Btimmer's Almost Live Triple Denali and Southbound Cruise (6/28-7/10/22)

[Btimmer]

After 6 months of waiting, scares about the cruise being cancelled, contracting & recovered from Covid, tomorrow morning we're flying to Fairbanks a day early before we start our triple Denali land tour with our 11 year old granddaughter who is anxious to do her first cruise.  We even booked a balcony cabin on the port side so we could enjoy the view of Alaska from our stateroom (and not get the granddaughter feeling claustrophobic on her first cruise).  She's especially interested in the wildlife. 

 

We'll do our pre-cruise Covid testing in Fairbanks tomorrow using tele-medicine before joining the land tour on Tuesday.  As is my custom, I'll be posting pictures and commentary in this thread.  We are especially keen on sailing on the Noordam which is our second to last HAL ship we've not sailed on before.  One of our last views of the Noordam was when it was rusting while moored at Puerto Vallarta in September, 2021.  It did look much nicer in Skagway in May, 2022 when we visited that port using the Quantum of the Seas.

 

I realize there have been a number of Alaska cruise / tour posts this season, but I'd like to add my Almost Live spin on the tour/cruise experience.  The weather forecast looks spectacular, so here's hoping Denali is in full view.  I'll also do my customary day by day blog posting and I'll post a link when that's set up.

 

Feel free to ask any questions about the tour and the ship and the ports.  Depending upon internet connections, I'll try to respond promptly.

[Taters]

I hope you enjoy Fairbanks!  The sun is up 24/7 right now.  It doesn't get much better than that.😊

[VMax1700]

Enjoy your cruise & tour.

After recently trying for the first time to post from the ship, I have nothing but admiration for those who do it each time they cruise.

[Sea42]

Safe travels! I look forward to hearing about your experiences and your granddaughter's impressions of her first cruise.

[Alphen]

10 hours ago, Btimmer said:

After 6 months of waiting, scares about the cruise being cancelled, contracting & recovered from Covid, tomorrow morning we're flying to Fairbanks a day early before we start our triple Denali land tour with our 11 year old granddaughter who is anxious to do her first cruise.  We even booked a balcony cabin on the port side so we could enjoy the view of Alaska from our stateroom (and not get the granddaughter feeling claustrophobic on her first cruise).  She's especially interested in the wildlife. 

 

We'll do our pre-cruise Covid testing in Fairbanks tomorrow using tele-medicine before joining the land tour on Tuesday.  As is my custom, I'll be posting pictures and commentary in this thread.  We are especially keen on sailing on the Noordam which is our second to last HAL ship we've not sailed on before.  One of our last views of the Noordam was when it was rusting while moored at Puerto Vallarta in September, 2021.  It did look much nicer in Skagway in May, 2022 when we visited that port using the Quantum of the Seas.

 

I realize there have been a number of Alaska cruise / tour posts this season, but I'd like to add my Almost Live spin on the tour/cruise experience.  The weather forecast looks spectacular, so here's hoping Denali is in full view.  I'll also do my customary day by day blog posting and I'll post a link when that's set up.

 

Feel free to ask any questions about the tour and the ship and the ports.  Depending upon internet connections, I'll try to respond promptly.

Safe and happy travels, indeed, since I sort of got the ball rolling, suddenly more reviews and or reports of land tours are appearing, which is a good thing.

 

Before this, there was not a lot to be found on CC and I know that we were not the only ones that had lots of questions regarding the land tours of HAL. The more info, the better, so other people can decide if they also want to take on an Alaskan Land and cruise tour with HAL, or just enjoy the posting of the day to day review(s) here.

[Alphen]

3 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Enjoy your cruise & tour.

After recently trying for the first time to post from the ship, I have nothing but admiration for those who do it each time they cruise.

We have not posted our land and cruise tour with ships internet, but used our own travel router in Alaska, which was an experiment, but worked like a charm, will certainly use it on upcoming travels.

[travelnap]

Look forward to your posts.  I have always enjoyed your travel log.  Have a great trip.

[cruzingnut]

Post away!  For me, there is no such thing as too many blogs....a lot of us are living vicariously through you wonderful people that are sharing your trips.  I'm def following!  Have a safe and fun trip/cruise.

 

Linda R.

[RSWBADGER]

Safe travels we will be in Vancouver for the July 10th northbound on the Noordam.

[Btimmer]

And we're off.  The weather forecast looks terrific.

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Have a great cruise.

[Mtn2Sea]

Looking forward to your photos.  Hope you have a great trip!

[GrandmaOhio]

14 hours ago, Alphen said:

Safe and happy travels, indeed, since I sort of got the ball rolling, suddenly more reviews and or reports of land tours are appearing, which is a good thing.

 

Before this, there was not a lot to be found on CC and I know that we were not the only ones that had lots of questions regarding the land tours of HAL. The more info, the better, so other people can decide if they also want to take on an Alaskan Land and cruise tour with HAL, or just enjoy the posting of the day to day review(s) here.

We just returned from our Alaskan land/cruise tour yesterday.  I highly recommend it!  The Westmark Hotels in Fairbanks and Anchorage left a lot to be desired, but the McKinley Chalet was lovely.  Don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have!

 

Btimmer have a wonderful time!  You’re in for a treat!

[Btimmer]

18 minutes ago, GrandmaOhio said:

We just returned from our Alaskan land/cruise tour yesterday.  I highly recommend it!  The Westmark Hotels in Fairbanks and Anchorage left a lot to be desired, but the McKinley Chalet was lovely.  Don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have!

 

Btimmer have a wonderful time!  You’re in for a treat!

We actually are enjoying the Westmark in Fairbanks.  The staff is super friendly and they graciously and with a smile allowed us to check in a day early.  
 

i have a long report that I'll post later tonight after we finish our Covid-19 testing.  Did they ever ask you for your pre-landtour Covid test?

[Btimmer]

Fairbanks - Day -1

After arriving in Fairbanks on a hazy day due to some lightning strike caused fires, we deplaned and headed for the baggage claim area.  We were greeted there by friendly HAL/Princess representatives.  I explained that we were a day early, and they didn't have our materials ready for us.  They would be available at the hotel tomorrow.  The agent then arranged for us to check into the Westmark hotel 24 hours early which was a tremendous help.

 

We gathered our luggage and boarded the motor coach along with another guest.  We had just left the airport when the bus was called back and two more passengers were loaded on.  They were dropped off at the Princess Hotel which is quite near the airport.  Our driver then dropped us off at the Westmark where we received room keys at 1pm from a very friendly desk clerk and we deposited our luggage in the room. Normal check in time is 3pm.

 

It was really quite smokey and wearing a KN95 mask really helped as we ventured out walking north to the park along the Chena River.  We visited the Antler Arch and a number of memorial monuments in the park before heading into downtown in search of some lunch.  Across the street from the Golden Eye Plaza was a little restaurant called the Fudge Stop.  It looked appealing, so we ordered lunch and weren't disappointed.

 

After lunch we continued wandering through downtown using a street a couple of blocks to the west of Noble Street.  Along the way we encountered a GIANT rubber ducky along with a Veteran's Memorial.  It was in the 80's and quite humid as we reached the Westmark Hotel.  Back in the room we cooled off before heading back out in search of pizza for dinner.  We found it at Sicily's Pizza a couple blocks south of the hotel.  It was good and way more than we could finish, so we brought it back to the room to store in the refrigerator.  

 

I scheduled three Covid-19 tests with Total Testing Solutions.  They proctor the Antigen tests using covid test kits I obtained from the US Government.  They also have an option to sell you a test kit for $7.50 each if one doesn't have access to an authorized kit.  They have a wide range of test kits that are acceptable and those are listed on their website.  In the past we've used Emed.com, but these tests are $19 each compared to $30 for the Emed tests.  When I logged onto the session using my iPhone and a portable tripod, Angelica, our proctor, conducted all of three of the tests simultaneously which was an efficient way to do it.  We all tested negatively so we are good to go on the land trip from a testing standpoint.  Results were sent to us in PDF firm as well as links. 

 

Tomorrow we'll explore more of downtown Fairbanks and visit a couple of museums and do some shopping. We're really glad we came in a day early as it really helps with getting familiar with the area and start off our trip in a more relaxed state of mind and body. Some granddaughter smiles tells it all!

 

Below are a few pictures from today.  
 

I use Pocket Earth for tracking our activities.  It was recommended by Ian Page our Cruise Director while on an Asian cruise some years ago.  We really like using it all over the world and once the maps are downloaded, no internet is required.  

 

Turkey & Provelone on Potato Bread

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2022 by Btimmer

[GrandmaOhio]

11 hours ago, Btimmer said:

We actually are enjoying the Westmark in Fairbanks.  The staff is super friendly and they graciously and with a smile allowed us to check in a day early.  
 

i have a long report that I'll post later tonight after we finish our Covid-19 testing.  Did they ever ask you for your pre-landtour Covid test?

Interesting you should ask about Covid testing.  We received an email from HAL telling us we needed documented proof of negative Covid tests upon arrival in Fairbanks.  I asked at the HAL desk and was told that corporate sent out the emails but did not set up a system for reviewing or logging results, so they weren’t interested in seeing anything.

[bcummin]

Beautiful smiling granddaughter.  Lucky girl.  Is she the same granddaughter who went to China with you a few years ago?

The balcony room will be a treat for all of you..

Enjoy this special journey together.

Barbara 

[J&Dhighdesert]

Thanks for tip about Pocket Earth.  Are you still doing your reports on your phone?  Looking forward to your narrative.

Jo
 

[willoL]

Oh no, is she drinking beer with that salad? 😆

 

Just kidding because I'm pretty sure that's *root* beer. And one of my kids has always loved nothing more than swigging from a bottle while impersonating a drunk pirate. Good luck getting mine to eat a salad, though. You must have a superlative granddaughter.

 

I hope you guys have a wonderful time! See if you can talk your granddaughter into contributing thoughts from a kid. That would add a fresh perspective. (Again, not that my darling punks want to do this when I ask them, but yours eats salad, so maybe...)

[Btimmer]

2 hours ago, J&Dhighdesert said:

Thanks for tip about Pocket Earth.  Are you still doing your reports on your phone?  Looking forward to your narrative.

Jo
 

Yup, still tapping away the reports on my iPhone.

 

We visited the cultural museum and the granddaughter report was, "That was cool!" There are all sorts of interactive exhibits.

 

 

We're now enjoying a Costco dog for lunch along with pizza for the GD.

 

The GD has logged 6,822 steps so far today while I'm at only 4,576 steps or just a little over 2 miles.

 

Fun times!

[Btimmer]

3 hours ago, bcummin said:

Beautiful smiling granddaughter.  Lucky girl.  Is she the same granddaughter who went to China with you a few years ago?

The balcony room will be a treat for all of you..

Enjoy this special journey together.

Barbara 

This GD is our youngest.  Having a great time.

[Btimmer]

25 minutes ago, willoL said:

Oh no, is she drinking beer with that salad? 😆

 

Just kidding because I'm pretty sure that's *root* beer. And one of my kids has always loved nothing more than swigging from a bottle while impersonating a drunk pirate. Good luck getting mine to eat a salad, though. You must have a superlative granddaughter.

 

I hope you guys have a wonderful time! See if you can talk your granddaughter into contributing thoughts from a kid. That would add a fresh perspective. (Again, not that my darling punks want to do this when I ask them, but yours eats salad, so maybe...)

I'll add her comments from time to time.  
 

Yes it was root beer, and she loved the salad.  Pizza seems to be her favorite so far.

[Btimmer]

BTW, it's super smokey here in Fairbanks today.  All 3 of us are getting congested and wearing a KN95 mask really helps reduce the pungent smell.

[Taters]

1 hour ago, Btimmer said:

BTW, it's super smokey here in Fairbanks today.  All 3 of us are getting congested and wearing a KN95 mask really helps reduce the pungent smell.

Yes, it IS smoky in Fairbanks today.  In fact, I haven't seen it this smoky in years.  I took a couple of pics on my way from my office downtown at 1 PM to home.  It's disgusting out here today.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better for you guys, and for all of the rest of us, too!

 

[tundra1]

I would love to hear the perspective from your granddaughter from time to time.  My grandson (9) is coming with us in August.  He has traveled quite a bit, and loves learning about new places, people and cultures... plus he is a bit of a foodie.  He would have been right there with a salad of his own!