Alaska cruisetour #6 questions??

[chloes nana]

I have also posted this question to my existing thread on the ALaska ports of call, but wanted to see if I can get someone who has done a HAL cruisetour to please explain to me how this all works?? We are assigned a tour guide, and they stay with us the whole way on the land part? We are doing a 10 day land and 5 day cruisetour. Do they deal with all the problems that may arise?? Are we always with the same group of people?

 

I just need someone to give me the basics on how it all comes together. When will we receive all of our info from HAL regarding what to do and where to go, per se?? How are the hotels that HAL uses? Is it possible to get a double room instead of a single room? :confused::confused:

 

Any help and alot of patience would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance!

[buffy4454]

My DH and I did a 6 day land and then 7 day cruise cruisetour with HAL last summer. We met our tourdirector the night before the trip started and we received a big packet of info. The next AM we were put into 2 groups which both did the same thing just different tourdirectors. We were group 22A and 22B. We would be on different buses but arrive at the same time everywhere we went.

 

It was a great trip and we really enjoyed not having to think about our transportation as it was all pre planned. We are not tourgroup people and I usually book all of our tranportation independantly so this was a big change.

 

I don't exactly understand your question but I hope I helped explain how it worked for us.

[sparky-elpaso]

I have also posted this question to my existing thread on the ALaska ports of call, but wanted to see if I can get someone who has done a HAL cruisetour to please explain to me how this all works?? We are assigned a tour guide, and they stay with us the whole way on the land part? Yes, your tour guide is with you the whole way, handles absolutely everything. Hands you your room key when you get to a hotel, etc.

 

We are doing a 10 day land and 5 day cruisetour. Do they deal with all the problems that may arise?? Everything on the land portion is arranged beforehand so hopefully there wouldn't be any problems.

 

Are we always with the same group of people? Yes

 

I just need someone to give me the basics on how it all comes together. When will we receive all of our info from HAL regarding what to do and where to go, per se?? When you land at where the tour starts you will be in their hands from then on - just sit back and relax.

 

How are the hotels that HAL uses? Is it possible to get a double room instead of a single room? :confused::confused: Don't know the answer to this one. Check the HAL website - they may have more details there.

 

Any help and alot of patience would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance!

 

While I haven't been on a HAL cruise tour we went on one with RCI and I imagine they all work pretty much the same way.

 

We got off the plane in Fairbanks, found the guy with the RCI sign, he told us where to go to check in, we did, the gal there told us where to go to check our bags in, and the bus was waiting outside. From then on, we didn't have to do a thing except follow directions. We had a great guide and bus driver and a very nice bunch of other folks on our tour. We had a ball.

 

You're going to love Alaska - the scenery is just breathtaking.

 

For an idea of what you might see along the way:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparky46/sets/72157622755361677/

[chloes nana]

that helps alot. So the bulk of your info you don't get until the day you arrive? Also how many people are in each group? Are the groups smaller or larger I guess, is what I am asking.

Also we are going to Anchorage a couple days early, can we just meet the HAL rep at the airport? Do we keep our carry on with us all the time, on the bus\train at all times or are they stored with your luggage?

[sparky-elpaso]

that helps alot. So the bulk of your info you don't get until the day you arrive? Also how many people are in each group? Are the groups smaller or larger I guess, is what I am asking.

 

Also we are going to Anchorage a couple days early, can we just meet the HAL rep at the airport? Do we keep our carry on with us all the time, on the bus\train at all times or are they stored with your luggage?

 

The HAL website should give you a good description of the day to day activities on the land portion of the tour - I didn't look at it in detail so I don't know. The number of people just depends on how many have booked the trip. We had a full bus - 52 people. Our tour guide said we were the best group she'd had all summer. It was a very nice group.

 

I don't know about getting to Anchorage early - you may have to get a cab or something to the hotel. You should be able to find out which hotel and make reservation there for the first days so you wouldn't have to move.

 

The way the luggage worked on our tour was:

 

We had 2 regular bags. One for the land tour clothes and the other for clothes for the cruise. The cruise one was tagged and we never saw it again until we got to the ship. The other and our carry ons went with us every day. We would put the bags in the hall of the hotel for pickup in the morning and they would magically appear in our room at the next hotel. The bus goes from hotel to hotel even if you're going by train, etc. The 2 legs of our trip by train were amazing - RCI / Celebrity, Princess, and HAL all have their own private train cars. I think there were 2 RCI, 2 or 3 Princess, and 2 HAL cars on our train.

 

The cruise lines have this kind of travel down to a science. I think the only snag we had was a delay in the train travel between Denali and Talkeetna - we sat for about an hour and a half because the RR was doing a safety test on a portion of track. Brianna (our tour guide) kept us entertained with some games and I didn't hear anyone complaining. Just one of those things. It did mean that about 4 or 5 bus loads of guests arrived at the lodge at the same time - and everyone was hungry! But I still didn't hear any real complaints about having to wait for a table (2 restaurants) - everyone seemed to understand.

[roly]

HAL mostly uses Westmark for the motels. Other than Fairbanks and Anchorage the units we stayed in were more like nice motel units. When you go in remote areas such as Tok and Dawson City do not expect 5 star units. I do not know if you can request double units but I doubt it. The tour director stays with you even on the bus and will take care of anything that comes up. Your group size is about what will fit on the bus and a tour director is on each bus. The buses are very nice with lots of room on them. They are very good with moving people and their luggage. Relax and enjoy the trip just don't go in with expectations that all are 5 star hotels. I would suggest that a small carry on be used to carry any critical items. Roly

[roly]

I forgot to add you will get the list of places where you will be staying at with the cruise docs about a month before you go. You can then look them up.

Roly

[chloes nana]

HAL mostly uses Westmark for the motels. Other than Fairbanks and Anchorage the units we stayed in were more like nice motel units. When you go in remote areas such as Tok and Dawson City do not expect 5 star units. I do not know if you can request double units but I doubt it. The tour director stays with you even on the bus and will take care of anything that comes up. Your group size is about what will fit on the bus and a tour director is on each bus. The buses are very nice with lots of room on them. They are very good with moving people and their luggage. Relax and enjoy the trip just don't go in with expectations that all are 5 star hotels. I would suggest that a small carry on be used to carry any critical items. Roly

thanks for the info. I am not a 5 star hotel type person anyway. ;) I would rather put my money into tours and cruises than into a hotel room.:D So that won't be a problem at all. So does your carry on also go with the suitcase then? Or are you responsible for it yourself? SUggestions on how folks handled this would be great, as far as meds, netbook, etc.

[roly]

Most people took a small bag or small back pack to carry meds etc. When you are on the land portion if you change the number of bags Hal will be handling for you tell the tour guide as they keep very careful track of the bags and a total count is one of their checks. The drivers are with their bus or it is locked while they are eating etc. My cruise portion was first so it was a little different. You will most likely be at the Westmark in Whitehorse, Dawson City, and Tok . At Denali, Fairbanks,and Anchorage they use several different places. I would think the Westmark in Skagway also but this is where my tour began. Dress the same as Colorado as you know it can vary but it will not be any colder. Dress in layers and a water/wind resistant outer layer. Roly

[roly]

I read you post in Alaska forum and Agabbymama covered it very nice. Yes if you mean two beds for a double, that was normal, I thought you meant two rooms. Just for your info I did not do any flightseeing, but wished I did. If it is in your budget go for it. Roly

[chloes nana]

Most people took a small bag or small back pack to carry meds etc. When you are on the land portion if you change the number of bags Hal will be handling for you tell the tour guide as they keep very careful track of the bags and a total count is one of their checks. The drivers are with their bus or it is locked while they are eating etc. My cruise portion was first so it was a little different. You will most likely be at the Westmark in Whitehorse, Dawson City, and Tok . At Denali, Fairbanks,and Anchorage they use several different places. I would think the Westmark in Skagway also but this is where my tour began. Dress the same as Colorado as you know it can vary but it will not be any colder. Dress in layers and a water/wind resistant outer layer. Roly

thank you roly! a backpack it is and the rest in the suitcase. I am a native Coloradoan so the weather is not an issue for me. I love all the seasons, and you are right Colorado can change on a dime!