You probably know that my wife and I like to go on cruise ships...
And in July 2020 we'll be doing our 50th cruise!
Now 50 cruises is kind of a big deal...
So, we're inviting you to come along with us on this one.
We're going to be leading a group cruise and land tour in Alaska and Canada...
Open to anybody that would like to join us.
And when I say "us" I'm talking about me and my wife Kellyn...
And our travel agent, Caitlin and her husband and their kids.
We'll be leading the cruise and a land tour...
And I think it's going to be a lot of fun!
The plan looks something like this...
We'll fly to Anchorage, Alaska and start the adventure there on July 14th, 2020.
We'll spend one night at a hotel in Anchorage...
And then the next morning we'll hop on a bus for a three and a half hour ride...
To the Mount McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge in Talkeetna.
I stayed there with my family in 2014 and it was really great!
The lodge is very close to Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America.
On a map, it's usually referred to as Mt McKinley...
But the folks in Alaska prefer to call it Denali.
If the weather is clear like it was for us in 2014...
You'll have a heck of a view of Denali from the Princess Wilderness Lodge.
There will be a number of optional excursions in the Talkeetna area that you can participate in, for an extra fee.
During our 2014 visit to Talkeetna we visited Sun Dog Kennels...
Where they raise and train sled dogs for the Iditarod.
After our time in Talkeetna, we'll board a bus for slightly more than two hour ride to another princess Wilderness Lodge...
The one at Denali National Park...
Where we'll stay for two nights.
There will be a number of optional excursions in and around Denali that people can choose from.
In 2014, I signed up for a helicopter sightseeing excursion of Denali...
Where I shot the video you're seeing here.
If a helicopter tour of Denali sounds like a fun experience to you...
It will be one of your options if you come on the trip with us...
But there will be lots and lots of other options, too.
Each day you'll be welcome to tag along with us on whatever adventure we end up going on...
Or you'll be free to go your own way.
And if you don't feel like paying extra for any activities in Denali...
There's a natural history tour of the park which is included at no additional charge.
Following our two nights at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge...
We'll do what I consider the highlight of the land tour...
A 295 mile ride on the Alaska Railroad...
In an amazing glass-domed railcar with incredible views.
The train ride will last a little more than nine hours...
And it was just a fantastic part of our 2014 land tour...
So, I'm really excited about this part of our 2020 journey.
This is a photo I shot of my sisters after we rode the Alaska Railroad in 2014.
Notice the two level rail car on the right side of the photo.
You spend most of the journey on the top level with the big glass windows...
That give you an amazing view of the Alaskan scenery.
But when it's time for lunch, you head downstairs to the dining area.
Be aware that the cost of lunch is not included in your fare... but don't worry, it's not outrageously expensive.
The train will take us all the way from Denali, in the interior of Alaska, to the coast...
To meet up with our cruise ship.
The cruise portion of the vacation will be a seven-day cruise...
Southbound from Whittier, Alaska to Vancouver...
On Princess Cruise Line beginning on July 18th, 2020
Anyone that only wants to join us for the cruise portion and not the inland land tour...
Is welcome to just fly into Anchorage and meet us on the ship.
We'll be cruising on a really great ship, Royal Princess.
I'm really excited to be cruising on this particular ship...
Because she will have the new Medallion technology...
That Princess has been spending a ton of money on developing over the last few years.
The biggest benefit of being on a ship with this new technology...
Is that Internet service will be hugely better than it is on most cruise ships.
Another great benefit is that from an app on your phone...
You can order a drink or snacks to be delivered to you anywhere on the ship...
Even in your cabin or on your balcony.
You can also find the current location of anyone in your party who has agreed to be trackable.
So, this is really great for people cruising with kids or grandkids.
The medallion can be worn as a necklace...
Or on your wrist, like a watch...
Or you can just carry it in your pocket, if you prefer.
If you have it with you, you won't need to carry a wallet to pay for anything...
And you won't need to carry a room key.
Your cabin door will automatically unlock for you as soon as you approach the door.
And if you sign up for the medallion online from home before the cruise...
And have them send the medallion to you...
The embarkation process on the first day of the cruise will be much faster for you.
On the day after embarkation in Whittier, Alaska...
The ship will do scenic cruising at Hubbard Glacier.
That means that you don't get off the ship and there are no excursions to go on...
You will have a great view of Hubbard Glacier right from the ship...
Which will linger there for five hours!
You might be thinking that a cruise in Alaska will be cold...
But there were actually some days during our 2014 cruise that were surprisingly warm.
There were a couple of afternoons that were so warm that many of the kids on the ship were swimming in the outdoor pool.
On the third day of the cruise, we'll do scenic cruising within Glacier Bay National Park.
This was the highlight of our 2014 cruise...
With absolutely incredible views of the mountains and the glaciers.
The scenery was unlike anything I had ever seen before.
We don't have a whole lot of glaciers in California!
So, it was an incredible treat to just sit out on the deck of the cruise ship...
And take in all of the amazing sights we saw in Glacier Bay.
Really, this is one of the most spectacular places on earth...
Truly something that should be on your bucket list...
And besides all the beautiful snow-covered mountain peaks and the glaciers...
There is always a lot of a wildlife for you to see, too!
A lot of whales spend their summers up here...
And in 2014 we had some really nice whale sightings during our cruise.
On day number four of the cruise the ship will dock in Skagway...
And this is going to be a big day for any train lovers who are in our group.
It's an opportunity to ride the White Pass and Yukon route Railway if you'd like to...
And I can tell you based on our 2014 excursion on the White Pass railway...
That this is going to be a lot of fun for our group!
A trip on the White Pass railway is absolutely the most popular excursion for cruise ship tourists in Skagway.
The train picks you up right at the cruise ship dock in Skagway.
From there, you take a little bit more than an hour and a half ride up the mountain.
It's a beautiful ride with so many interesting things to see!
The tracks follow the Skagway River for a while...
And things get really interesting and especially beautiful...
As the train starts to get into the mountains.
The further up the mountain you go, the more beautiful it gets!
Really I could just play you all sorts of beautiful footage of the views from the White Pass railway from our 2014 trip...
But we don't have that kind of time in this video!
For me, as a train lover, it was a train ride I'll never forget...
And I hope a lot of the folks in our group for the 2020 Alaska trip...
Will come along with me on this excursion...
Which I should point out is not included cost of the trip...
But it's well worth the price of the ticket to ride this historic railway.
On day number five of the cruise the ship will dock in Juneau, the capital of Alaska...
And there will be numerous optional shore excursions for you to choose from.
In 2014 we did a whale watching excursion on a very rainy day.
On day number six we'll be docked in Ketchikan.
Again, there will be all sorts of shore excursions that you can book.
What you're looking at here is some video I shot the day our ship was in Ketchikan in 2014.
This was a shore excursion on a smaller boat to a beautiful place called Misty Fjords.
On our group cruise, you are welcome to come along with us on whatever shore excursion we end up choosing...
Or you can totally head off on your own to do whatever you want to do.
It's totally your choice.
The cruise will end in Vancouver, British Columbia.
After the cruise people are free to fly home from Vancouver OR...
Stick with us for a few days longer and join us for one more leg of the adventure!
We're going to spend two nights at a hotel in Vancouver...
So that we have some time to have fun in the area...
But before checking in to the hotel for the first night...
We'll take a very extensive tour of Vancouver...
And the cost of that tour IS included in the base price.
We'll see Gastown and Chinatown...
And spend some time at the world-famous 1000 acre Stanley Park.
Plus, Granville Island where you'll have some free time to explore on your own.
And then the next day we'll do a Victoria Day trip...
And again that's included in the price of the trip...
As is breakfast each day that we're in Canada.
Our day trip to Victoria will include a 90-minute cruise on BC Ferries.
We'll tour the world-renowned Butchart gardens...
And you'll have lots of free time to explore there.
After a second night in our hotel, we're going to get aboard a very famous train...
The Rocky Mountaineer...
For a rail tour from Vancouver to Banff on a spectacularly beautiful route.
From your seat on the Rocky Mountaineer you'll have a fantastic view through big glass windows of all the amazing scenery.
And a host in each car will offer fun and educational commentary along the way.
On the train, breakfast and lunch are included at no additional charge.
It's such a long distance from Vancouver to Banff that it can't be done in just one day.
So, the train will stop and let us off in the town of Kamloops...
Where we'll spend the night in a nice hotel .
And then we'll get back on the train the next day for the rest of the ride to Banff.
And this will really be the most scenic part of all as we travel through the Canadian Rockies!
I am so looking forward to sitting up in the top of that rail car...
Taking in these amazing views...
And having some delightful conversations with all the members of our group...
Who, by this point, I imagine will have a very special camaraderie after doing such a great trip together.
We'll then spend two nights in Banff...
So that we'll have time for a sightseeing tour into Yoho National Park...
As well as a full day tour of lots of points of interest in Banff...
Including a ride on the famous gondola.
All this is included as part of the package...
As well as bus transportation for us from Banff to the airport in Calgary on July 30th, for our flights home.
Join us for all three legs of the trip:
The Alaska rail tour...
The Princess cruise...
And the Canada Rail tour...
Or join us for only the parts that interests you. It'll be totally up to you.
One last thing... which maybe I shouldn't have waited so long to talk about...
There are some incentives for you to come on this trip with us...
Rather than just booking an Alaska cruise or rail tour on your own.
By booking this cruise with my travel agent and joining our group...
You will receive a $50 onboard credit...
Which you can use during the cruise to pay for drinks, specialty dining, gift shop purchases, and things like that.
Plus here's even better news...
If you book the CruiseTour... which is the cruise plus the Alaska land tour before the cruise...
You'll actually get a $75 onboard credit instead of $50.
Of course the best incentive of all is that you get to come along with us and have a whole lot of fun!
There will be ample opportunities for us to sit and chat about whatever you want...
Or if there's nothing else to talk about, just let me ramble on about cruises, trains, puppies, and YouTube!
If you've ever wanted the inside story on something you saw in one of my YouTube videos...
THIS will be your big chance!
So, if you have any interest in going on this Alaska adventure with me and Kellyn...
Plus our travel agent, Caitlin, and her family...
Contact Caitlin to book it right away if you already know that you want to join us...
Or visit AmbrenTravel.com to get some more information about it to help you to decide.
Caitlin can make all the arrangements for you including all the cruise details...
The train arrangements, setting up transportation to and from the airport...
And assisting with your flight arrangements if you want her to.
I'm sure you're wondering what the heck this is all going to cost!
Well, that's a question for Caitlin, but...
Let me just say that there will be some options for you to choose from...
Which will have a big effect on how expensive of an adventure this ends up being for you.
Besides the choice of whether to join us just for the cruise or for either of the optional rail tours...
There will also be choices regarding what kind of stateroom you want on the cruise ship.
If you need to keep the cost down, just book a cheap inside cabin with no windows...
And go up on deck, or to any of the lounges when you want to enjoy the views.
But I think most people will probably book a balcony cabin...
That way they'll be able to enjoy the great views right from their room.
And folks with a big vacation fund can book a big suite!
For those joining us on the Rocky Mountaineer...
You can do it less expensively in their Silver Leaf class...
Or step up to the Gold Leaf class that Kellyn and I will be in.
The biggest difference is that the silver-class cars are single level...
And when meals are served you just eat right there at your seat...
Kind of like eating a meal in first class on an airplane.
If you choose the Gold Leaf class you'll be in a two-level rail car...
Spending most of the time up in that upper level with the views...
But moving downstairs to the dining area for meals with a lot more room.
Plus, the Gold Leaf cars have a neat little open-air viewing area at the back...
Which is fantastic for shooting photos or videos because you're not shooting through glass windows.
And it's also great for just getting some fresh air...
Or a moment of privacy!
There's actually more differences between gold leaf and silver leaf classes than that...
Which Caitlin can explain to you.
In fact, she can take you through all the options...
Things you can do to keep the cost down...
As well as explain what the benefits are of splurging a little bit on some of the nicer options.
If you're not quite ready to call Caitlin but you want even more information about the trip than what's in this video...
Visit my website at JimZim.net
Look for the section about upcoming cruises...
And you'll find even more details about this group trip to Alaska in July of 2020...
As well as another group trip we've got planned: a Caribbean cruise in 2021
I'm going to put Caitlin's contact information up on the screen one more time in case you want to copy any of it down...
And I do thank you for watching this video...
And I really hope you'll join us in Alaska.
We will have a lot of fun together!