Follow our Clients to Alaska - Day 2

Follow along as our clients share details of their 12-Day Alaska Cruisetour. It includes a 5-Day land tour on the front and 7-Day cruise at the end. This is the Princess 12-Day Connoisseur Escorted Tour. Alaska Post #2 - Mt. McKinley Wilderness Lodge

This morning the luggage had to be outside their hotel room by 6am. If you’ve heard of the pink and blue tags, “Met me tonight” and “Met me on the ship”, this is where they get used! (Tip: You can send luggage ahead to the cruise instead of taking everything on the front tour portion. With a 7-day cruise, it’s a good idea to pack as if you’re going on two vacations!) Today is the drive to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge.

First activity of the day was to meet the tour guide at breakfast and get a debriefing of timing and next steps. Afterward they were told to head outside and await the arrival of a blue Princess motorcoach. When the green Holland bus showed up they did a quick double take but the tour guide confirmed it was the correct bus. Princess and Holland are sister companies and utilize mutual equipment. (Tip: Sit on the right side of the bus, all the “pretty mountains” are more easily visible from the right.)

On the way to Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge the bus stops in Talketna. This is where they got their packet with room key, food vouchers, itineraries and other details. They mentioned that almost everyone got off the bus at Talketna except them and another couple. Most had excursions and others were just getting off for lunch. The shuttle between Talketna and the lodge runs every hour on the half hour, except at 1:30. (Tip: If you book an excursion at Talketna keep your backpack light and send everything else in your luggage to the hotel.)
They enjoyed the afternoon at the lodge including a short ten minute hike up Hill Trail Loop to enjoy the treehouse. Yes, Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge has it’s very own custom built treehouse, as seen on Animal Planet’s Treehouse Masters!

For those interested, the lodge does have two smoking areas, outside at each end of the main building. Dinner is also included in this tour, tonight was at the North Fork restaurant. They enjoyed prime rib and delicious desserts.

So far, they can’t say enough about how amazing the staff has been. From the team members that met them at the airport, those at the hotel, on the bus, at the lodge and even the Denali State Park Rangers, everyone has been very nice and knowledgeable.
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Join us tomorrow to see what they did during their second day at Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge! #princesscruisetour #alaskacruisetour Princess Cruise Ship #mtmckinleyprincess #connoisseurtour