Alaska trip planning?

Question

hi there, we are planning on visiting alaska for about a week or so for vacation.
1) I am totally confused about which is the better option - cruise or road travel,
2)what are the must see places and must do activites.
3)if I take a cruise, will I be able to visit the denali national park and the north pole?
4)how are day cruises? has anyone tried them out?
5)we are looking to travel in may as it seems the cheapest, would the weather be unbearable or pleasant enough?
6) we are interested in nature, wildlife, trying out new cuisines and a little bit of hiking around. please give us your suggestions.
thanks!

Answer 1

1) I personally like cruise travel. This way, you can see different cities every day, you aren't stuck in one place. You also get cheap deals on shore excursions like kayaking, dog sledding, etc.
2)Must see places are Glacier Bay N.P., Sawyer Glacier, Skagway, Kenai Fjords N.P., and of course Denali N.P.
3)With Royal Caribbean and Holland America, you can buy a shore excursion to take you to Denali N.P. However, the North Pole isn't in Alaska, so you can't go there.
4)I'm not sure about day cruises.
5)The weather in May is actually very nice. The sun's out a fair amount of the time, the water is calm, and the bugs haven't come out of their winter yet. The weather is very nice during May/June.
6) If you're interested in nature, wildlife, and new cuisines, definitely go on a cruise. You will see whales, eagles, seals, bears, etc from the ship's decks and you can go to a different resteraunt every night on the ship and try new things. When I was on a cruise, they had a whole pig with an apple in it's mouth. It was something I've never even seen before. They also have authentic Asian, French, and Italian resteraunts on board too.

Answer 2

If you take a cruise for a week you will not be able to see the interior. So the first question is more of can you take 10 to 12 days to see the interior as well? If you can then a cruise with an add on land tour is a great way to see both the glaciers and coastline that the cruises give you and Denali and option to add on the North Pole. If you are more interested in seeing these things though fly up to Alaska and drive/fly to these locations.

Alaska is still wild, May is a great time to go and see wildlife in action. As is normal in most of the world, springtime brings babies. It's also when the whales go back from their winter birthings in the Hawaiian islands. Temperatures are actually pretty mild. I would say for what you are wanting to see unless you can take a bit more time, a cruise is not going to give you the effect of Alaska that you want. Have fun with whatever you decide though.

Answer 3

I have done alot of calls and checking prices and this what I have learned plus been there 10 times.
!. Take a cruise/cruisetour is not only cheaper but, requires you to do alot less.
2,3,4. A cruisetour Princess 7N is $1399.00 each for 11 days & you get a 7 day cruise to the major ports, glaicers, transportation, lodging, most meals plus lots of extra that if you would add the costs up you would pay more than double by driving. Plus included in this price your tour of Denali Park, excellent rooms, service etc............Plus you will get to meet people from all over the world.
5. We go every year in May, July & Sept. May is nice & you will see plenty of wildlife especially on train ride from Whitter to Denali & once in the Park. Weather from Vancouver to Anchorage is usually in the 40's & once you start in land it gets warmer. In Fairbanks & Denali usually in the 70's.6. There is plenty of chances for you to hike while ship is in ports of call plus once you start the land tour. You will go on a real Paddle Wheeler boat tour in Fairbanks with a stop at a native Indian Village and learn of their history. Once in Fairbanks you will stay at Pike's River Front Lodge which is rated 5 stars & right accros the parking lots is Pike's Club where you can also eat and sit outside and enjoy the view. This would be the best trip for the money and give you everything you both are looking for. You can either visit Princess.com or call 1-800-Princess for a free brouchure and any other info. These cruises sell out fast so you would want to call right away. Also either a cruise or cruisetour take a inside cabin and save $500.00 each. After all you are not in the room that much plus you can take the money you save for things you will want to do once there.
ENJOY....ENJOY....ENJOY.... The North Pole is just 10 miles from Fairbanks.

Answer 4

We just got back from an Alaska cruise. I really enjoy cruising because you unpack once, and you're done! If you are only going for a week, then a cruise is the way to go. What we found out is that many places in Alaska have no other way to get to them other than by air or boat. Cities have roads but they just end!

If I had to do it over again, I would go for 2 weeks and do both the cruse and the land tour. But even just doing the cruise we:

Helicopter tour and hiked a glacier
Took a float plane to the fjords
Photography boat tour to see whales/etc. (saw lots -- even from the cruise ship)
Cruised the inside passage to see more glaciers (WOW!!), and bears!!
Be adventurous! If you cruise, try excursions that you would never imagine yourself doing (like hiking a glacier)!!

We had incredible weather - pretty chilly for me (I live in Florida) but blue skies everywhere but Juneau.

Answer 5

You could also remember that via cruise you will get all you need in one price: food, activities & entertainment, various destination spots, beautiful views, optional add-on excursions or tours, etc.

It would be an excellent option to cruise if you want to see many places and have various options.

However, for a more personalized experience, you could go by land and purchase all components seperately, maybe even in a package price if available: air, hotel, car... then you have to remember your additional expenses of food, gas, shopping, etc.

I would start by deciding which type of vacation is best for your specific budget and preferential needs, then go from there and research specific information about either hotels or cruises, depending on your choice.

Make a list of things you don't want to compromise, such as: "must see denali national park", "have to be able to hike XX times a week", etc.

Answer 6

First of all, love your name (met my husband through Rand!). Secondly, you can do both! Many people take a cruse up to AK for one leg of the journey and choose to drive back down. This is a great way to see what you want to see and be on your own time schedule, while getting the pampering of a cruise.

Must do list: Visit Denali, climb Flattop (in Anchorage), eat a reindeer sausage (owned a stand for 7 years in downtown Anchorage--now that I'm gone, visit Michael Anderson (MA) on the corner of 4th and F St.), take pictures of all the wildlife (do a checklist of things you want to see. . .moose, reindeer, bald eagle, otters, seals, whales, etc.), go to Girdwood to eat the delicious view and visit the Aleyeska hotel, go to Whittier and drive through the longest tunnel in N. America, go fishing (pretty much anywhere in AK has good fishing!), take lots and lots of pictures of the flowers.

The best times to travel are in June and July. The weather is usually good then with very little rain (though this year's winter may have thrown everything off). Some restaurants you should make sure to check out while in Anchorage are: Glacier Brewhouse, Moose's Tooth, Snow City Cafe, Downtown Deli.

Have fun!

Answer 7

I recommend taking an Alaska cruise-tour; that's what we did. The weather is generally warmer in June, July and Aug, but it can also be pleasant in May and Sept. When we went a few years ago in May it was shirt sleeve weather (70's) in Anchorage and Fairbanks. The odd thing was, it was cooler further south in Juneau and Skagway than it was up north. It was rainy and cloudy in ketchkan. It will be cold, like coat, hat and gloves weather, when you get close to the Glaciers. When you pack, think layering of your clothes.

Some cruises ship itineraries are run in reverse order, North to South vs starting in Seattle or Vancouver. Check the cruise line web sites for variations by date, itinerary and price.

In my opinion, the best Alaska cruise experience is the CRUISE-TOUR. Cruise lines like Princess, Holland America, and Royal Caribbean all run cruise tours which take you by train all the way to Fairbanks, Alaska. Princess and RC have special domed train cars for this. Your best chance to see wild animals will be if you do a cruise-tour where you go further north after cruising the inside passage. The only animals you are likely to see in the inside passage is seals. On these tours You can arrange to stop for a night or two in Taketna, or Denali National Park. This will be your best opportunity to see Moose, Caribou, eagle, wolf, and bear. But you really need two days at Denali so that you have time to get one of the Park Service's busses that go deep into the park. Regular tour busses , cars and campers can only go about 3 or 4 miles into the park. The Park Service runs busses about 17 miles into the park, but you must get to the visitor center very early to reserve a spot on one of their busses. The train stops going north and south do not get you to Denali in time or allow enough time for the deep back country busses. With Princess, Holland America, and RC you can do the tour part first and then go to Seward or Whittier to get on ship for the inside passage part. I recommend doing the tour part first.

The weather will be nice in May but go as late in May as you can.