Hi,

We are flying into Anchorage on a Thursday afternoon and leave early Saturday morning on the Alaskan railroad to Seward to get to our cruise. Our ship leaves Seward at 6 p.m. and we will end up in Vancouver.

So, we have half a day Thursday and all of Friday in Anchorage. Should we stay there and visit the museums? Or would it make sense to drive up to Talkeetna Lodge the first afternoon and stay there overnight. Perhaps get a flightseeing tour of Denali on Friday? Is the drive to Talkeetna really great?

Just wondering what is the best use of the limited time.

Thanks for suggestions -

Ginny

We've been on 5 cruises to Alaska.
Once we had a day and a half to kill so we took a city tour. It was great.
One of the stops was the Museum which was so interesting. I think they let us stay there for about a half hour which I didn't think was long enough.
We learned so much about Anchorage and Alaska on that tour.
We made dinner reservations, on our own, at the Sourdough Factory.
That was a neat experience too.
The restaurant is built like a goldmine.
The food was great too. And there is a really nice gift shop across the street with a chocolate factory.
Hope this helps.
Lydia

Lydia,

Thanks for the help. Wow, 5 cruises? What cruises/lines have you been on?

I am also looking for suggestions for good places to eat dinners and lunch, etc.

Anyone have any favorite restaurants in Anchorage?

Thanks!

Ginny

We sailed 4 times with Princess and once with Celebrity.

Up until our last cruise this year, Princess has always been our favorite. But there was so much confusion with Personal Choice/Anytime Dining that it almost ruined our vacation. We didn't know that we were supposed to make reservations for a certain time to dine. We thought Anytime Dining meant just that.
Last year we chose Anytime Dining and it was great! We went to a dining room and was seated immediately.We sat with different people every night and it was so enjoyable. Why Princess changed it I don't know. So if you choose Princess
and Personal Choice dining be aware that you should make dinner reservations for the whole week as soon as you get to your cabin that first day.
There is a button on your telephone that says "concierge". I don't know your preference. Maybe you prefer first or second seating. In that case, you won't have to make a reservations.
Happy sailing.
Lydia

I answered elsewhere- but a car is necessary if you want to make the most of your time. Request the Anchorage visitor guide www.anchorage.net loaded with information. A drive to Talkeetna is worthwhile, it will depend on what your priorities are. Anchorage has a lot to offer. For clairfication the resturant is the Sourdough Mining company. I took the Sun last year and I DID NOT have any reservations in the personal choice dining, never had more than a 5 min. wait ever. Truely did eat when every I wanted.

BudgetQueen,
We were on the Star last year and had no problem with Personal Choice Dining, loved it and were seated immediately.

The reservation thing for PC on the Princess is something new now.
You should find out about it.

All I know is that, our daughters are going to Alaska on the Coral this summer and the cruise line told their agent that all the Princess ships are changing to the system of making reservations with the concierge, and there are no problems, huh!

Yes, you are right, that restaurant is called the Sourdough Mining Company.
Couldn't remember the whole name. It's been 4 years since we've been there.

There has been reported problems re Personal Choice dining on the Diamond Princess and when the new Sapphire comes out soon probably on there as well. This is patially due to having four different themed PC dining rooms on these two ships but all other Princess ships with PC dining you should have NO PROBLEMS with getting a table when you want.

A car would greatly enhance your stay in Anchorage. Any flightseeing tours you will need to book in advance so as not to be disappointed. As for restaurants... there are plenty to choose from, mostly seafood, make a reservation as there are many cruisers in Anchorage the night before any cruise day, we had problems getting in, lots of ppl on wait lists! Enjoy your cruise!

We were on the Diamond Princess and I can't tell you all the problems with PC and not because it was the maiden voyage. They should have had all those problems taken care of before it sailed.

Passengers won't have a problem with PC on other ships only if they make reservations thru the concierge.

Princess said they were going to keep their ships separate from Carnival which Carnival owns all the Princess ships now, but I'll tell you what!
We sailed on Carnival once and boy! the Princess Diamond seemed like one of the Carnival ships, poo poo.

Thanks to all of you for your ideas on museums, Talkeetna, and restaurants. I definitely will make reservations ahead of time - thanks for the tip!!

We are crusing on the Radisson Seven Seas Mariner. They have anytime seating. We are looking forward to Alaska!!

Ginny

I'm waaaaay off message, here, but do you, gopack, have (NC State)Wolfpack roots? If so, I'll take all of your posts to heart, from now on. Ha!

Another "thing to do" is walk on a glacier. It is at milemarker 102 (which means it is 102 miles from Anchorage on Hwy 1). You pay $12.50 per adult and then drive to the top of the hill. Walk down (and then onto) to the glacier. You can stay as long as you want. This does not require any climbing (which was great for us since we have a special needs child).

For an additional cost you can rent the equipment and have a guide "climb" all over the thing. We had a blast.

The OP asked this question 16 months ago, so I'm assuming this trip is long over!

True, but it seems to me all of this information would be useful to someone planning a future cruise through Anchorage, or did I miss something.