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We booked the Midnight Dome excursion directly with Husky Bus. It saved us a few bucks per person, and come to find out it is the same tour bus the folks from HAL booked. We decided to take the late tour which is at 8:30 in hopes of getting some better pictures with the sun reflecting off of the mountains a lot better. To get to the “top” there is a winding gravel road with a lot of twists and turns, but once you get to the top, the view is fantastic

Here is a little information as to what the Midnight Dome is all about:

As you look out over the edge, you can see almost all of Dawson City as well as the rivers around Dawson.

You can also see where the gold mines are operating and have operated.

As I mentioned one of our goals was to get the reflection of the sun on the mountains and meadows and even though it was a little overcast, the sun broke through for a couple of pretty good pictures!

The view from the Dome is amazing, and I recommend this excursion to anyone that enjoys taking good pictures. There is no strenuous walking and the parking area for the bus was right at the edge and viewing area of the Dome

Up next is the motor coach trip to Minto and Whitehorse.

Thanks Calico Cat. I am sorry this is taking me so long, and it is in such detail, but trying to sort all the pictures out, etc., plus working, honey do's, etc. I have just had a difficult time getting to it. So let's plug on!

The next day we went on the Klondike Spirit, an excursion that was part of the tour package. The Klondike Spirit is a replica of the paddle wheel boats that were one of the primary means of transportation bringing prospectors to the area during the Gold Rush Days. Dawson City was one of the primary terminals for the prospectors heading out to find their fortune.

Here is the Klondike Spirit.

We “set sail” from the dock and went up the Yukon River for about 45 minutes, made a U-turn and came back the other direction, past Dawson City.

The Klondike Spirit had a nice “lounge” out of the weather on the first deck where they served coffee and tea, as well as having other snack bar items for purchase.

Here is our Journey Host, Simon, heading for the coffee pot!

The scenery was mostly the mountains but we did pass this small settlement that had a nice little church.

During the Gold Rush, many boats operated out of Dawson City, but once it was over, the need for all the boats diminished, so many of the boats either left, or in the case of the one below, it was just taken up river a little and ran aground and abandoned.

We also passed many abandoned shacks that have been used over the years, and for one reason or another, the occupants just left and abandoned the homestead.

And finally, just before heading back to Dawson City, we came across this floating home. There was some show on TV where these homes were frozen in on the Yukon River, and we were wondering if this was one of them. This house was occupied as we went by it.

Up next is the Midnight Dome excursion.

Even though we had a difficult time leaving Fairbanks, the wait for Dawson City was well worth it. This little town had a lot to offer, and was fairly easy to get around, as most of everything was within walking distance to the Westmark Inn. Here was our chartered plane that had the tire problems. As mentioned, the runways at Dawson are gravel, and we literally arrived in a cloud of dust!

Dawson City is a quaint town with all of the buildings mostly of historical significance. This post will be basically a very small compilation of the buildings we saw while in Dawson City. Notice all the streets are dirt/gravel. Fortunately it was a dry day for us!

The Red Feather Saloon is where the Dance Show was put on.

This is an old period house that has been turned into a restaurant

Looking down the street from our hotel building

This is a very old building that is on the water front. I don’t know if it was occupied or not, but can just image what it was like in its hay day!

This is the Westmark Inn in Dawson. There are several different buildings that make up the hotel. We were in building #6. The keys to the rooms are the big old fashioned keys like they used in the old time jails! The hotel was typical Westmark. The rooms were a little smaller than we had experienced before, but they were clean and comfortable. We were one building down from the main lobby and restaurant/coffee shop. BTW something we learned very quickly is that Discover Credit Card is not accepted in the Yukon! Fortunately we had others that were accepted!

Next up is the HAL provided tour aboard the Klondike Spirit on the Yukon River.

The Westmark Fairbanks was a fairly nice hotel, but pretty standard and we had two queen beds. It was clean and comfortable, and the staff were friendly and helpful. We had received instructions when we checked in concerning our flight to Dawson City the next morning. Again, bags had to be out by 8:00 and we loaded up to go to the airport about 10:30. When we arrived at the airport, we received some bad news. Our plane had a problem with a tire when it landed, and a new tire had to be flown in from Canada, so at this time, did not know how long the delay would be. After about an hour and half wait, Simon, our Journey host, made arrangements for those that wanted to, could go to Pioneer Village in Fairbanks. My wife and I dislike sitting around airports so we opted to go on this excursion. We are glad we did.

Pioneer Village was only about 15 minutes from the airport. Again, our motor coach took us, and we found it to be a nice alternative to sitting at the airport.

The entrance to Pioneer Village was just beautiful. Let me inject here that every city/town that we went to had an abundance of beautiful flowers. We found this interesting since it was late August when we were there.

Here are some of those flowers at the entrance.

Most of the houses were converted into shops, and they were either replicas or actual homes that were brought into Pioneer Village. Here is a shot looking down main street and you can see some of the old homes. (Notice the sign on the bench!)

There is also an old paddle wheel boat. This was an actual boat used during the height of the Gold Rush Days. Notice the name – “Nenana” – the name of the river that was behind our cottage in Denali!

The railroad car that President McKinley road in is also located here. He came and made Denali a National Park, and rode in the car “Denali”, appropriately named. You could go inside and tour the railcar also.

As I mentioned, everywhere we went were beautiful flowers, and Pioneer Village was no exception.

Finally a picture of a totem pole, indicating the diverse peoples that inhabit Alaska.

We spent a couple of hours at Pioneer Village, and when it came time to board the bus again, Simon found out the plane still had not been fixed. So since it was getting around dinner time, we were all bused back to the Westmark Fairbanks and Holland America purchased our dinner for us.

We finally were able to leave Fairbanks for Dawson City around 7:20 PM. This was the very latest we could depart Fairbanks, because any later, the plane could not land in Dawson City. Dawson City has a gravel runway and does not have any runway lights! Very encouraging! But we did make it, and that will be the next part!

Along the route to the Gold Dredge the train stops and the crew shows you how to pan for gold. There is a definite “knack” in getting down to the “pay dirt” that is hard to master!

The Gold Dredge itself is in a state of decay. If you have seen “Gold Rush” on TV, this dredge is exactly like the one shown in the TV show.

When we arrived at the building and after disembarking the train, each individual is given a small pouch which contains dirt, gravel and gold.

Then it is our turn to actually pan for gold. There are folks standing by to help you get to your fortune! It was a lot of fun. After you are done, you place your gold in a little vile and take it to be weighed and are told how much it is worth. Between my wife and I we made a whopping $39.00! However there were some in our group that made as much as $70.00.

You are given time afterwards to shop (of course) and hot chocolate/coffee/tea and cookies are provided. You can also have your “fortune” made into jewelry. My wife had a keepsake locket with our gold inside of it made. I believe it was only $29.00, so it is affordable.

Everyone is loaded up on the train once again, and taken back to the original “station”. It is right by the Alyeska Pipeline. Here the “prospector” provides extensive information on the Pipeline. This became a little long winded, so we cut out and went back to the bus after getting a couple of pictures.

This is the actual Alyeska Pipeline.

My wife under the pipeline.

We bid goodbye to Denali after three wonderful days, and boarded the motor coach for the approx. 3 ½ hour trip to Fairbanks. These motor coaches are fairly comfortable, with a rest room onboard, but supposedly only for "emergency" use. There was no water available in them, but bottled water was available on all coach trips.

Again, even though it was drizzling, we passed some beautiful landscape. We actually arrived early to Fairbanks, so our Journey host bought us to the town square in downtown Fairbanks for lunch. There was some sort of festival going on and there were all types of activities in the square.

From the square could also be seen the oldest church in Fairbanks. I believe this was a Catholic church.

Then after lunch it was on to Gold Dredge #8. This tour was included in the cruise/tour by Holland America.

Upon arrival, you also see the Alyeska Pipeline, but we will be briefed on that at the end of the tour.

The tour is narrated by an older gentleman that actually grew up in the area. He is dressed as an old time prospector, and is very knowledgeable about the Gold Dredge since his dad actually worked on it.

You actually board a small train that takes you through the property, where different types of machinery, which are operational, are pointed out as you pass by, and eventually getting to Gold Dredge #8.

We were entertained by the conductor that thinks he is Johnny Cash!

My wife and I on the train

After spending some time with our friend reminiscing over the past 50 years, we returned to the Chalet where we did our laundry. I realize doing laundry is not exciting, but maybe this will help someone out. The laundry facilities are locate in the McKinley Lodge building (not the Chalet Lobby). The bus will take you right too it. Just ask the driver to take you there. It is located on the second floor, and the cost is $3.00 for wash and $3.00 to dry. You may need a little more dryer time as we did. The machines only take quarters, so make sure you stop by the lobby main desk and get sufficient change.

While on the McKinley Explorer train, a young lady went around with excursions you could book. We chose the Pioneer Covered Wagon excursion. This also included dinner, which I will talk about in a minute.

We took a short bus trip from the McKinley Lobby to the location of the covered wagons. It was about a 25 minute trip and covered more awesome landscape.

Here is one of the rivers the highway crossed. It is actually the river that ran behind our room at the Chalet – The Nenana River.

When we arrived at the wagons, we were greeted with nice warm cookies and escorted to “our” wagon.

Once everyone was onboard, we were given a short talk on safety and met the driver and the two horses that would be pulling our wagon.

The route was through the forest and once again, the landscape we experienced was awesome. We came upon this house that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, but what a place it was.

We had dinner here, and really it was more like a feast! Dinner consisted of grilled salmon, BBQ ribs and BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, pasta salad, potato salad, and much more. Wine was also provided to those who desired it. The food was excellent, and it was all freshly prepared right there on site!

Occasionally, while traveling through the forest, we would meet an oncoming wagon and our driver would pull over to the side of the road and let them pass.

I don’t remember the name of the horses, or what breed they were, but as can be seen here, they are larger than a normal horse, but not quite as large as a Clydesdale horse.

We really enjoyed this excursion even though there was not a lot to do on it. We met a Dad that sat across from us, and found out his 14 year old son that was with him was mentally challenged. The Dad has raised him by himself since his son was 1 year old. His son loves to cruise, so every year they take a cruise. His son really took to my wife, (and my wife took to him!) and I think this just added to our wonderful experience. It was a joy to meet both of them, and seeing my wife and this young man interact with each other. I think that meeting new friends is one of the reasons both my wife and I enjoy about cruising!

Up next is Fairbanks, Gold Dredge #8, and the Airplane Tire Story! I hope this is not getting too long or too boring. I am trying to be as detailed as I can since, as I mentioned, these reviews are few and far between!

Our last day at Mckinley Chalet was just as amazing as the others. We decided to go to the Denali Visitors Center and meet a high school friend that, along with her husband, are Park Rangers at the Savage River Campground about 13 miles into the National Park. We had a little time before meeting her, so we went into the visitor’s center and here are some pics from the Center:

This is the main entrance to the visitor’s center. It is about a 5 minute walk from where the bus lets you off.

Inside of the Center are various displays, as well as some life sized replicas of the animals found in the Park.

A very large moose:

One of the Denali Sheep

You may notice several other displays in the background of the above pictures.

This was taken just in front of the visitor’s center.

There are all kinds of displays as well as a history of the park, including a short video. Park Rangers are on hand to answer any questions you may have. There is also a snack bar close by, where we met our friend and had lunch. Well worth the 15 -20 minute bus trip and it is all free!

Next up, Pioneer Covered Wagon Excursion.

As we began climbing some of the mountains, and as we looked across to the other peaks, some of the glaciers came into sight. Obviously, Alaska is known for the formation of valleys, etc. due to the movement of the glaciers.

We stopped at two different ranger stations, the first was at Savage River Campground where we got a welcome/safety briefing and the other was here at Toklat River where we had all of the antlers from different animals in Denali, mentioned previously.

Some very stark landscape was also seen adding to the contrasts.

There were a lot of beautiful wildflowers that could be seen in the meadows that we passed. Some were just green lush valleys. The yellow plants in this picture are the fireweed, which is a plant native to Alaska.

Seems like we were climbing for quite a while when we came to the peak of this mountain. You could see out over the overhang for quite a ways.

After we completed the Tundra Wilderness Tour, we had booked an excursion at the HAL Tour, “Music of Denali”. This was in the Golden Nugget Saloon, and included a great dinner of Salmon and BBQ chicken, with several sides. The meal was very good, serviced family style all you can eat, and the servers were actual participants in the musical wearing period costumes. The show itself was okay, with fairly good singing, but got a little “corny” in places. They select individuals from the audience to participate, and my darling wife was one that was selected. Her role was supposedly a wife whose husband had died trying to climb Denali. She basically had one line to say, but, my wife being who she is, started adlibbing when her role was done. Of course the actors picked right up on it, and it turned out everyone laughed and enjoyed her role. When meeting us around the grounds, folks would comment about the role she played. We could not take pictures during the production itself, but here is a picture with the girl that was our waitress and selected her from the audience.

I don't think my wife is going to rush right out and change careers but a good time was had by all!

Next up is our last night in Denali and the Pioneer Covered Wagon Excursion!

The contrast in the different type of landscape as you travel through Denali National Park is unbelievable! The bus travels through all the different type including tundra, forest, mountains, and even glaciers can even be seen through the 52 mile trek. I wish I could post all of the pictures I have, but I am limited to only six per page, so I have tried to pick out some of the more interesting pictures showing the vast difference in scenery. Some of the contrast can also be seen in the various wildlife pictures I have already posted.

The mountain ranges where just beautiful as can be seen.

The bus took many roads through the mountain and a lot of the rock formations were just out our windows.

We also passed a lot of rivers, some where just trickles of water which get larger after the snow run off, but this one was very pretty!

These are the “restrooms” at one of the rest stops during the trip. They look nice on the outside, but inside is nothing more than a porcelain commode over a very large reservoir of waste. Glorified outhouses, and be advised, there is no running water in them. If you are disabled or handicapped and need the use of water, about all you can do is take a bottle of water with you. I hate to be so graphic, but this affected a few people on our tour, including myself!

The bus took many roads with steep cliffs on the side of the road. But again, it is worth seeing such awesome landscape

Next, some more of Denali's beauty and a quick discussion of "Music of Denali" at the Golden Nugget Salon!

If I had to vote, I would say the Tundra Wilderness Tour was one of the best excursions we have ever taken. Even though the weather did not really cooperate, since it was overcast, but no rain. The amount of wildlife we saw was unbelievable. Here again are some of the many caribou we encountered.

We also saw some of the famed Denali Sheep, although this was taken with my built in telephoto lens, you can still make the sheep out on the hillside.

Here is another long distance shot with a momma grizzly bear and her two cubs.

On the return trip we saw a lot more caribou, but came across this mama moose and her two calves just wandering down the road!

Then shortly after that, a momma black bear and her cubs following along the road!

We come across this foreign creature in our journey. Didn’t know what to call her, but obviously of the female species, so we have decided to call her the Flo-ra-bou! Actually, my wife at one of the Ranger stations/rest stops where they had all types of animal antlers to look at and handle!

Next I will share some of the beautiful and varied landscape of Denali National Park

Denali National Park and Preserve encompasses 6 million acres of Alaska’s interior wilderness. The highlight is Denali (prior named Mt. McKinley) which is North America’s tallest peak. Unfortunately, due to it being overcast, we did not get to see "The Great One", as it is know in native language.

It was interesting to note that on the Tundra Wilderness Tour (TWT), the terrain was always changing with forests, glaciers, mountains and the tundra itself. Of course there is a lot of wildlife which we saw quite a bit of.

The TWT is a 52 mile excursion into the park itself. You can only go that far into the Park on the special buses that provide the different tours. Here is a photo of one of the buses:

The buses have been refitted with fairly comfortable seats, and a video system the driver uses to show close up pictures of the wildlife he has spotted.

We started the tour around 9:30 AM and one of the first animals we saw was a moose not far from the road.

Caribou were plentiful, and seems like we literally saw hundreds of them grazing in the meadows, and actually traveling along the tops of the mountains.

This little guy seemed to pose for the cameras. This was the only prairie dog we saw:

We came across this grizzly bear sleeping. He was only about 20 yards from the bus, and would occasionally raise his head and go back to sleep!

Next up is a little more wildlife and the beautiful landscapes of Denali.

was everyone happy with the lodging - hotel rooms vs suites? (How was it determined who would get which rooms?)

Keep in mind that all the lodging in McKinley Chalet is very rustic. However, I did not hear any complaints from those staying in the other rooms.

I am not sure how it was determined who went where. When we first arrived in Anchorage and met our Journey Host (Simon) we filled out a questionnaire, and one of the questions was about bed arrangements. The question was basically one bed, two beds or I don't care. I selected I don't care!

We did have a group travelling with us (same itinerary) from AAA, and not sure if they were in the hotel type accommodations or not. :confused:

Our accommodations varied, and we were provided both one (king) and two (queen) beds during our travels.

Our first night at the Chalet, was nothing to brag about. We had heard from our Journey Host that we should get a snack to take on the Tundra Wilderness Tour, since the “snack” provided by the National Park Service leaves a lot to be desired. He recommended getting the snack pack at Karsten’s Restaurant in Denali Square. Well, it was time for dinner, so we decided to go to Karsten’s for dinner and order our snack pack. Howerver, nothing really appealed to us on the menu, and we looked at what the snack pack consisted of, and decided to go elsewhere. The snack pack was a turkey or veggie roll-up with some cheese and crackers, chips, and other “snack” type items for $14.00. We ended up getting on the shuttle that takes us to the Princess Lodge property, right next door, since we had seen a Subway close by. We ate at the Grizzly Bar and Grill at the Princess Lodge. Bad choice as far as we were concerned. I had the fish and chips (two small pieces of fish about 1 ½ inches square, obviously processed, and a ton of fries), wife got the “seafood” salad consisting of popcorn shrimp and what appeared to be imitation crab (in Alaska???). Neither one of us enjoyed our meal, especially after having to wait about 20 minutes to get in and due to the noise and hubbub, neither one of us finished our meal.

Right across the street from Princess Lodge is a small row of shops which include Ice Cream, souvenirs, pizza and other small shops. We bought Subway sandwiches for our TWT trip the next day.

The grounds at McKinley are very well maintained and had some of the prettiest (wild?) flowers growing. They looked somewhat like a poppy, but were in many different colors as seen here.

Here are some additional pictures taken while at McKinley Chalet:

These were taken from behind our building. It is almost like the mountain peaks have turned to gold when the sun gets low and is reflected on them.

These were taken inside of the Lodge headquarters. There is a gift shop (not bad prices), a Starbucks, the Chalet Lobby, and it is also the entrance to the Canyon Steakhouse.

This is a full sized bronze sculpture:

This last one is taken in Denali Square. BTW a correction to the Saloon – It is the “Gold Nugget Saloon” in Denali Square, where the Denali Musical is held!

I think she has made a new friend!

Next up, Denali National Park and the Tundra Wilderness Tour!

Once we arrived at the train depot, which is actually in Denali National Park, we boarded a motor coach to the McKinley Chalet. It is only about a 20 minute ride to the Chalet, and we arrived at the main lodge to receive our Welcome Package. Again, our luggage was delivered directly from the train to our rooms at the Chalet. We were looking forward to spending three days in one place, as well as enjoying everything this wonderful place had to offer. Unfortunatley I did not get a picture of the main lodge, but you can go to the McKinley Chalet web site and see it!

McKinley Chalet is owned by Holland America and is a sprawling complex with many different buildings. Fortunately, there is a shuttle bus service that runs the entire property with pickups at various locations about every 10 minutes. Our building was at the “bottom” of the complex, with the Nenana River right at our “back door”. We were in “M” building and our room was on the bottom and to the very left as seen in this picture.

Our view from our bedroom window:

The river behind out building complex:

Holland America had just recently completed the Denali Square. This is basically the central location in the complex. It has a few shops, a restaurant, and the Denali Dinner Theater, I believe it is called The Glitter Gulch Salon, where “Music of Denali” is performed. More on that later!

There are several fire pits in Denali Square, and our group gathered one evening and had a marsh mellow roast and a time together while there.

Our room at the Chalet was actually a mini-suite. When you entered, you walked in to a sitting room area with a couch and chair, TV and where the all important coffee maker is at. Then you entered through a hallway with the bath off to the right, into the bedroom. Very nice and very comfortable. However, some in our group where at the Cottonwood Lodge which is also part of the Holland America complex, but more like a hotel room. There was another building, the McKinley Lodge, which again was more hotel style rooms. This (McKinley Lodge) is also where the laundry facilities were at).

Next up, more of McKinley Chalet and the start of the Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali National Park!

This was actually our third trip to Alaska. We have completed two inside passage cruises prior to this trip. Each trip has bought us more and more beauty from the majestic mountains to the enchanting seaside towns. Here are a couple more pictures from the train:

We did encounter some wildlife along the way. Here was a female moose in the tall grass. Our narrator, Jayne, said it was unusual to see moose that close to the train.

There was an intermediate stop in Talkeetna, where other cruise tours boarded the train, but had separate rail cars. We did not get off the train at this stop. I find it amazing since Holland America has over 25 cruise tours going on at one time, that people and luggage are all at the right place and the right time. We never had any luggage problems, and folks were always at the right place at the right time!

Finally we arrived at Denali National Park. This was the view as we entered the train depot at the Park itself.

Next up is our three days in Denali!

The train ride from Anchorage to Denali was about 8 hours long. We passed some beautiful scenery. Many lakes and rivers, too numerous to remember names of but here is some of the magnificent sights we encountered along the way.

It is really difficult to pick out some pictures to post as I took over 850 pictures on three different cameras. Most of these were taken by my cell phone camera!

I was warned prior to departure that I should be prepared to see trees....A lot of trees! I admit there were a lot of trees, but when the landscape would break, it was always breath taking beauty! Next up, a few more train pics, then arrive at Denali National Park!

Please bear with me. As I mentioned this is my first review and posting of pictures, so I am going to re-post the last entry and hopefully get the pictures in. Since CC will only let me post 6 pics at a time, it is a short one.

Our journey host suggested we do not mark the bag “Meet Me on the Ship” because it apparently would travel with us, just not bought to our room. It would be a hassle since we had to go through Customs twice, plus board the airplane in Fairbanks. We had bags out at 7:00 and we departed the hotel for the train station at around 9:00 via motor coach. The trip only took about 15 minutes to the train depot, and upon arrival we had the first glimpse of the McKinley Explorer. Unfortunately, it was still raining when we boarded, but the rain did stop after a while.

Our car was the Ekutna. These are beautiful trains with the domed windows. We were seated on the upper deck, with the dining car and restrooms directly below us. Our tour director/narrator was Jayne, and she did a great job of explaining points of interest, injecting a lot of history, and telling some pretty bad jokes! But she was wonderful and made our long trip that much more enjoyable. There was also full bar service during the trip. Every once in a while, the conductor would come through checking on things and answering questions.

Our train car:

Our Conductor:

This is Jayne our tour director/narrator for the trip to Denali. She really made the trip very enjoyable!

We ate lunch on the train which was very enjoyable. They start serving from the back of the car, moving forward, so we had a rather late lunch. My wife and I both had the chef’s salad which was very good. Just a reminder, the dining car only accepts credit cards. No cash, however if you are on the meal voucher program, the vouchers are accepted. Next up some of the beautiful scenery we experienced on the train ride to Denali.

Our journey host suggested we do not mark the bag “Meet Me on the Ship” because it apparently would travel with us, just not bought to our room. It would be a hassle since we had to go through Customs twice, plus board the airplane in Fairbanks. We had bags out at 7:00 and we departed the hotel for the train station at around 9:00 via motor coach. The trip only took about 15 minutes to the train depot, and upon arrival we had the first glimpse of the McKinley Explorer. Unfortunately, it was still raining when we boarded, but the rain did stop after a while.

Our car was the Ekutna. These are beautiful trains with the domed windows. We were seated on the upper deck, with the dining car and restrooms directly below us. Our tour director/narrator was Jayne, and she did a great job of explaining points of interest, injecting a lot of history, and telling some pretty bad jokes! But she was wonderful and made our long trip that much more enjoyable. There was also full bar service during the trip.

Our Conductor:

Our Tour Director/Narrator, Jayne, that made the trip very enjoyable:

We ate lunch on the train which was very enjoyable. They start serving from the back of the car, moving forward, so we had a rather late lunch. My wife and I both had the chef’s salad which was very good. Just a reminder, the dining car only accepts credit cards. No cash, however if you are on the meal voucher program, the vouchers are accepted.

This is my first review and also posting of pictures, but wanted to review our cruise tour, since the Holland America Cruise Tour reviews are few and far between.

The R2L is a12 day land tour with a 4 day cruise. It is roundtrip to Seattle. We booked the HAL R2L over a year ago, and I researched until I was blue in the face and receiving a lot of information from many helpful individuals here on Cruise Critic. Seemed like our departure would never arrive. However, on August 16, we boarded our Southwest flight from Jacksonville to Seattle via Denver Colorado, arriving in Seattle around 2:00 PM. Beautiful weather greeted us, and we were met at the baggage claim area by a Holland America representative. After retrieving our luggage, they loaded it on a cart, and we were shuttled to the Hilton Airport Conference Center hotel. I might add at this point, that we never had to drag our luggage around during the entire land tour. HAL representatives pick it up from our door each morning and delivered to our room when we arrived at our next destination.

The Hilton hotel was nice, but nothing great and wonderful. Rooms were spacious, clean and comfortable. Staff was very helpful and extremely professional. We received our first of many welcome packages on arrival. These packages had our room keys, instructions for putting our baggage outside our door the next morning, as well at information regarding our flight to Anchorage the next morning.

We had our first taste of sticker shock when we checked the prices at the hotel restaurant, Spencer’s Steakhouse. I understand it is an upscale restaurant, but even still we found it very expensive. Having done my research, we walked a couple of blocks to one that had great reviews on Trip Advisor, “13 Coins”. Great food, good atmosphere and good prices!

Next morning we had to have our bags “out” by 8:00. Since we had planned on sending a suitcase to the ship, in the “Meet me on board” program we had five pieces of luggage. We did have to get it from the Hilton to Alaska Air, so we asked the hotel valet to call ahead and arrange a porter for us. If you have never been to the Seattle Airport (SeaTac), you are picked up and dropped off in one courtesy vehicle area, which is quite a ways from the baggage claim and departure terminals. I could not see lugging 5 suitcases up and down elevators, etc! The hotel shuttle provided the transportation to the airport. Next shock came when checking into the Alaska Airlines desk. This is something that HAL needs to make people aware of: Alaska Air charges $25.00 per bag in checked baggage fees, so we had $75.00 in baggage fees to pay. Next, even though we had seat assignments, Alaska Air boards their aircraft according to how much you paid for your ticket. Obviously, HAL didn’t purchase first class tickets for us, so we were the last group to board the airplane. As mentioned, it was nice that we had seats reserved though. The three hour +/- flight was uneventful. No meals provided except for purchase. We did purchase the “daily” special which was a very bad turkey sandwich!

Arrival in Anchorage was exciting, because we knew our land adventure journey had actually began. After retrieving our baggage (last time we had to do that until going home), As we entered the baggage area, we were met by the HAL Rep and we boarded a motor coach to the Westmark Anchorage arriving around 4 PM. We were also met in the baggage area by these two guys:

Our welcome package contained our room keys, “baggage out” time, where to meet our journey hosts, and information regarding the short trip to the railroad where we would board the McKinley Explorer domed railcar. The hotel was comfortable, and of course the staff were great. It was here that we met our Journey Host, Simon, who was assisted by Tracy. Both were wonderful and made our trip that much more enjoyable. Here are my wife, Simone and me.

Each room in the hotel has a balcony, and ours overlooked Cook Inlet in one direction and the mountains in the other direction. Of course being right downtown, most of our view was obscured by large buildings. Here is the view from our balcony on the second floor. The first is looking from the right to the mountains, and the second is of Cooke Inlet.

We had intended to eat dinner at Humpy’s Restaurant that night because it also had great reviews and was only about a 10 minute walk from the hotel, but Mother Nature changed our minds. It was pouring down rain, and rather than go out and get soaked, we opted to eat in the hotel restaurant. Again, it was pricey, but the food was good and we stayed dry! My wife had her first of many salmon dishes, and I enjoyed a chicken dish. Next up: Our McKinley Explorer Train trip to Denali National Park.

What information are you looking for? Another place to get information is reading recent trip reports, a whole section available on CC.

HI Budget Queen. You have been a tremendous help to many cruisers in the past including myself. I really appreciate your willingness to help and share your wealth of information.

With just 10 days left prior to departure most of my questions have been answered either directly or indirectly as I read all the posts/reviews. In my previous post, I was just looking for someone that we could share info with and look forward to our cruise tour together.

Thanks so much for your offer once again. Unless you have some "sage" advice to this old man, I'll just continue to get ready for our cruise tour based on the info you and others have already shared.

As mentioned on your other post, your Roll Call is the place...not here. If your Roll Call is slow...it is what it is.

I did not realize we are restricted as to what we can post on this board. My intent was to just maybe reach someone that was not interested in roll calls. Based on total number of passengers onboard a cruise ship, it appears that the majority of folks onboard a cruise ship vs. those participating in a roll call are not interested or are not familiar with roll calls anyway.

Information pertaining to HAL Alaska cruise tours is very limited on both the HAL board and the Alaska board, and (from what I have received) even from HAL itself. Sharing of information is the purpose of these boards, and that was my overall intent. So, as you say, "it is what it is!"

We are arriving in Seattle on August 16th as the starting point of our 16 day, Holland America R2L Alaska Cruise/Tour. The roll call for this as well as the Volendam cruise which we will join in Skagway is DEAD! Was hoping to meet some Travel Mates prior to our tour, share some info and get to know each other before we arrive in Seattle on the 16th. I have also posted this in the Alaska boards.

We are arriving in Seattle on August 16th as the starting point of our 16 day, Holland America R2L Alaska Cruise/Tour. The roll call for this as well as the Volendam cruise which we will join in Skagway is DEAD! Was hoping to meet some Travel Mates prior to our tour, share some info and get to know each other before we arrive in Seattle on the 16th.

Thanks again Rick for the restaurant guide. It will be a big help in choosing our meals! 23 days and counting!