JeLy_Beanz

4 minutes ago, jeh10641 said:

From the map, it looks like a roundtrip through the Inside passage. A "Sea Day" does not always mean in the middle of the ocean. It means no port calls that day.

Jim

I didn't say the map was 100% accurate. The one path going to Ketchikan is a little further out which is the "sea day". The other days that aren't at a port and closer to the land viewing the channels is called "cruising days". I didn't say the ship would be in the middle of the ocean. It's just one "Sea day", but there is another day devoted to just "cruising" which is inland.

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

That is interesting the above map shows the inside passage bot outbound and return. This is unusual for cruises departing Seattle. If this is indeed the route then there will be nice scenery and relatively sheltered waters in both directions. 

The itinerary shows the same. 

16 hours ago, paiagirl said:

Thank you.  
 

I was hoping for the inland passage until I saw the day by day itinerary with sea day.

The map shows the 1 day at sea as well. 

On 3/15/2024 at 9:22 PM, Cruise Junky said:

Doesn’t the cruise leave from Seattle?  How is Ketchikan the foreign port? 

Right. That was exactly what I was thinking. It's a round trip from Seattle, the foreign ports would be the Canadian ports. It's a mixture for sure. 😊

30 minutes ago, nooligans said:

Yes on the NS and Eurodam they sliced it and served you 😀

Oh. Ok it looked like in the pic, you just sliced and served yourself. 🤣

We were on the Eurodam in September in room v5095 right by the glass elevators. There was no noise from the elevators. Once in awhile I would see someone on the elevator, but you would really have to be looking to see anything. Whenever we rode those elevators, they went so fast, you were on and off quickly. I never saw anyone standing on their balcony. So, it would only be a brief instance if it ever happens. It was a great room, but there were only 2 people in it. Not sure if its suited for 4. However, deck 5 is great to be on. 

We did have some rough seas for a few days in fact due to a storm. We had to skip Juneau and took the inside passage instead. So it was kind of a trade off, but that first day was very rough. Lots of sea sickness - even the crew members were feeling it. My husband stayed in the room since he was sick. But, I walked around during the rough part as being confined to the room made me feel it even more. With that said on the roughest day, I don't think there was any part of the ship that you wouldn't have felt it. 

We loved the Eurodam! Enjoy your cruise. 

On 3/16/2024 at 3:19 PM, nooligans said:

I was on the Eurodam last month, and am currently on the Nieuw Statendam. On both ships there is an event called “Cake Me Away” in the Lido on the last sea day. There are about 15 different kinds of cakes offered. You line up and can take slices from any cake. Here’s a photo from the Eurodam.

They let you cut the cake and serve yourself? We just got off the NS in Feb. and they cut the cake when you asked for a slice.

8 minutes ago, oakridger said:

 

I wasn't clear when I said there was not a naturalist.  There definitely were park rangers on in Glacier Bay on all my cruises there!  They were very informative and offered entertaining presentations.  I meant that HAL didn't have any subject expert outside naturalist/lecturers on board for the cruise.  

 

~Nancy

Gotcha.👍Yeah, there weren't any subject experts on board otherwise. 

On 3/11/2024 at 10:16 PM, crystalspin said:

I just learned that the Dive In (burgers, dogs, and fries on the Lido Pool deck) has shakes that are included in the HIA/SBP!!!

This is correct. Except the milkshakes aren't at the Dive-in, they are right beside it at the Gelato station. The milkshakes are included with the HIA - I was just on the NS in February. However, gelato is an extra cost. But, every evening there was ice cream in the Lido. You will not go hungry or miss out on sweet treats. 

On 3/10/2024 at 4:24 PM, Grandmaanne7 said:

My apologies. I did not mean to blame you. I'm just in shock! I had promised my granddaughter all the milkshakes she wants on our next cruise. I'm flabbergasted and less impressed with HAL by the day!

Which pkg do you have? We had the HIA and just got off the NS in February and the milkshakes were included we got ours at the gelato station - gelato was extra though. 

8 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

I don’t want to throw a wet towel on anyone’s excitement as I don’t know what HAL is planning in the way of excursions but we are on the 36 day transpacific previous to the April 2026 sailing.  Let’s put it this way…you’d have to pay me to stay on for the next seven days.  

Good to know. 

On 3/15/2024 at 7:33 PM, Cruise Junky said:

This might be the first time ever I’ve seen someone excited about Prince Rupert and Nanaimo 😂😂

Is this not a good itinerary? Or maybe the excitement is just because it hasn't been done in decades? I'm contemplating booking it, but not sure it would be worth it. Besides the ports, would the views be worth it? 

On 3/15/2024 at 6:14 PM, oakridger said:

My last HAL cruise to Alaska did not have a naturalist on board as @Ken the cruiser referred to.  The CD presented some talks but there was no subject expert sadly.  I sure hope they start having a professional Alaska presenter!

 

Other than that, I have very much enjoyed my HAL Alaska cruises!

 

~Nancy

Not sure when you were there (and maybe there was a reason if the park ranger didn't show up), but we had a ranger on while coasting through Glacier Bay NP this past Sept. The ranger was up in the crow's nest and there were other naturalists out on the bow area where they let you eat pea soup and view Glacier Bay.