Live report of Alaska Land/Sea tour, from Fairbanks to Vancouver

[endless travel]

How is the ship? Did you have Denali Dollars to use at the McKinley Chalet? Alwaysfrantic has posted some questions about how the Denali Dollars work. Hope you have smooth seas and clear skies! Thanks for the posts!

 

Ooop! Just saw your answer to alwaysfrantic on a different thread.

[davidpw97]

In Juneau today. Finally have a good internet connection.

Day 7: Embarkation

Weather in Seward was awful all day. We took the 1115 shuttle to the ship and stayed On board. Embarkation was quick and easy. Luggage arrived within 45 minutes. Beds weren't separated but that was taken care of quickly. We're In a 5th floor Verandah room. Rest of the day was spent exploring the ship. 6PM martini tasting, 7pm trivia, piano bar til closing.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for posting.

[davidpw97]

Day 8: At Sea

I signed up for an 830AM cycling class in the gym. 45 minute class for 12$. It was good but my legs have been sore ever since and now I remember why I don't do cycling classes. After class I spent sometime in the hot tub. At noon I participated in the polar bear plunge in the lido outdoor pool. I participated in a slot tournament, bingo, martini tasting and evening trivia. The main show tonight was called Happily Ever After, it was a musical featuring fairytales retold with more modern music. I enjoyed it but wouldn't call it outstanding or Broadway caliber. There have been many conversations recently about a lack of activities but I didn't find that to be the case. I found things to participate in every day and enjoyed all areas of nightly entertainment.

Edited June 2, 2017 by davidpw97

[davidpw97]

Day 9: Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay was beautiful and I spent a lot of time on deck today. They did have problems with the audio in the rooms on the TV. People watching from their balconies are supposed to be able to turn to a certain channel on the TV to hear the Park Ranger's commentary but it never worked. Spent the late afternoon napping, then martini tasting again, dinner, and trivia.

The show tonight was Tyler Bryce, singer/musical impressionist. They said he was a new act for this ship and he killed. By far the best show of the week. A very talented guy. Participated in movie music trivia tonight and finally came in first place .

Edited June 2, 2017 by davidpw97

[davidpw97]

Day 10: Haines

We didn't sign up for any excursions today. I personally didn't see anything that seemed of interest. I'm not quite sure why we spend so much time in Haines, a tiny town with very little to do, and so much less time in both Juneau and Ketchikan where there seems to be more going on. In my opinion 630AM to 830PM is too much time here. However we did get off the ship and wander around down. I shopped, went to the library for the Wi-Fi, the distillery, raptor museum and was back on board by 1pm. Took a nap and relaxed for a while. Lido for dinner, trivia, casino, piano bar then bed. Show tonight was a BBC nature show backed by musicians. I watched a few minutes and it looked decent but I know if I had stayed for the whole thing it probably would have put me to sleep.

[davidpw97]

Day 11: Juneau

We booked a whale watch/glacier/city tour today thru Viator on Juneau tours. They were great. The whale watch was fun and our captains Jordan and Jacob were fantastic. We saw plenty of whales and a few sea lions. Mendenhall Glacier was quite a sight but by this point I am glaciered out. Tour bus brought us back to the pier for the trolley tour. I skipped it and went up the tramway. The view up there is incredible and even though the day started out cloudy it was clear at the top of the mountain. I did the 1 mile trail loop and came back down. Did a little shopping and got back on board around 4pm. I wish we had more time in Juneau. There was a whale right outside the ship between the ship and the pier and it stayed for a while. I could also see whales in the Harbor as we sailed away. We had dinner tonight in Canaletto and it was amazing. The show tonight was a comedian, I skipped it but heard he was funny. Played more trivia tonight in both Northern lights and the piano bar.

[NCLovesTravel]

Really enjoying your reports! It's great to know what to expect when I'm there in August.

[jim80134]

Day 11: Juneau

We booked a whale watch/glacier/city tour today thru Viator on Juneau tours. They were great. The whale watch was fun and our captains Jordan and Jacob were fantastic. We saw plenty of whales and a few sea lions. Mendenhall Glacier was quite a sight but by this point I am glaciered out. Tour bus brought us back to the pier for the trolley tour. I skipped it and went up the tramway. The view up there is incredible and even though the day started out cloudy it was clear at the top of the mountain. I did the 1 mile trail loop and came back down. Did a little shopping and got back on board around 4pm. I wish we had more time in Juneau. There was a whale right outside the ship between the ship and the pier and it stayed for a while. I could also see whales in the Harbor as we sailed away. We had dinner tonight in Canaletto and it was amazing. The show tonight was a comedian, I skipped it but heard he was funny. Played more trivia tonight in both Northern lights and the piano bar.

Tell me more about the martini tasting![emoji2]

Really enjoying your reports! It's great to know what to expect when I'm there in August.

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Forums mobile app

[buttonsx6]

At McKinley Chalet now. Wi-Fi in public areas but not in the rooms. I am on Verizon and coverage is good here and has been good in most places with few exceptions. I did notice on the bus from Fairbanks to Denali there were areas of no service.

Thank you for all this great information. We are going on a very similar land/cruise tour on the Nordam in July.

[davidpw97]

Tell me more about the martini tasting![emoji2]

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Forums mobile app

 

There was a tasting Every night at 6pm at the Atrium bar. I went 4 of the nights I was on board and it was great fun. 4$ for 4 samplings. I was on a drink package and had a 50$ drink credit too. I'd recommend it.

[davidpw97]

Day 12: Ketchikan

I didn't have anything booked ahead of time today but it turned out to be an awesome day. We arrived nearly 2 hours early and yet again the weather was awful. It was cold and quite rainy. I got off the ship around 1045 and went to one of the tour booths on the pier. I booked a nature/city tour that included a ticket to Dolly's house for 60$, which was much less than what it sells for on board. We saw a lot of Eagles and went to an area around a Salmon hatchery that's known for bear sightings, but no bears. We drove around town, went to one of the Totem parks and ended at Dollys house. I skipped that and went back to the pier to find something else to do. I talked to a guy about booking a float plane ride to the fjords. Most float plane trips were cancelled today due to weather. But he said his was still on so myself and a couple others were taken by bus to the marina. We waited for about 15 minutes and the flight was called off due to high winds and they brought us back to the cruise dock. I hopped on the bus to downtown, shopped a little. Found a guy at another flight plane booth and told him what happened, he said if the weather cleared we could try again. My mother met up with me at the tour booth and we again went to the plane office/marina. This time the weather had cleared enough to take off but because it was later in the day the trip would be shorter so we could be back to the ship in time. It was an amazing experience and considering most float plane rides were cancelled today, I consider us quite lucky. Then it was back to the ship for dinner. After dinner it was more trivia, casino, piano bar.

[davidpw97]

Day 13: At Sea

Woke up for breakfast and then 10am jackpot bingo. After bingo I checked out the sales in the shops. I spent part of the afternoon packing and then more bingo at 4. Went to the Martini Tasting again tonight. Then dinner in the mdr. This was the only night we ate in the dining room. Service was slow, and I didn't see anything appetizing on the menu so I left my party and ate on Lido deck instead. 7pm trivia as usual, then wandered around a bit. Tonight there was 1 show at 930 instead of 8 and 10. It was a combo of the singer and comedian from earlier in the week. Great show. After the show it was piano bar til closing.

[davidpw97]

Day 14: Vancouver and final thoughts

 

We disembarked around 9AM. We didn't put our bags out and were able to get off ahead of when our color was called because we didn't have to wait for bags. Our flight out is 1120PM and I'm currently sitting in the Vancouver airport using their Wi-Fi. We booked a bus tour around Vancouver today. It was a 4 hour tour, hit all the main neighborhoods and sites of Vancouver. Looks like a fun city.

Final thoughts:

This is only my 2nd cruise ever and it had both good and bad. The scenery, Alaska is beautiful. The people; all fellow cruisers and crew members I interacted with were cool and friendly. Jeremy and Marshal, the cruise director and assistant cruise director were amazing and readily available to talk to and did a good job making sure people were having fun. Marshal especially was a great guy and did a superb job. He jumped in the pool for the polar plunge, hosted trivia every night, called the bingo games and DJ'd in Northern Lights every night. The food: the Lido deck had a great selection of food for all meals. I loved the salad bar and pasta bar. I also enjoyed a grilled chicken sandwich from the poolside grill. Meals at Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto were also good but if there's a next time I'll stick to the Lido for food. Nightly Entertainment: Most shows were good, Jeremy Oren in the piano bar was incredible and if HAL removes the piano bars from ships and replaces them with dueling pianos it would be a shame because a guy that talented shouldn't have to share the spotlight with anyone. BB kings club had 3 shows a night and the dance floor was always crowded. Northern lights was dead all week and I felt bad for Marshal having to sit there in the DJ booth all night with no one dancing. Based on this week's experience I can see why they have removed night clubs from most HAL ships. Activities: I found things to do every day but not at all times of day. I did spend a lot of time wandering aimlessly around. Overall I had a great time and loved Alaska and look forward to visiting again but on my own and not part of a tour. I'm happy to answer any questions or share pictures in private e-mails. I have most of my daily when and where's and can answer activity questions too.

[funntheson]

Thanks for sharing! We are taking the Northbound land & sea tour next month!

[endless travel]

davidpw97, it sounds like you really enjoyed your trip! There will always be some "good" and some "bad" and I've found it's all in the attitude I approach it with. Kudos to you! Thank you for the review.

 

Would you be able to scan and post the "When &Where" for each day? I would greatly appreciate it.