Preface
Courtney and I have been planning and dreaming of this vacation for far too long. We’ve been married since October 2010 and have been talking about Alaska as one of the highlight trips that we’ve wanted to take ever since. We decided as an early 15-year anniversary present, we would finally take our trip of a lifetime, and we didn’t want to leave anything out. We looked at the trip as one of those – we’re going to do it once, do it right, and make sure we did everything we wanted to do. Few things to keep in mind though – if you already know me, you’ll know that I’m entirely a workaholic and I don’t do well with the idea of vacations. It’s not that I’m a home body by any means, but I’m not one to take any extended period of time off from my very busy lifestyle. I like being busy and enjoy doing “work”. Keep this in mind as my personal review is going to be a bit biased.
Our Itinerary
- Cruise Line: Norwegian
- Cruise/Tour Name: 14-Day Denali/Valdez Explorer
- Date: August 4, 2024 – August 19, 2024
- Family of 4 – 2 girls (8 and 11), 2 adults
Cruise/Tour Description
1 Night Anchorage • 2 Nights Denali • 2 Nights Fairbanks • 1 Night Valdez | 7-Day Alaska cruise
Our most picturesque tour of Denali and the Alaska wilderness featuring rarely seen vistas, spectacular mountain passes and glaciers galore. This tour offers abundant marine wildlife viewing opportunities during the day boat cruise across Prince William Sound.
- Explore Denali with a Tundra Wilderness Tour.
- Deluxe Dome rail journey from Anchorage to Talkeetna or Talkeetna to Anchorage
- Visit an Iditarod Sled Dog Musher’s kennel for a private tour.
- Gold panning at historic Gold Dredge #8.
- City tour of Fairbanks including a stop at the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline.
- Prince William Sound boat cruise.
- Tour the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Centre.
- Plenty of time in Denali for optional activities
Packing
Coming soon — Let me just say … I SOOOOO over packed!
Pre-Cruise/Tour Review
Itinerary
- Ace Limousine and Airport Transfer Service
- Delta Airlines Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Anchorage, Alaska connecting through Minneapolis-Saint Paul
Review
Ace Limo Service
- We opted for an airport transfer from our home directly to the airport so we didn’t need to figure out an Uber that would fit all our luggage, bother a neighbor for the long drive, etc. We decided to get a 9-person stretch limo to surprise our two kids and kick off the trip on a high note.
- This isn’t something we normally do. Normally we opt for a friend to come and get us and drop us off at the airport but we figured for this one time, we’d opt for something a bit different.
- The limo was absolutely fantastic. Ace limousine called us prior to them arriving to the front door so that we had a general idea as to their arrival time. They were prompt and the limo had plenty of storage for all of our luggage (which was a lot!)
- We even picked up some box white wine for the trip to the airport
Delta
- Delta was great and has always been by go-to airline for air travel. For whatever reason, I never seem to have a single bad flight with Delta.
- Just for a very short time, I still get free military baggage – which was great as that allowed us to check our 4 bags without a fee.
- We opted for comfort+ and we still get priority military boarding which is great for me to be able to get settled into my seat with all my electronics. With Comfort+ you also get a great list of beverages included in your fair.
- The kids loved the in-flight TV screens and their new Altec Noise-Cancelling bluetooth headphones we got them for the trip: https://a.co/d/9LS650L
- I was out like a light … even for a daytime flight. I put in my Apple AirPod Pro’s in my ears, turn on my music, and I don’t remember much about either flight.
Pre-Tour Days in Anchorage
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- K2 Aviation was already on my radar long before we landed in Anchorage yet we hadn’t booked anything because of the uncertainty of weather during the few days that we would be in the area. Thankfully, a quick phone call bright and early in the morning allowed us to get an afternoon flight with some of the best views and weather we had during our entire trip.
Itinerary
- Hotel: Sheraton Anchorage Hotel
- Activities:
- Enterprise Rental Car – Nissan Rogue – Downtown Anchorage – 906 E 5th Ave Anchorage, AK, US, 99501
- K2 Aviation Talkeetna – Denali Flyer with Glacier Landing – 14052 East 2nd Street Talkeetna, AK 99676
- Hatcher Pass
- The Anchorage Museum
- 35ft Viewing Tower – Palmer Alaska
- Food:
Review and Notes
We’ve heard plenty of stories over the past few years about how people didn’t allow for enough time to make sure they would arrive at their cruise starting point with enough time to actually get checked in and make their tours or the ship. So we decided to make sure we had plenty of time to get to Anchorage even if there was a trip delay due to our flights getting delayed somewhere along the way. Getting in a few days early was definitely worthwhile as it allowed us to experience some of the best weather that had during our entire trip and allowed us to get adjusted to the time change a bit easier.
Photos
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