What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• Tour bus activity. Made for the tour buses, not the explorers.

  mlstraveler2015,Sep 17, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  2.00

  Way, way too much money for what it was. This is definitely a tour bus activity. If you enjoy being jammed in a tour bus and moved from venue to venue, this might work for you. Yeah, the kids (tour guides) were awesome. But it's a 10-minute explanation of bush pilots (not a real look at small airplanes and alaska life), a 10-minute look at mushing (so, so much more to this), and a glossed over version of village life. No one talked about the death and disease and poverty as these families made a transition to a more white life. No one talked about what life is actually like in a today's village communities. It is nice to get out on a river, and I loved seeing where the Chena and Tanana run into each other, but I cannot recommend this tour at this price to anyone actually exploring Alaska. (I will say, it was a really good gift shop though.)

• Fun on the riverboat!

  cindydS9361XF,May 30, 2025

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Awesome excursion! The sights were great, the commentators/presenters are extremely knowledgeable. Far and away exceeded our expectations. Must do activity when visiting Fairbanks.

• Waste of Time

  michaelpY2071CM,Sep 3, 2024

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  1.00

  OMG what a waste of time. You go down the Chena river for a bit, then turn around and come back. Along the way they have these corny presentations on the shore. It's all very amateurish. And the carnival barker narrator goes on and on about the family that owns the riverboat, like anybody gives a sh*t about the family. They even had us wave to the matriarch in her back yard, although for all we knew it could have been some high school kid dressed up like an old lady.

• Great excursion one of the best

  lisacZ7287XM,Jul 17, 2024

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  This excursion was so well planned out from the bus getting there (booked through Holland Cruise) to the meal and then on the paddle boat. Once on the boat the information and demonstrations were very well done and there were video screens so everyone could see. They explained bush pilots, dog sleds and Authentic Native American guides got on to tell us about the Athabaskan Tribe and how they lived. You then got to get off and continue learning about all of the above and explore a village. It was very well done and worth every penny.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Do not miss out on this amazing cruise on the Chena River

  Carol58a,Jul 9, 2024

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  We had an exceptional time of this sternwheeler. We saw some beautiful homes along the river and even had several families come out to the bank to wave to us as we passed by. Our first stop along the river was the kennels. They showed us the pups in training and explained about the sled dogs and their lives. They then did a demonstration of a sled team pulling a *sled* - how they train for the real thing. Next was a stop at Chena Village, where we all got off the boat and had a tour of the village. This was all capped off with a rare sighting of a beaver in the river, just before we left the village.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• $90 for a 3-hour infomercial

  AmyLee76,Jan 28, 2024

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  3.00

  I was largely disappointed with this cruise because, although very informative, much of what they talked about were just preludes to trying to sell us something. The tickets were $90 apiece, which doesn't seem unreasonable for a 3-hour sightseeing event. We also paid another $20 for a lunch that was essentially canned beef stew, wilted salad, and an overly-sweet brownie (and looked nothing like the picture on their website). The highlight of the tour was when we stopped and disembarked for a tour of a recreated Athabaskan (Alaska native) village. It was very informative, and the reason I gave 3-stars instead of the 2-stars the rest of the tour deserved. Every other aspect of the tour was basically an "infomercial"--an interesting talk followed by a sales pitch. For example, we stopped by an Alaskan sled dog training camp, and learned about how they prepare their dogs for racing in the winter; then they told us that we could purchase a children's book about a sled dog named Granite--and they just happened to have a gift shop on board! Then they talked about harvesting and smoking salmon, and gave us samples of smoked salmon spread on crackers; it turns out, they had some of that for sale on board as well (at triple the price you'd pay at Trader Joe's or a similar store). Even when we returned to where we started the cruise, the exit took us through their gift shop full of overpriced tourist merchandise. Honestly, I wish it had just been the tour of the Athabaskan village; I could have done without the rest, and I was ready to return to shore well before the three hours were up.

• Fun cruise!

  Tawnyrval,Oct 23, 2023

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Late Post Aug 23’ Riverboat Discovery was an added land/tour excursion by Princess at our final destination in Fairbanks, Ak. The bus ride from Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge to Fairbanks, Ak was about 2 hours 15 mins with a stop in Nenana, Ak. (Nenana Artisan Market – Check out review) . We arrived to the home stop of the Riverboat Discovery where one can purchase souvenirs, drinks, soda, chips, boxed lunch, salmon jerky and oddly, Harley Davidson stuff. We probably waited 45-1 hour before boarding, it was quite warm out so we decided on the 3rd level of the boat and decided to sit on Dock side… (Our driver said that side was better but to be honest both sides were pretty sufficient) When we first got off the dock there was a float plane flying on the other side, it was hard to see, going back to seating doesn’t matter… My partner and I love puppies and wanted to see and hear the story of Susan Butcher and Granite. Tekla, Susan’s daughter gave us quick show and the dock side was best for the view. We also got to visit the Chena Village Living Museum where we saw how the native Alaskan Athabaskans lived. Overall, it was a nice addition to our excursion! I would highly recommend Riverboat Discovery if you are ever in Fairbanks! PACK OR BUY MOSQUITO REPELLANT (only if you are wearing shorts and T Shirts)- use it prior to getting off at Chena Village, you’ll thank be later!

• Very nice river boat ride.

  Bud56,Sep 30, 2023

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  This was part of our Holland cruise line tour package. We had thought this was going to be a boring boat ride, But we’re we’re wrong. It was very informative and we really liked it. The boat stopped at a dog sledding place, a seaplane took off and landed next to the boat and we stopped and got off at a recreated native village. If you go there, find the -40° F in the store and go in. You won’t be disappointed if you do this river boat ride.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

• Delightful & Informative

  BluMangoKiki,Sep 21, 2023

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  A great way to learn about Alaska and its inhabitants from the more famous Fairbanks locals, dog sledding teams and First People. We enjoyed our ride on a nostalgic paddle boat but more so the replica First People village with narrators showing us more first hand how they did and still do live in the state. Great half day tour that doesn't require a lot of activity for those with slight mobility issues as well.

• Literal tourist trap. We were trapped on a boat and then trapped on land.

  X7971JMamye,Sep 20, 2023

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  1.00

  I wish this hadn't been included as part of our cruise package. It was was over-long, super cheesy, over-staged, and boring. It was a pure money grab and the worst kind of tourist trap. The highlight was the dog demonstration, but you watch it happening on shore from the boat. So getting a good view of it was not easy when only one side of the boat can see going on. There are a few small monitors in the boat, but there weren't enough for the amount of space they covered. When the boat reached shore, we waited to get off until the end to avoid the chaos. In getting off last, the employees didn't direct us to a tour group thank goodness. So we just wandered around the premises until it was time to go.

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