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Rick: Really enjoyed the review and especially the fantastic pictures. Of course you realize you have just made us that more anxious for August 16th to get here. Really appreciate the work you put into the review and it will be a tremendous help to Flo and I as we prepare for our "journey"! You do know any questions that arise between now and departure will go directly to you! Hopefully we can also provide good info like this to future cruise/tour participants. Just have to learn how to load pictures! Thanks so much. Look forward to your hotel/meal review! Take care and God bless!

Rick - You know that Flo and I are really enjoying your review and pictures. How were the hotel accommodations? Did you guys have meal vouchers or did you eat on "the economy"? I know you were on the buses quite a bit, but did they stop for picture ops or did you have to take pics while moving?

Thanks so much for putting this together. It will really be a help to us when we leave on August 16th.

Roll call is dead, so if anyone out there is planning to travel with us on the August 16th R2L:Seattle Gold Rush cruise/tour would love to hear from them.

Rick: Pictures are fantastic! Showed my wife, Flo, pic of your meal in the Pinnacle and she said she now knows what she will order!

We will not be stopping in Juneau, but pick up the ship in Skagway and go to Glacier Bay and Ketchikan before returning Vancouver.

Was there a salmon cookout on the Lido Deck Pool area while you were onboard. I am not sure HAL even does that any more.

Keep 'em coming, Brother!:D

You know how anxious I am to see the rest of your review!!!!!! Nice pics too!

Ron

Could someone please post the dailies from the current Volendam round trip Alaskan Cruise from Vancouver. We will be sailing on her in August.

Thanks :D

What date in August is your cruise. We will also be on Volendam on the August 24th sailing.

Ron,

Not sure if you saw the CC thread with pictures on Denali Square now open? Looks pretty nice:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2363388

 

Rick

Yes I did Rick! Looks like a pretty nice addition. Of course the goal is to make money for HAL! Pretty soon you will be able to see it in person. Will be glad when that happens as we will be that much closer to our cruise/tour. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences!

rajkr74:

I just read in my Mariner Newsletter that "Denali Square" is now open. This is a new phase of building in the McKinley Chalet area. You can google "Denali Square" to get the info on it. :)

We took this trip last year...our third to the Yukon.

 

Dawson City is my favorite. We have eaten at and recommend Klondike Kate's, Cheechako's Bake Shop, and Sourdough Joe's as well as Belinda's at the Westmark. Dawson City has a wonderful Park's Canada program with tours and programs, go to the visitor's center to get the information. There is a very nice museum, Jack London's Cabin, Robert Service Cabin, and very interesting cemetery within walking distance. (Boardwalks and dirt and mud if raining)

Husky Homestead is a locally owned business and will offer tours. We did Midnight Dome last year. This is a nice town to walk by the river and just wander around.

QUOTE]

 

Oaktreerb: We would like to take the Midnight Dome tour when in Dawson City. I looked at the solar tables for the time we will be there, and sunset is scheduled for 10:02. Based on that time would you recommend the early tour or the later tour. Interested in getting some good pictures so which would be the better time? Thanks again for your information. We are becoming more and more excited as the time draws closer for us!

We will be boarding MS Volendam in Skagway for the last four days of our 16 day cruise tour. Looking for pro's/con's on Volendam and for any info on Stateroom 2561. We have early seating in the upper dining room. Only other HAL ship we have been on was the Ryndam - 7 day Caribbean cruise.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

We always use a credit card. Call your credit card company and tell them where you will be traveling and you shouldn't have any issues. People worry about foreign transaction fees but I have never seen that as an issue. We don't spend that much. When we get home we can see on our statement all of the places we ate and tally what we spent. The Canadian dollar is weak right now so that will work in your favor in the Yukon. We take two credit cards but try to use only one and the cards both have the chip technology.

 

We take enough cash for small purchases and for tips (which is no small amount, check the guidelines that HAL has on its website). You may receive Canadian in change if you use $ in Canada but you will have no problem using US$ in Canada. It's just easier to use a credit card and you can keep track of your expenditures that way.

Once again, thanks for the great information! The closer we get, the more excited we become, and probably the more questions will arise. You have been very patient and helpful to us, and I really do appreciate it! Thanks so much!

Last year we began in early June and we picked up the Volendam in Skagway on June 13. We did not do Seattle to Seattle. We did Anchorage to Vancouver. We have done the Yukon in June, July, and August.

Oaktreerb: I know the food is quite expensive, especially since we will be buying up to three meals for quite a few days. It seems like we would have to take a lot of cash with us or take the chance of using credit cards. I realize this is the United States, but credit cards can be compromised at your local grocery store these days. :eek:

Do you recommend the of use credit cards, cash, cash with "replenishing at ATM's" or drive a small version of Brinks Armored Car! :D

We see that there are two times to do the Midnight Dome excursion. What time did you do your tour, 7:00pm or 8:30pm? Which is the best time in your opinion?

Thanks.

We are also interested in the Midnight Dome Excursion, but only day the excursion is being offered is on Aug 23rd, which is the same day we are supposed to do the Klondike Spirit. I have no time listed for the Klondike Spirit, so was wondering if it would interfere with the Midnight Dome Excursion?

According to the solar tables, sunset on August 23rd is at 10:02 PM, so it would seem if possible the later excursion would be best?:confused:

 

Ron,

I contacted our TA and found the flight from Anchorage to Seattle and our booking number. We also found out that HAL has a charter air plane from Whitehorse to Fairbanks. Nothing about Flight Ease. Are you using HAL to fly from your home to the start of the cruise? We are driving up to Seattle and back on our own so I am wondering if it does not apply to us?

Rick

 

Rick - We are flying self booked commercial (SWA) from Florida to Seattle. A HAL rep will meet us at SEATAC and get us to Hilton Airport Seattle Hotel for the first night.

 

Through HAL, We are booked on Alaska Airlines from Seattle to Anchorage, then on Air North (HAL'S Airline ?) from Fairbanks to Dawson City.

 

One note that has me concerned is regarding baggage from Fairbanks to Dawson City. "For guests traveling by air between Whitehorse and/or Dawson City, passengers are limited to 2 checked bags with a MAXIMUM COMBINED weight of 50 lbs and one carry on under 13 lbs." If we don't get to send one suitcase to the ship, that is going to be hard to maintain.

 

Ron

Last year we began in early June and we picked up the Volendam in Skagway on June 13. We did not do Seattle to Seattle. We did Anchorage to Vancouver. We have done the Yukon in June, July, and August.

 

Thanks again for your info. Our two inside passage cruises were in May, so was wondering how the weather in the Yukon will be in mid to late August?

 

We are fortunate to have a lady I went to High School with that is a park ranger in Denali. Not only will it be great to see her again (last time was graduation, 1964), but I am sure she will be a lot of help regarding what to do and where to go in Denali.

 

We are hoping since it will be late August that the animals will be out "chowing down" getting ready for hibernation/winter! Was the salmon run over by then (August)?

 

Appreciate you sharing your experiences!

 

How did you get flight info? That is the one thing that is a black hole for us. We did get a semi detailed itinerary for the land portion but nothing for days in which we fly in or out.

 

You might want to send HAL Guest Services an email regarding your flight info.

 

My TA is the one that provided it for me. The Web site is http://www.hollandflightease.com. However, you need a Flight Ease Confirmation code/PNR and password which was provided by HAL. Hope it works for you.

We are doing the same cruise as you are (R2C) but backwards with the cruise first and only 3 days on board on 6-29-16. We are finding little CC postings for these Land & Sea Cruises with HAL. There is no Roll Call for our cruise nor do I see one for your sailing date. We are doing research kind of blindly. We are researching restaurants located near our hotels so we don't waste time trying to decide where to eat. We decided not to use HALs meal plan since we think the vouchers might be for the restaurants in the hotels and we prefer to find locate eateries.

 

We have never been on the Volendam but it is similar to the Amsterdam, which we have sailed on twice to Alaska. We enjoyed the Amsterdam very much. We booked a guarantee cabin, so we are waiting to see what they will give us.

 

We understand HAL will take our "ship" clothes and forward them from Skagway to Anchorage. We fly back to Seattle from there. Not so sure about how they get to Anchorage, we are still researching that.

 

We are doing some HAL excursions on the land portion and after doing research we find the same private companies offer the same excursions as HAL for the same price. So we are going with HAL.

 

We are still trying to get approximated times we arrive and depart the towns we will be in. There is some gaps there on information that HAL is not providing. But we just need to be flexible. Packing is going to be challenging since the luggage will not always be accessible during traveling. Also we won't "unpack" while on the ship since we will be on board for only 3 days.

 

HAL puts out a pdf file of Land & Sea tour tips. Here is a link: https://www.hollandamerica.com/assets/cruise-destinations/Tour_Tips.pdf

 

Hope that gets you to the file? This file discusses the forwarding of "ship" clothes/luggage also.

I have to agree with you that information on the HAL cruise tours is few and far between and sketchy at the most. Like you, I have used the Alaska CC board and Trip Advisor extensively to research restaurants and even to see what the Westmark hotels look like providing a little insight as to what to expect. HAL guest services has told me to expect "standard" hotel rooms.

Did you receive a detailed itinerary from HAL? The one they sent me is a day to day offering and does indicate most times as far as arrival and departures however it is not all inclusive. I also have received flight itinerary "Flight Ease" for our flights from Seattle to Anchorage and from Fairbanks to Dawson City.

We also have opted not to use the meal voucher system. Too expensive and restrictive, and like you, hope to enjoy some of the local food! Looks like we will need to take out a small loan just for food though!

Thanks for the info on excursions. I really haven't even started to research any as of yet. But since HAL's are equivalent to independent tours, will probably make it a little easier in research!

I had downloaded the "Land and Sea Tour Tips" for 2015, but noticed a few changes to the 2016 version. Thanks for the heads up.

Best of luck to you and if I happen to uncover any "gems" between now and our tour will certainly post them here. Enjoy your cruise/tour!

We took this trip last year...our third to the Yukon.

 

 

Thank you so much for your wealth of information. What month did you take your tour? How was the wildlife? Were you on Volendam out of Skagway? We are so looking forward to this trip!

We are booked on HAL's Cruise Tour R2L: Seattle Gold Rush starting August

16th. Would like some insight from anyone who has previously taken this tour: Seattle, Anchorage, 3 nites Denali, Fairbanks, 2 nites Dawson City, Whitehorse, 2 nites Skagway, embark Volendam in Skagway for four days, arriving in Vancouver and bus back to Seattle.

I am specifically looking for any excursions you participated in during the land portion and any other info/pointers/good and bad situations you experienced. Specifically in Denali, (doing the Tundra Wilderness Tour through HAL), Dawson City and Skagway since we will be spending extra days at these locations. But any excursions would be appreciated.

I "understand" that we can send one of our bags to the ship from Anchorage. Is that still in effect?

Pro's and Con's for restaurants? I know a lot has been discussed on this board, but still interested in any other comments/recommendations you may have.

Also, if anyone is taking this cruise/tour with us, would love to hear from you!

Thanks in advance for any and all info!

I will also post this on the Alaska Board, but perhaps can gain some insight here. We are booked on HAL's Cruise Tour R2L: Seattle Gold Rush starting August 16th. Would like some insight from anyone who has previously taken this tour: Seattle, Anchorage, 3 nites Denali, Fairbanks, 2 nites Dawson City, Whitehorse, 2 nites Skagway, embark Volendam in Skagway for four days, arriving in Vancouver and bus back to Seattle.

I am specifically looking for any excursions you participated in during the land portion and any other info/pointers/good and bad situations you experienced. I "understand" that we can send one of our bags to the ship from Anchorage. Is that still in effect?

Our stateroom is 2561 on Volendam. Is anyone familiar with this stateroom? Also, would like info on Volendam. Only other HAL ship we have sailed on was the Ryndam two years ago.

I would also like to hear from anyone that is taking this cruise tour with us!

Thank you in advance for any info you can provide. BTW this will be our third trip to Alaska having completed two inside passages previously, and that is why we booked an ocean view this time.

Thanks so much for posting this information!

Just submitted my request to HAL for shareholders credit for August 2016 cruise. Was told by HAL that Carnival Corp has not yet authorized credit for bookings after July 31, 2016.

Has anyone seen/received the updated Shareholder Benefit letter extending shareholders credit OBC beyond July 31st, 2016.

Thanks

Got off Valor on Jan 21st. Shops were all open. Bought a very nice Invicta "Pro Dive" watch onboard. Price tag was $350. got it for $149. Came home and checked on Amazon.com --- Same exact watch was $89.95! Such a deal!:eek:

August 16, 2016 - Seattle Round Trip 16 Day cruise tour in Alaska, boarding MS Volendam in Skagway on August 27th for four day cruise returning to Vancouver, and bus trip back to Seattle.

We are booked on the R2L - Seattle to Seattle - Starting Aug 16th. We chose the later months hopefully being less crowded, plus, we have a friend that is a Park Ranger in Denali that suggested this time for the beautiful fall colors as well as the wildlife being most active in anticipation of winter. Here is our itinerary:

Aug 16 -Arrive Seattle stay at Hilton Airport Hotel

Aug 17 -Fly to Anchorage stay at Westmark Anchorage Hotel

Aug 18 - McKinley Explorer Domed Railroad to Denali NP

Aug 18-20 (3 Days) Stay in McKinley Chalet - Includes Tundra Wilderness Tour

Aug 21 -Motor Coach to Fairbanks - stay at Westmark Fairbanks - Includes tour to Gold Dredge #8 and panning for gold

Aug 22 - Fly from Fairbanks to Dawson City - Stay at Westmark Dawson City

Aug 22-23 - Dawson City (2 days) Includes trip on Klondike Spirit Stern Wheeler

Aug 24 - Motor Coach from Dawson City to Whitehorse - Lunch in Minto (big silver mine)

Aug 24 - Stay at Westmark Whitehorse

Aug 25 - Motor Coach to Fraser and board the White Pass Yukon Railroad to Skagway

Aug 25-26 (2 Days) - Stay at Westmark Skagway

Aug 27 - Board MS Volendam in Skagway

Aug 28 - Sail Glacier Bay

Aug 29 - Port call Ketchikan

Aug 30 - Cruise Inside Passage

Aug 31 - Arrive and debark in Vancouver with motor coach back to Seattle airport.

Once arriving in Seattle, all transfers and transportationand hotels are provided by Holland America. Meals other than specified are NOT included. Meal vouchers can be purchased, but very expensive and from what I have read, not really worth it.

Hope this helps