Will HAL Go Back to the 14 day Alaska Cruise ?

[mcrcruiser]

At one time HAL was doing a 14 day  Alaska cruise ;which included Kodiak Island &  Valdez    & Anchorage   .foes any one know if HAL will go back to doing that cruise in the future  . We have been to Alaska 5 times   but missed taking that one cruise ;which seems to be a  more inclusive  cruise for Alaska 

[Roz]

I believe there are a few 14-day Alaskan cruises on the Noordam next year.

[Roz]

There's a 14-day Alaskan cruise leaving Vancouver on Sept. 18.  There's one on the NA next year and one on the Noordam. 

[mcrcruiser]

4 minutes ago, Roz said:

There's a 14-day Alaskan cruise leaving Vancouver on Sept. 18.  There's one on the NA next year and one on the Noordam. 

Those are not the ones I was referring to  .The one that HAL did   a while back included Kodiak Island , Valdez  & the port of Anchorage  ,along with all the other Alaska  ports  .We been to Denali  National Park  & Fairbanks on land ourselves   .The 14 day cruise was very unique  for Alaska  & HAL does a great job up there .

[Roz]

The ones I referenced go to Kodiak and Anchorage.  They aren't land tours.

[Roz]

[Roz]

Here are your choices:

 

May 7, 2023 - Nieuw Amsterdam

September 17, 2023 - Noordam

 

The September 18, 2022 cruise I mentioned is not the same itinerary shown on the map.  I apologize.  I did not intend to mislead you.

[CruiserBruce]

The itinerary varies a little, and the number of sailings each Alaska season has dropped this year, but HAL is still doing the 14 day cruise. 

 

In 2019, the previous Rotterdam did 14 day routes continuously, roundtrip from Seattle. They have been scheduled for Vancouver since 2020. Ours didn't include  Valdez, it had Whittier instead.

 

It is the favorite of our 4 Alaska cruises.

[Loreto]

29 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

The itinerary varies a little, and the number of sailings each Alaska season has dropped this year, but HAL is still doing the 14 day cruise. 

 

In 2019, the previous Rotterdam did 14 day routes continuously, roundtrip from Seattle. They have been scheduled for Vancouver since 2020. Ours didn't include  Valdez, it had Whittier instead.

 

It is the favorite of our 4 Alaska cruises.

Ours too!  I wish they would return it R/T Seattle again instead of Vancouver.

[RobTheGob]

We're on a 14 day cruise that includes Kodiak, etc... that left Vancouver yesterday (Nieuw Amsterdam).

 

Looking forward to it - but we're expecting to get wet!

[oaktreerb]

I’ve been encouraging HAL to bring back the 14 day itinerary for season long cruising May to September 2024.  I think the Seattle round trip would be the most successful as far as sales go since many US consumers don’t want to sail out of Vancouver for various reasons.  If they can add more departures for 2023 I’d be thrilled.  It’s kind of unfair to add it only during shoulder season.

 

The current north and south between Vancouver and Whittier is not varied enough to be a good back to back.  I told HAL their itineraries were boring and just like every other major cruise line.  They need some variety for the Alaska market

 

 I talked to the future cruise booking agent on the Nieuw Amsterdam and he had some insight about HAL not wanting to give up favorable docking locations in their contracts.  He also pointed out that HAL sold 4 of their ships.  I still think they can use one of the remaining smaller ships to sail 14 day Alaska itineraries out of Seattle.   

 

Write to HAL and ask them to being back the 14 day or 21 day Alaska cruise out of Seattle.  🛳⚓️🛟

Edited September 12, 2022 by oaktreerb

[oaktreerb]

5 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

The itinerary varies a little, and the number of sailings each Alaska season has dropped this year, but HAL is still doing the 14 day cruise. 

 

In 2019, the previous Rotterdam did 14 day routes continuously, roundtrip from Seattle. They have been scheduled for Vancouver since 2020. Ours didn't include  Valdez, it had Whittier instead.

 

It is the favorite of our 4 Alaska cruises.

Our first of the 14 day cruises sailed out of Seattle in 2010 on the Amsterdam and sailed up the inside passage.  Great Cruise.  One I would have been happy to do every summer.

[Crew News]

6 hours ago, Roz said:

I am booked on the May 7, 2023 14-Day cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  The last time I was on a similar itinerary was aboard the Zandaam and included stops in Homer and Whittier.  The photo opportunities for these 14-Day cruises are excellent and the May weather usually the best of the season.

 

 

[mcrcruiser]

5 hours ago, Loreto said:

Ours too!  I wish they would return it R/T Seattle again instead of Vancouver.

We thank every one for their contributions . We too prefer  Seattle  R/T  for the   round  trip 14 night cruise because airfares are less costly one & two Vancouver  charges a premium at the airport  as well  .  

Perhaps our request will start a  change if every one requests Seattle over Vancouver  . 

[Guest ldtr]

6 hours ago, Loreto said:

Ours too!  I wish they would return it R/T Seattle again instead of Vancouver.

For this type of cruise there is a big advantage for having the cruise out of Vancouver.  If someone misses the departure or if someone has to leave the cruise early, they can do so without a problem on this route out of Vancouver.  Cannot do the same out of Seattle.  Any such deviations on a similar cruise out of Seattle would be a PVSA violation.

 

On the shorter 7 day cruises out of Seattle less of an issue.

Edited September 12, 2022 by ldtr

[mcrcruiser]

3 hours ago, ldtr said:

For this type of cruise there is a big advantage for having the cruise out of Vancouver.  If someone misses the departure or if someone has to leave the cruise early, they can do so without a problem on this route out of Vancouver.  Cannot do the same out of Seattle.  Any such deviations on a similar cruise out of Seattle would be a PVSA violation.

 

On the shorter 7 day cruises out of Seattle less of an issue.

Not if the ship stops at Vancouver Island Canada before  ending in Seattle .

[CruiserBruce]

3 hours ago, ldtr said:

For this type of cruise there is a big advantage for having the cruise out of Vancouver.  If someone misses the departure or if someone has to leave the cruise early, they can do so without a problem on this route out of Vancouver.  Cannot do the same out of Seattle.  Any such deviations on a similar cruise out of Seattle would be a PVSA violation.

 

On the shorter 7 day cruises out of Seattle less of an issue.

That would be a pretty low percentage problem. Not sure that alone is appropriate reason for the port change. But sailing out of Vancouver is definitely the more scenic. 

 

[Guest ldtr]

2 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Not if the ship stops at Vancouver Island Canada before  ending in Seattle .

Nope, makes no difference.  It is not considered to be a far distant so if someone missed the ship in Seattle if they were to get on, they would have to get off in Victoria, they could not continue on to Seattle with it being a violation of PVSA.  If someone boarded in Seattle and had to leave the ship anywhere along the route except for Victoria it would be a violation of PVSA.

 

If they leave from Vancouver they avoid all of that potential complexity.  

 

As well as the fact they by leaving from Vancouver they do not need to make an additional stop in Victoria.

[Guest ldtr]

1 minute ago, CruiserBruce said:

That would be a pretty low percentage problem. Not sure that alone is appropriate reason for the port change. But sailing out of Vancouver is definitely the more scenic. 

 

Yep low risk but higher on a 14 day cruise than the normal 7 day cruises out of Seattle.

 

As I just mentioned you also get to skip the stop in Victoria that a round trip from Seattle would require.

 

A third reason if you are doing a unique route that more people are going to want might as well use a slot from Vancouver, instead of one of the limited number of Seattle slots where there is also more price competition on Alaska cruises.

[CruiserBruce]

3 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Yep low risk but higher on a 14 day cruise than the normal 7 day cruises out of Seattle.

 

As I just mentioned you also get to skip the stop in Victoria that a round trip from Seattle would require.

 

A third reason if you are doing a unique route that more people are going to want might as well use a slot from Vancouver, instead of one of the limited number of Seattle slots where there is also more price competition on Alaska cruises.

The number of slots at the two ports are very similar...3 per day. I don't think Vancouver is using that other dock across the bay any more. 

[boatmad]

We sailed on the Zaandam 4 years ago round trip from Seattle.  Loved the different ports of Homer, Kodiak and Anchorage.  It was an August cruise— one of the best ever!

[oaktreerb]

12 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Yep low risk but higher on a 14 day cruise than the normal 7 day cruises out of Seattle.

 

As I just mentioned you also get to skip the stop in Victoria that a round trip from Seattle would require.

 

One of the best benefits of the 14 day cruise from Seattle was the full day stop in Victoria.  We had plenty of time to enjoy Butchart Gardens.  We would even have had enough time to have tea along with the visit.

Victoria is a lovely place to visit for the day.  The Seattle courtesy stops are so short there is barely time to enjoy the inner harbor.  Why would skipping Victoria be an advantage?  It’s beautiful.

[Guest ldtr]

36 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

The number of slots at the two ports are very similar...3 per day. I don't think Vancouver is using that other dock across the bay any more. 

Somebody better tell the cruise lines because some days have 4 ships scheduled in Seattle. That number of 4 ships is on several dates during the busy part of the season. Where as Vancouver only has 4 ships on one date, though it could be used for more.  So one could argue that Vancouver has more unused capacity.

 

As long as the tug boat operators are not on strike.

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by ldtr

[Crew News]

25 minutes ago, oaktreerb said:

One of the best benefits of the 14 day cruise from Seattle was the full day stop in Victoria.  We had plenty of time to enjoy Butchart Gardens.  We would even have had enough time to have tea along with the visit.

Victoria is a lovely place to visit for the day.  The Seattle courtesy stops are so short there is barely time to enjoy the inner harbor.  Why would skipping Victoria be an advantage?  It’s beautiful.

Enjoy a full day in Victoria by adding a Volendam Pacific Coastal cruise from San Diego that will place you in Vancouver the day before the May 7th 14-day Alaska cruise.

[oaktreerb]

16 hours ago, Crew News said:

Enjoy a full day in Victoria by adding a Volendam Pacific Coastal cruise from San Diego that will place you in Vancouver the day before the May 7th 14-day Alaska cruise.

We will look at this opportunity.  I see the 14 day for 2023 goes to Prince Rupert instead of Victoria.  Sailing out of San Diego is a plus for us.