acct1975

Hi, Anyone know if they do behind the scene tours on NA or have those stopped completely?

thank you everyone for the perspective you're giving me. I've only cruised the Caribbean so this is a new experience. I want to be prepared but not overly so I'm packing things I don't need or buying things that are only useful this one trip where what I already have would suffice.

What kind of backpack. Is a waterproof/ water resistant one really necessary?

Taking my 1st Alaska cruise in July and seemed to have gone down the You Tube rabbit hole of information so I wanted to get some perspective from people who have cruised there before. How rainy is mid-July, truly? Is it a "cold rain" or just your standard summer sprinkle? Are water proof shoes essential? What's your go-to backpack to carry when out exploring the port?

I think they do

OP - my nephew also has a nut allergy and has been cruising since he was a year old (he's 8 now). Watching his parents navigate this has been an education but it has never stopped them from cruising. They do contact the cruise line in advance (prior posts have listed the forms and numbers you can call) and worked with food service and cruise staff on ship. The 1st thing my sister says to our waiter/waitress is that her son has a nut allergy. I have yet to see an issue though , full disclosure, this will be their 1st HAL cruise. From what I have read, HAL is very conscious of the health needs of those sailing with them so odds are there shouldn't be an issue as long as you communicate.

I saw this too. I'm open to fish options it's not showing on the HAL website yet though so I'm not sure about advanced booking

I'll be on the Neiuw Amsterdamn for a 7 day Alaskan cruise. I'm leaning towards Tamarind. I've done plenty of steakhouses and Tamarind sound so different. Though the Pinnacle would be a nice safe choice

thank you everyone! Gives me more time to decide what restaurant to choose 🙂

New to HAL. When do they open specialty dining online booking? Don't want to miss being able to get the day & time want. Thanks

Hi, I'll be sailing to Alaska in July and I know HAL has a grand tradition of afternoon tea in the MDR when going through the Inside Passage but has anyone ever had afternoon tea in their suite instead? If so, what was your experience? Did they give you the same 3 tier of finger snacks and tea as the MDR? Thanks in advance!

that's what I hear. fingers crossed we'll be able to 🙂

thanks everyone for your thoughts and experiences. We decided to fly into Seattle and take the train. It offers us the best flexibility and least stress all while giving us the chance to see Puget Sound out the window. It would be a long day but a worthwhile and unique experience!

I was seeing that too. I'm starting to consider that getting a hotel until flight time might be the only way to go. I did see a 1 stop flight (layover for 2h in Seattle) at 11am but I'm worried that cuts too close. There are also some Monday am flights but those layovers are much longer and I don't think really save us anything.

Our Jul 2024 cruise ends in Whittier and we would fly out of Anchorage. I'm trying to figure out logistics about what time to book a flight home (same day probably). How long is the commute from the port in Whittier to Anchorage? What are people suggestions for booking a flight home to Chicago? I don't want to book too early of a flight. If it has to be late, so be it, that's what hotels are for but I don't want to book and miss our flight because transport took longer that I thought. Thanks

Hi, I'm cruising in Jul 2024 and starting to plan flights. Flying in from the Midwest of the US with Husband &10 yr old and air travel cost to Vancouver is a little crazy. I can save some money by flying into Seattle but I don't know what the transport form Seattle to Vancouver would be like or if it's worth it (based on time and effort). Has anyone flown into Seattle and taken a bus etc to Vancouver? We will be flying in the day before so it's not time crunch issue more a logistical/financial thing I'd be most grateful for what your experience or thoughts were on doing this. Thanks in advance!!

I have not been on the Eurodamn but YouTube has some time cabin tours, one of which I've linked here, whgich can give you a good look at they cabin type you're sailing in and might get you your answers about the plug situation.

So I'm a bit of a planner and am already looking at excursions for my July 2024 cruise to Alaska on NA. I don't want to book too early or too late. Does anyone have experience as to how fast the excursions can book us? For reference, I'm looking at more culture excursions (ex Totem Bight State Park & Lumberjack Show) than adventure ones (Glacier tours). Thanks in advance

both you have a butler that covers a couple of villas and they will makes the rounds on you primarily on the patio but sometimes they do come and check on you at the beach chairs. At least that's my recollection.

It's more for a new cruiser in our party. I want them to have a full picture of the costs of a cruise. I LOVE to cruise but there are so many "hidden" costs (for lack of a better word) that I want to be sure, if asked, I have an accurate answer for them

Hi, Going an Alaskan cruise next year and wondered something when it comes to drinks on ship. We'll have a drink package so basically free bar but will we still have to pay local tax? On my last cruise, while docked in NYC before departure, we were billed the tax on drinks. Is this something I need to factor into my budget for every stop on a 7 day Alaskan cruise? Thanks in advance for all your insight!

They couldn't find the transfer listed under their "new" room number and had to look at the old number to see the transfer. That's why I think in this case it was due to the upgrade that the transfer was missed. As for the other things, you are correct they could happen with any trip and no upgrade but the point of my post was that with an upgrade you may see these and have your edocs printed and keeping a note of your old room number helps you and the staff navigate if any of these come up. I always feel having the more info the better.

We booked a Balcony and bid on a Club Balcony Suite. Not a huge jump but was worth a try

we won an upgrade for our grown kids (1st time cruise for them) and on the whole were pleased and excited for it to happen. There were a few hiccups though and I wanted to share those as a "buyer beware" of what could happen. For context we were on the JOY sailing to Bermuda 7/16-7/23. Luggage - we got notice of the change in time to reprint the luggage tags so the bags went to the correct room right away and we didn't have to go around searching for them Room set up - originally we had asked for separate beds and it wasn't set up that way at embarkation. We're accustomed to that so asking was something we were expecting to have to do so not an issue Excursion tickets - this is where the hiccups start. Of the 2 excursions we booked, they received 1 set and a set for another cruiser. We had to go the the shore excursion desk to turn on the one set and have the correct tickets re-printed. Very important to check your tickets as soon as you see them to make sure they are yours Disembarkation - we set up an airport transfer through NCL and when the tags etc were being passed out, they did not get anything. Luckily I'm pretty analog when it come to some things and I had them print off their full edocs which included the itinerary and showed a transfer to airport. All we needed to do was go to Guest Services and they looked it up, got the tags and items we'd need for the transfer. Luckily we checked early because trying to sort that out the day of disembarkation would have been a nightmare. They also did ask us the old cabin number which we didn't remember but wish I had handy. Takeaways - 1) if you get an upgrade, print your new edocs and keep them with you as proof just in case. 2) take note of your old cabin number in case there are issues (that's where your luggage could have ended up, tickets and transfers too) 3) check all your excursion info to be sure it is yours Happy cruising all!

we're set to sail in 19 days & super excited! it's mine, my DH & son's 2nd time in Bermuda but 1st time and 1st cruise for my adult step kids. How were the seas on the trip to/from the island? I worry with the rain and storm activity that the seas will be choppy and we might need some Dramamine especailly for our new cruisers.