oaktreerb

Do you prefer May or September? What are the the best things about a May cruise vs a September cruise? Thinking about the 14 day HAL Alaska cruise which is only offered for the shoulder season.

Your friends will love the salmon on the Hal’s menu every day. King salmon is excellent in the Pinnacle grill.. The Taku Glacier Lodge excursion includes lunch including salmon perfectly cooked outside on the grill.

Bering Sea Fisherman’s Tour in Ketchikan, Either Tracy Arm small ship excursion or Taku Glacier Lodge by dloat plane in Juneau, Skagway White Pass bus and train combo or better yet take the Bennett Lake excursion., Steve Kroschel’s animal rescue in Haines, Sitka sea otter excursion and the Fortress of the Bears/Raptor Center combo. Icy Strait is recommended for whale watching but we didn’t see any in May when we were there.

When we were in port we rented a car from the hotel Halsingland. If you look online their website indicates that they are the Avis rep in Haines. We walked up the hill to the hotel and they had cars available. We drove up the road into Canada (passports required) on a beautiful sunny day. We stopped along the road for lunch at the one place available. If you are looking for something to do you could see if Steve Kroschel’s animal rescue is open for tours. He’s a very colorful character. You may have seen him on Michelle Oakley’s Yukon Vet show on TV. She sometimes visits his place for medical treatments for his animals. I don’t think he does private tours. We visited as a ship tour. The Hammer Museum in town is unique for a short visit.

Alaska is all about adventure. Go on the excursion. Wear your rain gear.

Girdwood is a great place to stay at the Alyeska Resort. There is a lot to see and do in the Turnagain Arm area.

I wrote HAL a letter last year as they were in the process of resuming cruising and told them that their itineraries were boring. (Same every year) My suggestion was to mix up the ports so that northbound and southbound itineraries stopped at different ports. Glacier Bay/Hubbard Glacier and then there is College Fjord and Tracy Arm. Sitka/Skagway/Haines, Juneau/Ketchikan, Icy Strait, Whittier/Valdez, Kodiak/Homer, etc. With the loss of four ships a few years ago I understand that HAL’s port contracts and docking preferences need to be maintained for the ships that are now in Alaska. In other words, It’s more complicated than I thought. So, you’ve got a good idea with mixing HAL and Princess. I wish HAL and Princess were in Whittier on the same days, then it would be easy!

Someone on the Roll Call will probably coordinate with ship staff to organize a Meet and Mingle. If your title referenced Zuiderdam and Canada/New England you would probably get a response. Maybe the moderator could change the title or you could start a new thread.

Best to purchase the ticket the same day that the ship is in port. The view from the top is amazing on a clear day. Not so good on a rainy, foggy day.

If you Lived Here !’d Know your Name, great book. I found it onboard our 21 day Maasdam EXC cruise a few years ago. I wish all the Alaska itineraries offered books by local authors now that the libraries are back!

The McKinley Chalet resort has a variety of accommodations from two room cabin structures, to more modern multistory hotel, to an upsell for the newest family type hotel. The Chalets are a Holland America property with busses running all day and evening long through the property to pick up passengers to transport them to the upper level entry or Karstens central dining, shops, and community area. It’s kind of like a camp atmosphere. You can walk to all venues if you prefer. You should be able to find a description on the HAL website. We have always just been assigned to a room/cabin. No choice unless you choose the upsell. On the bus you will be given your room key and dropped of at your accommodations when you arrive. There is no check in necessary. Your luggage will be delivered to your room. A short walk from the Chalets is the Denali Princess Lodge which has a lovely and scenic entry area and offers places to shop and eat. I have walked the property, shopped and had breakfast and dinner there but have not stayed at the lodge. Princess and HAL work together (both owned by Carnival) so they coordinate some transportation services and guest services. There is a free bus that runs between the lodges and to the Denali National Park headquarters all day long. The Chalets are probably the most Alaskan, especially if you stay in the cabins. HAL bought the cabins from the National Park Service years ago and has expanded the campus through the years.

I was fortunate to meet Captain Albert aboard ship and enjoyed his lecture. I’m glad his blog will continue and he’ll carry on as a Holland America historian in retirement. I’ll miss his reports of cruising from the Captain’s viewpoint! I remember one report of sailing south from Alaska through the inside passage and the seas were so rough that he sailed inside the Canadian islands and sailed past Bella Bella. That is not on a HAL itinerary. So, Bella Bella was added to my bucket list and was fulfilled when we sailed south from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy on the very modern BC ferry system.

People are still seeing bears, moose, etc. on the shortened TWT. I’ve taken the Natural History Tour and enjoyed it on a very rainy day (and saw 2 moose close up on the road and some ptarmigan). The dog kennels are open. The park headquarters is still offering programs and hikes. You can still take sightseeing flights.

You may not want to go to Talkeetna. The lodge is way out of town. Best to choose more time in Denali National Park. You need two nights in Denali. The train between Anchorage and Denali is nice, the bus is best between Denali and Fairbanks.

Not really, and you would need passports to cross the border into the Yukon. You could also rent a car. Download Murray’s Guide online if you drive. You could stop along the way. Bus/train combo gives you more variety than just train and the bus will probably stop along the way.

Walking around town and shopping is best done at Creek Street in Ketchikan. Tongass Shops are good for browsing. Look for products made in Alaska. Towns will be crowded with many ships in port. Best to get out of town and see Alaska for most of your port days.

Tracy Arm small boat excursion like Adventure Bound. On a clear day the tram in Juneau is great for amazing views of the area, if you have time. Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s tour in Ketchikan is great. Kenai Fjords out of Seward (6 hour tour) is much better than the 26 Glacier Tour which I have done 3 times and it never comes close to the beauty of Kenai Fjords. Icy Straight has a lot of options beyond whale watching. We did whale watching there and didn’t see any whales although I know it is supposed to be great. It depends on the conditions. Juneau is also good for whale watching and you may see some on the Adventure Bound Tracy Arm tour. You can do the train/bus combo in Skagway. You can also rent a car and drive to Emerald Lake. Download Murray’s Guide if you drive. You can take some ranger tours and get a hiking guide at the visitor center and set out on your own adventure. The Chilkoot trail hike and raft excursion is fun. Alaska is a fun adventure whatever you choose to do. You can’t do it all in one trip!

We sometimes have a salad made for us at the salad bar in the Lido, grab a roll and butter and napkin wrapped silverware and take it all back to our stateroom. The room stewards will remove your dishes when they clean the room. Just leave the dishes on the table when you go out.

@skrufyMain Dining Room fixed dining can be assigned at booking. Otherwise unless something changes you might be able to make reservations onboard. Specialty dining can be made online (Pinnacle, Canaletto, etc) when it shows up for your booking (like excursions)…..maybe specialty dining is not available for booking yet for your 2024 cruise.

Fortunately I still have my 3/2020 to 3/2021 Cruise Atlas which is handy for deck plans. Somewhat outdated but handy for stateroom selection. If HAL ever produces a new Cruise Atlas I hope they will print it out for us so we can pick it up onboard.

The meal plan is expensive. If you don’t choose the meal plan, for breakfast at Denali you can choose the cheaper continental (including fruit and oatmeal) or more expensive full breakfast. Continental is plenty of food and both are served buffet style at Karstens on the McKinley Chalets campus. There are other options nearby for lunch and dinner. The food on the train is excellent and not terribly expensive. A fun experience eating in the dining car. The Westmark hotel in Anchorage is located near many excellent places to eat. The Fairbanks Westmark serves a nice breakfast buffet and pretty good food choices in the bar for lunch or dinner. There are places to eat nearby but not as convenient as Anchorage.

Looks like Volendam lost it’s berth to the smaller Seabourn ship. Wish we had a camera person.

The dock locations I printed on February 27th shows Seabourn Odyssey tendering and Volendam at CT dock. Maybe the Odyssey will move before the Volendam arrives. It’s miserable tendering in Juneau when it’s raining.

I think you would enjoy a Neptune Suite with the special perks, especially for a longer cruise. Just make sure there are staterooms above yours and you are not under the Lido or pool.