No problem, glad to help!

Another consideration to have is that some sensitive sites have limits on the number of visitors that can go there, so the possibility of adding more tour groups on a given day might be nil!  For example, the Mendenhall glacier has commercial tour limits. 

https://www.juneauempire.com/news/unprecedented-visitors-at-mendenhall-glacier-rapidly-outpacing-allowed-capacity/

I recently cancelled an excursion to book a different one, and the shore excursion credit adjusted automatically. You can make changes online until 4 days prior to the cruise; after that, you must do it on board.

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Coffee cream is notoriously difficult to get on ships. In dining rooms and room service, we now order heavy cream, and always get it. They seem to know what that is. You can always thin it down, but you can't fatten the other stuff up! 

3 hours ago, RD64 said:

It is the same with the details for the Mariner benefits - there are a few things that need to be updated on that list. For example, it has been many, many years since ai received a photograph of the ship.

Sorry you missed getting your ship photos! They aren't delivered to your room anymore, but I always get one, free for the asking, at the Photo Services desk. Sometimes there is even a choice of different shots.

I see that somebody in IT can pay attention to spelling, so I have to wonder why the coders are so careless with basic search functions!! Oh, oh ..403 bad request...

(ps do you guys get the same photo in the ad?)

This is how it appears in Canada:

In 2022 we did a short ship tour (1.5 hrs) with HAL, called Gold Panning Adventure, out of Juneau. It took us to Gold Creek at Last Chance Basin. It was about a 20 minute ride to get there. It's the only one we've found so far where you can pan right in the water rather than from a trough. The guide was fun and the place was a beautiful spot. It is difficult to find a DYI spot that is close enough to get to easily, especially with little ones. I think this tour might suit your purpose and the kids would enjoy it. You even get a gold claim certificate and a tiny glass vial with your gold flakes in it!

We're on a 14 day Alaska cruise next May 26, so not much before yours. There are 2 stops in Skagway. 

If this is the tour you are after, then I can tell you that on our sailing that the first date is sold out, and the second has 3 spots left...first date we are in port until 8 pm and second one is 9 pm. 

Too funny! If you're talking about the Experience the Yukon and Suspension Bridge tour, that's the one I recently reviewed! We took a similar private one the year before, and the ship one was just as good, just a bigger bus. We will do it again next year. We find it is good value for everything you get to see. Plus the Yukon is the one place we can use our own currency on this cruise, and we like the shops there.

I've been hoping for more timely excursion reviews for a couple of tours on our Alaska itinerary next spring. When I logged in to our booking today, the shore excursion descriptions had a new look to them and there were many new reviews! (I wrote one last month for our cruise this past June and it is there now, so at least I know they are truly recent). Not sure about other itineraries, but if you have been looking for something in particular, it might be updated now.

I am so happy to see so many food suggestions, thank you for your recollections. And I am quite prepared to take an Italian's opinion on pasta dishes!

6 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

Let the debate begin. I'm firmly in the don't order lobster roll from Pinnacle Grill camp.

That's okay, sorry yours wasn't great. Mine was good; unfortunately, dish quality can vary from ship to ship. The good news is your cruise is in the right place for seafood, so I hope something ashore will be terrific!

19 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

Well, I bless who ever came up with the idea! love a good lobster roll, especially when it's heavy on the claw meat. (At the risk of furthering drift 🙄 and starting a debate, I'm in the mayo camp)

I really enjoyed the lobster roll I had on KDam Alaska cruise; it was in Pinnacle Grill for lunch. That said, if you are doing an Atlantic Canada/US cruise, there is no reason to get lobster on the ship..virtually every port will have it! And so good, especially if you find a casual place that uses sea water to cook them..come to think of it, the ships could cook them in sea water- they have an unlimited supply of sea water!!😁

A few more questions!

- You've mentioned elsewhere how good the berries with goat cheese was, and also the sambal with orange peppers! Any other favourites that stand out?

- Any treats of note at the Explorations Cafe?

- Did you try any excursions? How were they?

Thank you - sounds alright to me for a relaxing day!

As a former Maritimer, I can say that you will find lobster, lobster rolls, lobster mac n cheese, etc etc in PEI..!!

I am curious to know more about Whittier! We will be doing a 14 day collector on Noordam and have all day in Whittier. Not really interested in the lengthy glacier excursion and hoped to find enough places to visit in town. I know it is a small place, but so far I've jotted down a restaurant and a gift shop/ fudge/ candy place. Any suggestions? Just a good place to wander?

Not sure how this will translate to your cruise, but the  Taste Bar on Koningsdam held regular tastings. A few photos of the signage:

A gift that HAL gives made of the Dutch Delft porcelain that illustrates the ship you are on. 

Hmmm, that's odd, mine shows all kinds of spa services. I guess it is just a waiting game.!

What date & ship? We are May 26 Noordam, and I have booked several excursions, then today the one missing port opened up. Spa has also been available. Mind you there are times when nothing has been "available", but that is due to the problems with the website! I found that with excursions, start with the "Manage my booking" screen, and ONLY use the "book my excursions" tab that shows UNDER the "xxx days to sailing" line. It should bring up the sideways rolling itinerary. That works. The other links to book excursions did not work for me.

400, Bad Request is another common one. Also, just a blank white screen! Let's hope somebody is working on this; don't they want to sell cruises? 

I find the icon for the new app kind of strange - what on earth does the atom symbol have to do with HAL?? It seems a little dicey to me. It doesn't work anyway so I uninstalled it!🙃