Alaska Cruise Tour

[Happy fool]

Has anyone done a Holland America Cruise tour? Any hints or recommendations? It looks like a good chance to see both land and sea in Alaska. 

[Crew News]

2 hours ago, Happy fool said:

Has anyone done a Holland America Cruise tour? Any hints or recommendations? It looks like a good chance to see both land and sea in Alaska. 

I have done a number of Alaska cruisetours.  Here is a link to HAL's cruisetour marketing info:  Alaska Cruise Tours 2024

[BaltimoreCruise]

We just returned home from a Cruise tour.  If you have any specific questions please feel free to reach out.

Anita

BaltimoreCruise

[LynKev]

We just did the 11-Day Triple Denali Tour with HAL - we did the land portion first, then the Southbound cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  This was our first trip to Alaska.  We had a wonderful time, and would love to go back.

 

We chose this itinerary as we did not want to go up as far as Fairbanks.  Our interest was in seeing nature and beautiful scenery.  I would definitely recommend the three nights at Denali National Park.  We enjoyed having two full days at the park - the first day we visited the sled dog kennels, visitor's center and did a hike in the afternoon.  The second day was the Tundra Wilderness Tour, which was excellent with another short hike in the afternoon.  

 

The following morning we were on the train ride from Denali to the cruise ship in Whittier.  The train ride was long (10 hrs), but enjoyable and relaxing.  This gave us a chance to rest after long travel days to get to Alaska and our two full days at Denali.  The train does get to port late, about 1-1/2 hours before the ship sets sail.  

 

We also wanted a cruise ship that went to Glacier Bay National Park and was a smaller ship, which is why we chose the Nieuw Amsterdam.  We enjoyed the ship - we had a balcony cabin on Deck 5, which is the largest of the three decks they open for scenic cruising in Glacier Bay. 

 

 

[RuthC]

I've done it once, but it was a long time ago, so I won't give any advice about something not current. 
My advice will still be current all these years later: do the land portion first. It is exhausting (worth it) with early mornings and long days. The cruise will be perfect for resting up.

[Happy fool]

Well, we are doing the cruise portion first. That will give us a chance to rest up from traveling from eastern USA. Any recommendations on restaurants on the land portion?  
 

I’m super excited about this, but feel I don’t have a great deal of information. We selected this because we had free airfare and my husband said he wanted to go to Alaska. Neither of us have ever been to Alaska. I wanted an itinerary that would allow us to see more that a cruise only itinerary would allow. 

[Happy fool]

Ruth C, I didn’t see your recommendation about land first before booking…don’t want you to think I was being flippant about cruise first. I figured that there are advantages to both. Like I said I’m super excited. 

[Hogladyrider]

On 6/7/2024 at 9:20 AM, Happy fool said:

Has anyone done a Holland America Cruise tour? Any hints or recommendations? It looks like a good chance to see both land and sea in Alaska. 

Check out You Tube lots of HAL cruise/tour videos available!

[Crew News]

7 minutes ago, Happy fool said:

Well, we are doing the cruise portion first. That will give us a chance to rest up from traveling from eastern USA. Any recommendations on restaurants on the land portion?  
 

I’m super excited about this, but feel I don’t have a great deal of information. We selected this because we had free airfare and my husband said he wanted to go to Alaska. Neither of us have ever been to Alaska. I wanted an itinerary that would allow us to see more that a cruise only itinerary would allow. 

Unlike most cruisetour passengers, I prefer the cruise first.  As a hobby photographer, my cruise portion is filled with early and long days ashore.  The land portion spends many hours just sitting (e.g, Seward to Denali bus 9 hours and Denali train to Anchorage 9 hours) and much less time on park excursions. 

 

The McKinley Resort has restaurants across the street from the check-in desk.  In the lodge area, there is a centrally locate Karsten's House restaurant that serves huge portions. It is within walking distance from the lodges or you can take the shuttle bus from one of the many bus stops.

 

 

Karten's House

 

Bus stop

 

 

 

[lyndarra]

13 hours ago, Happy fool said:

Well, we are doing the cruise portion first. That will give us a chance to rest up from traveling from eastern USA. Any recommendations on restaurants on the land portion?  
 

I’m super excited about this, but feel I don’t have a great deal of information. We selected this because we had free airfare and my husband said he wanted to go to Alaska. Neither of us have ever been to Alaska. I wanted an itinerary that would allow us to see more that a cruise only itinerary would allow. 

I have done two post cruise, Denali included, tours and each time I have gone to Cabin Nite dinner and show and had a ball. 

https://www.alaska.org/detail/cabin-nite-dinner-theatre

[Happy fool]

Thanks for the Cabin Nite recommendation. 

[LynKev]

As far as restaurants go, there is a shuttle bus that goes through both the McKinley Chalet Resort property and the Denali Princess Lodge.  We split our meals between the two resorts depending on what we felt like eating.  I will warn you that the food at the resorts is pricey (think $20 for a hamburger). 

[MarkieMarkNYC]

We are planning to do the 18-day Denali/Yukon Cruisetour next year. Does anyone know how far in advance a detailed itinerary is sent out?

 

[oaktreerb]

Love the longer Yukon itineraries.  We have done them more than once.  I recommend the longest available but there is a shorter tour that gives you an overnight in Skagway which is also very special.  You will have a tour guide with you and you will learn a lot about the Yukon and Alaska.  The tours are pretty well laid out on the HAL website and brochures.  There is a brochure also on the website that will show you all ALASKA/Yukon tours and what they include.  Dawson City is special and most have three days in Denali, most will include the gold dredge and riverboat in Fairbanks.  The longer you are in a destination the more you will get to experience.

[Minoushka]

I.m going soon looking forward to Dawson city too

 

[Btimmer]

In 2022 we took our 11 year old granddaughter on a cruise tour on the Noordam southbound (land first) and she and we loved it.  In 2023 we took her 10 year old brother on a northbound Noordam cruise tour (sea first) and he also loved it.  This year we are doing it alone on the Koningsdam to Skagway (3 days) and then the train and bus to Whitehorse and then Dawson City and Fairbanks with overnights in each.  In Fairbanks we're not doing the river cruise but only visiting the dredge (fine with us), and then we will do 2 nights at Denali including the tundra tour.  We like eating at the Princess Lodge but will stay at the HAL accommodations.  We'll take the dome car train to Anchorage, stay a couple of nights and then catch a shuttle to Whittier and take the Grand Princess on a 7 night return voyage to Vancouver with the customary stops in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan plus some glacier viewing. 

 

Alaska is a magical place to visit and it has the nickname "The Great Land" for a reason. 

[sambamama]

A cheaper option is a do it yourself version by booking an Alaskan land tour or just going place to place yourself. I'm doing a 20 night land tour that won't cost much more than some of the  3 - 4 day tour portions for 2 people. 

[Happy fool]

Okay, probably a dumb question. What about gratuities?  I’m guessing the regular daily gratuities when on board, but what about the land portion?

[SeaMatesNYC]

1 hour ago, Happy fool said:

Okay, probably a dumb question. What about gratuities?  I’m guessing the regular daily gratuities when on board, but what about the land portion?

From the 2024 Alaska Cruisetour Tips document:

 

GRATUITIES DURING YOUR CRUISETOUR
Because gratuity practices on land differ from those aboard the 
ship, many of our guests request guidelines on local standards. 
Gratuities are strictly up to the individual guest and should be based 
on the quality of service received. If you desire to offer an individual 
expression of your appreciation, you may use the following guidelines:
Transfers: US$1.00 per bag
Driver-Guides: Up to US$10.00 per day for full day of touring
Housekeeping: US$2.00 per room, per night
Food Service: 18 - 20% of pretax bill
Tour Director: US$10.00 per guest, per day
Rail Team: Up to US$10.00 per guest, per full day
Excursions: Discretionary gratuities are customary
PLEASE NOTE: All luggage-handling gratuities are included in your 
cruisetour for all hotels shown on the itinerary

[PROCRUISE]

You'll have a grand time. Actually did the land tour first and started in Fairbanks because we had met someone on a Viking river cruise, who lives in Fairbanks, and invited us to come early before the tour started. I actually was very impressed with Fairbanks. My favorite part of the land tour had to be the McKinley Explorer train ride!! The best train to take and HAL takes good care of you.

[crystalspin]

On 6/14/2024 at 2:57 PM, Happy fool said:

don’t want you to think I was being flippant about cruise first. I figured that there are advantages to both.

We did one-week Northbound cruise followed by two weeks of self-drive Alaska in 2009. My husband was a very busy (very pressured) family doctor with a side practice in geriatrics! The cruise-first let him relax before the fun of driving in the biggest but least populated state! Where a moose can and did cross the road right in front of you/us!

[Wehwalt]

At the McKinley resorts, if you don't feel like a sit-down meals, the vouchers are exchangeable for a dollar value of grab-and-go stuff. Ask. I gather your tour doesn't include Anchorage, but we had a very good time at the 49th State Brewing Company. It was a rather. busy place so check to see if you can reserve in advance.

Edited 8 hours ago by Wehwalt