kickboxrca

Is it just me?  I've cruised on HAL 15 times and I swear that when I book onboard, that the OBC associated with the onboard booking (not other promotions) stick when I call for a price adjustment.

Just spent 45 minutes on the phone with HAL for the Cyber Monday deal - I know that I lose all of the perks that were associated with the original booking (if there was OBC, HIA, crew appreciation, etc), but I have always been able to keep the OBC associated with booking onboard.  Today I was told nope - it's like rebooking - so I would lose everything. I asked for this to be put in writing - but of course, they refused.

Also - they told me I booked with a PCC and then abruptly transferred me to voicemail of someone I know I've never talked to before to address this ...

Do you think they'll call me back within the cyber Monday deal time? Am I crazy thinking this OBC should stay?

TIA!!!

@SightCRR wow! Thanks for posting this!

Thanks @lag9122 and @coolrider71 - we are certainly looking forward to it - hoping for great weather, but will be happy with whatever we get!

We did the dog sled camp last year in Skagway - was definitely a highlight for us and for all of the people that were on our bus - I think the one in Juneau would be similar. And yes, everything in Alaska is much more expensive.

I would skip the lumberjack show for sure - the Bering Sea fishermen tour is a blast - we've done it twice.  Ketchikan is lovely to even just walk around.

We always book a balcony guarantee cabin, and feel like we hit the jackpot when assigned an aft cabin.  The balconies have been bigger, so we get lovely loungers, and as many posters have mentioned, the view is exceptional.  I've never smelled fumes, and I have (lucky I guess) never been right below the pool deck, so haven't had the noise.  The only negative (and I really believe the only) is that it is the longest walk from the stairs/elevators.

We are waiting on our cabin assignment for our cruise leaving in two weeks - will be thrilled if we get an aft balcony!

I'm from Montreal and love love love Vermont!  Lots of things to do for the day.  If you're somewhat adventurous and would like to pack in a bunch of things, I'd suggest looking at the Montreal Tourist Passport - it's a flat rate and includes up to 5 activities ... it used to include Montreal transit (metro and bus) as well - not sure if it does anymore or not (whether or not you get the passport or not, you can get a day pass on transit) ... the island is very easy to get around with transit, and lots is walkable.  There is also a museum pass if that's what you like to do.  

If you give me some ideas of what you like to do, I can give you some suggestions 🙂 

We are also Canadian and have had a similar experience ... I have complained to HAL guest services ... they were less than sympathetic.  I try super hard to not book anything in advance if at all possible.

Yes, our original price is in $CAD, but all the shore excursions, etc. are in USD - I do like OBC for this reason as well, but sadly we can't dip into that until we are on board.

I really wish there was another way.

I would definitely recommend doing the Yukon portion of the land tour.  We did 2 days in Dawson, and 2 days in Denali - a third day would have been nice for sure - we would have done some hikes on the other day.

The only negative that we discovered when we were at Denali and talking to other groups that were touring (and didn't do the Yukon) was that they never had to get up early every day ... we definitely covered a lot of ground, and hence the early days.

We had only the three days on the ship - so stopped in Juneau, a sea day, and off in Skagway.  I believe if we had done the land portion first, we would have gone to Glacier Bay.

I tried to get out of going on my first cruise to Alaska, and now we are heading on our fourth ... yes, it's definitely more expensive than the Caribbean, but the adventures are amazing.  I know you are looking at just a cruise, however the cruise tour (land and sea) that we did last year was super.

I echo what previous posters have said about the ports - we haven't been to Sitka yet, but Glacier Bay is a not miss ...and we have loved the diversity in Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan.  The trip up to Carcross on the train was lovely ... we have also done a dogsledding training thing out in Dyea that was a big highlight.  If you want to see whales, the small boats do a great job of getting you close to them.  When we go to Sitka this trip, we plan on doing our own thing - heading to the Bear refuge, the Raptor Centre, and hiking around the national park.

I would be interested to hear what you think when you get back.  Have a wonderful trip!

We don't have a lot of time in ISP - our zipline time is 8:00 - how much time do we need to get up the gondola?

5 minutes ago, argentar said:

We bought through the cruise line and here’s no set time. You can go anytime.

I wonder if this is cruise line specific ... ours definitely has 30 minute time slot times.  Interesting. What line are you on?  We are with HAL.

On 4/3/2023 at 5:24 PM, cruzer0007 said:

I am sailing in 5 days on a transatlantic, and for the first time ever, I have booked a guaranteed cabin rate (inside cabin).  Still no cabin assigned, and if we do not learn  the assignment until we board, how does the luggage get handled ?  We will be separated from luggage before we enter the terminal building and I had not considered this was a possibility until seeing this thread, so now am getting a bit nervous about lost luggage risk(s).  Am sure a part of the reason we don’t  yet have a cabin is because the ship is at or very near capacity (Nieuw Statendam) all the more reason I am concerned about luggage getting misplaced in the process.   Anyone been through that sequence know how they keep track of bags when the deck and cabin are not known when dropping bags at the curb ?   I really do not want to walk on with my bags, it’s a 14 day sailing so we will have several.

We were in a similar position - we received a cabin assignment when we arrived at the pier.  We arrived at the cabin - and there was welcome information for someone else!!!  I went to the main desk, and they had done another last minute shuffle - we ended up (finally) in an even better location (same category).  For our trouble, they gave us a bottle of wine.

We were on the Volendam for an inside passage cruise before covid ... we had a lanai cabin - I would book a lanai on every ship if I could.  We loved the convenience of the lanai, and really enjoyed the small feel of the Volendam.  Haven't cruised on RCCL ... 

Does anyone know if there are additional tickets that will be available if times are "sold out" on the ship's booking?  We don't want to miss out!

TIA!

We did a land tour last summer - there were 41 of us on our tour, and no one bought the meal package.  We were very satisfied with the options for meals in all of the locations ... as well, there are some excursions that include meals - the last thing you want to do is pay for meals you don't get to eat!

On 3/28/2023 at 7:55 AM, Alphen said:

You are welcome. Be aware, we found our luggage arrangements to differ from the ones stated in the PDF. They can be itinerary specific. In our case, the PDF said we had to separate our luggage in Fairbanks (land and cruise luggage), but during the tour it turned out to be an option. We chose to keep our luggage all the way, fortunately, the only handling of luggage you have to do, is put it outside your room when required and it will be either in your room, or waiting outside your room, upon arrival at hotel(s).

This was our experience last summer as well.  We were prepared to only take one bag to Denali, but were told that NOPE - we take them all with us.  I would definitely travel lighter than you think you need.  Even though HAL handles the luggage all the time, it was super annoying to have the big bags to haul in and out of the room (definitely a first world problem0.

Enjoy your trip - definitely a trip of a lifetime!

I think if it were just about the $$, it wouldn't pay for us either - we can definitely live without wifi, and don't drink much - but as a number of posters have mentioned - pay in advance, then you don't debate whether or not to have that other fancy coffee or that drink with dinner.  We are also Canadian - spending Canadian $$ is so much less painful!

Hello fellow cruisers,

We are at ISP for only four hours on the Eurodam (6:00pm - 10:00pm).  We are looking at doing the zipline ... There are only 4 times available, 6:30, 7:00, 7:30 and 8:00, and the 7:00 and 7:30 are already sold out.  Two questions - any idea whether they will all sell out before we go (first week of May), and if we did choose the last time, will the sun be in our eyes as we go down, or would we still have a good view and opportunity for good pictures.

We have a ton of OBC and I would rather wait and book onboard if possible so as to be able to use it.

TIA!

16 hours ago, wolfie11 said:

Unless it is a record hot summer, you should be fine.  The camps usually start closing down in late August or early September.  The weather will be sunny, cloudy, or showery, maybe windy. It could be foggy or rain/clouds could impact visibility and the tour won't run.  It will likely be somewhere between 45 and 80 degrees.

And you may experience all of it in one day ... 😉

This is super interesting as we are cruising at the end of April and I haven't found anything about being asked for proof of vaccination - definitely not on the cruise ship - I've been keeping up with the guidance there - and nothing when I booked our air tickets - we are cruising out of Seattle.

We were in and out of the US last year and definitely were expected to provide proof of vaccination and were warned when we booked our tickets.

@KellyCz we did the ship tour (only because we had OBC that we needed to spend) ... they took a number of different ship passengers along with those staying in Skagway ... it was super - definitely a highlight of the trip! 

We did the AK/YK 11 day cruise tour last July - 3 days on the ship - Vancouver - Juneau - off in Skagway - then we took the train, went to Whitehorse, Dawson City, Fairbanks, Denali, and then to Anchorage - is that your trip?

We didn't have too many meals included - I think we had a lunch when we were in the bus a full day between Whitehorse and Dawson City, and the lunch when on the Tundra Wilderness tour.  Many of the excursions we booked did include a meal (The Riverboat in Fairbanks - loved it), the dinner show in Denali (the show was hokey but the meal was wonderful), and an ATV trip also in Denali. One of the best restaurants I've eaten at was in Whitehorse (the Klondike Rib and Salmon), and we enjoyed local fare - including two meals at Triple D locations (Diners, Drive Ins and Dives). 

We brought way more stuff than we needed as we pretty much wore the same things EVERY DAY once we were off the ship (as did our travelling companions).  If you have any questions about any of the stops, I would be happy to help 🙂

I see you are from the UK - are you spending any additional time on land in Canada? 

On 2/24/2023 at 5:35 AM, Hllb said:

I’ll preface this with I haven’t been yet so am just sharing what I’ve read planning for our trip this summer. Glacier Bay should be on the itinerary which gives you (I think) only Holland America, Princess, and Norwegian to choose from. Next choice is a one way or round trip. Most people recommend one way for the best options. If, for whatever reason, you choose a round trip, out of Vancouver is better than out of Seattle as most of them travel the protected inside passage for better scenery and calmer waters (not all do, but most out of Vancouver).

 

for us, the flights were too pricey for a one way or out of Vancouver so we’re doing round trip out of Seattle on Holland America. Some of the port times could be better but we have more port days so will get a little more variety for less time. We may go back though so I feel like it’s a decent compromise.

When are you travelling?  We are doing that trip out of Seattle on April 29.

@2206 you are at ISP the day after us ... I am curious about the same thing.  I don't think we will know for sure until we get there.  How long are you in port?  We are only there for 4h after spending the day in Glacier Bay.

@ibfishing2 100% - we were exhausted at the end of our land tour ... and I can see why people are willing to pay more to do the cruise second!!!

Haha - that said, we would do it all again in a heartbeat.  And as for planning it on our own, yes, it is definitely doable, but it was super easy and convenient to just put out our bags and hop on the next leg - planes, trains, boats....

I can't imagine doing everything we did and then drive ourselves from place to place.  It was so nice to sit on the bus (or plane or train), and just listen to our bus driver and cruise tour guide talk about where we were going next and what we would do there.  The accommodations along the way were good (I would not say posh) - but definitely good - and quite posh for Alaska standards.  We ran into a couple of people doing the land tours on their own, and they definitely looked worse for the wear.

We did an 11 day cruise tour through AK/YK last summer.