouver to Seward (Celebrity Millennium). Then we spent another month on our own, exploring Alaska on our own terms. We stayed in hostels (Alaska has an extensive hostel network that is heavily vetted, and the places are quintessentially Alaskan--if you make it to Fairbanks, you can even stay in a walled tent at Go North!) and arranged our own train travel. Renting a car would let you explore places that are more far-flung, but the train works just fine to the biggies (Denali, Talkeetna, Fairbanks, Anchorage). Staying in hostels let us get to know the locals in each town, and we followed their dining recommendations. Never had a bad meal, and never over-paid for a touristy one.

The single biggest tip I can give you: Whether you do the cruise tour or cruise and then explore on your own, get the Great Alaskan TourSaver. It's $100 by mail-order or in a few stores in Alaska, and it's got 2 for 1 coupons on everything from train trips to hotel accommodations to tours. We saved $2000 easily just using the book.

Have fun!!! I love Alaska and hope to go back this year or next!

That's great the way you did it, but not everyone has a month to devote to travel. And me, I wouldn't stay in hostels. I did my time in college with dorm living and I have no interest to do that at this point in my life. Yes you save money, but that's not the way I like to travel.

I saw enough of Alaska on the cruisetour to decide where I would like to visit again and explore a bit further on my own. I would love to, within the next few years, return to Alaska to do just that. For people going on a once in a lifetime type trip, I would highly recommend some sort of organized tour.

 

[msmayor]

My parents did an amazing Alaska trip a couple of years ago with HAL.

They did a cruisetour that started in Vancouver with a 3-night cruise to Anchorage, then they did the land portion which was 8 nights.

BUT...my parents do not fly. They actually DROVE from NJ to Vancouver before the trip, and left their car parked in Vancouver. Once they finished the land portion of the tour they were in Anchorage and had to get back to Vancouver.

So they took another cruise - after spending two nights in Anchorage they boarded another HAL ship and sailed the Inside Passage back to Vancouver to get their car; another 7 nights on the cruise.

It was a long trip - it was expensive - but they had a wonderful time and saw a lot in a place they honestly never expect to get back to.

 

[Carole]

Thanks for all the responses. Still looking for suggestions.

TLTraveling - Would love to have the 30 days to tour on my own but can't be away from work for that long!

msmayor - That would be a long drive to catch a ship!

CPT Trips - I've flown to Hawaii from Maryland - that was a long trip. Loved your comment on what you see when you land.

 

[shortbun]

I don't know HAL's itineraries anymore but we took one of their cruises for part of our honeymoon. We booked into Vancouver for four days independent sightseeing(gardens, culture, shopping, romance) prior and did some flightseeing out of Anchorage to Fairbanks and Kotzebue on our own afterwards. Then we flew home. It was a great combination of luxury and adventure. We chose the adventure package the cruise line offered at each port-salmon fishing, kayaking, hiking glaciers. When on board, we drank champagne and relaxed. Really do some research before you decide. Is the early booking discount deadline coming up?

 

[JLTraveling]

Thanks for all the responses. Still looking for suggestions.

TLTraveling - Would love to have the 30 days to tour on my own but can't be away from work for that long!

msmayor - That would be a long drive to catch a ship!

CPT Trips - I've flown to Hawaii from Maryland - that was a long trip. Loved your comment on what you see when you land.

I completely understand not being able to take off work for that long. I'm blessed to be a travel writer, so my whole trip WAS work But you really don't need more than a week to do it on your own. You just need a plan. In 30 days, we had plenty of time to explore all the nooks and crannies, not just the highlights. I could easily put together a week-long touring plan that goes everywhere the cruisetours go, plus some extras.

Just a general FYI about hostels (to everyone, not just you): Yes, they're a great way to save money. That's not why I stay in them (refer to travel writer comment). I stay in them because they provide a multicultural exchange of thoughts and ideas that you simply can't get anywhere else. Thanks to hosteling, I now have very dear friends in Turkey, Germany, Australia, Denmark, Ireland, England, Brazil, France and Israel.

To each their own and all that, just trying to clear up the general American misconception that hostels are in any way comparable to college dorms. It does seem to be just an American notion, as in my experience hosteling is much more *accepted* by people of all ages/social classes in Europe and around the world.

 

[adkkev]

For people going on a once in a lifetime type trip, I would highly recommend some sort of organized tour.

Unless you really enjoy riding on a bus for long periods of time, I'd suggest you do some research and explore Alaska on your own. Outside of riding the train from Anchorage to Denali/Fairbanks, you'll spend much of the rest of your cruisetour sitting in a bus. Your actual time to visit and experience things is limited in a cruisetour.

A cruise is nice, but IMHO, it's not seeing Alaska.

Wanna see glaciers? Head towards Seward, stop at Exit Glacier and walk right up close to one (you could even hike up to the Harding Ice Fields if you'd like, but it's a relatively difficult hike). Wanna see whales, seals, eagles, etc.? Again, out of Seward, take one of the boat tours & you'll see more whales, etc., than you'll probably see from a cruise ship. Rent a car in Anchorage, and drive some of the state. Visit Denali & take a shuttle bus into the park. Stop in Talkeetna, maybe take a plane ride from there to a glacier landing near Denali, or maybe take a boat trip down the river. You can go fishing out of Seward, or even drive to Homer and go fishing or kayaking there.

Just my thoughts ... others will have their opinions about how to see Alaska.

And we generally stay at B&Bs in Alaska except when we're visiting our son in Fairbanks.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We took a cruisetour on HAL this past Aug. It was wonderful. It was cruisetour 24. We started in Fairbanks, took the train to Denali. Stayed at McKinley Chalet. Train to Anchorage. Stayed at a Hilton. Bus to Seward where we boarded the Statendam. We went to College Fjord, Glacier Bay, Haynes, Juneau and Ketchikan. Debarked in Vancouver. I have to respectfully disagree with anyone that says that it isn't worth it. WOW, what a trip. HAL truly has their act together. We never encountered one problem on all those legs of the trip.

We saw enough to realize that Alaska is truly amazing and some day we will fly up there and explore on our own. We would not have known that had we not taken that trip.

Please feel free to PM me if you have questions. I'm not a pro on HAL but I can try and help.

 

[MM27]

Unless you really enjoy riding on a bus for long periods of time, I'd suggest you do some research and explore Alaska on your own. Outside of riding the train from Anchorage to Denali/Fairbanks, you'll spend much of the rest of your cruisetour sitting in a bus. Your actual time to visit and experience things is limited in a cruisetour.

A cruise is nice, but IMHO, it's not seeing Alaska.

Wanna see glaciers? Head towards Seward, stop at Exit Glacier and walk right up close to one (you could even hike up to the Harding Ice Fields if you'd like, but it's a relatively difficult hike). Wanna see whales, seals, eagles, etc.? Again, out of Seward, take one of the boat tours & you'll see more whales, etc., than you'll probably see from a cruise ship. Rent a car in Anchorage, and drive some of the state. Visit Denali & take a shuttle bus into the park. Stop in Talkeetna, maybe take a plane ride from there to a glacier landing near Denali, or maybe take a boat trip down the river. You can go fishing out of Seward, or even drive to Homer and go fishing or kayaking there.

Just my thoughts ... others will have their opinions about how to see Alaska.

And we generally stay at B&Bs in Alaska except when we're visiting our son in Fairbanks.

If you want to see a lot of Alaska in a short period of time, you need to get from place to place, whether that be by bus, train, car, boat or plane. Alaska is huge. Unless you are walking from place to place, you're going to need to get there some way.

As I mentioned, I have done a cruise alone and a 15 day cruise tour. The only people that aren't seeing Alaska are the people that just stop to shop and eat at each port. Many people will only get to Alaska via cruise ship and it is a good way to be introduced to this vast amount of land.

I have every intention of going back. Next time I will go on my own but only because I have a starting place now. I know about the places I want to return and I have enough knowledge about the state to decide where else I want to explore. Luckily, being a teacher, I do have time to explore in the summer without having to worry about time constraints, but not everyone does.

In some areas the activities were a bit more touristy (those were usually the ones that were included).

 

[jiminyC_fan]

If you want to see a lot of Alaska in a short period of time, you need to get from place to place, whether that be by bus, train, car, boat or plane. Alaska is huge. Unless you are walking from place to place, you're going to need to get there some way.

As I mentioned, I have done a cruise alone and a 15 day cruise tour. The only people that aren't seeing Alaska are the people that just stop to shop and eat at each port. Many people will only get to Alaska via cruise ship and it is a good way to be introduced to this vast amount of land.

I have every intention of going back. Next time I will go on my own but only because I have a starting place now. I know about the places I want to return and I have enough knowledge about the state to decide where else I want to explore. Luckily, being a teacher, I do have time to explore in the summer without having to worry about time constraints, but not everyone does.

In some areas the activities were a bit more touristy (those were usually the ones that were included).

So much truth to your post!