A couple HAL Alaskan cruisetour questions

We are going to Alaska for the 1st time in June on the Zaandam. We have been on Caribbean trips before and always booked excursions through the cruise line. Mainly because we were afraid if we went with an independent, we may not make it back in time or we may not make it off the ship in time to start. We will be at Seward, Glacier Bay, Haines, Juneau, and Ketchikan. If I remember correctly

What is you opinions on this? If you prefer independent excursions, where do you even begin to search? I know you can save money this way, but is it worth the worry?

The next question is about the tour part of the trip. We have the option of getting a meal plan. We will be in Fairbanks, Denali, Talkeetna, and Anchorage. I know ALL meals aren't included. Opinions on this as well, please.

Thank you! I'm sure I will be needing more answers, but this is a start

**I originally had this in the general questions, then realized it should be here. I wasn't able to remove the other one, so if you saw this before, that's why.

We rarely book excursions from the ship unless it’s impossible to do the excursion independent. You certainly need to watch your time although there is a lot of competition between tour operators and any bad reviews about not getting folks back to the ship on time would ruin a business. It may have happened but I’ve not heard of anyone not getting back to the ship on time after an independent tour.

Operators are well aware of the ship arrival/departure times and will schedule independent excursions appropriately.

If we are unfamiliar with ports we start researching excursions on the cruise line website finding things of interest to us. We’ll then begin looking for operators with a simple web search, also checking reviews on sites like Tripadvisor. Of course, Cruise Critic is a gem for help as well.

There can be some cost savings but not always. The advantage of booking independent can be much smaller groups of just a few people and frequently seeing more in less time. Ship excursions can be busloads of people and you’re always waiting on the slowest person.

We are going to Alaska for the 1st time in June on the Zaandam. We have been on Caribbean trips before and always booked excursions through the cruise line. Mainly because we were afraid if we went with an independent, we may not make it back in time or we may not make it off the ship in time to start. We will be at Seward, Glacier Bay, Haines, Juneau, and Ketchikan. If I remember correctly

What is you opinions on this? If you prefer independent excursions, where do you even begin to search? I know you can save money this way, but is it worth the worry?

The next question is about the tour part of the trip. We have the option of getting a meal plan. We will be in Fairbanks, Denali, Talkeetna, and Anchorage. I know ALL meals aren't included. Opinions on this as well, please.

 

Thank you! I'm sure I will be needing more answers, but this is a start

 

**I originally had this in the general questions, then realized it should be here. I wasn't able to remove the other one, so if you saw this before, that's why.

Are you now,Ok with booking independent? You FIRST have to choose your tours- take a look at your shore excursion list and narrow your interests, THEN find independent vendors, IF that is how you wish to book. there are plenty of recommendations on this board for long standing excellent vendors- be mindful of FIRST hand reports. There are also some people who jump in with mentions- who have not even been on the tours. :)

What is the cost of the meal plan and exactly which meals does it include? Normally HAL will let you substitute a meal for their dinner theater for a small upcharge. They usually also let you use meal vouchers for something from the coffee shop if you will be missing a meal due to something like the Tundra Wilderness Tour. Sometimes the meal plan is OK financially if you tend to eat all the meals and don't want to go off-property. Sometimes the meal plan is not a great deal if you don't eat too much and/or if you don't mind going off-property.