sotiris

We were offered an upsell from an SY to a Neptune Suite about 2 weeks ago for our May 12 cruise. We declined. Today we were offered another upsell for about half of the original offer. We accepted and are excited about our first HAL suite.

Most, if not all, cruise lines require that infants be at least 12 months old (as of the first day of the cruise) on transatlantic cruises.

Yes, you are correct. Europcar is across the street from the shuttle drop-off while Avis is just south(?).

Florida Tourist

Thanks for the photos of the Signature Suite. It looks lovely. We will be in one in 24 days.:)

Linda

Thanks SightCRR.

Tom's Guides are wonderful. It will be interesting or frustrating to see how much of an impact the race, even though not the BIG one will have on our stay. I read some where that private yachts are using the main harbour but I can't remember if that is just for the main race or for the Historic one, too.

Thanks Stan. I am hoping that's the case.

Hi FloridaTourist

Looking forward to your report, especially since the Oosterdam will have just come out of dry dock. We are boarding on May 12 and are excited about our itinerary.

Safe travels and enjoy the sights. There will be many, especially the sail into Venice.

I am trying to find out where the tenders actually dock/land in Monaco. Our ship will be "docked" at Fontvieille and we will be there during the Historic Car Race. Our ultimate goal is to get to the Palace and the aquarium. The last time we were there, we docked at Port Hercules and eventually found an elevator that took us up to where we got the tourist train. Any help greatly appreciated.

Two years ago we used Taxi Snel for a transfer from Zeebrugge to central Bruges. We had 2 groups of 8 arranged through our Roll Call. Cost of each van was 100 Euros round trip, or about 13E per person. We arranged for the same driver to pick us up at a set time and take us back to the port.

I have signed up for tiny pic but how do you post your photo to Cruise Critic? See the codes for forums and message boards etc. but can't figure out how they work. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Take the price of the meal plan and divide it by the number and type of meals that you will get. Do you like a big breakfast? Do you always get desserts? If so it may be worthwhile.

 

There are plenty of places to eat in Denali including across the highway from the resort and nearby Princess lodge. The McKinley Chalets is also good and where you would be eating all of your voucher meals in Denali. Your choices in Fairbanks are much more limited and you will probably just purchase your meal at the hotel anyway.

 

We have done these itineraries many times and I have never had the meal plan. Last year we did the Yukon and had wonderful meals at places recommended on Trip Advisor. People who get the meal plan seem to like it but it is expensive and restricts your dining choices.

Totally agree! We decided not to go with the meal plan and were very happy with our decision. We are not big breakfast eaters so we just picked up some fruit, muffins, or yogurt before heading out for the day. There were usually several choices for lunch.

We did eat at the hotels a few times. It was great sitting on the hotel patio in Dawson City (it was 85*F) and the meal at the Skagway Westmark was delicious and beautifully presented. However, one on the highlights was our dinner in Dawson at the Drunken Goat. The meal, which we enjoyed with others from the tour was outstanding. It is Greek cuisine prepared by a chef from Madagascar. He even took time to come out and chat with us.

We figured we saved about half by not taking the plan but what we really liked was the freedom to choose.

Do you know what the cost of a cab to the port or hotel traghetto is?

 

Thank you!

In looking at several companies, the standard rate is about €130 for 2 people. I think we will be paying €110. The price per person decreases as the number of passengers increases. Eg. €150 for 4.

There is also a shuttle but I have not really looked at the prices since the shuttle seems to wait for a full load before heading out. Friends waited for over an hour after their flight from home for the shuttle to fill. It seems to me it would work better for going from the port to the airport since all would be debarking at the same time.

Hope this helps.

We stayed at the Hotel Traghetto in Civitavecchia 2 years ago and will be staying there again in May. The manager arranged for us to be picked up at the airport. The cost was a little less than the going rate. The hotel is about a 3 minute walk (easy walking) to the area where the shuttle buses pick you up to take you to the ship.

I like to use a different colour paper for each day/port. I print out each day's activities/tickets in a specific colour and then clip them together. I find I can quickly find the tickets/info for each day. Once the info is all colour co-ordinated, I put the papers in proper sequence.

If the trip is really long, I just repeat the colour pattern.

Is this the tour that skips Juneau?

I think it depends on the length of the cruise. Our 4 day cruise which started in Skagway(southbound) did not go to Juneau. The 7 day cruise did. I assume the 3 day cruise (northbound) would also stop in Juneau.

sotiris, when you mention the "Dog Demo" in your write-up, is that part of the tour or a separate excursion? I was interested in the "Husky Homestead" excursion but am wondering if (hoping that) it is different than what you describe.

 

Thank you for the info!!

The Sled Dog Demo is a free 40 minute presentation by the Rangers of Denali. You catch a special shuttle from the Visitor Centre to the kennels.

The "Husky Homestead" excursion is something different.

We did this cruisetour in May and had a wonderful time. The only negative was some excursions were not yet running but I think HAL's tour are starting a little later in 2016.

My review is posted in 2 parts. The first deals with the land tour, "From Anchorage to Skagway" (Denali, Fairbanks, Dawson Whitehorse) and the second part is listed is the 4 day Cruise from Skagway to Vancouver" on the Noordam (Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, Inside Passage).

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2216641

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2217184

If you are a member of Costco, you might want to check their rates. They use Alamo, Avis, Budget and Entreprise. We are getting an intermediate SUV for less than an economy car. We have used Costco many times and have always been pleased.

My review is posted in 2 parts. The first deals with the land tour, "From Anchorage to Skagway" (Denali, Fairbanks, Dawson Whitehorse) and the second part is listed is the 4 day Cruise from Skagway to Vancouver" on the Noordam (Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, Inside Passage).

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2216641

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2217184

I wonder why HAL includes the TWT when they know the park road is not open that far out in May.

I wrote to HAL about this tour not being available until later in May and suggested they include this info in their literature. We were very lucky in that we saw the "big four" on our shortened tour.

The line for the shuttle to the dog demo started to form about 20 minutes before the suggested time. (1:00 for the 1:20 shuttle to the 2 pm demo). Those on the first shuttles had more time to visit with the dogs before the demo. Those on the later shuttles visited to dogs after the demo. People went to the "stands" fairly quickly to get front row seats. Others had to stand.

We did a 2 hour floatplane trip in Ketchikan with Michelle of Island Wings. It was FANTASTIC!!!!!! So serene and beautiful.

She is the only female owner of her own company in Ketchikan and has been flying for over 35 years. We landed on a lake (didn't even know we were down) and taxied to shore where we spent about 30 minutes taking photos and admiring the spectacular scenery.

There were 6 passengers on our flight. One fellow had flown with Michelle 3 times previously. Hubby was a bit apprehensive when I booked this flight but he admitted it was one of the top highlights of our trip.

Michelle does book up quickly. Communication with her office was very prompt.

I have posted reviews of the land portion and of our 4 day cruise on the Alaska board.

Here are the links.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2216641

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2217184

We have just returned from HAL's Y2L tour and although the beginning of the tour is reversed, I hope I can give you some general timelines.

When we arrived in Anchorage around 4pm, we were collected our luggage, put on the tags the HAL rep gave us and then were transferred to our hotels. Our group used three, the Westmark, the Hilton and the Captain Cook. The bags went via truck and arrived within minutes of our arrival. We then filled out paperwork, received more luggage tags and had the rest of the evening to ourselves. We also received a booklet of optional excursions that had a few more than were listed on the website.

The next day we left for Denali. The Northbound train left at 9:15 and arrived at Denali around 5pm. (The southbound train left Denali at 9:45am and arrived in Anchorage just after 5.) We had to have our luggage out at 6:30am for an 8:15 transfer to the train depot. The seats on the train are pre-assigned. We needed photo ID to board the train. Our luggage went by truck and was in our room when we arrived.

In Denali, we did a shortened version of the Tundra Wilderness Tour which was included in our package. (The actual TWT did not start until 2 days later.) Our tour left at 2:50 (delayed from 2pm) and we were back around 7:30. There are early morning tours.

The third day we had completely to ourselves.

We left Denali for Fairbanks around 9am - luggage was out at 8. It was about 2.5 hour drive and we arrived just in time for lunch. We then headed out to the Gold Dredge, another included excursion. We arrived at our hotel, the Westmark, around 4:30 and our luggage was waiting for us.

I had a little gym bag that I used for my daily carry-on. It had camera, medications, snacks, binoculars etc.

Hopefully this will give you some idea of the timing. You just have to think in reverse. :). Have a great trip. Ours was spectacular!

Just home late last night after 10 day land tour of Alaska and the Yukon followed by a 4 day cruise from Skagway to Vancouver. Coping with time change, groceries and laundry. Will try to get something together later this week but feel free to ask questions. In a nutshell it was FABULOUS!!!!!!!😃😃😃

My review is now posted in 2 parts. The first deals with the land tour, "From Anchorage to Skagway" and the second part is listed under "Review of HAL Cruise from Skagway to Vancouver".

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2216641

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2217184

After our land tour (see From Anchorage to Skagway elsewhere on the Alaska board) we boarded the Noordam.

Our Four Day Cruise on the Noordam

Boarding for this cruise was a little different in that the doctor came onboard the coach to check our health questionnaires and another employee checked our passports. After the usual photos we went to our rooms. Exploring the ship, lunch and the emergency drill filled the rest of the afternoon. Those with excursions did their emergency drill around 7pm.

Glacier Bay

Our day started out very overcast but the ranger who had come aboard said it was going to be an amazing day. And it was!

We were out on the front deck (I also checked out the back deck) and although the ranger was commenting you could really only hear her if you were next to a speaker. She did come down from the Crow's Nest to answer questions. There were presentations by the Rangers throughout the day.

We were very fortunate to see the glacier calving several times. The captain did turn the ship around at the 2 glaciers so everyone had a chance to see the glaciers from their balcony, if they so desired. The scenery was breathtaking. Be sure your camera battery is fully charged and that there is space on you memory card for all the photos you will be taking.

Ketchikan

Four ships were docked and one more was at anchor so Ketchikan was very busy. We had a floatplane excursion with Island Wings at 1pm so I wanted to make sure I knew where the meeting place was. We wandered over to Creek Street and around the town. This is another place with lots of shopping opportunities.

The floatplane flight was absolutely fantastic. Although slightly overcast, we could still see the beautiful scenery below. We (6 passengers + the pilot) landed on a lake (didn't even know we were down) and Michelle taxied to shore where we all got out for photos. We spent about 30 minutes on shore before heading back.

Inside Passage

It was nice to have a day with nothing planned. We sat on the balcony admiring the scenery. The shopping area on the Noordam is quite small compared to other ships we have been on but we did buy 2 watches, something I had planned to get.

For our last meal on board, we went to the Pinnacle with new friends from the trip. One couple was celebrating the 25th Anniversary and had renewed their vows in a lovely ceremony conducted by the Captain. The Pinnacle server brought out a special anniversary cake and explained it was the appetizer for the dessert.

Disembarkation

Although I tried for a hour to print our boarding passes for our flight home, I was not successful. It was most frustrating since I had to buy 2 Internet packages, 30 minutes each. On another cruise on the Eurodam, I had no difficulty and it only cost me $7.

I had not realized that our transfer to the airport was included and only when I went to the Front Desk on another matter did I learn this. We were in the first group, after those who were self-disembarking. I was anxious to get to the airport but we waited in a line to board the shuttle and then waited for the bus to fill. From the time we left the ship to our arrival at the airport was just over an hour. In hindsight, we might have been wiser to have taken a taxi.

Overall Summary

We chose this particular cruise-tour because HAL is the only one that goes to Dawson City and Whitehorse. We were very happy that we did the land tour before the cruise. The cruise provided some very necessary relaxation time. When selecting the time for your cruise-tour consider special events (Summer Solstice, July 4th celebrations, salmon and bear season). Some excursions were not available early in the season and some of the staff at the hotels, restaurants and even the tour guides had just finished their training. We had a simply amazing trip to Alaska and the Yukon, full of wonderful memories and new friendships.