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We did not take the meal plan. We wanted flexibility, and it turned out there were a lot of options available. There are a few restaurants at the hotel in Denali Park (really nice place to stay! We loved it). For breakfast we were happy to just get a muffin and coffee at the Starbucks in the lobby. Great trip! Enjoy!

Wouldn't recommend West Quay Cars. They are based in Southampton and not aware of events in London which could impact their ability to meet their timeline commitments, which we discovered the hard way a few years ago. I read the feedback above with great interest for future reference!

This is one of the main reasons we switched from HAL to Celebrity. Our last cruise with HAL we had cigar smokers on both sides of our balcony and it was horrible. Also someone above us flicked their cigarette onto our lounge chair and burned a hole in it. Thankfully it didn't start a fire. We would really love to cruise on HAL again especially their long cruises to Europe but this prevents us from doing that. Has anyone booked Aft balconies? Wonder if the smoke issue would be less if we were on the back of the ship?

Yes, we booked an aft wrap around balcony suite on Oosterdam last summer for an Alaskan cruise. Someone below and to our left smoked cigars, and it did bother us pretty much every day. Obviously balcony smoking, even cigars, is allowed so we did not complain, we just retreated inside. We loved the itinerary and enjoyed our cruise very much, but HAL is not our first choice because of the smoking policy. Cruising Glacier Bay, there were many smokers on deck enjoying the awesome scenery. We know this going on HAL, and we take this into account in our decision making as to whether the itinerary trumps the smoking.

We did this trip last July and loved it. Once you start digging into the excursion details, you'll see there's a lot more info on the HAL website than you realize at first. A previous responder is correct in saying that the listed excursions are the only ones that you can take, so that by process of default, you can ascertain when you are travelling or on HAL included excursions. I suppose things change from year-to-year, but I've tried to outline how it worked for us in July/15. We are Canadian and it was really interesting for us to see parts of the Yukon in addition to Alaska. It was wonderful to be able to combine a 2 week land trip with the cruise experience.

Arrive Vancouver - we added extra time downtown and enjoyed the waterfront and walking around Stanley Park.

Fly to Whitehorse - Yukon Air regularly schedule flight. The Tour Director joined us in Whitehorse. The hotel at the Vancouver Airport is right in the terminal building, so all you have to do is go down the escalator and walk all the way to the end of the terminal building where Yukon Air has it's desk/gate. We checked it out the day we arrived at the Airport/hotel.

Arrive Whitehorse - no included excursions. It's easy to wander around Whitehorse. We wandered down to the Tourist office and watched a short film there and then down the main street.

Next day in Whitehorse - no included excursions. We took the Whitehorse City tour and Salmon Fish ladder and visit to the First Nation's new cultural center. We enjoyed this overview of the town and learning about the First Nation's heritage/history. That evening we had dinner on our own at the hotel and then went to the vaudeville show, which we enjoyed.

The next day it's on to Dawson City by bus. We were fortunate to have a fabulous Tour Director who managed to keep us occupied and amused for the long bus ride. The highway is virtually deserted. There were two rest stops and a lunch stop. The lunch stop was hosted by a First Nation's group and you could grab you lunch and sit at a picnic table near the river. There are quite a few buses stopping there.

Arrive in Dawson City - no included tours. The Tour Director gives you your room key so you can go straight to your room without the hassle of a long check in wait/routine. Very efficient. We chummed up with a few others and booked Diamond Tooth Gertie's with the Tour Director, who went with us. It was dinner and making friends with fellow travellers in a fun environment.

Next Day Dawson City - morning on your own. We booked the Gold Bottom Mining. We learned a lot about life panning for gold at this active mine. It was rustic and real. Afternoon was the included excursion on the Klondike Spirit. It was enjoyable!

Next Day - Flight to Fairbanks. You will pass Customs in the US in Fairbanks. Upon arrival at your hotel, there are no included excursions on this date. We booked the Salmon Bake and Show. It was fun with a several other couples from our tour group.

Next Day in Fairbanks was an all day included excursion. We started off at the Alaska pipeline then went by a narrated little train down to Gold Dredge 8 then on to lunch and then onto the Sternwheeler for a cruise down the river. There's a lot of neat stuff here, but I don't want to spoil it by going into the details. The excursion was really good and I hope the one/s that HAL includes this year will be as good! If you do the optional Gold mining excursion in Dawson City you will see that it is a very different experience from that in Fairbanks.

Next day on the bus to Denali. Upon arrival no included excursions.

Next day Denali - Included excursion - Tundra Wilderness Tour. The only authorized drive in the park is by school buses with especially trained driver/narrators. They have special close-circuit cameras that they use to video wildlife and show it on small screens inside the bus. We saw a lot of wildlife and amazing scenery. Unfortunately for us the bus was already half loaded when it picked up our group at the hotel so we were all jammed in near the back of the bus.

Next Day - Denali - on your own. We took the Denali Highway Jeep Excursion in the morning. We liked this excursion...which is not the same drive as the school buses take inside the Park.

Next Day - domed rail car to Anchorage. Great ride. Arrival in Anchorage - no included excursions.

Next Day Anchorage - No included excursions

Next Day - transfer to Seward - we booked the upgraded transfer. This opts out of the train ride. You take the bus to Seward and then cruise the Kenai Fjords Peninsula. We had amazing weather for this trip and saw puffins, orcas, sea lions, bald eagles, seals, humpback whales. This was a real highlight for us.

So that pretty much sums it up. I hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did. HAL did an amazing job of co-ordinating us, routing our luggage around....totally worry free travel. We still talk about it today. Enjoy!

This was a great excursion! We did this trip in July/15. We had a beautiful, sunny day and saw a lot of wildlife. We are glad we did it, it was a real highlight of our Alaska trip. It's a bus from Anchorage, you opt out of the train when you book this excursion. Enjoy.

We did the Triple Denali from Vancouver to Vancouver. It was fabulous. We had two weeks on land, flying from Vancouver to Whitehouse, then bus to Dawson City, then flight to Fairbanks, bus to Denali, then train to Anchorage and sailed south from Seward. It was the three weeks of amazing scenery and seeing lots of wildlife. HAL was great at organizing and everything went off without a hitch. Would highly recommend anything like this. The optional upgrade we took to Seward to the Kenai Peninsula was amazing...a real highlight. We loved Denali, and did take the Tundra Wilderness Tour, but the bus was crowded and we didn't see much from the very back of the bus. The driver was just not that into it because she'd worked a shift the night before and she just kept letting us know that all she wanted to do was get back early. Indeed, we got back before two buses that left after us. She did work the close circuit camera only once to show a close up of a grizzly bear. Otherwise we were out of luck. So, I guess it's the luck of the draw. Fortunately we booked the Jeep excursion for the next day, and it was great. Anyway, it was a great trip.

I don't know what percentage they represent (of the whole of smokers), and I've brought this up more than once, but with the numbers of butts I see tossed from cars on a regular basis - there are LOTS of smokers who don't really care where their leftovers end up. To that sub-group it's as if cigarettes are some exception to the concept of "trash" which most everyone else shares. I seriously doubt that group understands the "considerate" smoker concept nor would hesitate in tossing one (or a few dozen!) into the sea.

 

 

 

Tom

Only too true. We live in a condo complex. This summer someone threw a cigarette butt onto our common garden. It wound up setting fire to the mulch. It wasn't detected until it turned into a full blown fire about 12 hours later. We were lucky no buildings were damaged. Fire department had to be called out to put out the fire. They are the ones who determined a cigarette butt caused the fire....while it hasn't happened before, the important message is to exercise appropriate care whether on a ship or just enjoying a nice walk.

A plausible explanation but I don't think that's it Browser....I just came from Scenic website and they have one sold out in April with all others listed at fly free....until you come to July and August, which has NO cruises scheduled...so UEFA can't be reason. I don't think it's the water levels either....I'm still thinking they chartered all 4 cruises (unlikely, I know) or they're repositioning the boats to another area that's also "hot" now....but I don't know where it could be. It's a puzzlement.

The mystery continues!

Just googled to find out if there are any special things happening in Bordeaux next summer....from June 10 to July 10, Bordeaux is hosting the UEFA Euro Finals. That could be a big deal. Maybe that's a factor? We had a great time in Bordeaux a few years ago. Good luck.

We were on 5190 on Oosterdam this summer. There was a smoker below us. When this person smoked, he smoked non stop. For a smoker, no doubt it would be a pleasant experience enjoying the beautiful scenery while enjoying a cigar or cigarette. Unfortunately, it was unpleasant for us and we had to go inside. Both of my parents were pack-a-day smokers, and for some reason when I left home, I became very smoke sensitive. In the old days, being in restaurants (etc) with smokers would cause me to "plug up" and feel like I have a head cold. Fortunately, the balcony smoke was not as bad as growing up with heavy smokers, but it was unpleasant and affected our enjoyment of the balcony. Since the smoker was well within his rights to smoke, we just quietly removed ourselves from our balcony.

And, yes, this does influence our decision on whether or not to cruise with HAL. If the itinerary is really good, we'll sail with HAL and hope we are fortunate enough not to be too near a smoker on his/her balcony. It's a trade-off.

A few years ago on Prinsendam (European cruise) smoke didn't bother us, and we didn't see many/any smokers! This summer on Oosterdam it was....and there were more cigar smokers as well as cigarette smokers.

Since one knows what the rules are, one lives with them and adjusts for it by not using the balcony if it's a problem. As mentioned we do factor the smoking policy into our decision-making.

Reading these posts makes me wonder if more smokers are choosing HAL, and if the odds of avoiding smoking are becoming less likely.

The solution for this is simple: all any line has to do is designate a few balconies for smokers, in a block on one side of the ship. Problem solved.

 

But nothing will pacify the pleasure police.

Good idea. This could be a good way to accommodate both smokers and non smokers. On our last cruise a person on a balcony below us was smoking pipes and cigars, which of course is allowed and the passenger is totally entitled to enjoy their smoking on the balcony. Unfortunately for me, I'm very sensitive to it, and had to abandon my balcony many times (on a 7 day sailing). It would be nice if cruise lines could please both smokers and non smokers alike. Obviously I don't know whether the logistics would work....eg if port were all smoking and starboard was smoke free, it would affect people in their wish to book one side over the other for views as opposed to for smoking. From HAL's perspective, however, surely it would be better than abandoning non-smokers to other cruise lines. I love HAL's itineraries but all other things notwithstanding, it isn't my first choice mainly because it's an unfortunate consequence that I pay full price for a balcony that I may not be able to use if it is in close proximity to smokers, especially pipe and tobacco. I don't want to infringe on a smoker's freedom to enjoy a smoke on his/her balcony, but if a fair way to segregate smoking from non smoking cabins could be found, I'm all in favour!

We were on Prinsendam a couple of years ago. The captain advised us our sailing would be the last time Prinsendam sailed out of Amsterdam, and that future cruises would be ex IJmuiden. The reason he gave was that it was to cut out the lengthy sail time to get into/out of Amsterdam. We were sad to learn this because we enjoy the sail into Amsterdam, and being right in Amsterdam upon arrival/departure. As previous posters mentioned one might imagine, that in addition to saving time, it may also reduce costs as well. Still it's a great ship and the itineraries are very good.

True. Agree with the previous postings. Have to ask though, why have a policy or even a suggestion if no one follows it? Lots of running shoes and jeans (not "designer" jeans) in the MDR, even on "gala" night, on our recent cruise. So, where's the "bottom" if you will? No pun intended. Seems that even suggesting some kind of "smart casual" won't fly. I know you can't please all the people all of the time, so maybe HAL is in fact right to try and suggest something, even though not everyone will adopt the suggestion.

Once again sail, you are spot on correct.

Sadly, yes, that's true.

Agree....good advice on relying on the tour director. Our tour director was amazing! She explained everything to us and we found her guidance was clearer and more comprehensive than of the written documents we got before we started our journey. We couldn't have had a better tour director, she made it so easy for us, although we know she did considerable work for our group in the background.

Hi y'all, Redneck Bob here;

 

WOW ! I just can't understand what the fuss is about what people wear to the MDR and formal nights; almost 600 posts to date. I dont care but it is very entertaining.

 

What I look forward too on a cruise is traveling to erotic destinations in the South Pacific or Caribbean. Certainly this topic would never be discussed on one of those HAL chartered Nude Cruises ! Wait for it, here it comes;

 

Formal wear on "GALA Night" would be "bare-ly" discussed on a nude cruise.

 

In lieu of "As You Wish Dining" it would be "Clothing Optional Dining"

Cute. Seems it's a conversation being held on other cruise lines as well. For example, Celebrity has a sticky on this subject with about 1500 posts!

We just did triple Denali! Had a great time. Luggage was not a problem. You decide if you want your bag(s) to go with you or sent to the ship. My husband and I each had one large suitcase and one overnight bag. We elected to have our bags join us each night. These are the "join me tonight tags". HAL's logistics are amazing. Our tour group was 40 people. No luggage was ever lost, and often it was in our room even before we arrived (they ship/truck) it separately. If you have a bag you don't need every night, you can have it routed directly to the dock "join me on board" and they truck it to the port and store it for you.

We were advised to pack in our overnight bags (eg a back pack or gym bag type of thing) medications and anything that you might need that night just in case your luggage was late or lost - but as mentioned that didn't happen. Better safe than sorry though!

We started in Whitehorse and the luggage was sent to our hotel each night until we cleared customs in the U.S. (Fairbanks), then we could elect to have the luggage join us in the next hotel (McKinley Chalet) or sent to the cruise port. It was a fabulous trip....domed rail car was fun. We saw Denali's peaks every day.

Our only worry was that our e-docs said we'd have a weight restriction on our Dawson City to Fairbanks flight, but in our case that wasn't even a problem, as there were only 40 of us plus the tour host and flight crew on the 737.

HAL really did a great job moving multiple tour groups across all venues.

....for whatever it's worth....on our recent Alaska cruise we saw quite a few people in jeans on the second "gala" night in the MDR. Seems anything goes. While nice not to have to pack formal wear and accessories, I personally don't have a problem with nice casual on gala night. Nonetheless, the reality seems to be that you can wear whatever you want where and whenever you want.

Careful which posts you read, though, as cigar smoking is permitted on balconies.

Thanks for the info.

And should there be non-smokers on the balconies around you? :rolleyes:

I wish every smoker was so considerate. That would go a long way to a more cooperative position. As noted, on my last cruise in July, a person in the cabin below us regularly smoked cigars on his balcony. We had to go inside when that happened. I didn't report it....didn't even know I could have until reading these posts.

Agree with above....you can smoke cigarettes and cigars on your balcony. Last month on Oosterdam, someone below us was smoking cigars....and yes you could smell it...yuck. We were in an aft cabin. HAL must see allowing smoking as a competitive advantage. It does make you think twice about with whom you sail, both for the smokers and non smokers amongst us! For smokers it will be on the plus side of the ledger, for non smokers (especially those bothered by it) it will be on the negative side. Such is life.

I hope HAL is reading these posts. The point is if you aren't going to enforce a rule or a code, why have it? In that case, let everyone decide for themselves, although you probably do need to set a basic minimum so that things don't get really weird.

On our last cruise there were a significant number of individuals who were wearing jeans, t-shirts and sneakers/running shoes into the main dining room on "gala" nights. That's not even "nice casual".

We were on another cruise line that doesn't have any formal nights but their basic dress code was "nice casual" (this did not require a jacket or tie). That was very nice and people dressed accordingly, no one wearing or running shoes in the MDR or fancy restaurants, and anyone who wanted to could obviously get more dressed up.

HAL has obviously tried to accommodate its guests by easing its formal dress code to the new gala code, but made very little attempt to implement it, based on observation of how quite a few people came to the MDR in jeans (not fashionable/trendy type jeans either).

Just back from Alaska cruise on the Oosterdam. There were 2 "gala" nights on this 7 day cruise. We had read in previous postings that "formal/gala" on Alaska cruises tended to be fairly loosely interpreted. We saw the whole gamut of attire. But, we were amazed to see how many people were wearing jeans, open collared shirts and very casual attire into the MDR on those nights. It didn't seem to matter what you threw on. Seems that either HAL should abandon its gala dress code or enforce it for places like the MDR. This half way stuff is confusing and the goal of creating a couple of nights with a little more special ambiance is totally lost. There are alternative venues after all, and the new gala definitions don't seem all that unreasonable.

We just returned from our Yukon-Alaska trip last week. It was great!

I agree that the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour is very worthwhile. We really learned at lot. It was also very entertaining and we saw a lot of wildlife. Definitely worth it!

We had a problem with the Train on White Rail Pass excursion. Unfortunately for us the engine died around mile 10-12. We had to wait for an engine to be decoupled from the train behind us. It pushed us up to mile 14, where we were pushed onto a side rail while we waited for two other trains to pass us. Then, we headed back down, having never gotten to mile 20 at the top. We were disappointed obviously. We heard so many good things about this trip. Every couple got a complimentary CD (showing us what we missed I guess), and a souvenir cap, (individuals could choose which they wanted), and a partial reimbursement of the cost. The situation was handled as well as could be expected. Stuff happens.

We had an amazing boat trip to the Kenai Peninsula, having opted to upgrade our Anchorage to Seward transfer to the ship. That may not be an option for you, but it was a great trip. We saw Humpbacks breaching, a pod of Orcas, Puffins, Eagles, Sea Lions, Seals and glaciers.

We also took the boat excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord and enjoyed that trip....although it was cold that day and the boat was not very warm! North and South Sawyer Glacier were quite amazing.

It's hard to go wrong. There's so much beautiful scenery and wildlife.

Have fun!

or we could rub noses as the inuit do.

 

Smooth sailing! :) :) :)

lol