Btimmer

You're welcome! She's totally engaged with virtually all aspects of the trip. We leave in a few minutes to take a coach to the train for a ride to Whittier. We're hoping moose are on the loose. We recommend the one hour Anchorage trolley tour which we took this morning.

We kept all of our cruise luggage with us. At each change of location, we had it sent forward to the next location. But we travel with only one roll on suitcase and a backpack. We kept the backpack with us. In Denali, we had smaller backpacks for day use. Personally I think HAL explains it way too complicated. However, if one is traveling with more than one suitcase, DEFINITELY pack cruise only clothes and items in one suitcase and have that and any others not needed on the land portion sent directly to the ship. Finally, if at all possible, do the land portion first.

It was a fabulous day riding the train south to Anchorage. We had blue skies all the way! We saw 7 moose but they escaped the camera. Here are a few pictures. The train staff was phenomenal; onboard prices were reasonable; and there were great views out the large windows. We're at the Captain Cook tonight; tomorrow we take the train to Whittier and board the Noordam.

We do wish the Denali chalet units had a refrigerator and microwave. They could also be more coordinated with the Beacon Covid testing group. I really didn't appreciate having to go over to the Princess Hotel to get simple Covid questions answered. Beyond that, the HaL staff were friendly. A bus driver today told us this was the busiest week so far this season. The on property shuttle service is wonderful as is the shuttle service to the park visitor center, Horseshoe Lake, and the bus depot.

Cool. I've got ALL the paperwork so that's no issue. I'm sure they will take a much better GD picture than what I took today! Denali has been fabulous and I can't see how one could realistically do less than a Triple Denali. A quadruple might even be in order.

Yes. It sounds like what we experienced with no use for the Covid tests HAL required for the land portion of our trip, but were never looked at and were comptemptuosly talked down by HAP staff.

I got everything entered into Verifly and all is good. We ate at Fannie Q's Saloon on the Princess Property and we liked it. Our hike to Horseshoe Lake today was quite pretty although we didn't see any beavers. We did see their handiwork, though. The train even made an appearance. We'll be in one of those dome cars much of the day tomorrow on our way to Anchorage and a stay at the Captain Cook hotel.

Covid Testing Observations In our welcome pack was a QR code to sign up for our Covid test. Wednesday night I used it to sign all three of us up for our Friday tests. The app didn't give a time or confirmation that the sign up was successful. So, Thursday we tried to get an answer at the HAL McKinley chalet front desk, but they directed me to the Beacon medical desk at the Princess lodge. So we took a shuttle there and the staff confirmed we were in the system. Today, Friday, at 10am we showed up in the McKinley Chalet at the testing site. There was no line. The test process went smoothly and quickly. The negative results were emailed to me a few hours later. Around noon there was a long line for the testing. So we are good to go on the cruise! What a relief!

We passed our Covid tests and are cleared to board the ship! Yesterday's Tundra and Wilderness tour was wonderful. We saw moose, Dall sheep, a caribou, and more. Details are in my blog. Our granddaughter pronounced it, "terrific!". I would note that the tour was done on a school bus which has been previously reported. We found it comfortable and there was nice air conditioning.

We had a terrific Tundra and wildlife tour today. The haze has slightly cleared and we got to see Denali from the MP 43 turnaround. We saw moose, Dall sheep, caribou, ptarmigan, raven, & squirrels. More pictures later. Our GD deemed this excursion "terrific".

Thanks!! That's what happens when one is pecking away on a phone at midnight after a long day.

We've had a great day today doing the Discovery III riverboat cruise on the Chena River and then we motorcoached to Denali. Our granddaughter really liked this tour especially the chance to pet the sled dogs and the display of the 2 trophy moose with interlocked horns. The bus wasn't full and we saw no animals along the way. It is still quite hazy here. We opted to attend the family style "Music of Denali dinner show" at the Gold Nugget Saloon. Our GD really liked it except the love songs were mushy. Before retiring back to our chalet, we scoped out the businesses across the Highway noting the Subway for future meals. I noted that there was a whole Princess Lodge A&B that looked unused. The other Princess Lodge appeared in full operation. Nobody has asked for our pre-tour Covid test, and the HAL greeter here said they weren't interested in it and if anyone had issues they were to direct their concerns to corporate HAL. We were instructed to schedule our pre-cruise Covid-19 test on Thursday or Friday. My understanding of the protocols is that the antigen test needs to be done 2 days ahead of embarkation or no earlier than Friday for a Sunday sailing. I've started my official blog in which I write more details than I share here. The blog address is: https://timmertd2020.blogspot.com. There will be few if any pictures there. Tomorrow is our tundra tour and maybe something else. Below are a few pictures from today. This pilot did demo take-offs and landing in this 1950 Piper Super Cub Daughter of world famous Susan Butcher There's an interesting back story on this dock. It'll be in my blog. Paddlewheel action Super sized dahlia Our room in the Ridge View complex

We're approaching Denali and it's super hazy.

Here's our walking track from today. The high points were the Thompson Cultural Museum "that was cool", lunch at Costco, a stop at the Blue Door Antiques house on Illinois Street "that was very cool" and ice cream at the espresso stand south of the post office and in the parking lot of the furniture store (a very kind lady paid for our treats without our knowledge or opportunity to thank her). I picked up our welcome packet upon return to the Westmark hotel. We'll ship our roller suitcase from hotel to hotel and not send anything on to the ship. Oh, and the smoke is downright oppressive even in the hotel room. Just needs a little restoration Toad flax

BTW, it's super smokey here in Fairbanks today. All 3 of us are getting congested and wearing a KN95 mask really helps reduce the pungent smell.

I've consulted closely with my Doctor and he does not recommend the second booster at this time since we had Covid just a month ago. Last night we passed our rapid Antigen test to start our land portion of our triple Denali.

I'll add her comments from time to time. Yes it was root beer, and she loved the salad. Pizza seems to be her favorite so far.

This GD is our youngest. Having a great time.

Yup, still tapping away the reports on my iPhone. We visited the cultural museum and the granddaughter report was, "That was cool!" There are all sorts of interactive exhibits. We're now enjoying a Costco dog for lunch along with pizza for the GD. The GD has logged 6,822 steps so far today while I'm at only 4,576 steps or just a little over 2 miles. Fun times!

Fairbanks - Day -1 After arriving in Fairbanks on a hazy day due to some lightning strike caused fires, we deplaned and headed for the baggage claim area. We were greeted there by friendly HAL/Princess representatives. I explained that we were a day early, and they didn't have our materials ready for us. They would be available at the hotel tomorrow. The agent then arranged for us to check into the Westmark hotel 24 hours early which was a tremendous help. We gathered our luggage and boarded the motor coach along with another guest. We had just left the airport when the bus was called back and two more passengers were loaded on. They were dropped off at the Princess Hotel which is quite near the airport. Our driver then dropped us off at the Westmark where we received room keys at 1pm from a very friendly desk clerk and we deposited our luggage in the room. Normal check in time is 3pm. It was really quite smokey and wearing a KN95 mask really helped as we ventured out walking north to the park along the Chena River. We visited the Antler Arch and a number of memorial monuments in the park before heading into downtown in search of some lunch. Across the street from the Golden Eye Plaza was a little restaurant called the Fudge Stop. It looked appealing, so we ordered lunch and weren't disappointed. After lunch we continued wandering through downtown using a street a couple of blocks to the west of Noble Street. Along the way we encountered a GIANT rubber ducky along with a Veteran's Memorial. It was in the 80's and quite humid as we reached the Westmark Hotel. Back in the room we cooled off before heading back out in search of pizza for dinner. We found it at Sicily's Pizza a couple blocks south of the hotel. It was good and way more than we could finish, so we brought it back to the room to store in the refrigerator. I scheduled three Covid-19 tests with Total Testing Solutions. They proctor the Antigen tests using covid test kits I obtained from the US Government. They also have an option to sell you a test kit for $7.50 each if one doesn't have access to an authorized kit. They have a wide range of test kits that are acceptable and those are listed on their website. In the past we've used Emed.com, but these tests are $19 each compared to $30 for the Emed tests. When I logged onto the session using my iPhone and a portable tripod, Angelica, our proctor, conducted all of three of the tests simultaneously which was an efficient way to do it. We all tested negatively so we are good to go on the land trip from a testing standpoint. Results were sent to us in PDF firm as well as links. Tomorrow we'll explore more of downtown Fairbanks and visit a couple of museums and do some shopping. We're really glad we came in a day early as it really helps with getting familiar with the area and start off our trip in a more relaxed state of mind and body. Some granddaughter smiles tells it all! Below are a few pictures from today. I use Pocket Earth for tracking our activities. It was recommended by Ian Page our Cruise Director while on an Asian cruise some years ago. We really like using it all over the world and once the maps are downloaded, no internet is required. Turkey & Provelone on Potato Bread

We actually are enjoying the Westmark in Fairbanks. The staff is super friendly and they graciously and with a smile allowed us to check in a day early. i have a long report that I'll post later tonight after we finish our Covid-19 testing. Did they ever ask you for your pre-landtour Covid test?

And we're off. The weather forecast looks terrific.

After 6 months of waiting, scares about the cruise being cancelled, contracting & recovered from Covid, tomorrow morning we're flying to Fairbanks a day early before we start our triple Denali land tour with our 11 year old granddaughter who is anxious to do her first cruise. We even booked a balcony cabin on the port side so we could enjoy the view of Alaska from our stateroom (and not get the granddaughter feeling claustrophobic on her first cruise). She's especially interested in the wildlife. We'll do our pre-cruise Covid testing in Fairbanks tomorrow using tele-medicine before joining the land tour on Tuesday. As is my custom, I'll be posting pictures and commentary in this thread. We are especially keen on sailing on the Noordam which is our second to last HAL ship we've not sailed on before. One of our last views of the Noordam was when it was rusting while moored at Puerto Vallarta in September, 2021. It did look much nicer in Skagway in May, 2022 when we visited that port using the Quantum of the Seas. I realize there have been a number of Alaska cruise / tour posts this season, but I'd like to add my Almost Live spin on the tour/cruise experience. The weather forecast looks spectacular, so here's hoping Denali is in full view. I'll also do my customary day by day blog posting and I'll post a link when that's set up. Feel free to ask any questions about the tour and the ship and the ports. Depending upon internet connections, I'll try to respond promptly.

We did B2B transits of the Panama Canal on the Zuiderdam in January, 2022. We were tested before both transits. Nobody was put off the ship after each test (that I'm aware of).

Thanks for the postings and pictures. We leave for a triple Denali on Monday, 6/27 and I'll also have an "Almost Live" thread.