judynorth

How do I found out what dock my ship is at?

I have been on HAL 3 times to Juneau and have always docked at the dock closest to downtown which is where the tram is located. Princess docks further out a bit of a walk from town. As far as I know HAL never docks there.

SightCRR, thanks for your detailed response to my questions. Now I will know what to expect. We are on the same cruise on July 27th. We did it before in 2011 on the Amsterdam.

We are thinking of taking a cruise on Holland America leaving from Seattle to Alaska. We will be stopping at these ports: Ketchikan, Juneau, Homer, Kodiak, Sitka and Victoria. Is it better to book the excursions with the cruise line or independent companies? Thank you for any suggestions. :)

When we book excursions in AK we usually book independent. However, we have booked several excursions with the ship. It looks like you are taking the 14-day roundtrip out of Seattle. If so, you will also be visiting Icy Strait Point and Anchorage. This is what we have done in the past:

Ketchikan - mostly on our own but have done the lumberjack show and duck tour both booked through the ship.

Juneau - Mt. Roberts tram, photography tour (Mendenhall and whale watching through the ship), rental car.

Homer - we did our own thing

Kodiak - private tour with Memory Makers

Sitka - photo tour through the ship, bird watching tour through the ship, toured the Sitka National Park on our own

Icy Strait Point - on our own; we have booked a private whale-watching tour for our next cruise

Anchorage - rental car

Victoria - ships tour to Butterfly Garden and Butchart Gardens.

There are several trails in the Mendenhall area. The only one that I have taken is the one to Nugget Falls. It is an easy trail but you might get your feet wet if there is much rain.

The buses to Mendenhall are located in the same area as the Mt. Roberts tram which should be very near where you dock.

Thanks for your review. Would you mind answering a few questions?

What laundry issues did you have? We also have the unlimited laundry package.

Also, what cabins had the plumbing issues? Our cabin is on the main deck, port side, just aft of midship.

We also have an early private tour in Icy Strait so would be interested in the tender situation.

Having just had a discussion about Windows 8.1, we were told by someone who should know that Windows 8 will be discontinued, much like Vista. Found that interesting.

Do you mean that Windows 8 will no longer be supported but Windows 8.1 will be? What about Windows 7?

.... And of course they will have a launch party on board if you happen to be on a ship when it's officially released. We were on board the Volendam when 7 was released with her and she decorated and gave out lots of Microsoft goodies.

We will be onboard the Statendam the day Windows 10 is launched. I'll be checking to see if they do anything special. It sounds like fun. I have already reserved my free upgrade to Windows 10.

Planning a trip to Alaska, could someone tell me the difference between the two glaciers?

Glacier Bay has several glaciers which you see as you sail into and out of the bay. The star is Marjorie Glacier where you stay for a long time as the ship turns around to head out of the bay. Hubbard Glacier is enormous and you see it as soon as you enter Yakutat Bay. It just gets larger and larger as you go in and is breath-taking when you reach it. I don't think that you would be disappointed with either of them. Many people say that Glacier Bay is the one to see on your first trip to AK but Hubbard Glacier is much more impressive to me.

This link will take you to some of the pictures that we took on this same cruise in May 2011.

https://plus.google.com/photos/102720032296955701968/albums/6154727938486776593

I am on the July27th sailing. I will be the Chaplain. I did this on the Amsterdam a few years ah\go and I just loved it.

I think you were on the cruise with us in May 2011. We just HAD to go again.

Remember that in Alaska the weather can change quickly and places will look quite different in different kinds of weather. On both of our trips into the Yukon we started in fog until we were almost to the summit. Then the sky cleared and it was beautiful and sunny the rest of the trip. The return trip was almost like a different trip since things looked so different when it was sunny. Be prepared for that and if a site looks perfect for a photo on the way up, stop and take a picture. It might be quite different on the way back.

BQ is right. There won't be a lot of traffic. Much of the time you might think that you are the only one on the road. Remember, the only vehicles on the road will be the tour busses and vans and the limited number of cars that Avis rents.

Enjoy the ride. It might be one of the most restful days of the cruise. :)

I wish that I had been in my 30's when we discovered Alaska. Of all the cruises that we have taken, our AK cruises have provided the most active excursions and the most beautiful locations to visit. Our first AK cruise was when I was 60 and I just couldn't do all the active things that were offered. This year we are going on our 5th AK cruise (actually, 6th if you count the B2B as 2) to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. And we will probably go again in the future. It is something that you shouldn't miss and being young is an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

Another update!!!

 

I just found one of the "new" ocean view rooms on deck 3 which is larger and has the huge window for a great price with our captains club upgrade - so we jumped on that deal! It was $210 per person to upgrade from our deck 3 inside. The layout of the room is like that of a balcony, and the window is so huge that we can stand at it looking out and pretend like we're ON a balcony (minus the cool air and wind).

 

I'm very happy now - we'll be able to see the beautiful scenery - and know if we should be running out on deck to see what we're missing! :)

 

Thanks again for all of your advice and opinions! I will report back with how we liked the room!

Now that was an offer worth taking! I know that you will enjoy your OV cabin AND having more than $1000 to play with.

We've been to Hubbard 3 times and got very close each time.

Thanks everyone for your opinions!

 

I think we've decided to forego the balcony... For now, anyway! We just can't justify the extra $2700 for it, even with the huge room size! I will keep my eye out for cheaper balconies and hope for the best! If all else fails, we'll make the best of our inside room! :)

 

We already splurged on excursions - Misty fjords float plane in Ketchikan, train in Skagway, whale watching in Icy Strait Point, and a Kenai Fjords cruise and the wildlife centre in Seward... So I have no doubt we'll have a great time regardless of what kind of room we're staying in!

You made some great selections for your excursions. Have a great time! And just think what the 2 of you can do with that extra $2700.

Except the same amount of time is spent sailing away from the Glacier, at which time an aft balcony would be beneficial...

By then I was tired and cold though. :)

I can only tell you by what my Grandmother told me ( and why we booked the balcony ) as I haven't gone yet ( next weeeeek!!! ) but...she said it was VERY VERY cold in glacier bay and packed out on the decks. At times you couldn't get as good of a view on deck and didn't want to stay out long because of how cold it was. She said when they got a balcony, they could sit out on the balcony with sweaters and blankets-drink hot choc/coffee and have amazing- personal views. And when they needed a bathroom or to get warm for a moment- they went in and went right back out without the walk or hassle.

They are going to Hubbard Glacier and most of the time sailing in to see the glacier it is directly in front of the ship so the aft balcony would not be an advantage there. We had balconies on our first 2 times to AK and seldom used them. The one exception was sailing into Tracy Arm when it was raining. We could have easily seen the same views on the promenade deck. Since then we have booked an OV and haven't regretted it at all. At half the cost of a balcony, we had more money for excursions or we just saved a lot of $$$.

I think the maître d' is the one who determines what is acceptable in "his" dining room. I have seen everything from jeans to tuxes on formal nights. However, I saw one man turned away on Princess because he wasn't wearing a tie (they let him borrow one) and on HAL I saw a man turned away because he was wearing a polo shirt. Most of the time you will see a variety of clothing on formal nights but the vast majority of mean wear coat and tie and leather shoes and women wear dressy dresses or pants.

We have been to the lumberjack show. It is a competition between 2 teams, one American and one Canadian. The little kids really enjoyed it but it is just a show. I would rather spend my time doing other things in Ketchikan. On our last visit there we took the city bus to Totem Bight park and really enjoyed ourselves.

You will be cruising Yakutat Bay to Hubbard Glacier. The glacier is huge and you can see it for miles and miles on the way into the bay. We have been there 3 times and got very close to the glacier each time. It dwarfs the cruise ship.

We have done the Taku Lodge trip and loved it. You fly low over the glaciers and then land right across from a glacier. The food was very good and the bear visited the grill pit while we were eating. We all rushed outside to see the bear and must have been no more than 20 feet away from her.

As an aside, one of the people with us (a very good friend)is an aeronautical engineer and designs helicopters but refuses to fly in them.

I am surprised that your DM was not also quarantined.

I know a couple whose DH came down with the virus and both of them were told to stay in their cabin for 48 hours.

Mothers and daughters aren't quite as close as husband and wife. :) Perhaps that is the reason.

Dchip, we are also celebrating our 50th anniversary on a HAL cruise to Alaska. We are on the 14 night itinerary on the Statendam.

I totally agree with you about the beds on Princess. Our first several cruises were on Princess and they were great except that I never had a decent night's sleep even with 2 or 3 egg crate mattress pads. I love the beds on HAL. I also like the smaller ships, the itineraries, and the unlimited laundry package. Spending a day or two in the laundry room isn't my idea of the way to spend a vacation. The biggest difference that we have had to settle for is an oceanview cabin instead of a balcony on HAL. The price difference is much greater between the two categories on HAL than on Princess.

Once you sail, you can always go to the ATM in every port. It's not like you will be in a foreign country, at least the last time I looked Alaska was still a state.

Amazingly, there are a lot of people who don't know that. A frequent question is, "Can you use American money in Alaska?" :eek: