Princess targets families with new cruise tour in Alaska

[mercedes]

Princess is aiming squarely at the family market with a new cruisetour of Alaska that includes everything from a jetboat ride to panning for gold.

Dubbed the Family Fun Cruisetour, the 12-night trip combines seven nights traveling on a Princess ship with five nights staying in Princess-owned hotels while visiting Denali National Park and Fairbanks, Alaska.

In addition to unusual family-focused activities, the trip is notable in its pricing structure. The line is offering a 25% discount for every member of a family sharing a cabin on a ship.

Families that sign up for the itinerary will spend one night at the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge, two nights at Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and two nights at Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge.

Among the features of the tour Princess is touting as family-focused:

-- Daily breakfast, even on the land portion of the trip.

-- Direct-to-the-Wilderness rail service, with lunch, to get families from their ship to their wilderness lodge.

-- A Three Rivers Jetboat Tour to take families from Talkeetna to the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge -- an alternative to taking a motorcoach that includes stops along the river to view historic encampments and learn about the native wildlife.

-- A visit to Arctic Blast, an attraction that simulates the cold of an Alaska winter.

-- A visit to the Music of Denali Dinner Theater for a musical comedy that tells the legend of the first expedition to the summit of Mt. McKinley.

-- A special narrated bus tour of Denali National Park called the Experience Alaska with Alaska Geographic Tour. The outing, which includes an enhanced view of the Denali ecosystem and current research taking place, takes families 15 miles into the park to a river valley for a walk to the historic Savage River Camp.

-- A "Denali Sourdough Expedition Breakfast" with a mountain climber who is an expert on Mt. McKinley and Denali National Park.

-- A ticket to the Riverboat Cruise and El Dorado Goldmine Tour, which includes a trip on an authentic sternwheeler for a narrated cruise along the Chena River and a chance to gold pan at the El Dorado Gold Mine.

Fares for the Alaska Family Cruisetour start at $1,743 per person for the first and second berths, and $1,191 per person for third and fourth berth passengers.