Hi strollerfreak:
First, I applaud you for taking the time to do a lot of very good research on your own. In my opinion far too many people spend five or ten minutes with a Travel Agent and then make a decision. If you decide to take a cruisetour be sure that you are aware of what is included. Often times the cruise tours do not include many meals, if any. You also should get a good idea of the time you will spend riding the bus as it does take some time to get from place to place in Alaska and sometimes you find yourself spending to much time waiting around for everyone to get on the bus and riding the bus and don't have enough time to enjoy the beauty of Alaska. Everyone is different and these are just my opinions.
I have cruised to Alaska on Princess, HAL and Celebrity. One word of warning is that I cruised to Alaska for a one-time cruise and have returned over ten times since! For a cruise to Alaska, I would recommend Princess as my first choice and HAL as my second choice. Most cruises on Princess and HAL spend two days cruising glaciers. One day is at Glacier Bay and the other day is at College Fjord. Celebrity is not allowed in Glacier Bay or College Fjord.
Probably just what you need is another option but I thought I would just throw it out there in case you were interested. As far as land tours have you considered renting a car in Anchorage and setting up your own land tour. My experience has been that it is more enjoyable and the savings are substantial, close to 50%. You also don't get that feeling that you are being herded along and can stop anytime and do what you want, as you travel. We rent a car in Anchorage and drive for a week, or so in Alaska. We like to move around so we usually spend a couple of days in Kenai at the Kenai Princess Lodge and then drive to Denali National Park and Fairbanks. We then drive back to Anchorage, since the drop charges in Alaska are very, very high. There is also a toursaver book that you can purchase that has many 2 nights for the price of one in many very nice hotels in Alaska. This book also has 2-4-1 coupons for the train to Denali and includes two nights lodging at the Princess McKinley Lodge. There are many coupons in this book, including some land tours, and it is well worth the money if you are traveling on your own in Alaska. Alaska is very easy to get around in as there are only about six main roads in the state. Last year for a one week cruise on the Island Princess in a minisuite and 1 week on land after the cruise, we spent less than $4,000, total for the two of us, for the cruise and our own land tour. This price does not include airfare (used FF miles), food when on land and any purchased tours. Another point is that last year we went in early May and the prices were lower then. While driving your self is not for everybody, it may be something else to consider.
If you are interested in more information on doing your own land tour please feel free to ask any questions that you may have.
After you post there will be a box that will appear at the bottom of the bage called "edit". You can then make your changes to your post and click on "Save Changes" This feature may only be available for a set length of time after you post, I am not sure on that one.
Hope this helps.
