dopey1200

27 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Then you must be in cabin 2619---my favorite cabin on all the R-class ships ever in the fleet. Stayed in them many, many times. 
Yes, it is larger than the other insides by a decent amount. The distance between the couch and the desk is large enough for dancing. 

Personally, I wouldn't care if the bathroom had been remodeled or not, so long as all the features in it work. That cabin always had a large enough shower, a vanity much larger than the outside and higher classes of cabins, with a longer shelf for storage. 

I am so happy to hear this! I get a bit claustrophobic in some of the insides, but I can't afford to pay for anything bigger. Were you ever bothered by sounds from the stairs or elevators? 

31 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

C's are mid-ship oceanviews on Main Deck 2 which have (reported above) updated showers. J's are insides on Main and Dolphin Deck 1. J's appear to have only a smallish-shower (no tub) with a shower curtain; I find no reference or photos to suggest that the insides' bathrooms have been updated.

 

Here is a recent (Aug'23) photo of a length-wise J on Deck 1:

https://halfacts.com/r-class/1877-zaandam/

Thank you - that was very helpful. My cabin is one deck directly above 1877, so I'm excited to have a slightly bigger cabin. I kind of thought those lengthwise cabins were a little larger, but my cruise consultant would not admit to that. I'd rather have a slightly bigger cabin than a remodeled bathroom!

On 3/30/2024 at 11:30 PM, jannieb said:

This tour is already sold out on our May cruise. I was able to book the bus through Juneau tours. Our goal is Nugget Falls rather than the glacier itself.

Can you see the glacier from Nugget Falls? We're only going to have 90 minutes at the Mendenhall, but we're hoping to be able to walk to the falls. But I was under the impression that you can see the glacier from the falls. 

Sorry to be a little off topic here - but what is the difference between Class C and J? And does anybody know if the J's bathrooms have been updated? TIA

Thank you @Crew News and @Nelsj099 - I have booked the Bennett Lake excursion! 

A few more questions about the HAL excursion to Bennett Lake. On the bus portion, do they stop for photo opportunities along the way? Are you in the dining car for the entirety of the train ride? Thanks! @Crew News

Are taxis readily available if you wanted to hire one to do the Klondike Summit Drive? 

37 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

That is a great resource for checking all ports on an Alaska cruise. They really have their info organized well. I'm on QE out of Vancouver this summer and somehow, the cruise gods have smiled on me and she's the only one in port that day! 

 

Two years ago, coming out of Covid, check-in at Vancouver was a nightmare. Probably 90% of passengers didn't know they had to do ArriveCAN to prepare for our arrival at Victoria near the end of the cruise. They thought, I'm in Canda, I've arrived, so I don't need to do the app. They got to the head of the queue unprepared and held up the process. The people working at the convention center made everyone stay in the ArriveCAN queue, even if some of us (including me) HAD done it properly and could have been sent to a separate desk. On top of that, they weren't reading the QR codes. Instead, they were checking people off lists. And then there was show the Covid test results, passport (twice), boarding pass, all at separate stations along the route. 

 

Not to tempt the cruise gods, but I figure if I survived that $*** show, I can get through a regular check-in at Vancouver. 

I'm glad you mentioned this about ArriveCan - is that still a thing? I'm sure we don't need the test results, but do you still need to use ArriveCan for any other reason? It was 2 years ago for me when we last sailed to Canada on the east coast.

Just saw this in the latest brochure 

I'm looking at the $50 Klondike Summit excursion that is 1.5 hours long and starts at either 10:30am or 1:15pm. Does anybody know where this tour starts? I'm trying to do it before or after another excursion and I want to make sure I have time to get from one to another. TIA

Do the HAL ships cruising the inside passage get fresh salmon at any of the ports to serve in the dining room? While the salmon bake excursions sound delicious, I'd hate to pay $80 per person for one of them when I could possibly have it for dinner that night or the next day for free on the ship. TIA

I've got the same dilemma. I see that you can book the basic 2.75 hour train ride directly thru the railroad and they have a few more time options, plus it's cheaper. If booking w/HAL, we can only choose 8am (too early for me) or 12pm, which then conflicts with other tours we want to do. Has anybody booked directly thru the railroad? They do have this on their website:

For passengers arriving via cruise ship, this tour is available from your ship’s Shore Excursion Department. By booking through the cruise line, you will be able to take advantage of the dockside service and board the train on the pier alongside your ship. Contact your cruise line’s Shore Excursion Department for more details.

Is it really easier to get to the station if you book thru HAL?

Sorry, I'm sure this has been asked before, but I searched and couldn't find an answer. What airport do you all fly into if sailing from Whittier? I'll be coming from Cincinnati, if that matters or helps. The HAL cruise I'm looking at leaves Whittier on 6/23/24 and doesn't depart until 7:30pm. With that late departure, I'm hoping it will be easier to find flights. There is a possibility for us to do a northbound cruise ending in Whittier, if you think that makes more sense for flights. TIA

On 5/4/2023 at 7:45 PM, njsmom said:

Did you check out of Louisville? It was only $350 one-way to Vancouver in July on Delta. I looked again and it's still affordable even for rt, just $750. 

Thank you, I will check flights from Louisville next time too!

On 4/24/2023 at 1:25 PM, Buffalobills said:

Did you look at Alaska Airlines? I was debating too because of the airfare from Orlando but Alaska Airlines was a lot cheaper than $1000.00 and I booked it 3 weeks ago. 

16 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

Check Alaska Air out of Columbus. Generally  decent prices to Seattle and a direct flight. We have flown RT for far less than 1k pp.  I just looked and there are June flights under $200 pp one way. 

Thank you both so much for these suggestions! We will definitely look into flying out of Columbus in the future. With the 2 hour drive to Columbus it may require an overnight stay, which adds another day to the trip (we're not retired yet😔), and more money for a hotel room, but it does make it a possibility. We just booked a non-cruise vacation to Providence RI (Thanks to cheap fares from Breeze Airways👍), but maybe next vacation we can work something out.  Thanks again!

Thank you all for your responses. Even with the lower rate for an inside cabin, it's just not going to happen right now. Unfortunately the airfare from Cincinnati to the west coast is at least $1000 per person right now. That's more than the cruise fare itself. We'll get to Alaska some day though and now I know that we'll be able to do an inside cabin!☹️

We usually have no problems staying in an inside cabin to save money (we don't have unlimited funds), but we're really wanting to cruise to Alaska and I feel like we at least need a window. It seems like you'd miss a lot by being inside for Alaska, but obviously plenty of people do it. The only time we are ever in our cabin is for sleeping and showering, but I still feel like I'd be missing out on something. So, who has stayed inside and did you regret it? 

We just did the HAL from Boston to Montreal on the Zaandam. It's a very small ship with a more "mature" crowd. I think there were only 2 kids on the ship! It was also our first time doing the New England/Canada itinerary and really enjoyed it. 

1 hour ago, boulders said:

NAAT is not a type of PCR. PCR is a type of NAAT. Both are types of a molecular test. You need a molecular test within 72 hours of boarding time or an antigen test within 2 days. Both need to be professionally administered, i.e. can't be self- administered. If you are boarding on Saturday, any time after 2 pm on Wednesday should be safe for a molecular test (PCR or NAAT). Or you can book a rapid antigen test for anytime Thursday or Friday. 

 

 

Thank you @boulders! I was able to confirm this with somebody from HAL also. Got us both scheduled for rapid tests tomorrow afternoon. I couldn't imagine waiting up to 2 days for the results. 

9 minutes ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

NAAT is not an antigen test. It's a type of PCR. The results are generally rapid.

I was going to say the same thing - I don't think the one I'm talking about is an antigen. So this Rapid NAAT can be done within 72 hours of boarding time? But I haven't been assigned a boarding time yet & we leave this Saturday. This is very stressful!

This link says the NAAT are acceptable, but does that include rapid? (Or are they all rapid?) Has anyone used one recently? TIA

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/cruise

According to the ArriveCAN app, you're considered fully vaccinated if you have 2 shots. Doesn't sound like you need a booster. I went thru the motions of completing the required information and that's what the app tells you. But I sure would like to know for sure! My husband is not boosted, so it's a deal breaker. I think this starts Sept 5th. 

Thank you all for your kind comments 🤗

The Edge lit up at night in Cozumel. March 2020.