MickeyP

We have made plans for Pride of America’s 11 day tour and cruise around the Hawaiian Islands in November. I don’t see many good reviews here on CC.  What I did read is, that NCL customer service isn’t the best. Some reviews have a few complimentary dining options as closed, and therefore you need to pay an up charge to dine elsewhere. Room rooms have a sewer smell someone posted. This will be our first NCL cruise and I am concerned as to what we can expect. 

Juneau Whale Tours

On 6/2/2023 at 1:57 PM, latebuyer said:

Does anyone know of a cruise company that only has 20 passengers for whale watching? I am finding i am too scared to go in Jayleen's small boat but on the other hand the cruise ship boats are too big.

This wasn’t the  first rodeo to clear the Noordam in Vancouver yesterday. Groups with colored tags waited to get off the ship . The World stage was packed with everyone wanting to get off the ship at their HAL recommended time slot that they sent to staterooms on Friday. Numerous People throughout the area were coughing and sneezing. Most without masks too. No regard for healthy people around them. We had our masks on as a precaution. Makes me think that HAL although they preach healthy protocols could have recommended masks or had them available if someone was under the weather. After flying home for the last twelve hours my wife seems to have a runny nose and a dry cough. We’re scheduled to depart  the ship at 845am and never got our group called till after 945am and then they treat everyone like school children in line for the bus. I spoke to Representatives from HAL and the port and they blame each other. Just a major disappointment.

We contacted Juneau Whale Tours through trip advisor , the 3 hour tour. A small boat Maximium of 20. New boat too and we only had 7 customers. Was great. Whales the entire time. Only thing, the dropped the price once onside the 48 hour window. 

We are in Skagway today on the Noordam, three other ships here and the town is busy. No issues. They are busing people around the rock slide with ease. Most everything is walking distance.

On our previous Land First Cruise second with HAL, on the land portion we would put our suitcase outside our room in the AM and the porter/luggage handlers would handle our larger suitcase and transport it to our next stop/accommodations. we had a backpack with our valuables and meds for the bus/train portion. HAL also offers to store and transport another suitcase that is packed with just cruise attire to the ship. you wouldn't have access to it during the land portion.

Thanks for your input. Sounds reasonable. HAL web site suggests higher recommendations. I like yours better, unless of course we get exceptional service, then we graciously offer more.

Leaving soon for 7 Day Alaskan Land Tour through HAL. Recently, I reviewed a post with suggestions for Gratuities for the Bus driver, tour director etc. Cannot seem to recall just where it appeared. Would appreciate any help. Thx

I am confused. Our HAL cruise and tour in May of 2023 is all paid in full. We saw that this OBC credit for Veterans was a vey nice perk.  I registered with SheerID and got approved with all the needed information. After not seeing the $100 OBC on my account , I emailed customer service and they replied saying that it is only offered on future cruises. I think many of the previous posts were paid in full and received the credit.

One of our best memories on our many HAL cruises was a late night show by the ships crew. I don’t see any threads regarding it. Does it still happen ?

Sound great. Unfortunately, we disembark in Vancouver traveling to Myrtle Beach. Do you know if luggage direct operates out of Vancouver?

HAL has plenty of tour / cruises to offer. Don’t do the RT , spend 7 days on the ship and 7 days on land all in the same direction. The RT you don’t get to see Alaska in real life. We did the Northbound in 2010 and looking forward to the Southbound from Fairbanks in May. Enjoy!

Madame Jeannette’s restaurant  , outstanding place. 

I may have missed a post on the subject but we did the land on Celebrity in 2010 , they did a great job with our luggage at each hotel/lodge stopover. Does HAL limit the luggage for each passenger to just one per person?  We had planned our land and cruise with three bags for the two of us. HAL is very vague  on their web site. I understand we cannot take the luggage on the bus or train. So my main question is are we limited to one large luggage ?

We are on a HAL 7 Day Land tour prior to our 7 day Southbound cruise. We have two nights at the Alyeska Resort. We have looked at the Girdwood web page searching for some ideas . Any suggestions besides taking the Tram ride? Thanks in advance.

We don't arrive in Fairbanks till 1230AM , Our tour is at the Westmark for two nights . The Sophie Station Suites is located near the airport and has shuttle service 24 hours a day. So we made a room reservation there prior to the Westmark two nights

2010 , We did  a Celebrity cruise first and tour for a total of 10 days. Fantastic , I wouldn’t travel all that way without the land tour. Go early before the pests are out. We are returning in May , 2023 starting in Fairbanks and cruising to Vancouver on Holland America. 

Thanks so much, I failed to say we are on HAL , but I did post this on the HAL section of the boards. I talked to Customer service this morning and we are staying at the Westmark,  prior attempts to find out went unfounded.  Thanks again. Mike

Would anyone recommend a tour option for Fairbanks, Alaska. Our Cruise ( Tour first) on May 14th, 2023 has us two nights/days in Fairbanks to start off. There is a Steamboat cruise included and the Aurora lights aren't very popular from April to August. I understand there is a few Museums that seem popular. 

Be very careful if you try and use Easy Air through the HAL web site. I entered dates that were before and after what I choose. I did not say I was flexible. The rates looked good, so I chose them and confirmed my plans. A few hours later,  I felt I was tricked and immediately tried for hours on hold. Finally, within 24 hours I canceled the flights and 5 weeks later my credit card still has a $3589.78 charge. Trying to explain to an "agent"  that was outsourced by HAL is rediculous. I emailed the accounting dept. and still waiting for a response. 

Holland America doesn’t list the Fairbanks hotel they schedule for the first two nights of our cruise tour Southbound. We need to find out so we can get an advanced night reservation. Do they use the same hotel for all tours?

On HAL , is there a formal night dress code in effect? 

We were on Viking Ocean's Star in February cruising the West Indies Explorer. The first night and subsequent nights we saw jeans ( some raggedy too) in the Dining room. After the 2nd night in the dining room I questioned it because their rules say "eloquent casual" and the Supervisor because snapped at me saying they are allowed . I have a problem with that in the Main Dining area ( The world cafe had no issues with jeans, so that is an outlet if they choose), to have everyone at our table show up and then have a guy with old blue jeans sit down with us disturbs me . Later in the week I saw Tee Shirts in the main dining. Viking should get a stronger message out with their dress code.

Most of these posts are for arriving back in SJ. We are embarking SJ on a cruise, we need to purchase 2 or 3 bottle of wine to bring aboard the ship. Are the wine shops near the baggage claim or should we wait until the cruise pier shop? Thanks