HAL Meal Plan vs. on your own

[namaste859]

I have signed up for a Y1T Yukon cruisetour and I'm thinking about adding the meal plan with it. From what I've read, the days are long and it may not be easy to find a place to eat when we arrive in town exhausted and hungry. Also, my husband hates standing in lines when he's hungry...heck, any time! But, it is a lot of money and I'm not sure about the experience.

 

Has anyone done the meal plan? If so, what is your opinion? What was the food like? Would you do it again? Is it enough food that you could buy one and split it between you (most of the time)?

 

If you didn't do the meal plan, do you wish that you had? How hard was it to find food after a long day of "driving"?

[nrbrandt]

I'm not doing it cause I can't figure out where on HAL's webpage to sign up for it!

[namaste859]

Interesting. You may have to call them. I booked through them, so I have someone that I work with.

[nrbrandt]

Yeah, I'm guessing a call would solve it. We're doing Y6T. The plan is $259 for 5 Breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 3 Dinners. $28.70/meal. I know meals will be more expensive up there, but I'm going to take my chances, it'll be part of the adventure. I asked this question earlier this spring and I think most people who responded said they were happy they took the plan as they usually ended up eating in the hotels anyway.

[agabbymama]

Yep, as nrbrandt says, some of us that didn't purchase the meal plan did indeed ended up eating in the hotel restaurant anyway.

 

We had 40 on our coach and a second coach with another 40. We would arrive into town between 5:30 and 6:30, and without a real lunch, were starving for dinner. At Whitehorse, we walked for about 4 blocks around the hotel. One restaurant was closed up tight. One had a two hour wait. We finally settled on a Subway and paid $23 for a sandwich, soup and drink.

 

After that, we started just going to the hotel restaurant and usually dinner was $28. Food was good. Sometimes there were short lines, as the hotels know when the tour buses are coming in and are geared for the crowd.

 

Even at the tours end, we ate at the Hilton in Anchorage as buffet breakfast was $14.99 and we couldn't see trying to find someplace else when it was convenient to eat where we were staying.

 

Not many lunches provided or stops to get lunch, so take snacks and be prepared. Good breakfast & good dinner had to do for us.

 

If I were to go again, I would purchase the meal plan just for the convenience if nothing else.

[namaste859]

FYI, I was told my HAL rep that, even if we didn't get the meal plan before we left, that we could sign up for it when we got there.

 

I was thinking about getting just one plan and sharing meals with my husband, supplementing when necessary. She told me that if they wouldn't allow it, I could always get another one anytime.

 

Has anyone had this experience?

[agabbymama]

Not sure sharing one voucher would work. A lot of the meals were buffets. They probably wouldn't let you share the buffet.

 

The HAL rep should know what they are talking about. I know we could sign up for tours at the various hotels, but didn't even think about trying to purchase the meal plan there.

[namaste859]

Ahhh... okay, thank you for that information. If they are buffets, then they won't let us share. Good to know.

 

Now, if it were up to me, I would love the adventure of finding a place to eat. However, my DH does not consider this an adventure, but more like a hassle. If he had to wait two hours for food after a less than satisfying lunch and a long day on the road, he would be a bear (and that's the grizzly kind).

 

I think that we are going to opt for his meal plan, unless someone convinces me otherwise.

[agabbymama]

MY husband was similar. 5 minutes off the coach and he was ready to eat. I think most men are that way.;)

 

As I've posted many times before, the meal plan was one of two things I would have changed. The 2nd being taking the longer cruisetour with 2 nights at each stop instead of 1. Dawson City was the only stop with 2 nights and we absolutely loved being able to wander around the town as much as we wanted.

 

You will have an absolutely wonderful trip!

[namaste859]

Yes, I have booked a tour that gives us two days in Dawson City, so we can see Tombstone park and two days in Whitehorse, so we can see Kluane.

[beachluvr!]

Yep, as nrbrandt says, some of us that didn't purchase the meal plan did indeed ended up eating in the hotel restaurant anyway.

 

We had 40 on our coach and a second coach with another 40. We would arrive into town between 5:30 and 6:30, and without a real lunch, were starving for dinner. At Whitehorse, we walked for about 4 blocks around the hotel. One restaurant was closed up tight. One had a two hour wait. We finally settled on a Subway and paid $23 for a sandwich, soup and drink.

 

After that, we started just going to the hotel restaurant and usually dinner was $28. Food was good. Sometimes there were short lines, as the hotels know when the tour buses are coming in and are geared for the crowd.

 

Even at the tours end, we ate at the Hilton in Anchorage as buffet breakfast was $14.99 and we couldn't see trying to find someplace else when it was convenient to eat where we were staying.

 

Not many lunches provided or stops to get lunch, so take snacks and be prepared. Good breakfast & good dinner had to do for us.

 

If I were to go again, I would purchase the meal plan just for the convenience if nothing else.

Would you know of a place in Anchorage (We are staying at the Hilton) where we could get snacks? I will get hungry and grouchy if I don't get food in the middle of the day:mad: I'm one of those "snacker types."

[beachluvr!]

Ahhh... okay, thank you for that information. If they are buffets, then they won't let us share. Good to know.

 

Now, if it were up to me, I would love the adventure of finding a place to eat. However, my DH does not consider this an adventure, but more like a hassle. If he had to wait two hours for food after a less than satisfying lunch and a long day on the road, he would be a bear (and that's the grizzly kind).

 

I think that we are going to opt for his meal plan, unless someone convinces me otherwise.

I am thinking the same thing.

[agabbymama]

Hopefully others will post. We ended in Anchorage, so no need for groceries/snacks. I did a search and found one grocery story close, called Lucky Grocery & Deli.

 

The large dot is the Hilton, the smaller dot is the grocery. Looks like just a couple of blocks away.

 

But remember, you will have limited space on the coach. No room for lots of groceries. We did chips, cookies, cheese crackers & the small pepperoni sticks. Have a great trip!

Hilton Grocery.pdf

[Love2go_]

We bought the meal plan and though expensive (I thought) it was convenient. For my husband and brother it was worth it, but not for me since I don't eat near what they do ;).

 

At most stops, there was a 50/50 split of those who bought the plan and those who didn't, and I liked the convenience of not having to carry cash with us or having another charge on the credit card. Also, since we spent two days in Dawson City and two in Whitehorse we didn't have to deal with the exchange rate.

[namaste859]

Love2go,

 

It sounds like you took the Y1T or Y1C trip. I would love to find out more about it. I befriended you (whatever that means) and would like to contact you with questions, if you don't mind?

[beachluvr!]

Hopefully others will post. We ended in Anchorage, so no need for groceries/snacks. I did a search and found one grocery story close, called Lucky Grocery & Deli.

 

The large dot is the Hilton, the smaller dot is the grocery. Looks like just a couple of blocks away.

 

But remember, you will have limited space on the coach. No room for lots of groceries. We did chips, cookies, cheese crackers & the small pepperoni sticks. Have a great trip!

Thanks so much. We'll be happy with snacks. Not so happy with no snacks:)

[vbmom87]

Not speaking from experience, but from reading many threads that have discussed this topic. My conclusion is there is not one right answer for everyone. There are those who like everything planned for them and buying the meal plan works well for them. No decisions need to be made and no searching for restaurants.

 

As someone above mentioned, if you are not a big eater you may end up feeling you did not get your money's worth. I recall reading about someone who was on the cruise first and ate well for the week. When they got on the land tour, they really didn't want to continue eating such big meals. They had purchased the meal plan, but chose to eat small portions. They felt they overpaid. For the big eaters out there, it is probably a much better deal.

 

Look at the pros and cons of each and make the decision you think is best for you.

[Love2go_]

Love2go,

 

It sounds like you took the Y1T or Y1C trip. I would love to find out more about it. I befriended you (whatever that means) and would like to contact you with questions, if you don't mind?

 

namaste859,

 

We were on #6 (tours renamed this year): 1 night Anchorage, 2 Denali, 1 Fairbanks, 1 Tok, 2 Dawson City, 2 Whitehorse, 1 Skagway then boarded the ship, 4 nights to Vancouver.

 

By the way, agabbymama is spot on with her comments.

 

You can contact me at 413776la@gmail.com

[slimsunshine]

At most stops, there was a 50/50 split of those who bought the plan and those who didn't, and I liked the convenience of not having to carry cash with us or having another charge on the credit card. Also, since we spent two days in Dawson City and two in Whitehorse we didn't have to deal with the exchange rate.

 

Are you saying that the eating places/ restaurants charge extra for using a credit card ?

[nrbrandt]

I think they were saying that they preferred paying up front so they don't need to worry about filling up their credit card with charges along the way.

[Love2go_]

slimsunshine,

 

Sorry, I probably should have written Dawson City and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.

 

There is an exchange rate on all sales in Canada using foreign money, so it was handy having the meal plan because you didn't have to deal with the exchange rate on those meals.

 

Love2go_

[PennyAgain]

My husband gets very hard to deal with as well and won't do 'snacks' for lunch. We just did a river boat cruise in Washington State and Oregon and the meager (included) lunches made him very unhappy.

 

He also dislikes buffets!

 

As stated above, people have different opinions about how they want to eat.

 

They absolutely won't let you share items on the meal plan. If one person on the meal plan hands over some food to someone who isn't on it, there will be a full charge for a meal.

 

If the hotel only has a buffet, you wont save any more by trying to order less. Calls the hotels and ask before making your decision.

[agabbymama]

Sorry if I gave the impression that it was ONLY buffets. It isn't. They are restaurants and you can order off the menu too. It's just that the buffets are set up to be the fastest and most economical, when two busloads of people come dashing in. You are given vouchers and can order what you want.

 

Be prepared, we had only one really good lunch on our cruisetour and that was in Fairbanks at the gold mine. We had miner's stew with biscuits & dessert. It was great! The other two lunches provided were sandwiches and chips. Then the rest of the time, you were on your own to find something quick or go hungry. Lunch really wasn't part of the day. At Chicken Alaska, where we made a quick stop, had a store and a bar with a few food choices. We grabbed a bowl of chili and a piece of pie. At Carcross, there was a grocery store and an ice cream store. Lots of the folks stood in line for ice cream (lunch?). The restaurant wasn't open because of all the flooding.

 

We did stop at a grocery store in Skagway and purchased bread, lunch meat, cheese, chips, water, crackers, etc. Between the 4 of us, we each carried something in our HAL canvas bags. Then we would make our sandwiches on the bus. Not the greatest, but at least we didn't go hungry every day.

[PennyAgain]

Hungry on the bus would send my husband into unhappiness.

 

My standard carry along travel bag always has a few granola bars, some of the low food value cheese and crackers packets and if I can find it along the way, a small jar of peanut butter and some sort of bread or crackers.

 

I can see where a run to COSTCO in Anchorage would really help or or at least a Carrs/Safeway.