emalloy

We are thinking about going to Alaska, maybe next September. Would like to do the inside passage and take the train to Denali for a day or two. We might be able to get a group of 10 friends and relatives to go along. What would be our best way to plan this? Should it be done as a package??? Land part first?? Sea first???

DH did his time at sea as a callow youth in the USN so does not relish sea time, but will consider going to see wonderful things not available with him behind the wheel of a car.

Recs on ships to take/avoid???

Thanks

HappyTrvlr

We had perfect weather in late June/early July. Look at Lindblad for the best up close to nature, no crowds option.
On the land portion we rented a car and toured up to Denali and down to Homer and Seward,and also stopped off in Girdwood for several nights.Flew from Anchorage to Juneau to board the boat.

spirobulldog

Princess Cruises is the line that I think is probably the best. I am basing this on what I have read and after my parents doing pretty much what you mention above. Princess has the lodges, private train cars, complete package done right.
My parents started their trip Mid-August and was a 17 day trip. I don't think I would get to late into Sept. unless fall folliage is really what you want to see. You might consider doing Kenai area instead of Denali. You can take a shorter, more scenic train to it. My parents didn't do it that way, but we did Kenai a couple of years ago and loved it. I don't think you can go wrong. You might also consider just flying to Anchorage and doing Kenai and Denali, or even an excursion to Katmai. Unless the cruising is really what you want to do. To do Alaska right(imop), you need to spend some serious $$$. I think a trip, even 2 or 3, on float plane, ski plane, or helicopter really lets you see Alaska. Maybe take a dog sled ride(you can do it on dirt cheaper, but on snow is the real deal). Maybe Salmon Fishing and/or Bear Watching. Maybe land on Denali. See a glacier calving into the ocean(better seen from a smaller ship than a cruise line). All of these are expensive.

Alaska is very very big, and I would only try to cover one or two places on land.

emalloy

Thanks for the information. We'll be limited in time so won't be able to do it completely this time but will have to be satisfied with a look and get an idea of where to go next time.

dfrostnh

I think the cruise part really depends on how much you like crowds. DH and I don't like big cruise ships but loved the Alaska ferry. The difference is that in port, there are thousands of people (2 ships might be in) in a town like Skagway that has a small population. Everything looked and was crowded until everyone headed back to their ships. We thought it was much nicer in the evening when the streets were empty. Basically we like traveling by ourselves and enjoyed a small b&b rather than a big hotel and going at our own pace.
The last time we were there we spent 3 weeks and still didn't visit Denali although we could see the mountain during clear weather when we went to Talkeetna. We spent most of our time on the Kenai Peninsula. Each town has its own personality. The wildlife cruise out of Seward was much better than our ferry experience for close up views of things. I also agree about taking a short flightseeing trip anyplace.

emalloy

Thanks for the information, I'll chew it over with the others and see if we can agree on seeing as much as we can without having too much in the way of crowds. With a place this big, it would take more than one or two vacations to get everything one would like to see.