Has anyone been on a Celebrity Cruisetour to Alaska?

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TINKERTOY ..... the 1 & only

I did the Alaska cruise tour about 5 years ago with Princess. I know that Princess, Holland America and Royal Caribbean have the cruise-tours that use the train from Anchorage to Fairbanks with stops in several places that you can choose to stay overnight (or 2) in. Princess and Royal Caribbean have special domed vista coaches on the train for their cruise tours. Holland America and any other use the regular train coaches. Princess served a dinner on the train.

When we did our cruise-tour we took a bus from Seward where the cruise ended and then after a tour of the Alaska Native Heritage Center, spend the night in a hotel in downtown Anchorage. The next morning we were bused to the train and began a pretty much all day ride to Fairbanks. Some people got off to stay at Talkeetna and the train continued on. We got off at Denali National Park and stayed in a lodge owned and operated by Princess. The next morning we toured the park (a limited amount) and then waited for the next train to arrive to take us on to Fairnbanks.

The train trip was beautiful a great way to see more on inland Alaska. But you really need to spend 2 days at Denali if you really want to see it in depth.

I know that you can do the tour part first with these cruise lines and if I had it to do again I would do the land tour first. Also, I know that now there are some different itineraries and that Princess does not do the land tour exactly the same now. I am not sure of the details but I know they have changed it some.

Since Celebrity is now a partner cruise line with Royal Caribbean they are using the same type domed train coaches for their ALaska cruise-tours. Their web site say: "Travel by luxury motorcoach and aboard the custom-designed, glass-domed traincars of Celebrity's Wilderness Express"

At any rate, the cruise tour is great and you are much more likely to see wildlife on the land tour part than on the cruise part. We saw moose, eagles, caribou, and fox on our land tour part. I do recommend doing the tour and I think Celebrity, RC or Princess would be good. BUT, not all cruise tours have the same itinerary and/or land tour option so you have to look carefully and compare so that you chose the one that is best for you. If you want to do a cruisetour you have to study the options before you book.

rick d

Celebrity ranks about #4 or 5 of all the lines. Princess is #1 according to not only myself but, the travel channel. They put you up in 5 star lodges. All lines today have doomed rail cars. Princess does serve 2 meals because they do not stop along the way. It is roughly a 91/2 hour train ride. The average speed is about 25mph & at times they have to pull over to allow another going in the other direction to pass. You need to look at the different itineraies to see what fits your needs best. As for the buses all lines lease their buses from Grey Line. Princess does have its own lodges as the others have contracts with different hotels & lodges. Denali is well worth as many days you can spend there. They have great tours into the park, gift shop, places to eat & a tram service that you just stand outside of your lodge & they will pick you up & take you where ever you want to go. There is also alittle plaza right across the street with gift shops, places to eat etc. Plus the view is amazing. They also have tours there. In Fairbanks besides the sternwheeler cruise most lodges has ashuttle to take you down town. A trip you will talk about for many years to come.
ENJOY.
Also some lines will charge more if you do the land tour first. I prefer to cruise first. Fairbanks airport easy to get around & so is Anchorage.

John W

Yes. Wonderful way to travel. There is something on board the ship for everyone. Great food and entertainment Shore tours in Skagway do the White Pass Railway. Very good. Juneau is pretty good as well as is Ketchican. You'll have a great time.

I 've looked into a bunch of cruisetour options. Basically, Celebrity (and all the others) are way behind Princess and Holland America when it comes to cruisetours.

Celebrity's only been doing it for a few years (vs. a couple of decades for the other two), and they don't own any of their own stuff. So they put you on regular buses and in regular (not very good) hotels. They've also got a lot fewer permits than the others -- so they can't spend as much time in the big national parks.

Princess has their own awesome lodges. Holland America supposedly has better tours, but their lodges aren't quite as nice. Both have lots of permits and can do "double Denali" -- two days in the top park.

Anyway, that's not to say that Celebrity would be bad, but the guys with more experience and their own facilities are better.

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