Alaska Land Tours

[bryanag73]

We have booked a northbound Alaska cruise on Radiance next July. We would like to extend our vacation with a Royal Carribean Land Cruise. They have several to choose from.  Looking for recommendations. Thanks in advance for your help.

[OCSC Mike]

The longest one they offer if you're set on booking through RC. I would spend as much time on land as possible.

We did 10 days on land in 2018 (arranged by my wife with a lot of help from the 3rd party company, not RC) before taking Radiance southbound and the land portion had more highlights than the cruise.

Shorter answer... see as much of Denali as you can then add as much of anywhere else.

[happy cruisers 2]

This idea of an Alaska cruise and land package interests me and my wife.  We have done an Inside Passage cruise, but it didn't include a land package.  OCSC MIke, or others, would you recommend booking the entire trip through Royal Caribbean?  Or would it be better to use a travel agent to make all the arrangements?  I suppose it maybe depends on what we want to see and do.  We just know that any return trip to Alaska would be more than a cruise.  Any suggestions are welcome.  Thanks.

[OCSC Mike]

10 hours ago, happy cruisers 2 said:

This idea of an Alaska cruise and land package interests me and my wife.  We have done an Inside Passage cruise, but it didn't include a land package.  OCSC MIke, or others, would you recommend booking the entire trip through Royal Caribbean?  Or would it be better to use a travel agent to make all the arrangements?  I suppose it maybe depends on what we want to see and do.  We just know that any return trip to Alaska would be more than a cruise.  Any suggestions are welcome.  Thanks.

Like you said, it depends... on a lot of stuff.

This was a very special trip for us. We were originally going through RC but my wife (who did almost all the planning b/c it was her baby; I never even considered Alaska) realized she wanted to do too much for too long and had to go elsewhere. That's why we used a 3rd party company.

We normally sail frugally in the Caribbean (driving an hour to PC and staying in an interior, previously with some good last minute deals). This was not that type of trip.

This is the company we used... https://www.alaskacollection.com/

Hope that helps. It's hard to give specific advice without knowing what and how much you want to do, budget, time frame, etc. As I'm sure you're aware, Alaska can be very expensive if you do excursions involving flights, helicopters, staying at the very back of Denali, etc. I had to put my frugal brain away and treat this as a one of a kind trip... and I have been thanking my wife for "making us go" ever since, lol.

[BD1157]

We did a cruise tour once. I did not like the waiting around and we seemed rushed.

My in-laws enjoy bus trip vacations and have done a cruise tour twice. 

A couple examples of what I didn't like.

If we stopped  for a bathroom break you are waiting for 50-60 people and before our group was done another bus had came to add to the crowd.

When we went to Denali we went on the wilderness explorer trip. We had just a few minutes for a bathroom break before we had to leave on the explorer bus. Same situation when we came back from the trip. We did not even get a souvenir from Denali not enough time.

The nice thing was no driving, hotel rooms planned for you.   No worries.

I defiantly recommend spending more time in Alaska before or after cruise but personally I would rent a car and go at my own pace. 

 

[OCSC Mike]

40 minutes ago, BD1157 said:

I defiantly recommend spending more time in Alaska before or after cruise but personally I would rent a car and go at my own pace. 

Agree with pretty much everything you posted. The RC land tours don't seem to maximize your time very well.

As an alternative, if you're not as adventurous and don't want to rent a car (like me), a company like the one I mentioned can arrange your trip entirely by train (or you could do that yourself I suppose). The Alaskan railroad is amazing. You just show up and give your name and your prepurchased tickets are in their system. When you check out of a hotel/lodge your luggage is transported to the train station and loaded for you.

We flew into Fairbanks and spent our 10 days taking the train all the way down to Seward, with several stops of course, including two nights in the back of Denali (not cheap but an amazing experience). It's a shame the road is still currently impassable. We loved the bus ride all 93 miles to the back and then returning to the front two days later.

Our itinerary was jam packed but that was based on our own planning. We weren't rushed, we just had a lot of stuff planned.

[Allen2]

IMO, whatever else you do: ride the train in a dome car in Alaska!!!

[Psycho and Barb]

We have done the Royal Cruise Tour twice...Once in June 2017 and again in June 2022.  We liked not having to worry about anything.  Our luggage was delivered to our hotel rooms every night and picked up from our rooms in the morning...We stayed in some very nice hotels like the Talkeetna Alaskan lodge...Absolutely stunning.   Both times we had fantastic tour directors who stayed with us the whole trip and made it memorable.  Our land tours included the glass domed railcars of the Alaskan Railway which is must, and our tour group had a domed car all to ourselves.   Our domed car had a bar and served breakfast, lunch or dinner (Pay as you go) depending on our time on the train...Our June 22 trip had four different legs on the train.   Both times it included the long bus trip into Denali...There's only a short and long Denali bus tours available.   Yes, we were on a set schedule and had to be at a certain place and at a certain time, but we also had plenty of free time to do/explore on our own.   Our tour director offered and booked side excursion at each stop besides the included excursions.  

The cruise portion is fantastic but you really need to do a land tour...Either on your own or with Royal to really experience Alaska.  

[Biaggio]

1 hour ago, Allen2 said:

IMO, whatever else you do: ride the train in a dome car in Alaska!!!

Double Ditto. Great way to tour, especially for the driver. Relax, chill, and count the moose and bears, along with the beautiful landscapes. 
 

Love The Alaska Railroad!

[wstephensi]

Did three day Land Tour through RC in 2017.  We arrived a day early in Fairbanks taking the kids to North Pole, AK and the Museum of the North.  We joined our tour group that night and the next day toured the gold dredge and took the optional river tour.  I was impressed with both and felt I got my monies worth.  Next day was glass domed train to Denali and we took the optional long bus tour of Denali.  Again worth the dollars spent. Third day was the long bus drive to Sewerd with a stop for lunch in Anchorage.  A travel day really.

Pros  I was impressed with the production value of the gold dredge and river tour.  The glass domed train was great with drink service, tour guide, and fresh cooked breakfast.  Denali long tour was long, but worth it.   The Hotel in Fairbanks was nice and fun in a local tourist way. If staying in a suite you get double points for the land portion as well.  Guide and driver were great.

Cons  The long bus tour in Denali is long.  You do lots of stops.  They give you a snack box, but you will miss a meal or possible two so eat first or bring something to eat. This is a school bus not a motorcoach.  Our hotel rooms in Denali were not very clean and had a noticeable unevenness to the floor slightly less than a carnival fun house.

I would recommend and felt we got our monies worth.  Next time I will plan our own with less motorcoach and more glass dome train.

[happy cruisers 2]

Very helpful description of your land tour, wstephensi.  Thank you.  We certainly will do a land package the next time we cruise in Alaska.  The Inside Passage was great, but we need to see more than that.

[Psycho and Barb]

26 minutes ago, wstephensi said:

 If staying in a suite you get double points for the land portion as well. 

You get a point for each day of the land portion no matter what type of room you have.

[wstephensi]

In 2017 we got double points for both the land portion and the cruise.  I can not speak to any change in policy since then.

 

Southbound Alaska & Hubbard Glacier

Radiance of the Seas

Jul 21 — Jul 31, 2017

Points earned: 20

 

 

 

 

[Pattycruise]

My MIL booked the family for 10 days with Royal..3day land followed by 7 day cruise.  She said the land portion would be exhausting and the cruise would be our break.  I’m so glad she booked it like this.  The land portion does take a lot out of you.   

[OCSC Mike]

6 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

My MIL booked the family for 10 days with Royal..3day land followed by 7 day cruise.  She said the land portion would be exhausting and the cruise would be our break.  I’m so glad she booked it like this.  The land portion does take a lot out of you.   

It certainly does... especially when you do 10 days before the cruise, lol. We would definitely do the land portion first again.

[whitsmom]

On 8/28/2023 at 2:11 PM, bryanag73 said:

We have booked a northbound Alaska cruise on Radiance next July. We would like to extend our vacation with a Royal Carribean Land Cruise. They have several to choose from.  Looking for recommendations. Thanks in advance for your help.

In 2018, we did the Northbound then did the 3 day land tour.  I would have loved to done a longer one but work got in the way.  It was fantastic!  If you can do the longest one they have. 

[baltodave]

I think we were on the same cruise this past June (Radiance Vancouver to Seward).  We booked a 3 night land tour with Alaska Tour & Travel afterwards and it was great.  They picked us up right at the cruise terminal in Seward.  Since our flight home from Anchorage was at night, we just booked a day tour from Viator that day.  One thing that made our trip great was the weather (which you can't count on). We only had a little rain the last day in Anchorage before we flew home.

[happy cruisers 2]

Doing a land tour before the cruise sounds like a great idea.  Hadn't considered doing it that way.  Plus, it gives you a few more days to look forward to the cruise!

[wstephensi]

16 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

My MIL booked the family for 10 days with Royal..3day land followed by 7 day cruise.  She said the land portion would be exhausting and the cruise would be our break.  I’m so glad she booked it like this.  The land portion does take a lot out of you.   

Agree.  We did the land tour first for just that reason.

[Dr Chris]

This is all great information about the land tour. In the pre-cruise tour, on your last day, what time do you arrive in Seward to embark on RC?

[Bob_KY]

12 hours ago, Dr Chris said:

This is all great information about the land tour. In the pre-cruise tour, on your last day, what time do you arrive in Seward to embark 

Assuming this is the southbound Radiance OTS, the land tour will end at Seward.  We had most of the day to explore Seward before getting on the ship. 

Some recommendations: 1) go early to explore the city on your own before the land tour starts, 2) if tour includes Alyeska (Girdwood) get dining reservations at Seven Glaciers Restaurant (stunning views with good food), 3) if includes Talkeetna, the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge has a wonderful patio space which on a clear day has Denali views (breath taking), 4) Cinnamon Rolls at Talkeetna Roadhouse (delicious), and 5) if in Anchorage, recommend Jens' Restaurant and Snow City Cafe (breakfast). Confession- I am a foodie. I navigate by restaurants. 

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, Bob_KY said:

if tour includes Alyeska (Girdwood) get dining reservations at Seven Glaciers Restaurant (stunning views with good food)

And if you're not a foodie, take the free shuttle into the actual small town of Girdwood and eat casual food with the locals. We stayed at Alyeska for 2 nights during our 10 day DIY land portion in 2018 and our tour guide during a glacier hike told us Girdwood was affectionately known as "Weirdwood"... and it quickly became apparent why, lol. We also did laundry at a laundromat there... which was even weirder. Fond memories...

[Southern Dan]

I am leaving on the NCL Jewel out of Seward this evening and unfortunately we couldn’t do a land tour prior bc of time off available to us.

Gives us an excuse to come back again though!

[AshleyDillo]

17 hours ago, Dr Chris said:

This is all great information about the land tour. In the pre-cruise tour, on your last day, what time do you arrive in Seward to embark on RC?

Each tour may be different with arrival times. We did the 8B land tour and it provided a bus from Anchorage to Seward with a stop at a museum on the way. The arrival was early afternoon in Seward for an evening sailaway.

We decided to skip the bus segment and opted to self-pay and take the train to Seward on our own and we got there mid-morning. We were able to drop off luggage and explore Seward.