LynKev

Here's a link about the different bus tour descriptions at Denali: https://www.travelalaska.com/explore-alaska/articles/denali-bus-tours

Do you mind me asking when your Cruisetour is with HAL? We are scheduled in late May with a 3 night Denali stay. I don't find the communication from HAL to be that great.

I wanted to post an update that we were finally assigned our Anchorage hotel for our cruisetour. We will be staying at the Westmark. The only reason I know our hotel assignment is that we asked our travel agent to change our dining time on the cruise. When she sent us an updated booking confirmation, the hotel was listed on the itinerary page. When I sign into our itinerary online, it doesn't show the hotel. Our travel agent wasn't notified of our hotel assignment either, so I'm glad we received the updated confirmation.

Look at a company called DogGoneIt tours - we booked this on a cruisetour with HAL and I see that this company has tours starting in mid-May.

Hi JerseyGirl1007 - We are doing the same thing that you are, flying in a day in advance of our cruise tour. We are travelling in late May as well. Our travel agent had checked with HAL regarding adding an extra night in Anchorage and was told that it would be sold as a package and was sold out for the date we needed. She said the crazy thing is that we still haven't been assigned our hotel in Anchorage. So rather than wait on our cruise hotel, I booked a hotel room for the extra night on our own at the Four Points Sheraton downtown. This option was less in cost than either the Westmark or Hotel Captain Cook. I did not want to be in a position that we would have trouble finding a hotel room for the extra night, and I made sure it can be cancelled if needed. Our agent suggested we cancel the transfer from the airport with HAL, and we will just take a taxi to our hotel. We made our final payment on Friday, so I am hoping our Anchorage hotel assignment will show up soon in our itinerary.

I'm considering the same flight time that you are. I'm finding the flights out of Vancouver to be a challenge because I really don't want to leave so late at night. We have a long way to travel - Vancouver to SC.

I read that HAL mainly uses the Westmark in Anchorage, but we could also possibly be assigned to a different hotel. When you booked your cruisetour, when did you get the information on what hotel you would be staying at in Anchorage? Our final payment is due at the end of February, so I'm assuming it will be after that. I'm currently looking at flights and coming in a day earlier, so we will need to book an extra night in Anchorage if we do that. It would be easier to not change hotels.

Thanks for posting the itinerary, Cruising on a Sunday! I appreciate the feedback, as it helps with planning. Nancy, glad to hear how much you like the Nieuw Amsterdam. This is our first time sailing on HAL.

Our travel agent has us booked for late seating on our Alaska cruise, but I don't see the seating time in our HAL reservations. Any past experience? Trying to see if we should keep late seating or change to anytime dining. Also, what nights on the cruise are typically the dressy nights? I'm assuming it will be the days we are in Glacier Bay, but again I'm not sure where to find this information on the HAL reservation.

Just booked this cruise last month and am surprised at how many of the excursions are booked.

Thank you for the link to the tour tips. I looked on the National Park website for Denali and it showed that tour buses run from May 20th to September.

I will look up your report - thank you.

Holland America is one of the cruise lines we are considering for an Alaska cruise tour (land first, followed by the cruise). I am not sure if it is better to do the Double Denali or Triple Denali tour. We are not interested in going up to the Fairbanks/Yukon area. If you've taken either of these land tours I would appreciate your feedback.