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Engaged at Glacier Bay with HAL and Thinking of Honeymooning in Alaska with HAL!

beautyandtheblanc

By beautyandtheblanc,
in Holland America Line

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beautyandtheblanc

beautyandtheblanc

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Hey everyone!!

 

We took a cruise via Holland America from Anchorage, Alaska to Vancouver at the end of June and we LOVED it! Most of all, because we got ENGAGED! My now fiance proposed to me outside, right after breakfast in Glacier Bay and it was beyond dreamy. The staff gave us free Prosecco, and we sat in the hot tub and looked at the mountains and glaciers for hours and then were given free cake and champagne at our dinner at Canaletto! It was a perfect day and really set the tone for the rest of our cruise.

 

Now that we've finally gotten into wedding planning, we (almost) have our hearts set on doing another Alaska cruise for our honeymoon in 2020. We loved how the attentive, friendly, and helpful the staff was and it felt like were at an all inclusive resort. Last time, we got an inside cabin as we were barely in the room and were more focused on just exploring the towns and we didn't really do any excursions. Since it would be for our honeymoon, we want to get a balcony or a suite and splurge on some excursions. For those not through the cruise line, we were thinking of putting things like "hike to Meddenhall Glacier - $95" (as the bus tickets there are $45 each) and "Sea Plane Ride in Ketchikan" and things like that as our "registy" as opposed to household gifts we really won't need and would rather have those experiences.

 

Do any of you have any advice for an Alaska-moon? I am all ears to any suggestions! Is Holland America the best cruise line for this type of cruise or would Princess or Celebrity be better? (We loved the ship and that there weren't a million passengers. We never had to wait in line for anything and the pools/hot tubs were never crowded.) We were briefly considering somewhere tropical but our honeymoon would be in August/September and that is hurricane season in the tropics and we live on Cape Cod so we have plenty of beach. We also thought returning to Alaska would bring things full circle :)

 

As I mentioned, I am open to any advice or suggestions and would love to hear about your experience if you honeymooned there!

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beautyandtheblanc

beautyandtheblanc

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Congratulations on getting engaged while in Glacier Bay.

I don't know which ship you were on.

You might consider the 14 day Alaskan cruise. The 2020 itineraries aren't out yet. But I can tell you that we did the 14 day cruise twice and loved it. It also goes to Kodiak, Homer, Anchorage.

 

Thank you!!! We were on the Rotterdam. We are considering a 14 day, but a lot of people who we met on the ship said the first portion is exhausting and that the train is hit or miss with people. Perhaps it was because they were older? We love trains and I really want to see Denali with my own eyes!

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TiogaCruiser "Live from...." Rare

TiogaCruiser

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Unless you do a back to back the dedicated 14 day cruise is round trip from Seattle. Denali would not be included.

You might consider a cruise tour that includes Denali, or do denali on your own.

 

If you are looking to hike on to Mendenhall, the trailhead is not at the visitor center, and unless something changed, there is no bus that goes there. We booked a day hike with Above and Beyond. It included a guide and all equipment and we hiked onto the glacier ( a few miles in). It was one of the best hikes we’ve done. Do make sure you have enough time in port to get back. We barely made it by 90 seconds to all aboard.:eek:

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Dancing Shoes

Dancing Shoes

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I think your idea is good. We just got back from a R/T on the same size ship. If you can handle an inside then an ocean view may be all that you need. While a balcony is nice, if you like being on deck or roaming around then you might want to put the money towards extra $$ excursions.

 

We are going back in 2020 too. I looked at Celebrity for the itinerary, but the ship holds more people. I felt very comfortable with HAL and what the ship offered. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.

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beautyandtheblanc

beautyandtheblanc

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In all honesty, while Alaska is nice, you might want to consider a different location for your honeymoon? Personally, if I had the option and was considering 14 days, I'd go to Europe.

Thank you! We don't really have any interest in travelling to Europe at the moment but maybe in the future :)

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beautyandtheblanc

beautyandtheblanc

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I think your idea is good. We just got back from a R/T on the same size ship. If you can handle an inside then an ocean view may be all that you need. While a balcony is nice, if you like being on deck or roaming around then you might want to put the money towards extra $$ excursions.

 

We are going back in 2020 too. I looked at Celebrity for the itinerary, but the ship holds more people. I felt very comfortable with HAL and what the ship offered. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage.

 

 

I guess that's true! Thanks for pointing that out. We were barely in our room at all for the whole 7 days. I think maybe one night we ordered room service and some movies instead of going to a show or for drinks, but other than that, we were only in there to shower and sleep!

 

Celebrity looked intriguing too, but as you said, HAL seemed to have just the right amount of people. It didn't take 40 minutes to get through the buffets or served in the dining room, getting on and off the ship was a breeze, and seating for shows were never, ever a problem. We also loved the views from the hot tub and the special things to do on the ship like the bar hop were super fun! Maybe we'll see you on our honeymoon!!! ;)

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beautyandtheblanc

beautyandtheblanc

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Unless you do a back to back the dedicated 14 day cruise is round trip from Seattle. Denali would not be included.

You might consider a cruise tour that includes Denali, or do denali on your own.

 

If you are looking to hike on to Mendenhall, the trailhead is not at the visitor center, and unless something changed, there is no bus that goes there. We booked a day hike with Above and Beyond. It included a guide and all equipment and we hiked onto the glacier ( a few miles in). It was one of the best hikes we’ve done. Do make sure you have enough time in port to get back. We barely made it by 90 seconds to all aboard.:eek:

 

 

Holy moly that's close! When we went in June, a lot of people said they took a blue bus out to the visitors center and walked some trails along there which is what we were thinking of doing. I head that actually hiking the glacier or taking a helicopter to the surface is AWESOME though!!

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beautyandtheblanc

beautyandtheblanc

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Thank you!!! We were on the Rotterdam. We are considering a 14 day, but a lot of people who we met on the ship said the first portion is exhausting and that the train is hit or miss with people. Perhaps it was because they were older? We love trains and I really want to see Denali with my own eyes!

 

Noordam :confused::confused::confused::confused: not rotterdam hehe

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Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

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Holy moly that's close! When we went in June, a lot of people said they took a blue bus out to the visitors center and walked some trails along there which is what we were thinking of doing. I head that actually hiking the glacier or taking a helicopter to the surface is AWESOME though!!

 

 

We have taken the Blue Bus a couple of times out to Mendenhall Glacier. Did our own walking around.

But walking on a glacier is even better.

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TiogaCruiser "Live from...." Rare

TiogaCruiser

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Holy moly that's close! When we went in June, a lot of people said they took a blue bus out to the visitors center and walked some trails along there which is what we were thinking of doing. I head that actually hiking the glacier or taking a helicopter to the surface is AWESOME though!!

 

Our first trip we did the trails from the Visitor Center. You simply don’t get that close nor that many views of the glacier from there. It’s more a nature trail. Except bears and carry NO food. Also consider that blue bus as you can decide how long to spend the if you go to that area.

 

The hike to and on the glacier is amazing. The water in the creeklets is Tidy Bowl blue. And if the is a muolon (sp?) nearby you will never forget it.

 

Yeh, it was close getting back. We were with another family and the lady had told her girls to get their packs on and RUN when we got to the gangway. She and I watched the seconds tick by. With concern. We got all green lights..... It turned out there were a few pax who were late and the ship stayed a bit longer to take care of that. But my goodness, we came way to close to having an imprint of the hatch on our seats. Or watching Amsterdam sail away.

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beautyandtheblanc

beautyandtheblanc

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If you decide to do an extended land tour and a cruise, I recommend that you do the land portion first. That way you get the longest flight over with and you have seven days to rest from the land tour before flying home.

 

That's a really good idea!! It helps that we made a list in June of all the places we wanted to visit next time we come back so it's exciting already having a general idea of what things we want to try in port this time around!!

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bjarrett7

bjarrett7

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Congratulations! We loved our Alaskan cruise on the Westerdam for our 30th anniversary! It’s the perfect size ship and the staff was amazing. We splurged and did a Signature Suite which I highly recommend... it was nice to have a balcony in Alaska. We’ve cruised Celebrity and Disney but find ourselves returning to HAL... mostly because of the intimate, laid back vibe. And the food!

 

 

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Dancing Shoes

Dancing Shoes

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Noordam :confused::confused::confused::confused: not rotterdam hehe

That makes more sense. Our ship was a R class less people than your S class ship.

 

So you found it not too crowed huh? The other ship I was looking at is the Celebrity Millennium. It holds about the same amount of passengers as the Noordam or Westerdam that sailes one way.

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mrspeck

mrspeck

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When my wife and I got married we honeymooned on the Eurdodam. We saved and splurged for a Pinnacle Suite (Penthouse at the time). It made for an unforgettable trip that that we will never be able to duplicate. For Alaska they are magnificent as you can sit in your private jacuzzi on your amazing balcony while you watch the beautiful scenery pass by. In Glacier Bay having the speakers on the balcony make it possible to hear the guide from your own private space. You can also order private course by course service in your private dining room. If it’s in the budget, it’s definitely something you’d never regret!

 

 

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mcrcruiser

mcrcruiser

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Congratulations on your engagement & your future marriage .

 

We have done Alaska 5 times . We feel that our best Alaska trip was the one we did on our own post cruise .

 

First there are 2 Alaska discount books for tours ,hotels ,food ie . Just google Alaska discount books .

 

We booked out own car with Costco travel & picked it up at the Anchorage airport . That was after we did a half day tour with a mini bus service from Anchorage ,who picks you up at the cruise port in Seward . The tour stops at the animal shelter ,where you get to see many of Alaska's animals . We stayed a couple of days in Anchorage & even went to the Anchorage zoo where we saw the wolves ( extremely elusive in the wild ) .We booked the Denali Lakeview INN which is a AAA 2 Diamond B&B & fabulous over looking lake Otto . The ATV place next door Rented the vehicles & we did a tour of the tundra ,fabulous . We booked out own Denali National Park tour & before the tour we watched a sled dog demo put on by park rangers . The tour was faulous with a lot of wild life viewing . We also drove to Fairbanks .A not to miss is the University of Alaska Fairbanks museum .

 

Recommend the if you are AAA members or join it . Then get the tour book from AAA so you don't miss the important things to see & do in Alaska .

 

On the cruise itself we booked many of our tours right off the ship at the piers . In some ports we decided to just walk around ,like Ketchikan & Juno . Lots to see by walking around these ports .Mendenhall glacier juno imo was a big disappointment .We have seen much better glaciers .

 

BTW the Alaska discount tour books will get you a lot of 2 for one tours & save you a ton of money ;as well as hotel discounts ie :D

 

We trust that you will be able to use the above hints successfully & have a fabulous honey moon :D

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