Slightly different Alaska trip

I have done 2 trips to Alaska. For the first we flew to Anchorage, rented a car and drove up to Denalli, Fairbanks and around the loop to the east back to Anchorage. We did this in a week staying at 3 different locations. After returning our rental car we took a 7 day cruise down to Vancouver. We did this trip in late May and had a great time. No bugs yet, still some snow on the ground in places and no crowds. The 2nd trip we flew to Anchorage and rented a motorhome for 2 weeks. We drove as far north as Denalli, across the center of the state and then down to Valdez. This trip was again in late May with the same benefits mentioned above. We camped in state parks where we were the only ones there that night. We flew back home from Anchorage. Again, another wonderful trip. If you are renting a motorhome or a car and driving on your own then I personally don't think you need to do the train ride. I love trains and riding on them but you will see a lot as you drive yourself around. The cruise was great too. Yes, it is much more commercialized than driving yourself around but you will see sights from the cruise ship that you can't see from land. All in all, I think it is pretty hard to go wrong on any Alaska vacation!