A few Alaska questions

[lovetotraveltx]

We are thinking of doing a HAL southbound from Alaska to Vancouver next June. Want to see Glacier Bay.

 

If you went:

 

Did you tour before your 7-night cruise?

 

If yes, did you rent a car and do it yourself or do a cruise tour?

 

If on your own: where did you rent/return car. What lodge for Denali?

 

Which Cruise Tour and why?

 

Which Ship and why?

 

Are suites worth it, or is balcony more than OK? (It is a special occasion)

 

Does anyone have 7-night Alaska menus they can post.

 

Thank you for all the help :)

[Kamloops50]

We are thinking of doing a HAL southbound from Alaska to Vancouver next June. Want to see Glacier Bay.

 

If you went:

 

Did you tour before your 7-night cruise? We always do a 14 day because it is cheaper for us.

 

If yes, did you rent a car and do it yourself or do a cruise tour? Yes you can do this but distances are fairly great and you'll have arrange your own hotels.

 

If on your own: where did you rent/return car. What lodge for Denali?

 

Which Cruise Tour and why?

 

Which Ship and why? On HAL all the ships are OK.

 

Are suites worth it, or is balcony more than OK? (It is a special occasion) Balcony is OK.

 

Does anyone have 7-night Alaska menus they can post.

 

Thank you for all the help :)

 

If you are in Seward give yourself a day to explorer the area . Glacier bay and Hubbard Glacier is also a great place to see. Personally I would chose a cruise that doesn't stop in Haines . Skagway is the preferred stop.

[Krazy Kruizers]

One time we did arrive in Anchorage 4 days before the cruise -- just used buses to get around.

Then took the train down to Seward. We didn't have enough time on that run to tour Seward (did it on a couple of other Alaskan cruises).

Check out the information on the Alaskan board here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

[luvteaching]

Good morning,

 

Have you looked at the 2-week itinerary out of Seattle? You get some different ports and have the advantage of the ship for 2 weeks. If Vancouver is a must for you this won't work. You do get at least 2 glacier viewings - Hubbard and one other. Something to think about!

 

Karen

[Alberta Quilter]

My first cruise was a three day cruise from Vancouver to Skagway, and then an 8 day land tour with HAL. We did not know enough back then to choose the ship. I'm not sure I would do the land tour after the cruise again, either.

 

The reason we chose a three day cruise is because I am prone to motion sickness and wanted to find out if I could even cruise at all. We chose the 8 day land tour that went into the Yukon so that I could see a part of my country that I wouldn't ordinarily see.

 

I have now been on many cruises, and am about to go back to Alaska for the fourth time. I love it there! Yukon was lovely, too.

 

As for DIY or a cruise tour, that will depend on you. Are you the type of person who loves to plan everything, and are okay to drive long distances (because they are long driving days!)? Or do you want to be taken care of and are okay to pay for being taken care of?

 

We chose to be taken care of. We were told what times to be ready to leave - still had long days in motor coaches. But we were well taken care of. We never had to worry about anything more than not being late in the morning. We did have free time most days, for poking about in the shops or getting something to eat. We had some fun things to do on the tour, some additional options (for a fee) were available. We never had to worry about finding a place to stay or driving ourselves on unknown roads. We could sleep along the way or watch for wildlife. We took boats, dome car trains as well as the motor coach. We had both a dedicated driver and guide.

 

As for balcony or a suite, again, it depends on you and your needs. I have had a balcony in Alaska; it is very nice. However, with a balcony, you only see one side of the view. In Alaska, you will likely want to get out on open decks to see the view all around you. It is simply amazing. In a suite, you will get extra space and perks but will pay quite a bit more. You can always get suite-like perks by purchasing a suite amenities package, or even just purchase the unlimited laundry package.

 

If your party is only two, then I would save the money on the stateroom, and book the excursions, or land tour, of your choice to make it a truly memorable cruise!

 

Hope that helps!

[agabbymama]

I did a similar cruisetour to Alberta Quilter, with only 3 days on the ship, disembarking in Skagway for an 8 day land tour. I only had 10 days off work, so was limited in which cruisetour we could do. HAL doesn't offer this tour anymore, have read here that they fly you from/to Fairbanks now instead of the coach ride.

 

There was myself and my husband, husband's male single friend, and husband's single sister. Started looking at renting a motorhome, husband's friend announced he sleeps in the nude :eek:, changed to a van with B&B overnights. After months of trying to find places to stay and destinations to see with the two gals sharing a room and the two guys sharing a room, I started looking at various cruisetours. The independent would have saved us about $50 pp, so I announced to the group that we would be doing the HAL Yukon 11-Day Cruisetour, if they wanted to accompany us, they could.

 

I love coach tours (not everyone does), tell me where to be and what time to be there, I'll let the bus driver and tour director worry about the traffic, driving, schlepping the luggage and I'll sit back and enjoy the scenery. They have traveled the area and know what there is of interest. They were long days of driving, we usually left the hotel around 8:00 am and arrived into the next overnight hotel around 5:30-6:30 pm. Very few stops for lunch (so have snacks available if you are a big eater).

 

There are only two things I would change if I were to go again. I would plan the trip with 2 night stays at each overnight location, and I would purchase the meal voucher plan. We were always ready to eat as soon as we hit the hotels at night, not search for local restaurants for an hour or more. And most of the 80 folks on our trip just walked into the hotel restaurant and handed the meal vouchers to the waiters.

 

Be careful of that 14 day from Seattle. I had looked at that for this year, but I was afraid there would be too much open sea sailing. If you know you don't suffer seasickness, the itinerary does sound wonderful with lots of small ports.

 

I usually like to start a graph chart before any vacation. I list the cruiselines/ships across the top (they can vary in itinerary) then the things that are important to me (size of ship, cost, cabin type, ports, time in ports, excursions, etc) down the side. As you research, put an "X" in the conjoining box. As you near the end of your research, one should have more x's than the others.

 

Have a great trip, whatever you decide to do.

Edited February 10, 2014 by agabbymama

[SilvertoGold]

You have a choice of the Oosterdam or Statendam. I would go for Oosterdam, newer, more spacious, large lounges, outstanding dining room. The balconies are much better priced, too, than the Statendam's.

 

Super cruise, although we do the north and southbounds as Collectors, a cruise tour is a great way to go as well!

Edited February 10, 2014 by SilvertoGold

[travelinjones]

If you take one of the Classic Denali cruise tours starting in Fairbanks, it will probably be cheaper than renting a car and visiting Denali on your own as summer hotels in Alaska can be quite expensive.

 

These tours start with the Gold Rush and Pipeline history in Fairbanks, then transport you to Denali, with two nights to enjoy the park, followed by the Domed-Rail car to Anchorage for an overnight, then to Seward to sail on the cruise.

 

If you do rent a car in Anchorage, you will save big bucks if you rent it downtown rather than at the airport as there is a high tax on rental cars at the airport.

[lovetotraveltx]

Thank you everyone.

 

Does anyone have HAL alaska menus they can share?

[PatsyAnne]

HAL has a fun little show they take around called something like On Stage Alaska. In our city it was hosted by our travel agent. The HAL website might have a link to dates to see if one will be in your area. They had a good handout with a map and representatives to answer questions.

 

If you go on your own, you might consider taking the train when you can, and just renting a car where you need it. We were in Seward with our RV last summer, and really enjoyed a tour of Kenai Fjords, but I'm a sucker for puffins and sea otters.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[JerseyJaguar]

I toured on my own before taking a southbound cruise without renting a car.

 

I flew to Barrow for a night (really a 24 hour day) at the Artic ocean where I did a lot of bird watching and took a tour out to the very northern tip of the USA.

 

I flew from there to Fairbanks for a few nights, then took the train to Denali for a few nights at a lodge behind the Salmon Bake (which is across the street from the Princess lodges), they picked me up at the train and took me to Denali visitor center to catch the bus that takes you into park where I saw lots of wildlife. I was able to walk home from there where I came close to a moose.

 

I took the train from there to Anchorage where I spent a few days, taking the train for a day trip and then taking the train a day early to Seward to enjoy the sights there.

 

Setting all that up took some time, but it gave me the freedom to doing everything I wanted to.

 

When I got to Vancouver I also spent a night there before heading home. All together I was gone for three weeks and it was a wonderful trip.

[serendipity1499]

I toured on my own before taking a southbound cruise without renting a car.

 

SNIP

 

[font="Verdana"Like Jersey Jaguar we took a southbound cruise..

 

In 2008 we flew to Anchorage & booked a tour with one of HAL's well-known tour operators..

 

The best way was for us to take this tour at the beginning of our trip as it's go go all the time..We rested up on the ship southbound..

 

We flew to Anchorage & over-knighted there..The group's Bus Driver, Richard, (who worked for HAL) picked us up in Anchorage & our group went to Talkeetna, Fairbanks for two days, Denali for two days, train from Denali to Anchorage & Seward..He was one of the best drivers in the fleet..We boarded the Veendam from Seward to Vancouver & stayed two days in Vancouver before flying home..

 

I posted a review of our land tour on this thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=21313417&posted=1#post21313417

 

We stayed in an outside cabin & spent most of our days out on deck.. IMO that is the way to go as then you have more cash to spend on other things..

 

Betty

 

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