Newbie to HAL questions/Alaska cruise advice

[fatcat04]

Hi all... me and hubbie booked my parents into the Oosterdam May 12th sailing Alaska Inside Passage 7 days cruise out and back to Seattle for their 50th anniversary and had a couple questions.

 

This will be their first cruise and we have very little cruise experience and none with HAL.

 

1) Onboard credits?? Can they be used to cover the cost of shore excursions booked through the ship? We had thought of giving them some onboard $$ for this.

 

2) The special restaurant.. we wanted to buy them a Special package that includes champagne, flowers, picture frame, and a ressie for 2 at the special restaurant. When is the best night to eat there in your opinion?? At sea/glacier cruising day or after one of their shore days?? They are going to Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria.

 

3) Drink card... they are not alcohol drinkers but do enjoy sodas. Is the soda beverage card a good deal and how does it work??

 

4) Shore excursion not to miss in Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria??

 

Any more thoughts on any other special things they can do or we can schedule for them.

 

Thanks :)

[jtl513]

1) If you book excursion in advance of sail day the OBCs cannot be used, because they are applied as a credit to your on-board account. They apply to anything that shows up there, so could be used if the excursions are booked once on-board.

 

2) I wouldn't book the Pinnacle on any day they would be getting back to the ship late and possibly tired. The first sea day, on the way to Juneau, would probably be good.

 

3) 20 sodas for $20.70 is a pretty good price if they drink enough sodas to use them all. The card is punched each time used.

 

4) Excursions depend somewhat on how athletic and/or adventuresome they are, and how much you/they are willing to spend. For example, would they be interested in helicopter or fixed-wing flightseeing? Or dog sledding? Or whale watching? Or sea kayaking? If they are not into or up to those kinds of things, in Juneau, for first timers, I'd suggest the Mendenhall Glacier and Salmon Bake combo ... as long as they like salmon! Also the Mt. Roberts Tramway.

 

In Ketchikan most people just walk along Creek Street and visit the shops etc. Also the Eagle Center is worth a visit. There's a cog railway tram there too for a view above the harbor.

 

In Sitka, I don't know. We had a rainy day there, so we just walked around. Visit the re-built Russian Church (I forget the name right now). There's also an interesting Russian cemetery there.

 

In Victoria as first timers they should see the Butchardt (sp?) Gardens if possible.

[Sailorgirlseattle]

What a generous gift! Are you and hubby going to go along on the trip?

 

I would definitely encourage them to book their excursions in advance, as Alaska is a very excursion-heavy itinerary and the good ones can sell out. If you want to, you can probably use YOUR credit card on the HAL web site to buy them an excursion, if that's what you want to do. Then they'll also be involved in choosing what they want to do, and where. Don't bother buying the Mt. Roberts tram excursion ... it's a tram that's constantly running and you can hop on it whenever you want to go up and down the mountain - it's pricey, but worth doing, but I wouldn't tie myself down to some random time by booking it in advance.

[fatcat04]

1) If you book excursion in advance of sail day the OBCs cannot be used, because they are applied as a credit to your on-board account. They apply to anything that shows up there, so could be used if the excursions are booked once on-board.

 

2) I wouldn't book the Pinnacle on any day they would be getting back to the ship late and possibly tired. The first sea day, on the way to Juneau, would probably be good.

 

3) 20 sodas for $20.70 is a pretty good price if they drink enough sodas to use them all. The card is punched each time used.

 

4) Excursions depend somewhat on how athletic and/or adventuresome they are, and how much you/they are willing to spend. For example, would they be interested in helicopter or fixed-wing flightseeing? Or dog sledding? Or whale watching? Or sea kayaking? If they are not into or up to those kinds of things, in Juneau, for first timers, I'd suggest the Mendenhall Glacier and Salmon Bake combo ... as long as they like salmon! Also the Mt. Roberts Tramway.

 

In Ketchikan most people just walk along Creek Street and visit the shops etc. Also the Eagle Center is worth a visit. There's a cog railway tram there too for a view above the harbor.

 

In Sitka, I don't know. We had a rainy day there, so we just walked around. Visit the re-built Russian Church (I forget the name right now). There's also an interesting Russian cemetery there.

 

In Victoria as first timers they should see the Butchardt (sp?) Gardens if possible.

 

Thanks for the info. They are not real athletic but very able to get up and go so I am looking non strenuous but fun things for them to do.

 

I saw the whale watching cruise/glacier visit/salmon bake excursion and that looked fun.. only my mom doesn't like salmon lol!! :o

 

I will pour over the excursion options and ask them about the soda package.

 

Thanks again!! :)

[fatcat04]

What a generous gift! Are you and hubby going to go along on the trip?

 

I would definitely encourage them to book their excursions in advance, as Alaska is a very excursion-heavy itinerary and the good ones can sell out. If you want to, you can probably use YOUR credit card on the HAL web site to buy them an excursion, if that's what you want to do. Then they'll also be involved in choosing what they want to do, and where. Don't bother buying the Mt. Roberts tram excursion ... it's a tram that's constantly running and you can hop on it whenever you want to go up and down the mountain - it's pricey, but worth doing, but I wouldn't tie myself down to some random time by booking it in advance.

 

Nope... this is a just them romantic getaway. Hey, 50 don't come around very often in this ole world and I am very thankful my mom and dad stuck it out. They deserve a good trip.

 

We booked them a balcony so they can hopefully enjoy the scenery as it rolls by. If they enjoy it maybe we all can book an Alaskan cruise next year.

 

Thanks for your advice about the excursions. I figured they might book up fast. :)

[Old As Dirt Mom]

......

I saw the whale watching cruise/glacier visit/salmon bake excursion and that looked fun.. only my mom doesn't like salmon lol!! :o

 

.... :)

 

Fat Cat, tell your mom she can get barbecued chicken and ribs at the salmon bake as well!!:)

[fatcat04]

Fat Cat, tell your mom she can get barbecued chicken and ribs at the salmon bake as well!!:)

 

Cool... I thought they might have other option for the non-salmon eaters. Dad loves salmon so it is right up his alley!!

 

Thanks for the info :)

[MercedMike]

Cool... I thought they might have other option for the non-salmon eaters. Dad loves salmon so it is right up his alley!!

 

Well, the salmon bake is sort of fun. However, last summer when we cruised to Alaska on the Zuiderdam they were having a "salmon festival" in the dining room, and each night offered salmon prepared a different way. It was interesting but a whole week of salmon would have been a lot!!