Thanks,

Vickie

Fingers crossed! We haven't planned that far yet haha! 🙂

Thanks,

Vickie

I can only but live in Hope - Too many places on the wish list and so little time and money...! I definitely want to do this tour so let us hope it is popular and offered in 2021.

Best wishes

Jaya

Bookings for our 2020 trip will be available in Spring, by the end of March.

In terms of average age, this can vary depending on the trip, but typically our customers are between 40-80 years old, although of course we do have younger and older customers join us!

We only have six people booked for 2019 so far, but their ages range from early 60s to mid 70s.

Thanks,

Vickie

In previous posts relating to the Ultimate Alaska tour you said that JY were ‘looking at a May departure for 2020’ and that ‘bookings would be available by the end of March’. Can you confirm that a May departure will be offered in 2020, and also when it will appear on the website please.

Many thanks

Mike

Apologies, this has been a little delayed and the 2020 dates will now be available in the April brochure and online, which will be out the end of this month.

But yes, I can confirm there will be a May 2020 date.

Thanks,

Vickie

Thanks very much for the info. I have one more question - sorry! Will JY be operating the current itinerary in 2020, and will there be any additional optional excursions on offer from that currently shown in the brochure for this September? Oh dear, that’s two questions! Sorry again!

Many thanks

Mike

No problem! At the moment the current itinerary is planned for 2020 and we don't have any additional optional excursions.

Many thanks,

Vickie

I thought the whole point of offering a May date was so that the Arctic fly/drive excursion could be offered?

If that's not the case, then I won't be booking this tour.

Best wishes,

Bob

There is a May date for next year, but this has not been offered in order to have the Arctic fly/drive. At the moment the itinerary is planned to stay the same as 2019 - apologies for any confusion.

Many thanks,

Vickie

Thanks for the clarification - based on previous posts, I thought the May date was to allow for this excursion to be offered.  That is really disappointing.

Best wishes,

Bob

Thank you for the information. I have to say that I agree with Bob. When I put my question to you regarding any additional optional excursions, I did so with the Arctic fly/drive particularly in mind.

In fact, your reply is disappointing on two counts; not only regarding the optional excursions but also that the itinerary is not being re-aligned more closely with the original tour.

All in all, I think that it’s a rather ‘dumbed-down’ version of the original, fantastic, itinerary and not worthy of the great fanfare with which this tour was relaunched.

Mike

Thank you for your feedback, I'll let the holiday team know your comments so they are aware.

Many thanks,

Vickie

I think the issue with running the Arctic Circle Fly/Drive is not the dates but the new itinerary. When we did it, back in 2016, the Fly/drive departed from Fairbanks, crossed the Arctic Circle and the Yukon river and went up as far as Coldfoot. As the itinerary no longer visits Fairbanks and the furthest north that the revised tour goes is Denali, I assume this is the reason the Fly/Drive is no longer available as an option which is a great shame.

As we have seen previously, JY tours change and develop over time. But, in this case, having done the 'original' itinerary, I feel sorry for subsequent travellers who will miss out on Fairbanks and the wonders of the Dalton Highway. I guess that cost was a factor in the changes but as most JYers are willing to push the boat out for a 'one-in-a-lifetime' experience, I'm disappointed on their behalf that they won't have the opportunity to view the wonderful sights that we did.

Having said that, I really hope that you both get there one day, it's a truly incredible place.

All the best

Mandy

It’s good to hear your thoughts on this. I had hoped that with the addition of a May departure this would provide the opportunity for the the tour to be changed so as to include Fairbanks and the Arctic fly/drive. But as I pointed out on a previous post, JY chose to prioritise a September departure when they originally reintroduced the tour and then used that as an excuse for offering a poorer itinerary than the inaugural version. Consequently, I’m sorry to say that this isn’t a tour I’ll be booking at the moment; I’ll just have to hope that the JY holiday team take note of my comments (and Bob’s!) and, going forward, offer an itinerary that resembles more closely the excellent and largely very well received original.

All the best

Mike

Thanks for your comments - I really wouldn't do this tour without Fairbanks and the Arctic fly/drive trip, so it's off the radar for the moment.

I hope you are fully recovered by now and looking forward to your next holiday.

Take care,

Bob

Has anyone else booked for this trip yet ?