Y3L cruise coming up. Suggestions for what to see?

We are going on the HAL Y3L Yukon tour late August. I am hoping we can see the sights at the stops without having to book shore excursions. And, many of those meals are not included. Has anyone done this trip? Any suggestions of things we can walk to and see at each stopover? Restaurants to try? And what kind of weather should I expect Late August into September.? Weather.com says 60's????? We have never done a trip like this, so I would appreciate any suggestions.

What is the Y3L, pls?

What is the Y3L, pls?

8 days overland Anchorage-Delali-Yukon-Skagway then 4 days on NA or Volendam ending in Vancouver.

No suggestions but I'm booked on the cruise first version next year and think it's a great itinerary.

Roy

Tundra tour in Denali, we did it in Jun and it was amazing. Dress in layers, temps can change at any time. Rain/waterproof jacket.

You will do the Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali as part of your group tour. We did Iditarod champion Jeff Kings Husky Homestead the evening we arrived at Denali. If you have not been to Denali .... in your free time you may want to go over to the vIsitor's center to see the movie and exhibits and you can attend a free presentation of the working dogs of Denali but get in line early if you want to take the free bus to the site. There are other excursions in your "shore excursion" section of your documents online. There are also hikes, rafting, flights, etc. The shuttle between the park visitor's center and the McKinley Chalets is free.

You won't have much time in Fairbanks but the Westmark is just a few blocks from the tourist area near the river. Pick up a map in the hotel.

Dawson City is a favorite of almost everybody who goes there. Parks Canada has some wonderful narrated walking tours and you will have a Klondike Spirit Riverboat cruise included. Head for the visitor's center for maps and information as soon as you get there.

You won't have much time in Whitehorse. If you walk down by the railroad station you will find a walking trail.

Go on Trip Advisor and look up places to eat in Dawson City (Klondike Kates is very good). Whitehorse has Klondike Rib across the street. The hotel restaurants are also good.

Skagway is a national park and there are ranger walks so be sure to go to the visitor's center when you arrive. There is also a Skagway visitor's center and they will have hiking maps and lots of information. Your itinerary may go directly from the train to the ship but check in will be easy and then you can be out and about in Skagway.

You will have a great time. We've done variations of this itinerary four times . You are going late in the season for the Yukon so some shops may be getting rid of their tourist merchandise. Be prepared for rain. Dawson City is dirt streets and boardwalks but amazing!

Thank you so much! I can't wait. My son talked us into this. He bicycled through here about 2 years ago and wanted us to see it. Sounds like we can find plenty to do without the excursions. I did hear about visiting a native museum or visitor sight, on one of the stops, but can't find my info. I will check at the visitor centers! Good to know about rain. Thanks.

Just returned from Denali last month. I really liked the Fly Denali two hour flight around the park and the big mountain.

Here is a link to some photos/information that may be helpful in your planning:

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/place/alaska-2/denali/

To get accurate weather info for Denali, set your phone to Healy, Alaska.which is 10 miles away.

The Canyon Steak House at the Denali McKinley Lodge has excellent food.

My wife and I completed our Y2L journey on June 7. It's the same itinerary as Y3L but with an extra night in Denali and two nights in Skagway. We sailed on the Volendam in a lanai cabin.

According to HAL's Alaska brochure, you will take the Tundra Wilderness Tour on your only full day in Denali. It's fun, but a long ride (about 8 hours). After it's over, you may want to go back to the park's visitor center and sled dog area. At the end of our TWT, we got off the bus and walked across the highway from the main lodge building to Prospector's Pizza. It was very good, and seemed to be a local watering hole, much friendlier than the two restaurants at the lodge.

Our flight from Fairbanks to Dawson left at 11.20 and arrived about 2 (there's a 1-hour time change). We visited the Dawson City Museum (down the street from the hotel), and it was well worth the time. They had a very good video of a professional film about Dawson made in the late '50s, and some interesting artifacts. We had dinner at the Aurora Inn, one block down from the hotel, and one of the best meals we had on our trip. The next day you'll take a 90-minute riverboat ride and have the rest of the day free. My wife enjoyed walking to the cabins of both author Jack London and poet Robert Service, about a 10-minute walk from the hotel. She also enjoyed to the Cultural Center. There are plenty of places to see in Dawson.

You won't have much time in Whitehorse: we left Dawson about 8.45 and didn't arrive until almost 5.30. You won't have much time to see anything there, sadly. We would've like a day to explore.

On the way to Fraser, where you'll board a train, you'll stop in Carcross. You won't have much time, but do explore the shops next to the parking lot. They're tucked in behind the building with the restrooms. My wife went over there and was glad she did.

I'm not sure how much time you'll have in Skagway. We arrived about noon, and I think your ship will depart about 9, so you may have the afternoon available. The National Park Service has several buildings to visit, and conducts free 45-minute walking tours throughout the day. However, you should book them online: I think there's a very nominal fee to pay for the booking site. You can also pay $5 to see Jeff Smith's saloon (he was the town boss, and a notorious boodler), which is narrated by a ranger. We booked our tours on May 9 (we arrived in Skagway June 1 for two nights), and the June 2 free walking tours were almost full (however, we were the only ones on the Jeff Smith tour).

Our bus driver tipped us off about the Skagway Museum, a gem that wouldn't be out of place in a big city. It's at 7th & Spring Streets, about four blocks from the hotel. It's not very big, but it's beautifully done, and has a very nice compact museum store, where I bought too many books. Fortunately, there's a post office on Broadway where you can get USPS flat-rate boxes and mail things home. (The Fairbanks hotel gift shop also sells these flat-rate boxes plus a $7 handling fee, well worth it to lighten or un-bulk your luggage.)

Except for dinners in Denali and Dawson (noted above), and one dinner in Skagway (at Starfire, a Thai restaurant), we ate in the hotel restaurants. The food and service was generally very good (save our overdone fish in Whitehorse), and my wife was very pleased with an unusual breakfast option in Skagway: you could get any one hot buffet item for $4. She likes just oatmeal and avoids buffets, so this saved quite a bit on the bill.

One last thing: I'd read quite a bit about how expensive food was in Alaska, but didn't find it to be so, quite likely because I'm from California, where food often costs more. Canada was actually cheaper. We changed $100US and got $130Cd, so our actual cost was only 75% of the Canadian menu price. If you're going to use credit cards there, check the conversion rate: our Costco Visa rate was 3%, but our credit union Visa was only 1%.

Happy travels, and good weather!

Just saw this. Thanks so much for the tips. I'll print them out. I was hoping for extra time in some of the spots, but understand the scenery on the rides is spectacular. Leaving in 12 days!!!

We will be on the Valendam. Can you tell me anything about the ship?

We were on the Volendam, and loved it. Is there anything in particular you're looking to find out?

I wrote a travelogue of the trip (it's about 7300 words, plus photos) that I can attach, if you want the full, detailed story.

Cheers!

I would love to read your travelogue! Thanks. Ship questions... Do they have entertainment? How are the restaurants? Is there a particular dining option you'd suggest? I am hoping for fresh fish on board. We have a Vista suite on the left side of the ship. Hoping to see a whale. Did you? Ok, enough questions, looking forward to reading about your trip.

I would love to read your travelogue! Thanks. Ship questions... Do they have entertainment? How are the restaurants? Is there a particular dining option you'd suggest? I am hoping for fresh fish on board. We have a Vista suite on the left side of the ship. Hoping to see a whale. Did you? Ok, enough questions, looking forward to reading about your trip.

Thanks: I've attached the travelogue in pdf format without the pics, since including them in the file exceeds the size limit. Sorry. If you'd like to see the pics, too, please let me know.

We were only on the ship four nights, and my wife went to see a comic once (who she liked). We're early risers, so were usually asleep before 10. I didn't see anything on the entertainment schedule that caught my fancy (but I'm not much on live entertainment).

We like the Main Dining Room a lot. We had complimentary upgrades to the Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto which we didn't use: our table was facing the aft, so we had a full view that we decided we didn't want to give up for an evening. We had a table for two at the early (5.30) seating. Our travel agent requested both the time and table size early, so it was on our confirmation sheet. Our table number was 54, and the waiter and other staff were exemplary.

We had breakfast and lunch in the Lido (save one lunch in the MDR), which we preferred. We're not joiners, so preferred to eat together rather than with a group of folks we didn't know. The Lido food was quite good, and it was informal.

We had Lanai cabin 3357, on the starboard (right) side. These have a sliding glass door that opens onto the lower promenade deck, which we loved.

We didn't see any whales, but did see seals and otters. We were onboard the first week of June, so it may have been too cold for whales.

Hope all this helps. Have fun!

Alaska Y2L travelogue.pdf

Thanks so much for the info. I think I picked the wrong number. We have 2 nights in Danali, none in Skagway. Just a suggestion to check in then leave the boat and look around. I was hoping to explore Whitehorse, but it sounds like that isnt possible.

What is the dress code on the ship? My husband is meeting me after 10 days of fishing on the Kanai Peninsula before the trip, so I doubt he will have much cruisewear. Probably a button down and casual pants. Do we need to get dressed up?

Your trip log was wonderful. Can't wait to try some of the restaurants. Is Tea served everyday. I always loved that. Years ago, like 45, I cruised with my parents and remember the midnight buffet. Guess that is a thing of the past!

It is wonderful finally having a chance to see new things like this. I have 2 more trips planned before February! Cuba with my daughter in October (planned on our own) and Bangkok with a girlfriend in January (Gate 1 travel)

We made sure to pick the itinerary that gave us the most nights in Denali and the Yukon (and, incidentally, Skagway). I agree about Whitehorse: on the current schedules, it's just an overnight stay with no way to see anything much beyond the hotel. I wish we'd had more time in the Yukon overall, but, to be honest, outside the towns, there was lots of nice scenery, but not many of historic places. We did see the museums in Dawson City and Skagway, and the latter was quite nice. I suspect you'll get there around noon on the train, which (I think) will pull onto to the dock and let you off onto the ship. Once you've checked in onboard, you should have some time that afternoon to see the town. We had to attend the safety gathering at 4.30 that afternoon (if you don't, they'll boot you off).

Most folks we saw on the ship were casually dressed. Since we ate in the Main Dining Room, my wife wore some nice things from Coldwater Creek, and I wore a polo shirt, khakis, and a blue blazer, nothing fancy. On Gala nights (you'll probably get one during your four nights), you're expected to dress up a bit (at least) to eat in the MDR. We did see one guy who had pressed blue jeans and cowboy boots, but he looked fairly presentable :) I've attached HAL's 2017 Alaska Tour Tips and Packing for Alaska docs : did you download the Know Before You Go doc?

I'm not sure if tea is served daily, or only on port days. I don't recall seeing it on the daily schedule our first day (in Skagway). We were in Ketchikan the day we enjoyed it. I understand High Tea is served at least once every seven-day voyage.

Happy sailing!

Alaska 2017 Tour_Tips.pdf

PackingForAlaska_FactSheet.pdf

We were on the Volendam, and loved it. Is there anything in particular you're looking to find out?

 

I wrote a travelogue of the trip (it's about 7300 words, plus photos) that I can attach, if you want the full, detailed story.

 

Cheers!

Great review! Having done variations of your Yukon itinerary over the past 10 years I really enjoyed reading about your experiences. This year we took the Yukon trip with the 7 day cruise (Y1). I prefer the itinerary you took (Y2) and loved the extra overnight in Skagway. It's really nice to be pampered on the ship as you sail toward home!

Great review! Having done variations of your Yukon itinerary over the past 10 years I really enjoyed reading about your experiences. This year we took the Yukon trip with the 7 day cruise (Y1). I prefer the itinerary you took (Y2) and loved the extra overnight in Skagway. It's really nice to be pampered on the ship as you sail toward home!

Thanks for the kind words: you hit the nail on the head about the cruise last. After all the movement of the first 10 days (six hotels), it was a real treat to have four nights of staying in one place. I hadn't thought of us being pampered, but, on reflection, we were :)

Cheers!

1 week to go, everything printed out, and thanks to everyone!!!!

We did this in July. I forget what it was called but it spent 1 night in Anchorage, 2 nights in Denalli, 1 night Fairbanks, 2 nights in Dawson City, 1 night Whitehorse and one night in Skagway before boarding the NA.

The land part of the trip has several excursions built into the itinerary. You also get some free time to stroll, hike or book other excursions if you like. You don't have to book any extra excursions if you don't want to as it's a pretty complete package as it is. The train from Anchorage to Denali has a narrator on each car to give you history and tell you what you're seeing. Very good.

We went to Music of Denali the first night in Denali. That's a dinner theater where the servers are the actors and serve in charactor. The dinner was good and so was the show. This was not a provided show but well worth it in our opinion. The lodges meals were kind of high but there is a pizza place and a Subway across the road if you would rather have that. The trip includes the Tundra Wilderness Tour into the park. Unfortunately we didn't get to see Denali. It was hazy that day because of fires. We did see Moose, Caribou, eagles but no bear. Still a great trip into the tundra and well narrated.

In Fairbanks you'll visit Dredge #8, it's also a provided excursion. You'll learn about it's history and you can go on it. The Alaska Pipeline also runs through this property and you'll learn neat stuff about that also. Oh yeah, everybody pans for gold there. Yeah, it's touristy but we got $24 worth... so there! hehe

Dawson City was probably our favorite place. There's a provided Paddlewheel excursion up and down the Yukon River. The rest is free time. There are walking tours by the Park system and other things available. We went to Diamond Tooth Gertie's for the can-can show and also saw some people taking part in the Sour Toe Cocktail at the Downtown Hotel. (the line to partake was over 2 hrs long!) Anyway, Dawson is a cool place that they have tried hard to keep it's roots. They even still have dirt streets.

You also get to take the White Pass and Yukon Rail Road trip as it's also included. We rode it down from Frazier to Skagway and spent the night. (Skagway is a ghost town when the last ship leaves)

In Skagway, we went on the Musher's Camp excursion and liked it a lot. I heard that one of their 4 wheel unibogs went over the road last week. Some were airlifted to a hospital in Juneau I think. They were very safe drivers on our excursion. Things unfortunately happen. Also in Skagway, the NPS walking tours were free and very well done.

Oh yeah, the Bonanza Bar i is a good place to grab a bite. Try the Buffalo Chicken wrap.;)

We boarded the NA in Skagway and though we've cruised before, it was our first time on HAL. We were impressed with the NA and will hopefully sail on her again.

One other thing. It was kind of neat on our flight from Fairbanks to Dawson City. The entire 737 was just for our group of 28 people. Nice to be able to spread out.

It's also wierd landing a 737 on the gravel runway in Dawson. I expected some sliding but it was a smooth landing. Impressive.

At any rate, this is a great adventure. You will have a great time!:)

That is the same trip that we are going on, the we are cruising on the valenda. Thanks for the right up. It sounds great. I wondered about the day that we have the very long bus ride. The itinerary says expect 9 hours going into Whitehorse. Is it really that long, and do they make stops, entertain you, feed you? And was there time then yo see Whitehorse? I printed out the itinerary last night, and gave it a first look over. I saw that we have a Gala. Sounds exciting, hope my clothes are okay. I'm not the type to bring vacation clothes for two different events, as I usually just wear casual clothes.

With all of my questions, I really want to thank everyone who responded! Can't wait!

foodlady55,

The bus ride.........Yep, that's a long day. They do a good job though and have stops along the way often. There is a provided lunch at one stop along the Yukon River. Not a bad lunch and the chocolate desert was great.

The driver also narrates along the way and was very good. He was from the area and knew so much about where we were. We saw a couple of bears and he stopped the bus and let everyone get as many pics as they wanted. (through the window)

Anyway, Whitehorse was a welcomed sight. It was a long day but all in all they broke it up well and we could stretch our legs often. It's the only day that was like that.

Oh, I forgot, on the bus trip, they also stop at a place that has the biggest and best cinnamin rolls ever. We split one among four of us and we all got our fill!

We didn't do much in Whitehorse and we left early. The rib place across the street was packed. They have a good following. We couldn't wait and went down the street. We should have waited or just ate at the Westmark. Probably the easiest would have been to eat at the Westmark. The food is always good and we were tired.

Gala was smart casual. No problem.

<snip>I wondered about the day that we have the very long bus ride. The itinerary says expect 9 hours going into Whitehorse. Is it really that long, and do they make stops, entertain you, feed you? And was there time then yo see Whitehorse? <snip>

With all of my questions, I really want to thank everyone who responded! Can't wait!

The day is really no longer than the train trip from Anchorage to Denali, but more tiring, since it's on a bus. We had stops at Moose Creek Lodge (about 90 minutes from Dawson City: great fresh-baked goodies, but be sure to get at the front of the line before they run out); Minto (soup and salad lunch, 1-hour layover); a few minutes at Five Fingers rapids, just a roadside photo stop; and, 20 minutes at Braeburn Lodge (as Sacto Rick noted, home of the world's largest cinnamon buns, and he wasn't kidding). We left Dawson City about 8.45 and arrived in Whitehorse about 5.20 (IIRC). Several restaurants within a few blocks. The one in the hotel wasn't bad, and service was good. You will probably have some time in the evening to see a bit of the town.

The next morning, the bus stopped at the scenic overlook for the local lake near Whitehorse formed by a dam, then off to Fraser and the train, with a 20-minute stop at Carcross (short for Caribou Crossing) in the middle of the 3-hour bus ride.

Have a fun trip, tell us about your experience when you return!

-bruce

We did the Y3C (same itinerary, but cruise first, then land) two years ago and loved it. A couple of additional ideas:

In Fairbanks, we took a cab from our hotel to the Museum of the North at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. They have a lot about Alaska native cultures, natural history, and wildlife, as well as paintings by Alaskans. My DH is into fossils and they had a nice collection. You can check their website to see if it might be of interest. https://www.uaf.edu/museum/

Had no problems calling a cab to pick us up and take us back to the hotel. We ate at the Westmark Fairbanks for convenience and surprisingly (considering how hotel food often is) had one of our better meals there.

As others have said, Dawson City is wonderful and their museum quite interesting. We ate at Klondike Kate's there and had another really good meal. Since we have done a lot of paddle wheel boats in our time, we opted out and booked a day trip with the Husky Bus Company to go out to Tombstone Territorial Park to hike. The bus took us and 2 other couples out there; drove us around the park, provided a picnic lunch and let us hike for about an hour to two hours with a guide. We really enjoyed the day. [Note, the opt out consisted of telling our land tour guide that we were making alternate plans so she wouldn't be worried about us. There was no financial credit for not participating]