oaktreerb

Someone on the Roll Call will probably coordinate with ship staff to organize a Meet and Mingle. If your title referenced Zuiderdam and Canada/New England you would probably get a response. Maybe the moderator could change the title or you could start a new thread.

Best to purchase the ticket the same day that the ship is in port. The view from the top is amazing on a clear day. Not so good on a rainy, foggy day.

If you Lived Here !’d Know your Name, great book. I found it onboard our 21 day Maasdam EXC cruise a few years ago. I wish all the Alaska itineraries offered books by local authors now that the libraries are back!

The McKinley Chalet resort has a variety of accommodations from two room cabin structures, to more modern multistory hotel, to an upsell for the newest family type hotel. The Chalets are a Holland America property with busses running all day and evening long through the property to pick up passengers to transport them to the upper level entry or Karstens central dining, shops, and community area. It’s kind of like a camp atmosphere. You can walk to all venues if you prefer. You should be able to find a description on the HAL website. We have always just been assigned to a room/cabin. No choice unless you choose the upsell. On the bus you will be given your room key and dropped of at your accommodations when you arrive. There is no check in necessary. Your luggage will be delivered to your room. A short walk from the Chalets is the Denali Princess Lodge which has a lovely and scenic entry area and offers places to shop and eat. I have walked the property, shopped and had breakfast and dinner there but have not stayed at the lodge. Princess and HAL work together (both owned by Carnival) so they coordinate some transportation services and guest services. There is a free bus that runs between the lodges and to the Denali National Park headquarters all day long. The Chalets are probably the most Alaskan, especially if you stay in the cabins. HAL bought the cabins from the National Park Service years ago and has expanded the campus through the years.

I was fortunate to meet Captain Albert aboard ship and enjoyed his lecture. I’m glad his blog will continue and he’ll carry on as a Holland America historian in retirement. I’ll miss his reports of cruising from the Captain’s viewpoint! I remember one report of sailing south from Alaska through the inside passage and the seas were so rough that he sailed inside the Canadian islands and sailed past Bella Bella. That is not on a HAL itinerary. So, Bella Bella was added to my bucket list and was fulfilled when we sailed south from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy on the very modern BC ferry system.

People are still seeing bears, moose, etc. on the shortened TWT. I’ve taken the Natural History Tour and enjoyed it on a very rainy day (and saw 2 moose close up on the road and some ptarmigan). The dog kennels are open. The park headquarters is still offering programs and hikes. You can still take sightseeing flights.

You may not want to go to Talkeetna. The lodge is way out of town. Best to choose more time in Denali National Park. You need two nights in Denali. The train between Anchorage and Denali is nice, the bus is best between Denali and Fairbanks.

Not really, and you would need passports to cross the border into the Yukon. You could also rent a car. Download Murray’s Guide online if you drive. You could stop along the way. Bus/train combo gives you more variety than just train and the bus will probably stop along the way.

Walking around town and shopping is best done at Creek Street in Ketchikan. Tongass Shops are good for browsing. Look for products made in Alaska. Towns will be crowded with many ships in port. Best to get out of town and see Alaska for most of your port days.

Tracy Arm small boat excursion like Adventure Bound. On a clear day the tram in Juneau is great for amazing views of the area, if you have time. Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s tour in Ketchikan is great. Kenai Fjords out of Seward (6 hour tour) is much better than the 26 Glacier Tour which I have done 3 times and it never comes close to the beauty of Kenai Fjords. Icy Straight has a lot of options beyond whale watching. We did whale watching there and didn’t see any whales although I know it is supposed to be great. It depends on the conditions. Juneau is also good for whale watching and you may see some on the Adventure Bound Tracy Arm tour. You can do the train/bus combo in Skagway. You can also rent a car and drive to Emerald Lake. Download Murray’s Guide if you drive. You can take some ranger tours and get a hiking guide at the visitor center and set out on your own adventure. The Chilkoot trail hike and raft excursion is fun. Alaska is a fun adventure whatever you choose to do. You can’t do it all in one trip!

We sometimes have a salad made for us at the salad bar in the Lido, grab a roll and butter and napkin wrapped silverware and take it all back to our stateroom. The room stewards will remove your dishes when they clean the room. Just leave the dishes on the table when you go out.

@skrufyMain Dining Room fixed dining can be assigned at booking. Otherwise unless something changes you might be able to make reservations onboard. Specialty dining can be made online (Pinnacle, Canaletto, etc) when it shows up for your booking (like excursions)…..maybe specialty dining is not available for booking yet for your 2024 cruise.

Fortunately I still have my 3/2020 to 3/2021 Cruise Atlas which is handy for deck plans. Somewhat outdated but handy for stateroom selection. If HAL ever produces a new Cruise Atlas I hope they will print it out for us so we can pick it up onboard.

The meal plan is expensive. If you don’t choose the meal plan, for breakfast at Denali you can choose the cheaper continental (including fruit and oatmeal) or more expensive full breakfast. Continental is plenty of food and both are served buffet style at Karstens on the McKinley Chalets campus. There are other options nearby for lunch and dinner. The food on the train is excellent and not terribly expensive. A fun experience eating in the dining car. The Westmark hotel in Anchorage is located near many excellent places to eat. The Fairbanks Westmark serves a nice breakfast buffet and pretty good food choices in the bar for lunch or dinner. There are places to eat nearby but not as convenient as Anchorage.

Looks like Volendam lost it’s berth to the smaller Seabourn ship. Wish we had a camera person.

The dock locations I printed on February 27th shows Seabourn Odyssey tendering and Volendam at CT dock. Maybe the Odyssey will move before the Volendam arrives. It’s miserable tendering in Juneau when it’s raining.

I think you would enjoy a Neptune Suite with the special perks, especially for a longer cruise. Just make sure there are staterooms above yours and you are not under the Lido or pool.

A Neptune Suite will get you free laundry. Otherwise, you can purchase the laundry package or pay per bag. The Neptune Suite also includes priority tendering so you don’t have to pick up a tender ticket (just get in the tender line when you are ready to go ashore). You will also have access to the Neptune Lounge which will provide a concierge, free coffee and snacks throughout most of the day. The Have it All package includes drinks and wifi for all levels of staterooms. Which ship are you considering?

Internal staircase for crew. It will not be a noisy area. 7122 should be a great room. It has staterooms above and below and is not a connecting room. You can see the layout of similar staterooms on halfacts.com. You will enjoy the scenic trip down Turnagain Arm to Seward. Have a great cruise.

The curtains are blackout shades. Bring a couple of clips to clip the shades together where they overlap. Also bring a sleep mask just in case. We recently sailed on a ship that had nightlights along the floor that would light up when there was movement (like a bathroom trip). I love the long daylight hours on Alaska cruises, but like you need total darkness in order to maintain sleep.

Your experience defines why I wrote to HAL and told them their Alaska itineraries were boring. Sail north from Vancouver and south to Vancouver will repeat ports, entertainment, and food. At least there is an option for a true 14 day itinerary in shoulder season….which HAL should repeat all season for those who love Alaska. I can imagine the Caribbean would be worse. At least in Alaska the weather and scenery is constantly changing. The Caribbean is the Caribbean. A 21 day itinerary should have no repeating ports ….and some kind of destination related programming in food and activities.

We have priority boarding anyway. We like the smaller Club Orange dining room on the Pinnacle ships. The other ships just offer a priority line for faster seating in the main dining room, and an extra entree….and a more inclusive room service menu…..and fresh orange juice at breakfast. The priority line at guest relations is a time saver. There can be a significant savings on the stateroom upgrade and being able to choose your stateroom. You also get a nicer robe for use on the cruise and a CO bag with a zipper. A special CO experience seems to have been forgotten, although it is still promoted, and a telephone concierge line which is (?).

I don’t understand why HAL now only books these 14 day cruises during shoulder season. The 14 day itineraries have previously been very popular throughout the Alaska cruise season. Fortunately the 28 day Summer Solstice cruise sails in June/July 2024. Prior to Covid we could enjoy the 14 day itinerary in June with better weather. Just before the Covid shutdown HAL offered a 21 day itinerary which began in May. We got lots of rainy weather on that one but I would do it again! I hope you have a great cruise. Thanks for all the HAL information you gather for the rest of us.

In San Diego you will give the luggage people your luggage and get in the lineup outside the building which will eventually move into the building. You may have to show paperwork proving you are priority. The line snakes around inside the building until it reaches a point where it separates 4/5* and priority and you take the priority option and proceed to check in and security. Once you have completed that process if the ship is boarding you can board, otherwise you may be directed to the seating area for your boarding time. Once the ship begins boarding you can go onboard if you are priority. Priority Tendering means that you don’t need a tender ticket. You can get in line for the tenders when you are ready to go ashore. Just show your Club Orange stateroom key.

What was the aft cabin # so I can avoid it? I like Deck 4 closer to the aft elevator and stairs.