dopey1200

I'm glad you mentioned this about ArriveCan - is that still a thing? I'm sure we don't need the test results, but do you still need to use ArriveCan for any other reason? It was 2 years ago for me when we last sailed to Canada on the east coast.

Just saw this in the latest brochure

I'm looking at the $50 Klondike Summit excursion that is 1.5 hours long and starts at either 10:30am or 1:15pm. Does anybody know where this tour starts? I'm trying to do it before or after another excursion and I want to make sure I have time to get from one to another. TIA

Do the HAL ships cruising the inside passage get fresh salmon at any of the ports to serve in the dining room? While the salmon bake excursions sound delicious, I'd hate to pay $80 per person for one of them when I could possibly have it for dinner that night or the next day for free on the ship. TIA

I've got the same dilemma. I see that you can book the basic 2.75 hour train ride directly thru the railroad and they have a few more time options, plus it's cheaper. If booking w/HAL, we can only choose 8am (too early for me) or 12pm, which then conflicts with other tours we want to do. Has anybody booked directly thru the railroad? They do have this on their website: For passengers arriving via cruise ship, this tour is available from your ship’s Shore Excursion Department. By booking through the cruise line, you will be able to take advantage of the dockside service and board the train on the pier alongside your ship. Contact your cruise line’s Shore Excursion Department for more details. Is it really easier to get to the station if you book thru HAL?

Sorry, I'm sure this has been asked before, but I searched and couldn't find an answer. What airport do you all fly into if sailing from Whittier? I'll be coming from Cincinnati, if that matters or helps. The HAL cruise I'm looking at leaves Whittier on 6/23/24 and doesn't depart until 7:30pm. With that late departure, I'm hoping it will be easier to find flights. There is a possibility for us to do a northbound cruise ending in Whittier, if you think that makes more sense for flights. TIA

Thank you, I will check flights from Louisville next time too!

Thank you both so much for these suggestions! We will definitely look into flying out of Columbus in the future. With the 2 hour drive to Columbus it may require an overnight stay, which adds another day to the trip (we're not retired yet😔), and more money for a hotel room, but it does make it a possibility. We just booked a non-cruise vacation to Providence RI (Thanks to cheap fares from Breeze Airways👍), but maybe next vacation we can work something out. Thanks again!

Thank you all for your responses. Even with the lower rate for an inside cabin, it's just not going to happen right now. Unfortunately the airfare from Cincinnati to the west coast is at least $1000 per person right now. That's more than the cruise fare itself. We'll get to Alaska some day though and now I know that we'll be able to do an inside cabin!☹️

We usually have no problems staying in an inside cabin to save money (we don't have unlimited funds), but we're really wanting to cruise to Alaska and I feel like we at least need a window. It seems like you'd miss a lot by being inside for Alaska, but obviously plenty of people do it. The only time we are ever in our cabin is for sleeping and showering, but I still feel like I'd be missing out on something. So, who has stayed inside and did you regret it?

We just did the HAL from Boston to Montreal on the Zaandam. It's a very small ship with a more "mature" crowd. I think there were only 2 kids on the ship! It was also our first time doing the New England/Canada itinerary and really enjoyed it.

Thank you @boulders! I was able to confirm this with somebody from HAL also. Got us both scheduled for rapid tests tomorrow afternoon. I couldn't imagine waiting up to 2 days for the results.

I was going to say the same thing - I don't think the one I'm talking about is an antigen. So this Rapid NAAT can be done within 72 hours of boarding time? But I haven't been assigned a boarding time yet & we leave this Saturday. This is very stressful!

This link says the NAAT are acceptable, but does that include rapid? (Or are they all rapid?) Has anyone used one recently? TIA https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

According to the ArriveCAN app, you're considered fully vaccinated if you have 2 shots. Doesn't sound like you need a booster. I went thru the motions of completing the required information and that's what the app tells you. But I sure would like to know for sure! My husband is not boosted, so it's a deal breaker. I think this starts Sept 5th.