Is the extra cost worth it to have the cruise company handle the land portion?
Normally we go on our own but they are selling these cruise/tours very hard.
It's a July cruise.

Any experience out there?

Hello Marty,
My husband and I took his parents on a Princess Cruise including Denali about 10 years ago. The Denali portion was enjoyable but short. If we go again we will definitely do the land portion ourselves and take more time with this. I do not know the difference in price, when we were there the choices of lodging and amenities were few, in most areas. My advice: If you are adventure some do it on your own, if you like comfort, do it with Princess. ps: I took 4 roles of Mt. McKinley, when we were there it was as clear as can be, not always the case, I was told.
Alaska is beautiful, enjoy.
A.M.

If you really want to spend time and see as much as possible, don't do the cruise. The one and only cruise I took was wonderful EXCEPT I was terribly frustrated that I felt rushed every port of call and never got to see half of what I wanted to see and do.
See similar thread on the Carribean board "cruising....never again".

Based on my research, the land tour on your own is half the cost. I have been traveling for many years and do much research in advance. I will be taking Cruise West on a 7 day inside passage cruise, then flying to Anchorage on my own and renting a car. With everything on the internet, it's very easy to handle yourself.
Good luck.

Typically, the cruise lines buy blocks on high volume excursions. For instance, they will ask a vendor for a ten seat guarantee with as little as 4 hours release. Meaning, they call 4 hours prior to say exactly how many of those seats they are going to use and what the vendor can return to retail sales. The Cruise lines do not really get a discount, but do get commissions ranging from 10 - 20%. Then, and this is where it gets expensive, they add to the cost of retail for you to buy the "guarantee" from them. It is a stupid game. The bottom line is that the cruise lines are making money off of you when you buy the trip, and again when the merchant pays the commission. Effectively, they double dip. Once on the vendor, and once on you. Anyone who would buy anything from the cruise lines should not consider a career in finance.

I did as Michelle did, taking a Cruisewest inside passage trip, then flew on my own to Anchorage. I took the train however, to Denali, which I booked myself. It is the same train ride that Princess does, except that Princess has their own cars. Some people I talked to thought the train ride was too long. I really enjoyed it though, as we had perfect clear skies and views of Mt. Denali for much of the trip. The dining car on the train is excellent as well. Once you arrive at the park entrance, everyone gets the same options for touring the park, so I'm not sure what the advantage to using Princess would be, except they handle the reservations for you. I did not have any problem making any of the reservations myself.

If you decide to handle the land portion yourself, can I recommend you stop off at Talkeetna for a flightseeing trip to Mt McKinley/Denali? We did one last year with a glacier landing included, and it was incredible. Talkeetna is on the main Anchorage/Denali road - it's a great little village and is the base for the Mt McKinley mountaineers. You can also take river-rafting trips there.

do it yourself. everything i've read has said that people felt rushed.