By: Amy Norton, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent
If you are looking to plan your next dream vacation to Alaska with Royal Caribbean, be sure to add on the land tour portion! You can add this on to the front or back end of your vacation package. You can add on an additional 3-6 nights with your 7 night cruise for an amazing trip! Wondering if you should add the Alaskan land tour on before or after the cruise just ask your Marvelous Mouse Travels agent, but I recommend doing the cruise and then the land tour after due to the time change and getting acclimated.
There are many different Alaskan land tour packages to choose from! Each one staying at different properties along the way and many different excursions to experience. Your Marvelous Mouse Travels agent will be able to help guide you and book the best package to fit your needs and wants. Let’s talk about some of the excursions and things you can do on your free time!
Anchorage is a beautiful city in Alaska with views for miles! Staying at the Downtown Anchorage Marriott was the perfect modern spot to spend the night. I walked from the hotel and I rented a bike and rode Ships Creek trail for 3 hours one morning, it was so peaceful and the sky was clear with views of the mountains. There is a great shopping area and mall to walk around. If you get hungry, Moose’s Tooth Pub & Pizzeria is a must try! The wait is worth it, if you call in ahead catch an Uber and sit by the fire with a local brewed beer while you wait.
Spend the afternoon onboard Kenai Fjords in Seward and experience Resurrection Bay where you will have the chance to see sea lions, otters, mountain goats, birds and possibly whales! Take a quick stop at Fox Island for lunch and photos before you finish your tour seeing waterfalls and glaciers.
Once back on land head over to the Alaska SeaLife Center. You will see and learn about so many different marine life animals. Our favorite was seeing the puffins and octopus! Windsong Lodge in Seward Alaska is a charming and rustic lodge. It’s not in the heart of Seward but it is a quick ride to town. Its restaurant on property had a great view of the mountains.
Wanting to see some wildlife animals? You can see lots of wildlife at the WildLife Conservation Center. They have reindeer, moose, bears, and so much more. This was a great spot to stop at since we unfortunately didn’t get to see any moose or bear during our travels elsewhere.
The Native Heritage Center was fun to experience and see the way that their culture lived in Alaska. The jackets that were hand made are absolutely stunning pieces! They even made us homemade ice cream to try.
The Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge is a big and beautiful lodge! You could spend so much time out back looking at the mountains. It is about 1.5 miles to the small rural town of Talkeetna. There were many amazing local shops here to visit and a plenty of great local restaurants. Aurora Dora a well known photographer has a shop inside a cabin right at the corner of town, be sure to visit. While in Talkeetna be sure to go on the K2 Aviation excursion and land on a glacier. Even if you can’t land still go out on the flyer, the experience is not one you want to miss!
What is another form of transportation in Alaska that you must do? The Wilderness Express, of course! Travel by railway on the Wilderness Express from Talkeetna to Denali on a 4 hour trip with scenic views from the glass dome cart and learn interesting facts along the way. You are seated 3 to a row and provided drinks and lunch during your train ride. Make sure to try the reindeer chili soup, french dip sandwich and fruits of the forest pie, it’s mouth watering just thinking about it!
Visit the Denali National Park upon your arrival in Denali. There are bus tours that will drive you though the park and make stops as you see animals like caribou or at stops like cabins along the road. Enjoy an evening riding ATV’s or side by sides with Denali ATV Adventure. They’re guides fun and very knowledge about the areas they take you to. Spend your evening at Denali Park Village hotel as you rest up from all the fun you had!
Hop back on your motor coach and head to Fairbanks for the Riverboat Discovery tour with a miners lunch included prior to getting on the riverboat. You will learn about the Chena Village and Trail Breaker Kennel dog sledding while on the board as you pass through on river. They bring you to the Chena Village and explain how they trapped and hunted. Trail Breaker Kennel brings their dogs over for you to see and ask questions. It is awesome to watch how the other dogs react to one another.
By dinner time you’ll want to to eat at the Salmon Bake and get the Prime Rib dinner! Once finished with your meal head on over to the Golden Heart Revue Palace Theatre for a spectacular performance. You will end the evening at your Lodge in Fairbanks at Pike’s Waterfront Lodge or Sophie’s Station. We stayed at Pike’s Waterfront Lodge and got to check out their newly built Aurora Room. It is such a cool and neat little space!
Experience panning for gold at the Gold Dredge 8. A quick train ride takes you to the Dredge where after you finish panning for gold you can walk through and get some great photos of the inside!
On departure day check out some local things to do like Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum or take a little ride to the North Pole and visit the Santa Claus House and meet Santa and his reindeer!
An Alaska land tour is a must add to your Royal Caribbean Cruise be sure to reach out to your Marvelous Mouse Travels agent to book your next trip at www.marvelousmousetravels.com/contactus
