We are planning a cruise to Alaska and I'm interested in when you all think we should take our cruisetour. We will be going on Celebrity, should we take it before the cruise or after? We are looking at the end of August in 2012.
Thanx for any imput.
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From the comments I heard on board from people taking or have taken cruise tours . Most say if done again , they would take the land portion then the cruise. I normally take a 14 day NB/SB because I work country similar to Alaska .
We did the tour after the cruise, because it was a TA fam trip and that is the way HAL arranged it for us. It worked fine.
A consideration is, that a pre cruise tour usually ends up in Anchorage and you board a SB cruise. We happen to like the NB cruise itinerary better in most cases.
Also, if you are doing as we did, a 3 day portion of a cruise followed by the tour, we prefer leaving from Vancouver or Seattle and doing the first three days that way.
We did our cruise first (7 day northbound from Vancouver) followed by a 5 day cruisetour to Fairbanks. I quite liked it that way because I wanted the feeling that I was sailing to Alaska to go exploring inland.
Just make sure on the cruise section, you visit Glacier Bay. If that is not on the itinerary - I would cancel.
Cruisetour section is quite leisurely IMHO.
Annie
I agree that for first time cruisers, Glacier Bay is the place to go. However there are alternatives. This question is so often asked I made up a page on it:
As for the cruise tour being leisurely -- well that depends on your definition. It consists of hours and hours on the bus or the train, and then get off and do as much as you can in the time available. So is that leisurely?
I agree that for first time cruisers, Glacier Bay is the place to go. However there are alternatives. This question is so often asked I made up a page on it:
As for the cruise tour being leisurely -- well that depends on your definition. It consists of hours and hours on the bus or the train, and then get off and do as much as you can in the time available. So is that leisurely?
I agree re hours and hours on trains - very boring JMHO - leisurely though.
We are planning a cruise to Alaska and I'm interested in when you all think we should take our cruisetour. We will be going on Celebrity, should we take it before the cruise or after? We are looking at the end of August in 2012.
Thanx for any imput.
The scenery in Alaska seems to grow progressively more spectacular as you move northward. Thus, I think that it's best to do the cruise-tour in the northward direction rather than the southward direction. This places the land tour segment after the cruise segment rather than before.
That said, the land portion of a cruise-tour package tends to be pretty expensive. As an alternative, consider doing the land portion on your own. The main roads in Alaska are well maintained, so it's no problem to rent a car and drive yourself, but you can also book travel on the Alaska Railroad if you prefer. I do recommend reserving your lodging before you go, though -- summer is the peak tourist season and points in Alaska are pretty far apart, so it may be a long way to a hotel with rooms available if you encounter "no vacancy" signs and don't have a reservation where you were planning to stay.
The scenery in Alaska seems to grow progressively more spectacular as you move northward. Thus, I think that it's best to do the cruise-tour in the northward direction rather than the southward direction. This places the land tour segment after the cruise segment rather than before.
That said, the land portion of a cruise-tour package tends to be pretty expensive. As an alternative, consider doing the land portion on your own. The main roads in Alaska are well maintained, so it's no problem to rent a car and drive yourself, but you can also book travel on the Alaska Railroad if you prefer. I do recommend reserving your lodging before you go, though -- summer is the peak tourist season and points in Alaska are pretty far apart, so it may be a long way to a hotel with rooms available if you encounter "no vacancy" signs and don't have a reservation where you were planning to stay.
Norm.
If I was to visit Alaska again, I would not cruise and organise a land trip.
How I could incorporate Glacier Bay - I would have to research.
Denali and GB make Alaska worth the trip; the rest - .......... ?????
That said, the land portion of a cruise-tour package tends to be pretty expensive. As an alternative, consider doing the land portion on your own. The main roads in Alaska are well maintained, so it's no problem to rent a car and drive yourself, but you can also book travel on the Alaska Railroad if you prefer.
Well, Norm, it is like this ...
We are people who like to cruise because we don't have to worry, don't have to make decisions, just relax and let the staff take care of us.
Now we don't get quite that service on a cruisetour, but it is considerably better than driving ourselves!
And as far as trying to save money -- I penciled it out before our tour, and it just doesn't work unless you are staying in budget rate dumps and eating peanut butter sandwiches. A first class driving tour worked out to be as expensive if not more expensive than a cruise tour.
when to take a cruisetour
Cruisetour
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