Crew News

It is no longer required. My airline has a final check-in process that sends me to ArriveCan 72 hours before my flight. The app says it is an advance custom declaration opportunity. If it saves time in the airport chaos, it is worth a try.

Not amandas friend but here is what I use: Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska If you go to each Alaska city map of cruise ship berths you can see the berth names.

Definitely.

Just for clarification, the posted arrival times for cruise ships is that time when the first passengers can go down the gangway. That means 9:00 AM works. Food is served buffet style. Of note, the ice tea is chilled with pieces of glacier ice.

I upgraded my ATT android phone January 31, 2024. Everything was accomplished, to include moving files to the new phone, in less than one hour from the time I entered the ATT store front door.

TravelPro has an excellent discount program for flight crews. I have traveled with a 28" suitcase and two-wheeled roller bag, both from TravelPro, for many cruises. As noted above, the roller bag has a strong handle that nicely fits my large camera bag. The external charging port is a big plus to keep my gadgets charged without opening the bag. I am definitely a TravelPro fan. .

No. You need to look for Convention Center employees who will be holding signs for the ships in port. Each ship will have a separate entrance off the hallway but my experience is that there may not be a sign. A HAL employee at each entrance screens incoming passengers.

There was a separate Priority line for the following last year and this should continue this year: Pinnacle & Neptune Suites, 4* & 5* Mariners, and Club Orange.

Just for clarification, those days spent on the land portion of HAL Alaska cruisetours are also counted when accumulating days for medallions.

One of my workarounds to try is to access my cruise through the "Manage my cruise" button, choose "Itinerary" at the top of the page, and then choose the topic you wish. This has worked for me to book shore excursions and dining when the "Shore Excursion" and "Dining" buttons lead me to a blank page. FWIW I use Firefox.

There is a large underground food court across the street from the Convention Center to avoid the check-in rush for awhile. There is also an escalator in the Convention Center lobby if you don't want to cross the street. Lots of tables and shopping/dining opportunities The food court has a Starbucks, Terry Horton, McDonald's, Asian food, Mediterranean food, drugstore for toiletries, tailor shop, shoe store, etc.

Only your Room Steward can open the divider if both parties agree.

I will be passing through the Vancouver cruise terminal twice in the next month and will report back what I experienced.

HAL can begin processing new passengers as soon as all of the ship's passengers have disembarked and confirmed by local authorities. My experience is that the hallway of the Convention Center begins filling with passengers a bit after 10:00 AM with the HAL entrance opened for in-processing as soon as the local authorities allow (before 11:00 AM). Of course, luggage may be dropped off at the cruise terminal downstairs from the Convention Center around 10:00 AM before walking back upstairs to the Convention Center for HAL check-in processing.

My experience on the Zaandam is a vista suite as far aft as possible on Deck 6. Deck 6 has an aft balcony that spans the entire back of the ship for amazing Alaska photo opportunities. Deck 7 has the same spanning aft balcony but is located under the aft Lido pool area where cleaning operations may cause disturbing sounds.

The answer is "No". A dense fog rolled into Juneau Alaska a few years ago and those passengers with excursions requiring air transport for both glacier hiking and Taku Lodge had to be left behind by two HAL cruise ships needing to meet the channel tide. The former spent the night in an emergency tent on Mendenhall Glacier and the latter were accommodated by Taku Lodge. Of the 43 left behind, 34 on HAL excursions were transported by HAL-chartered plane and boat to catch their respective ships. Nine on private excursions were on their own to catch up with their ships. From that experience, I learned to pay the few additional dollars for HAL excursions as insurance that if left behind, HAL will cover all the expenses to get me back to the ship. I also learned that any life-critical meds should accompany me on any excursion. Juneau no-fly zone

There will be at least one Orange Party and passengers are encouraged to wear orange items on that evening (9:00 PM is normal start time). Shops will also have orange items for sale. At one party, I spotted someone with a huge, orange, fish hat and did not have my phone at hand to take a photo.

Rudi's is still taking reservations for my Apr 27, 2024 Alaska cruise. I will will investigate Rudi's future in a few more weeks. Maybe even create a live thread.

Merrell MOAB low-cut Goretex shoes for my last 17 Alaska cruises.

"Dressy " nights are typically on sea days and not on the first or last nights aboard.

FWIW Carnival Cruise LInes, LLC, owns the railroad. The walk to the train station takes about 15 - 20 minutes with passengers leaving the pier area funneled into narrow lanes which will increase the time to get to the station. OTOH as quoted, cruise ship passengers booking the train board the train while it is parked parallel to the ship at the pier.

Welcome to HAL. I also prefer aft staterooms for the photo ops. Keep asking questions here to be fully informed before you sail.

As of September, 2023 both the extra appetizer and entree charges for the Pinnacle Grill are deleted. For extra entrees, the Canaletto continues its $10 charge for extra entrees. Last February, many PG guests were ordering the bacon appetizer in addition to other appetizers after the deletion of the surcharge.

My favorite cruise ship for outdoor viewing in Alaska is the Holland America Ms Zandaam. Decks 6 and 7 have a public aft balcony that spans the entire back of the ship. Each deck has a large heating vent just a few steps back from the railing as well as blankets and loungers.

Each day Last October, I downloaded my February Eurodam menus on the Navigator app. The same season, region, same season, and same duration (days) made that possible. This method works to see your menus unless your cruise is the first of the season.