pintail1

On 5/29/2023 at 8:06 PM, CruisingKT said:

We will be cruising from Whittier to Vancouver on the Nieuw Amsterdam.

I have booked the HAL Anchorage to Whittier bus. We will be staying in Anchorage the night before (not booked through HAL).

Can anyone please  tell me if we can catch the bus  in downtown Anchorage as that is where we will be staying or do we need to go out to the airport. I cannot find any information on the navigator app or on their web site. I will try and contact them, but we are traveling and and trying to call them is difficult.

Hoping someone can help. Thank you

Hopefully you were able to work this out. If so, can you tell me if there is overhead storage for carryons on the bus, or are we stuck with stowing it under the seat in front of us?

• In 2003, on our first ever cruise, the Zandaam deviated from its scheduled intinerary to make its way up Tracy Arm to the glacier. What a great experience that was. It was so tight in spots it seemed like you could almost reach and touch the walls! 

  The captain had to go north on the windward side of  Island to make up the time needed for that side trip, but the rough seas were well worth it. I don't know how long or how often the cruise lines did that, but it seems that only the excursion boats are visiting now. 

Is the difference in price( +$50 for the train) worth it? Comfort, speed, scenery better? Comments are appreciated.

We sailed on the Zaandam through the inside passage for our first ever cruise back in 2003. The size of the ship was very much to our liking. The ship's itinerary included a day of cruising into Tacy Arm, which was a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, I don't think any of HAL's ship make that diversion any longer, but you can book an excursion from all three of the ships you are considering. You will transfer from your vessel to a tour boat while underway just outside of Tracy Arm and rejoin the ship at the dock in Juneau. Whichever ship you choose, I would recommend you book that excursion- it was the highlight of our first cruise!

We have done two Alaska cruises in the past, both r/t Vancouver. In June we are sailing Anchorage to Vancouver on the Noordam. My wife is concerned about sea conditions between Whittier and Glacier Bay. Can anyone offer what they experienced on that leg?

I'm from Boston and have sailed Canada/NE many times, b-to-b, Boston to Montreal to Boston and never tire of that itinerary. It's a wonderful cruise and I plan to sail it again.

 

Thank you for links to the articles. Interesting.

What have been the sea conditions on your cruises? We would like to do a group cruise, but a few of our travelers have some motion sickness issues.

BB77, You might want to check out the reviews submitted recently for your ship- click on "Reviews" at the top of the page. It'll take you to them. They look pretty solid.

You won't have to change your passport to satisfy any governmental officials, but you know better than we do about satisfying unreasonable demands from your wife.

WHOGO- you funny, dude. Thanks to everyone else for their advice!

I failed to add my middle initial to my US passport application, but my driver's license does show it. My wife is adamant that I have it corrected before we depart for Vancouver on 7/25. She is certain it will cause probs when we arrive and return home. I'm thinking it's not going to be an issue. Can anyone offer advice on this?

I thank you both for welcoming me to CC and for your encouraging comments. We have 10 cruisers ranging from 11 to 70 years of age. The two kids are wired, even though my granddaughter is too cool to admit it. I've shared your website, Crews News, with all of them- you should be charging for those photos you've posted. It was very generous of you to share them with the rest of us. My wife and I did cruise the Inside Passage 12 years ago on the Zandaam and enjoyed it big time- with the group we have and the great folks we'll meet on board I'm sure we'll all have a wonderful cruise. I'll be sure to post after we return.

I have read and reread Crews News wonderful feedback on his May cruise on the Noordam. It appears he was well satisfied with his time on-board, which was very encouraging to me since I have persuaded 8 first time cruisers to join my wife and I on the July 25 cruise. Other than Crews News reports, little has been said about any subsequent cruises except for 2 very negative

reports from June cruises. Have things changed that much in one month?