We will be leaving on a Celebrity cruise next Friday, June 3rd and will be getting off in Seward. Desperatel need your help with info. on the following:

1. Travelling from Seward to Anchorage. What is the most scenic route from Seward to Anchorage and what is the best way or most reasonable way to get to Anchorage?
Can you tell me whether we have to book this before we get on the ship or can we do it on the ship the way one can book a shore excursion?

2. Once we get to Anchorage, should we spend a day or two there and what is the most reasonable place to stay? What do you recommend we do in a day or two? a. Walk around, b. book a city tour or c. rent a car and drive ourselves around?

3. We have to get back to Vancouver so do you recommend flying out of Anchorage to Vancouver directly or doing some sightseeing? Should we drive from Anchorage to a park called Denali Park that a friend was telling me about? I figure that Denali is a national park. What was great about visiting it for you? What should we look out for (like long waits to enter, high prices, etc.)

4. How feasible is it to rent a car and take the Alaska Highway through British Columbia to Highway 37 (Casair Highway) and then go south to Kitwanga and catch a train that runs alongside Yellowhead Highway to Vancouver? Is this safe and how long do you think it will take us (we are 3 women who can all drive)?

5. When we get to Vancouver, what are some things that we should not forget to see or do?
Thank you so much. My experience with Fodor travellers has always been great and now we really need your help soon.

I am assuming you are not having us on, so to speak.

That said, and not to be harsh, it's a bit late to be asking all these questions. Your options are extremely limited given the time frame.

Probably you should arrange on the ship for a bus or train transfer from Seward to Anchorage. There's only one road, so your route choices are nil.

Accommodation is Anchorage is scarce and extremely expensive in the summer. Go to Expedia or some such like right now and see what you can book. I would also book a car - plenty of things to see around Anchorage. You might want to get a guide book before you sail so you can decide what to see.

You haven't arranged your return to Vancouver? Really? You'll have to fly - either to Vancouver or (cheaper) to Seattle. How were you planning to get back? Be prepared for sticker shock on one-way flights.

Denali National Park, aka Mt. McKinley NP, is the most popular tourist destination in Alaska. At this point your best bet is probably a package tour through the cruisline, but you can easily drive there in a car (around 5 hours). You would need at least 36 hours at the park; the park shuttle buses (no private cars) into the park interior take most of a day. Accommodation is scarce and expensive around the park.

You cannot rent a car from Anchorage to the lower 48 or Vancouver, or intermediate places.

Consult any hotel desk, the Canada board on Fodors, the Vancouver visitors' board website, any number of places, for recommendations on activities in Vancouver. Much more than can be listed here.

Check out the Alaska board at www.cruisecritic.com for lots more info.

You're pretty far behind the 8 ball on planning - get a move on. Best wishes.

I too agree, this is very poor planning and way late at this point. Certainly YOU NEED RESERVATIONS, any at this point you can get.

Try to book the Alaska RR NOW from Seward- Anchorage. Look at the Ramada's and Days Inn in Anchorage, they offer shuttles to/from the rail depot and airport. See if you can get a round trip Anchorage car rental. For Denali Park, you need AT LEAST 3 extra days and booking with a hotel- which will be VERY limited availablity at this point and the park SHUTTLE to Fish Creek. You can probably still get this? If you don't have the time, head up to Talkeetna perhaps, Hatcher Pass drive on the way or back. Head to your library and get a look at THE MILEPOST.

Gardyloo and BudgetQueen,
Thank you so much for your help.

Yes, I know it's late but my trip is a birthday gift being given to me by two friends who are in another country. The trip will be at a friends and family rate and we only recently got the confirmation. It's all out of my control.

I was actually thinking that I would just fly out of Anchorage and go visit a cousin in Vancouver for a few days but I have to take my friends' interests into consideration.

I've been reading other threads like the list of items to take on such a trip, etc. and all the ideas posted by you and other are very good. I'll also visit my nearest AAA office for a trip pack and try to keep plans as simple as possible.

Once again, thanks so much

Teecha, I want to apologise for the snippy tone in my earlier post. If we're snide with each other here it helps no one and the world is not a better place, sorry.

A couple of things - first, you can study on the boat. Get a guidebook in Vancouver or at home before you leave, and sit in the Thalassotherapy pool (my wife believes it must have been created by the devil to tempt us) on the ship and read up so that when you get to Anchorage you can hit the streets running.

Don't kill yourselves trying to squeeze things into too tight a timeframe. The cruise itself will be a revelation and even if your time around Anchorage is limited you'll still have a grand time.

In fact, if it were me and time/cost/hassle was a factor, I'd look for something simple, a little extravagant maybe, but great fun for gal pals on holiday. See if you can book into one of the hotels at Girdwood (Alyeska resort, Princess) - google it and you will get details - and spend your time walking in the woods, take the gondola if it's operating, do a day trip on a glacier cruise from Whittier (nearby), things like that. Drinks and dinners at the Double Musky restaurant in Girdwood, cinnamon rolls at the bakery at the ski lodge - in general don't bust your backs trying to get to Denali etc. Make it relaxing, take notes for your next visit. Visit the Fly by Night Club in Anchorage for music and laughs, or Chilkoot Charlie's (come prepared for down-and-durty) - in general hang out.

Don't worry that you're getting ripped off because of last-minute bookings; everything in southcentral Alaska goes to Rack Rate from the gitgo in summer, and the "net" prices paid by land tour purchasers through the cruise lines are shocking in comparison to what a little surfing on travel sites can get you as an independent.

Most of all, spend a little time visiting with some of the locals and getting to know the human side of Alaska. Way too many visitors get so wrapped up in mountains and mooses that they overlook the fact that it's the people that make the Great Land great.

Have a ball.

I would reiterate, if you are 3 women traveling together, the Alyeska Prince in Girdwood would be fun.

So many tourists come up hoping to see Mt. McKinley in the summer and, unfortunately, some go home disappointed because the mountain makes it's own weather and sometimes chooses not to be seen.

If you plan to fly from Anchorage to Vancouver direct (or via Seattle), make your reservations now. Airlines usually charge less if you reserve 14 days in advance. Plus, those are popular flights and will be quite full.