Members Rare Cruise Critic Chris Posted August 7, 2014 Members #1 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Hi everyone! On Aug. 18, I head up to Alaska to go on a cruisetour with Holland America. The trip starts in Anchorage, has two days in Denali and one in Fairbanks before heading over to Yukon. We'll spend time in Dawson City and Whitehorse before taking the train down to Skagway, where we'll board Zuiderdam back to Vancouver. I'm not a stranger to the 49th state. I used to live in Seattle and have taken two FANTASTIC expedition cruises through the Inside Passage (links to the stories are in my signature). I've also been to Whitehorse before, but spent most of my time at a conference. So this will be my first real shot at viewing wildlife and getting outdoors in the Yukon. In any case, I hope to report on my experiences here on this thread. Please feel free to ask me any questions once the trip starts, and I'll try to get the answers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAOk1945 Posted August 7, 2014 #2 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I will be following your review. My wife and I are talking about taking a HAL Alaska cruise so your experience will probably help us prepare. Do you plan to post pictures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rare Cruise Critic Chris Posted August 7, 2014 Author Members #3 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I'll be posting photos live in a FB album, so if you don't "like" Cruise Critic on Facebook, you might want to head over here: https://www.facebook.com/CruiseCritic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAOk1945 Posted August 7, 2014 #4 Share Posted August 7, 2014 I "Liked" Cruise Critic Facebook! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clogaltocruise Posted August 8, 2014 #5 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I just "liked", also. Looking forward to your posts CC Chris. We'll be on the Zuiderdam her last cruise of the season. Then down to SF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evandbob Posted August 8, 2014 #6 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Hi everyone! On Aug. 18, I head up to Alaska to go on a cruisetour with Holland America. The trip starts in Anchorage, has two days in Denali and one in Fairbanks before heading over to Yukon. We'll spend time in Dawson City and Whitehorse before taking the train down to Skagway, where we'll board Zuiderdam back to Vancouver. I'm not a stranger to the 49th state. I used to live in Seattle and have taken two FANTASTIC expedition cruises through the Inside Passage (links to the stories are in my signature). I've also been to Whitehorse before, but spent most of my time at a conference. So this will be my first real shot at viewing wildlife and getting outdoors in the Yukon. In any case, I hope to report on my experiences here on this thread. Please feel free to ask me any questions once the trip starts, and I'll try to get the answers! I'll be arriving in Fairbanks on August 18, then going to Denali, Talkeetna and finally Anchorage, boarding the Crown Princess for a 7 night S/B on August 23, arriving in Vancouver on Aug.30. I'll look forward to your comments and blog, as our paths criss cross, and will compare to my experience.....I'll wave if I see the Zuiderdam from the Crown! Happy cruisetour to you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rare Cruise Critic Chris Posted August 15, 2014 Author Members #7 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Yesterday I received information on what hotels the cruisetour will be using. I had difficulty finding this info ahead of time, so here's what they are, in case anyone is in the same boat: Anchorage: Anchorage Hilton Denali: McKinley Chalet Resort Fairbanks: Westmark Fairbanks Dawson City: Westmark Inn Dawson Whitehorse: Westmark Whitehorse I'm on the HAL meal plan, and it looks like most of those are breakfasts and lunches at the hotels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamrockgirl Posted August 16, 2014 #8 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Hello CC Chris, I can't wait to read your review of your HAL Cruisetour as we shall be leaving on a very similar itinerary on 29 August , cruising first on the Zaandam for three days then doing the Yukon/ Denali land portion. We don't see that many Cruisetour reviews on CC so Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agabbymama Posted August 16, 2014 #9 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Yesterday I received information on what hotels the cruisetour will be using. I had difficulty finding this info ahead of time, so here's what they are, in case anyone is in the same boat: Anchorage: Anchorage Hilton Denali: McKinley Chalet Resort Fairbanks: Westmark Fairbanks Dawson City: Westmark Inn Dawson Whitehorse: Westmark Whitehorse I'm on the HAL meal plan, and it looks like most of those are breakfasts and lunches at the hotels. OH Chris, How I envy you. Dawson City was actually our favorite stop of our 11 day HAL cruisetour. Such a quaint historical town. Be sure to walk around a bit. The replica cabins of Jack London ("Call of the Wild" author) and Robert Service (Canadian author/poet)were very interesting. It's absolutely beautiful up in that territory! Have a great trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rare Cruise Critic Chris Posted August 18, 2014 Author Members #10 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Great! Glad to have a few folks following along. I'm in the DFW airport now, taking the second leg of my journey up to Anchorage. Looking forward to seeing how this adventure unfolds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrimpboat123 Posted August 18, 2014 #11 Share Posted August 18, 2014 Yesterday I received information on what hotels the cruisetour will be using. I had difficulty finding this info ahead of time, so here's what they are, in case anyone is in the same boat: Anchorage: Anchorage Hilton Denali: McKinley Chalet Resort Fairbanks: Westmark Fairbanks Dawson City: Westmark Inn Dawson Whitehorse: Westmark Whitehorse I'm on the HAL meal plan, and it looks like most of those are breakfasts and lunches at the hotels. We stayed in the same hotels, with the exception of Anchorage which was the Westmark, when we did the 19 day Alaska/Yukon CruiseTour last year. My report is in my signature. I'll be reading along and re-living our trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bead Babe Posted August 19, 2014 #12 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Virtually joining your adventure. Pam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikini Posted August 19, 2014 #13 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Enjoy your trip - I look forward to reading about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rare Cruise Critic Chris Posted August 19, 2014 Author Members #14 Share Posted August 19, 2014 Arrived yesterday, after long flights (PHL-DFW, DFW-ANC). The cruise line did a nice job collecting everyone (there were people arriving for both the HAL tour and the Princess tour). At baggage claim, they give you tags for your bags, depending on what hotel you are going to. Then they transport you on a motorcoach to your hotels. It seems as if three ANC hotels are used by these groups: the Hilton, the Westmark and Capt. Cook. Anchorage is very compact, so it doesn't really matter which one you are at; you'll be able to walk around easily. Several cafes in the area have much cheaper breakfasts than the hotel (I can recommend the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich from the Sandwich Board). I'm heading down to Portage Glacier and the Wildlife Conservation Center today, stopping in Girdwood for lunch. Will report back on this possible pre-tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruisequeen4ever Posted September 6, 2014 #15 Share Posted September 6, 2014 Please continue your review on here; I'm really enjoying it! Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostbp Posted September 9, 2014 #16 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Looking at this trip for 2015. Or maybe the triple Denali one that is similar but adds a day in Denali and one in Skagway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rare Cruise Critic Chris Posted November 21, 2014 Author Members #17 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Hey, wanted to link to some of the stories that I wrote from this trip, in case an Alaska cruisetour is on your list next year: Hits & Misses Alaska Cruisetour Basics Updated review, Zuiderdam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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