A group of us are taking an Alaskan cruise next year and were wondering which is the best deal for cruise and rail. We are coming from the East Coast and notice the add on fare from the lines is quite a lot of money. <BR>Any insight would be helpful so I can get started.

Hi Catherine - We took the cruise & land package on Princess three years and had a wonderful time. It was well worth the price for this once in a lifetime experience. However, from a personal perspective, I wasn't all that thrilled with the land deal. I guess I'm the type of person who likes to find his own adventure. On the train ride I sort of became bored....there wasn't only so much ooooh...aaaah type of sights. In addition, the hostesses were almost constantly pushing drinks. When we arrived in Denali we were hearded about like cattle. When our two days were concluded and we were gathered at the train station I felt very uncomfortable being moved about in this mob-like manner. <BR>My wife and I agreed that should we take this package again we will take the cruise and tour Alaska on our own. Please don't get me wrong, Princess did the best they could to make the tour comfortable, informative, and interesting. We'd just prefer to do it on our own.

It's easy to do on your own. Check rental car prices - that's what we did a few years back. You can also book the trains on your own - if your time is limited, you should purchase your tickets in advance to be sure that you get the dates you need.

How do you do the cruise if you do the land yourself. Aren't the cruises round trip from BC? Please advise

We did a 7 day cruise from Seward to Vancouver. We were using frequent flier miles for round trip air tickets to Seattle. From there we had a one way flight to Anchorage. We left about 10 days before the cruise and rented a car in AK for a week and met the ship in Seward. <BR>Depending on the size of your group and the details of the cruise you are considering, this may not work for you. <BR>Are you working with a good travel agent?

Hi Charlotte, <BR>I haven't gone to a travel agent yet. Last October we went on the Zenith to Bermuda and I booked it myself over the internet. I just did a two week trip to Italy myself. Do you think I need an agent for this?

Hi again - <BR>I guess at this point I'm not at all sure that I know what it is that you're trying to set up. <BR>I assumed from your original post that you were intrested in the land tour options out of Anchorage. Many of the cruise lines offer trips for 2 or 3 days out of Anchorage to Denali and Fairbanks on the Alaska Railroad. This sort of thing is easy to do on your own. <BR>If however, you are looking at the 7 day cruises that start and end in Vancouver that won't be an option - although you could certainly extend your trip out from Vancouver with rental car or train trip before or after your cruise. <BR>One more question... how large is your group? If there are quite a few people involved, I would be inclined to want to use a travel agent to co-ordinate all the cruise details, hotel rooms, air fares, etc.