This is a summary of our trip; an extended version with LOTS AND LOTS of photos can be found here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1461935
Our family consists of my husband's 70-something parents who enjoy cruising often, and his 43 year old brother. We are middle aged couple from Texas with two daughters, 11 and 14 years old. We arrived two days early in Fairbanks for our Cruise Tour. We stayed two nights at Pikes Landing Lodge (booked on our own) and two nights at the Princess Riverside Lodge. We rented a car for the first few days which gave us the freedom to drive around the area. We visted Chena Hot Springs, the Museum of the North, and North Pole. We enjoyed the Discovery Riverboat and especially the recreated Native Alaskan village.
Our bus ride to Denali seemed to go very quickly as we enjoyed the scenery. We did the included Natural History Tour -- for us, the 5 hour trip was just about right and we enjoyed the tour driver and the interpretive rangers. The Lodge is beautiful and flowers are abundant everywhere. We did the Music of Denali Theater -- plentiful family style food and corny humor. (Small children would probably find this tedious and not understand the storyline.)
Close to the observation area, easy access to Horizon Court.