Semi live cruisetour Y4L, May 22-June 3

[SightCRR]

faa weather cam Skagway. 5/30/23

 

[tundra1]

This has been fun to follow along!  How are the folks on your tour group?  We had so much fun on ours last year.  Out of the 30 people, 25 of us got our Sourtoe certificates!  Even our tour guide joined in on the fun!  Congratulations for being part of the club!

[oakridger]

Oh great!  I had put that visual of the "Sourtoe Drink" out of my mind now I'm seeing it again!!!!

😲

[renee00]

On 5/30/2023 at 7:58 PM, tundra1 said:

This has been fun to follow along!  How are the folks on your tour group?  We had so much fun on ours last year.  Out of the 30 people, 25 of us got our Sourtoe certificates!  Even our tour guide joined in on the fun!  Congratulations for being part of the club!

 

Only 2 of us (out of 37) did it! But it was a nice, friendly group. 

[renee00]

(We're in Vancouver and have good WiFi again!)

 

Day 9 - Koningsdam in Skagway

 

The leisurely morning after putting our bags out was nice. We got breakfast from Glacial Coffeehouse, which was the only decent breakfast option in town. Good food and coffee, but it's complete chaos inside, even without the cruise ship passengers being in town yet. 

 

We then gathered for the transfer and were given our cabin keycards and told we just needed our passports to board. It went pretty smoothly. One thing we found that is frankly rather offensive though is that suddenly everything for the cruise part is in my dad's name as lead person of our group. Things are even labeled: "[dad's name] and family." Even though I'm the primary on the booking and my dad was our 3rd person and never in contact with HAL at all. There are some pretty messed up assumptions there. 

 

We had lunch at the Grand Dutch Cafe (wonderful pea soup and berry crepes). Hardly anyone was there while the ship was in port. After lunch, we left the ship to do the hike to Yukutania Point, as recommended by @SightCRR. Being docked at the Ore Dock is super convenient to the trailhead. It's a pleasant . 5 mile hike to the end of the rocky point. 

 

 

Our signature suite is very nice, with plenty of room for 3 people and a large verandah. There were some bathroom problems they were working on when we embarked. Unfortunately after they left our shower didn't turn on at all, but we didn't notice until night time. The jetted tub was a nice alternative but wow is it narrow. I'm an average sized woman and it was the exact width of my shoulders. Our steward came by sometime in the evening to make up my murphy bed, which is surprisingly comfortable. 

 

 

 

 

We had happy hour drinks and listened to the rather entertaining trivia contest. Drinks were all 50% off. 

 

Dinner was at Rudi's and absolutely outstanding. Between us we had for appetizers: steak tartare, fried calamari, escargot, and hot smoked salmon. There was also a smoked salmon and cute fish bread amuse bouche and fresh bread with various accoutrements. For mains, we had: the Dover sole, grilled seafood platter, and fresh halibut. Everything was prepared perfectly, and we thought the portion sizes were fairly reasonable (though it was still a lot of food overall). I had the halibut fillet, and the texture was like eating cream. Although I chose one topping (lemon butter) it also came with two others, which was a nice surprise. We had the pureed cauliflower and green beans for sides. There was then a tree of chocolates and fruits. We did the beautiful Austrian berry souffle for dessert, which was perfect for 3 people. This was an outstanding meal, equal to very nice French restaurants I've been to on land. 

 

 

 

We ended the evening at BB Kings and Rolling Stone Rock Room. Both have fun bands. It would help if they had closed the doors between them though, as we noticed that people sitting at the edge of one could also hear the other. The doors were closed on another day so clearly that's an option. 

[renee00]

Day 10 - Glacier Bay

 

We sent a laundry bag out at dinner time last night and it was back by 7 something this morning! Also they had our shower fixed by 9am. Pretty impressive!

 

We did breakfast at the Lido. I like the English breakfast section because you can get tomatoes and mushrooms. Then we checked out the ranger tables at the Crows Nest. We stood in a slow moving line to buy stuff from the park store, where they had some great books, magnets, and other little gifts. We watched the glaciers from our verandah, which was amazing. We did wildlife watching from the promenade and saw a bear and a few dozen sea otters. They were everywhere. They handed out the delicious pea soup in places all over the ship.

 

 

 

 

Lunch was at the Lido and was light yet satisfying. I saw some people eating what looked like lychees, and I went hunting for them but couldn't find them. We had gelato for a treat after, and it was very good. 

 

Yesterday when we arrived, we made reservations for tonight's dressy night in the MDR with no trouble. It was a nice meal. Nothing like Rudi's but still satisfying. My dad had the arctic char and thought it was excellent. My mom said the salmon was a little overcooked but still good. The duck was cooked to medium nicely. 

 

 

We went to the Step One dance performance after dinner. It was very crowded in the theater, with lots of people standing around the edges. It was an entertaining show and made good use of the screen behind the dancers with different kinds of graphics accompanying the them. We opted to watch a movie in our cabin instead of going to the chocolate

surprise. 

[renee00]

Day 11 - Ketchikan

 

Wonderful lazy morning as we didn't arrive in Ketchikan until after 10. We did room service breakfast, ordered the night before, and it was very nice. The yogurt parfait is delicious. 

 

 

We then left the ship to explore town. There's a free town shuttle that goes all over and runs frequently (although I thought it strange that when I asked the HAL excursions people about where to pick it up, they had no clue about it). We took it up to the Totum Heritage Center, which is a fantastic small museum. Then we took the shuttle back to Creek Street, the former red light district. Some of our favorite shops from 6 years ago are still there, including a wonderful rock shop where I bought amber. We had lunch at the Alaska Fish House, near dock 1 (the Eurodam was there earlier but must have left around noon). We had excellent fish and chips and grilled fish with rice. After, we went to a great local clothing and gift store, the Woodlands, featuring shirts designed by a graphic artist from here. It was near dock 3, where the Koningsdam was. 

 

 

 

We then reboarded and wandered the ship a bit. Not many people around, even with bad weather outside that we assumed would keep people on-board instead of out and about. We had dinner at the Dive-in (hotdogs) and NY Pizza and Deli (salads). Both were enjoyable. It was a bit of a wait for the hotdogs, even with few people around. We went through the Lido after (around 6) to grab some desserts and snacks for later. These were particularly good desserts today, possibly because they were Dutch (Bossche bol and tompouce). There weren't many people at the Lido at all. It's almost all-aboard time, so we're not sure where everyone is this evening, but the ship feels weirdly empty. 

 

We found a good sized crowd again when we went to the Orange Party. It was pretty packed in BB Kings, with lots of people dancing. There were Dutch treats going around: sausage rolls, bitterballen, and Bossche bol. We didn't stay long, but it was fun! 

 

[renee00]

Day 12 - At Sea

 

1 hour time change, and it seems like it's thrown off a lot of people. We did breakfast at the Lido around 9, and it wasn't too busy. There's been a lot of ship movement since last night, and I wouldn't be surprised if some people weren't feeling well. 

 

We found nice seating at Billboard Onboard to sit and read for a while. I finished the book I brought but picked up a good one at the book exchange in the Crows Nest to read today. The new library is also open now, with its own book exchange and a fantastic selection of books. My next cruise I probably won't bother bringing a book and just check something out from the library. There're a few seats inside with nice ocean views. They also did a good job with the soundproofing considering it's right by Music Walk. 

 

 

We did lunch at the Lido around 1pm. As busy as we've seen it: no real lines at the stations, seating pretty full but no trouble finding a table. The Dive-in looked like it had a lot of people waiting around for their food. 

 

We finally had some sun for the first time since we boarded, so we walked along the promenade a bit. Then we did afternoon tea, which was pleasant. I can't have caffeine, but they brought me decaf black tea. We did dinner at the MDR with 5pm reservations (they only offered 5pm or 8pm). I'm glad we booked ahead, as there was a small walk-in line at 5 that just got longer, until it was around 10-15 deep when we left at 6. Dinner was nice with again some parts better than others. 

 

We checked out the Roadhouse event in the evening. They had performances at all the Music Walk venues, with the headline entertainers moving between them and performing with the bands. We watched the Major Fourth singers perform with the Rolling Stone band and the Billboard piano player. It was neat to see the musicians mix things up this way. 

[renee00]

Day 13 - Vancouver

 

We did self-disembarkation so we could leave at our leisure. My parents went to the Lido for breakfast and were disappointed. Food was cold or not cooked all the way, and beverage service was slow. I know this is a super busy day for the crew, but it wasn't the nicest last impression of HAL. I think next cruise, we'll do breakfast in the MDR the last day. Disembarkation was very easy, at a bit before 9am. No lines anywhere, and we just handed our customs forms to a customs officer at the port and were off.

 

We're staying at the Blue Horizon and decided to walk there. It wasn't an easy walk towing suitcases up hill, but it only took about 20 min. We then spent most of the day at Granville Island, with its delightful market and little stores. Lunch was at the Vancouver Fish Company and was very good. We took a water taxi (always fun) back across to downtown and then walked back to the hotel, where we napped after all the walking. 

 

 

We had an outstanding dinner at Forage, a Pacific Northwest restaurant. Everything was excellent. We have one more day in Vancouver, and we may go check out the Capilano suspension bridge. There's a free shuttle there, and our hotel is one of the stops. Then we'll head for a hotel near the airport so we can leave very early the next morning 

[renee00]

General observations:

 

The Westmark hotels were all decent, but some had problems too (broken shampoo dispenser, missing towels and toilet paper, broken window latch on a ground floor room, broken air system). The Dawson one was the only one I would consider a nice hotel. 

 

The continuous early mornings were rough, very rough. I can't think of a solution to this, but it made the land portion hard on us. It was a bit more jam-packed than we prefer in general, so we're very glad we did land first and could then relax on the ship after. 

 

Our boarding passes in Navigator never worked. There was an error every time, seemingly because we were boarding the ship halfway through its itinerary. It would have been nice if HAL told us we wouldn't need them instead of just getting a confusing error. We basically found we had to ignore most of the emails HAL sent about preparing for the trip because they just didn't apply to us. 

 

I highly recommend wearing a mask, at least on the buses where there's very little ventilation. By the end of the land portion a lot of the group was coughing and sniffling. 

 

There is a high, and frankly we found absurd, expectation for tipping during the land portion. Every single shuttle driver and everyone else you deal with asks for tips, and HAL recommends very high tips for everyone. We found this unusual, especially for people who aren't waitstaff or performing a personal service. We still tipped most everyone, but it felt increasingly money-grubbing. 

 

Koningsdam observations:

 

We were happy to find that it really wasn't too crowded. We asked and were told that there were over 2600 people on board, but people felt pretty spaced out. The Lido was not bad at breakfast around 8 or 9am but very busy at lunch around noon. Yet even when packed the station lines were short and we could still find seating. The Crows Nest was crowded for Glacier Bay but not overwhelming so. Grand Dutch Cafe was busy occasionally but not most of the time we walked by. We could make a 5pm MDR dinner reservation with no problem on dressy night. That night, I only noticed a few people in line without reservations when we were seated, and the dining room didn't fill. We also didn't notice short staffing. Tables were cleared quickly, and the wait for beverages was short, except for at happy hour but it wasn't horrendous. The World Stage was truly packed, but it was a 7pm Step One show so I wasn't surprised. 

 

Food was very good to excellent overall. Rudi's was outstanding. The pea soup was wonderful. Some of the Lido selections were impressively good. The bread pudding was a disappointment though, too eggy. Desserts overall were a bit hit or miss, but some were very good. Most were rather light flavors but tasty. Nothing too overwhelmingly sweet either. Dressy night at the MDR was very good, with some dishes better than others. 

 

There's a problem in the Lido with food signs, particularly at the dessert station. Only a few things have labels and they're frequently wrong. I gave up on getting unsweetened yogurt, as no matter what the labels said, it was sweetened vanilla (I know the unsweetened exists because my parfait had it). The dessert signs were so messed up one evening that we took 1 of each dish just to test which was which. 

 

The handwash machines at the Lido were great. Like a spa for your hands. Not many people used them though, but I did see more using hand sanitizer. 

 

 

The signature suite is a very nice cabin. I especially liked the murphy bed and that there was a dividing wall between that and the main bed. The settee sofa was also super comfortable. 

 

The casino didn't smell too smoky, but that seemed to be because almost no one was ever in it. It still smelled pretty terrible though, as they spray perfume to combat the smoke, so it smelled like fake flowers and ashtray. We had no interest in gambling as a result, although we likely would have if it wasn't so gross. 

 

We received towel animals on dressy night and the final day. Chocolates were on dressy night. And we got our first tiles on the last day! 

 

 

[POA1]

Love your photos and your reports. Thanks for including us on your adventures!

[SightCRR]

Thank you very much for your review and thoughts. Not sure why but your review is about the first one I have read on the tour part of the cruise tour. Great photos of G/B. Take care. sightcrr.

[WannaSea]

Thanks for many useful observations and suggestions from your trip. It was interesting to follow the whole land-sea itinerary. Appreciate the time you took to share so much with us. (I'll be on the last cruise of the AK season with a few notes from your experience.) Loved the photos. Agree the land schedule can be tiring and doing the cruise portion after gives you a little time to relax and recover. Happy travels wherever your next venture takes you!

[SunandShade]

Thank you so much for sharing your land and sea cruise.  We are taking a slightly different land tour before our cruise in July and with a different line, but your details gave us an understanding of how things may work and what to expect logistically. I appreciate the time and energy it takes to put it all out there and I enjoyed every bit of it.