Alaska | Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures

6/15/25

Continuing on with our time at Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge, here is a flyer we received when checking in. Everything you could possibly want to know is here.

This is the lobby area:

Guest services for the lodge is located in the lobby.

You can see they had the ever popular jackets for sale at the store here! TIP! Don’t buy them at the lodge, get them at the souvenir shop on the Riverboat Discovery. They were significantly cheaper there.

This is the tour desk with very helpful staff members. They can answer any questions you may have about the land tour portion or even Fairbanks itself and things to do. It’s located just off of the main lobby area.

Here’s a quick little video showing Seasons, the gift shop and coffee house located in the lobby:

This was great for a quick breakfast, snack or coffee. They also had a great variety of souvenirs here.

It was 1:30 p.m. and we were getting hungry for lunch. We decided to eat at Trackers Bar and Grill in the lodge. (Erik was still out running around outside and would meet up with us later.)

My daughter and I split the Parmesan BLT and fries.

This was really tasty and we were glad we split it because we knew we were going to get dessert.

My other daughter had Chicken Fingers and Mandarin Oranges.

These were not tenders at all, but little nuggets. They were just okay.

For dessert, we ordered the Baked Alaska with Huckleberry Ice Cream.

This was really good! I loved the huckleberry ice cream with it!

We visited the Tour Desk because we wanted to get into the actual town of Fairbanks.

The Lodge had a shuttle for $10 per person round trip. It stopped at 4 different places…our lodge, the Westmark Hotel (which is the hotel that Holland America uses, and Princess may use as an overflow accommodation), the Morris Thompson Cultural Center, and Pioneer Park.

We decided to take the 3 p.m. shuttle to the Morris Thompson Cultural Center. The shuttle picked up right outside the doors where the Tour Desk is.

We chose to get off at the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor Center. It was a very short drive to get into town. The shuttle bus dropped us right near the front door.

Outside before we went in, was a little cabin. This cabin is one of the oldest structures in its original locations in downtown Fairbanks. You can see the timeline of it in the photo below:

We were able to walk inside and look around as well.

Once inside the main building, we were greeted with this sign. Almost 22 hours of daylight the day we were there!

This center had exhibits showing how the people of Alaska live, work and play in interior Alaska.

Besides exhibits, there was a theater with different showings throughout the day.

The different cultural objects and works of art were amazing!

Overall, we loved this visitor center! There was so much information and so many displays. It’s definitely worth a stop if you have time in Fairbanks. You can even walk here from the Westmark Hotel.

Right outside you can find an antler arch. This arch is made up of antlers collected from all over interior Alaska. It’s right next to the river. It was such a warm day and we saw several kayakers and tubers floating.

After leaving the visitor center, we decided to walk into the actual town and check out some shops on our way back to the Westmark Hotel. There were only a few stores and restaurants on our trek. It actually was pretty dead in the town! We did find a few very cool walls though.

We made it back to the Westmark for the 5:30 p.m. shuttle pick up. Once back at the lodge, we decided to eat dinner at Tracker’s again.

My husband ordered the Chena Nachos and they were fine.

My daughter and I shared the Tanana River Burger and Fries. This was also fine. It was kind of small for $19, but the taste was fine.

My other daughter ordered the Pasta with Butter from the kid’s menu. This was a super big disppointment for her! It was gnocchi, which is not typically the kind of pasta that comes in a regular restaurant. And the butter was literally on the side in a dish.

That concluded our day in Fairbanks! We were glad we got to see the “town” and learn a little bit more about the native culture to this area. The food was semi-disappointing at the lodge.

But up next…the Fairbanks Riverboat Discovery!

6/15/25

Alaska has always been on my bucket list…especially as a trip to take with my girls before they were both out of the house at college and then on with their own lives. I decided on a Princess Cruise Tour which consisted of 4 days touring on land, and then 7 nights on the Coral Princess. I had done so much research on which cruise line, which ship, which cities to tour on land, which stateroom type, etc. etc.

This was our itinerary:

June 13–Fly into Seattle in the evening.
June 14–Tour Seattle. Visit the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Museum of Pop Culture and Pike Place Market) In the evening, fly into Fairbanks.
June 15–Fairbanks (Check into lodge. Tour on own.)
June 16–Fairbanks to Denali (Riverboat Discovery Tour, motorcoach to Denali)
June 17–Denali (Tundra Wilderness Tour)
June 18–Denali to Whittier (Direct to Wilderness Rail Service, embark on the Coral Princess)
June 19–Hubbard Glacier
June 20–Glacier Bay National Park
June 21–Skagway
June 22–Juneau
June 23–Ketchikan
June 24–At Sea
June 25–Vancouver (Debark Coral Princess)

We decided to fly into Seattle one day prior and tour there since we had never been. From there, we had a 9:59 p.m. flight into Fairbanks, arriving at 12:49 a.m. (June 15th, the day the land portion started.) Upon landing in Fairbanks, we went directly to Baggage Claim. These smiling faces were standing, waiting for their passengers! Holland America and Princess share a desk in Baggage Claim. We gathered our luggage and then went to the desk to check in. Because we were landing technically a day before our official tour started, they did not have our packet there. Our packet was at the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge front desk. This was no problem at all though. NOTE! I did book an extra night here so we could sleep once we landed. That night is not included in your cruise tour. I wanted to get there a “day” early in case there were flight issues, etc. They did link that extra night with our cruise tour package though and we did not have to move rooms. The regular dates of the tour ARE included in the pricing of your cruise tour.

Here you can see the desk. And you can also see how hopping it was at 12:45 a.m.!

After checking in at the desk, they gave us luggage tags to put on our luggage. These indicated they were going directly to the lodge and we didn’t have to pull them with us. The Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge is about 5 minutes from the airport. The luggage went in a different truck from the motorcoach. You can see them gathering our luggage here:

Also, this was our first reality check for the daylight/night time sky! This picture was taken at 12:56 a.m.

Once the motorcoach arrived, we took our backpacks with us and boarded. Everyone here was going to the same lodge. All of these people were beginning their land tour though on 6/14. So they had planned group excursions to go to 6/15. I did not want to do this for our tour, which is why I booked the extra night! I didn’t want to be a walking zombie. We have a 4 hour time change.

On the walk to the motorcoach, we were swarmed with mosquitos! They were everywhere.

A representative boarded with us and went over the packets and what was included.

The packet:

This packet is specific to the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge portion of the trip. The handout inside shows you any prebooked activities and optional tour information. It also tells you your motorcoach number. There will be multiple motorcoaches showing up to the lodge. Your departure information is listed as well.

I know the luggage tags that they give you are confusing. Here is a good description of them and pictures of what they look like.

We purposely packed two entire suitcases of JUST things we needed for the cruise portion. Our dinner outfits, shoes, etc. These you can have sent directly to the ship so you don’t have to transport them on the land portion from lodge to lodge.

Those who received their packets at the airport also received their room keys and could go directly to their rooms. The luggage was in the hotel lobby when we arrived. They beat us there! We were the only people checking in at the front desk of the lodge. I confirmed with her that our reservations were connected and we wouldn’t have to switch rooms.

The room was fine for 2 nights. We did have a clogged shower drain, as in the water would not drain AT ALL! So I called the front desk and someone came within 5 minutes to unclog it for us. It was a boy and a girl about 20ish I would say. They got the biggest hairball out of the drain, they couldn’t believe it!

One thing I wasn’t prepared for…

We were not prepared for heat! I had my family pack layers, winter coats, rain gear, etc. But we didn’t pack summer clothing per se. Needless to say, some shuffling amongst the “cruise” suitcases had to happen.

The girls and I slept. It was 4:00 a.m.ish our time at home and we were tired! It was basically daylight when we went to sleep. My husband was up at 8:00 a.m. and out the door exploring. He went walking all around, down the main strip of highway, and stopped into several of the local hotels and eateries on the way. Pike’s Waterfront Lodge was of particular interest to him. It was the start of the Iditarod in 2003 and 2015, as well as the start and finish line for the Iron Dog, which is a 2000 mile snowmobile race.

Around 9:30 a.m., some of us decided to eat breakfast at Edgewater Restaurant inside our lodge.

I have an entire Tik Tok dedicated to this here:

@taryntravels
Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge, Edgewater Restaurant Breakfast Buffet We got there around 9:30 a.m. and it closed at 10 a.m. The variety was good, but they weren’t refilling anything. If it was gone, they took the empty dish away. What I ate was good! The fruit was super sweet and fresh. I also loved the hot tea here! #fairbanks #princesscruises #edgewaterrestaurant #fairbanksprincessriversidelodge #princessriversidelodge #breakfastbuffet #alaska #cruisetour #coralprincess
♬ Espresso – On Vacation Version – Sabrina Carpenter

(Be sure to follow me on Tik Tok @TarynTravels)

Breakfast ended at 10:00 a.m., but at 9:35 a.m., there were some things that were completely empty and they weren’t refilling them. If you want the full selection, definitely get here by 9:00 a.m.!

The food was okay and edible, not outstanding, but good enough. It was about 10:30 a.m. when we left the restaurant. We decided to walk around the lodge to check out what all it had to offer.

Another dining option for lunch and dinner: