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Does it have cheese?

Since you seem to have chosen Princess as your cruise line you should get more information by asking on the Princess board. There are a lot of options and the easiest options for first timers are through the cruise lines. You may want to schedule your own flights but the cruise lines can do that, too. You could also talk to an experienced travel advisor like the Three A’s car insurance TA’s.

Plan the land tour for your family. You don’t need to travel with a large group. If you start in Vancouver you will learn a lot about Alaska as you sail north. Glacier Bay is a National Park with several glaciers and rangers will board your ship to narrate that day. Hubbard Glacier is a huge glacier and may have the option of a closer to the glacier small boat excursion. College Fjord is a fjord with several glaciers and wildlife sightings and will probably be available on Princess and Holland America. Skagway is a national park and gateway to the Yukon and Gold Rush history. There are a lot of good hikes in Skagway. Juneau is the seat of government and very scenic with possible small boat excursion to Tracy Arm (may have transfer from cruise ship option). Mt Roberts Tram has scenic views, Mendenhall Glacier will be crowded but opportunity for short hikes. Juneau is also boarding for floatplanes out to Taku Glacier Lodge for Salmon lunch. Ketchikan sign your group up for the Bering Sea Crab fisherman’s tour. Princess and Holland America have been in Alaska for many years and often get the best docking locations in Juneau and Ketchikan. Look online for Alaska visitor’s bureau information. There is a lot there. Rent a car and plan to drive but have your hotels booked in advance. TravelAlaska.com is helpful. Plan your car rental way in advance from a location in downtown Anchorage. Try to get rooms together so you can open the divider between your verandas to make a larger viewing area. For scenic viewing, the days are longest around the summer solstice in late June. Plan for all kinds of weather including rain. Bring good walking shoes. Layer your clothing with a water repellant outer layer.

unless you end up at the front of the ship with a very small balcony

Also, kids do tend to exaggerate situations before they laugh about them…..and with the of the children, this is their way of coping with the situation. They’ll have a great story to tell their friends.

This is a teachable moment for the children but it is an opportunity for the parents to talk about how to respond to the unexpected. Cruising is an adventure. The crew obviously waited until 8 a.m. I’d be excited to have a close-up view of the activity of the crew maintaining the ship. If the ship was sinking you would have heard the warning signals explained in the lifeboat drill. Were the kids educated about those procedures? Maybe that lesson was skipped now that we aren’t forced to line up on deck!

Beautiful day to watch a sail-in in Juneau!

Hotel accommodations are assigned at random taking into account your travel partners. (King, two queens, etc.). We’ve been on the same itineraries. You may be able to upgrade your Denali accommodations for a price.

Did your PCC contact you or did you find the cruise posted somewhere? We’re doing that 28 day Alaska in 2024. It showed up on HAL’s website with Mariner early booking perks.

We cruised Seabourn Odyssey in the Caribbean pre-Covid. I wasn’t impressed. The dining room service was slow for food, fast for filling your wine glass. I also didn’t care for the menu choices. The standard veranda stateroom was very large but the service was not up to HAL standards. The entertainment was good. Not the upscale experience i had expected. We sailed Azamara in New Zealand before the change of ownership. Loved it. Veranda rooms were small but service was good. Entertainment was good. Food service and choices were good. As a HAL cruiser I felt Azamara was a good fit for me. Seabourn was not. Azamara had a little coffee bar area with snacks that was wonderful, all included in the amenities offered by Azamara. HAL now has the Grand Dutch Cafe which is similar but much more crowded.

rafting is fun, hiking, the dog kennels, Jeff King’s Husky Homestead. The flight over Denali possibly including landing on the mountain would be a #1 choice for those who can afford the adventure.

I’ve done the Kenai Fjords once several years ago. I’ve done the 26 Glacier Cruise 3 times. The 26 Glacier Cruise was crowded every time and i’ve seen plenty of glaciers anyway. The Kenai Fjords was more interesting because of the variety of wildlife (including puffins) and the amazing scenery on a beautiful clear Alaska day.

Seattle is home for HAL on the West Coast. I’ve never heard of a California office.

There is more to do in Seward. The Kenai Fjords 6 hour tour is great. It’s easy to get around Seward. The Alyeska hotel is a lovely resort property with amazing views of Turnagain Arm. We stayed there a few years ago. Alyeska is best for those who have rented a car so that you can drive to see nearby attractions.

It will be somewhat cool and rougher seas sailing out of San Diego, getting warmer and smoother seas as you get closer to the islands, and the reverse is true on the return voyage. We sailed in February 2023. There were rough seas around Lahaina and we missed that tender port. The Captain reversed Lahaina and Kona hoping the seas would improve but didn’t. We tendered in Kona with no problem. Lahaina was substituted with an overnight in Hilo, giving us an extra day in Hilo which we enjoyed. The excursions group added excursions to Volcanos National Park for that second day. Warm rain has to be expected when you visit Hawaii and as I recall we had rain in Hilo when we visited Volcano’s Nat’l Park and a short rain in Honolulu during our nature hike. Be aware that with HIA excursions will fill up quickly so book in advance. Bring a poncho or light rain jacket.

In my experience HAL’s goal is to have the staterooms ready before bringing passengers onboard. That way you can take your carry-on’s to your stateroom before you go to the Lido/MDR for lunch. In Vancouver we had a 10:30 boarding/check in time but we had to sit with our group until rooms were ready and boarding began at 11:30.

You would enjoy your veranda while in port and watching the ship docking and at sailaway. The Rotterdam is a newer ship and has more venues and places to eat. You can enjoy being out and about on either ship while others are taking excursions. While in port neither will have much to offer except for discounts on spa treatments.

Do you prefer May or September? What are the the best things about a May cruise vs a September cruise? Thinking about the 14 day HAL Alaska cruise which is only offered for the shoulder season.

Your friends will love the salmon on the Hal’s menu every day. King salmon is excellent in the Pinnacle grill.. The Taku Glacier Lodge excursion includes lunch including salmon perfectly cooked outside on the grill.

Bering Sea Fisherman’s Tour in Ketchikan, Either Tracy Arm small ship excursion or Taku Glacier Lodge by dloat plane in Juneau, Skagway White Pass bus and train combo or better yet take the Bennett Lake excursion., Steve Kroschel’s animal rescue in Haines, Sitka sea otter excursion and the Fortress of the Bears/Raptor Center combo. Icy Strait is recommended for whale watching but we didn’t see any in May when we were there.

When we were in port we rented a car from the hotel Halsingland. If you look online their website indicates that they are the Avis rep in Haines. We walked up the hill to the hotel and they had cars available. We drove up the road into Canada (passports required) on a beautiful sunny day. We stopped along the road for lunch at the one place available. If you are looking for something to do you could see if Steve Kroschel’s animal rescue is open for tours. He’s a very colorful character. You may have seen him on Michelle Oakley’s Yukon Vet show on TV. She sometimes visits his place for medical treatments for his animals. I don’t think he does private tours. We visited as a ship tour. The Hammer Museum in town is unique for a short visit.

Alaska is all about adventure. Go on the excursion. Wear your rain gear.

Girdwood is a great place to stay at the Alyeska Resort. There is a lot to see and do in the Turnagain Arm area.

I wrote HAL a letter last year as they were in the process of resuming cruising and told them that their itineraries were boring. (Same every year) My suggestion was to mix up the ports so that northbound and southbound itineraries stopped at different ports. Glacier Bay/Hubbard Glacier and then there is College Fjord and Tracy Arm. Sitka/Skagway/Haines, Juneau/Ketchikan, Icy Strait, Whittier/Valdez, Kodiak/Homer, etc. With the loss of four ships a few years ago I understand that HAL’s port contracts and docking preferences need to be maintained for the ships that are now in Alaska. In other words, It’s more complicated than I thought. So, you’ve got a good idea with mixing HAL and Princess. I wish HAL and Princess were in Whittier on the same days, then it would be easy!