Land & Sea trip to Alaska

Old Sep 30th, 2010, 08:37 AM
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Land & Sea trip to Alaska

What is the best cruise ship going to Alaska, and someone said to take the land tour first as it is a bit tiring, then do the cruise. Anything else would be helpful as it is our first and most likely our last trip to Alaska, like what are the best tours,etc.
Thanks for your help.......
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Old Sep 30th, 2010, 08:41 AM
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If you do a land/sea package, absolutely do the land part first.

We did a Holland America Lines package and had a great time.
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Old Sep 30th, 2010, 09:01 AM
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Holland America and Princess are the two top lines in Alaska, stay away from the rest if you want a top notch experience.
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Old Sep 30th, 2010, 12:46 PM
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stay away from the rest if you want a top notch experience.

Sweeping statement.

We went on a Celebrity cruise-tour, it was fabulous.
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Old Sep 30th, 2010, 04:07 PM
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Hi Fox34,
We have been on a fabulous trip to Alaska on Holland America. Although we did the cruise portion first I think I have to agree that the land portion is tiring so I would probably do that first.

We have also done just a cruise with HA and then rented a car and did our own land tour for a week. That way we could go at our own pace.

Daytrip wise there is a ton to choose from: whalewatching and Mendenhall glacier in Juneau, totem carving in Ketchikan, halibut fishing in Sitka, river rafting in Valdez (which I don't think they offer anymore), train ride and river float trip in Skagway. All were fantastic.

No matter what you do you will fall in love with Alaska. There is nothing to compare to it IMO. And don't be disappointed when you get home and your pictures just don't do it justice. Really, I'm serious. No pictures can capture the beauty. I don't care how good a photographer you are. We kept saying that we really needed to learn some new adjectives, as beautiful and gorgeous were really being overused.

Happy planning,
Michele
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Old Oct 1st, 2010, 02:39 AM
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The most important advice I can give you about Alaska is to really plan your budget. We knew it was expensive, but it still cost far more than we expected - mostly because of additional transportation costs to see anything, especially from the cruise ship. We rented a car for a week prior to cruise and spent half the time to/from/at Denali and the rest on Kenai. The rental car cost a fortune, and then we added float trips, rafting, all-day boat trip from (great - not a duplication of cruise experience). While on cruise, there is little to see at ports that does not involve paying someone else to take you someplace - all well worth it, but figure it into your budget.

No regrets - Alaska was amazing. We did Princess one-way from Whittier to Vancouver and it was great - if you do same, try to spend a few extra days in Vancouver - a great city.
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