oaktreerb

You certainly have me concerned! The Step One Dancers are very talented but maybe dancing is not the best entertainment for the rough waters of the Pacific Ocean. We are booked for the 28 day Alaska Summer Solstice cruise in June of 2024, I am hoping HAL has some great location related entertainment planned for us. No more Step One or BBC, please. Who is the Captain of this cruise and who is responsible for the “vibe” onboard? Who is your Cruise Director? Is there an entertainment coordinator? It seems like the entertainment staff should be trying harder to keep people engaged around the ship. Several years ago we sailed FL to SD on the Westerdam. The cruise seemed somewhat free wheeling to me. Now-a-days the Westerdam has been described as the Testerdam (testing new concepts). This current experiment of shutting things down early doesn’t seem to be working for the active adult passengers. I’m hoping for improvements in the on-board experience within the next year.

You are on a Yukon land tour. Do you have your tour#, like Y1C, Y1L, Y2C, Y2L?? Y is Yukon, #of tour, C is cruise first. I have taken these tours in the past but there have been changes recently. Have you looked up your specific booking #? The Yukon trips have a “journey host” who you will meet at your Anchorage hotel. The train will leave Anchorage early and you will arrive at Denali mid-day. You will probably have your TWT tour into the park on the second day. mid-day Bus to Fairbanks next day, overnight, fly to Dawson City, probably fly to Whitehorse and fly back to Vancouver. Generally your transportation will leave early in the day, except for Denali to Fairbanks. Your journey host will have a packet of information about the land tour. These tours are very well coordinated by Holland America staff.

Nice location, should be smooth sailing. Enjoy your cruise.

It sounds like your messages to your PCC have not been returned. If the message says they are out of the office you may never get a return call, the PCC may not even work there anymore. (It happened to me a few years ago.). I called the Mariner Society to complain and they transferred me to the PCC department and I stayed on the line until I was connected to a PCC. He has been attentive and efficient and calls me back within a few minutes. Anyone on the PCC or reservations lines should be able to answer questions and create your booking. . There are too many pitfalls to self booking online.

Icy Strait is available to explore without excursions. Whale watching should be arranged in advance. The zip line may be a walk up adventure. You can always walk down the road to Hoonah. There is a bus in Juneau that goes to Mendenhall. Look online at the Juneau visitor’s bureau. If you have a national park pass, take it for entrance to the visitor’s center. Don’t know how long you are in Victoria. It is an easy walk down to the inner harbor which is beautiful and interesting. Most stops in Victoria are very short.

I remember that…..like at least 10 years ago when selfie sticks were the rage! It was several years before the Covid shut down.

The ships bus in Sitka drops you off in town at the convention center. There should be a bus for a fee to take you on the loop from the Fortress of the Bears to the Raptor Center and back. You can also walk through the totem park to the Raptor Center. The Fortress of the Bears is farther out. I don’t remember any tour vendors other than the loop bus (which is a good deal). No booths like in Juneau.

We are 4* and I reported that in San Diego we were ushered into the terminal (vs standing outside in the sun.). At the end of the check in line there was a split for priority boarding. Once through that if you are 4* you should ask if the ship has begun boarding. If so, go ahead and board. If you have been assigned a boarding time and you are told to sit in a particular area, don’t argue the point, just go to boarding or find another worker who knows about 4* boarding if you need directions.

Before Covid the CO menu was in a white cover vs black for others. Even in Club Orange post Covid the server just tells you what the additional entree is. No separate menu. There is a separate CO room service order form in the stateroom. At breakfast you can order fresh squeezed orange juice.

In a Neptune Suite you should receive priority (Club Orange status) in the dining room. Ask the maitre’d if he could please assign you and your family a table for 6 at early dining each evening. He can assign that table in either dining room.

Sorry you felt that way. There is a travel agent in the Pacific Northwest who offers large group bookings on HAL and other lines and while they are not partial charters they do have assigned dining and some group activities like tours and cocktail parties which leads to developing friendships among cruisers. These cruisers are from across the US and Canada and are well traveled and friendly for the most part. I hope your future coastals are relaxing and enjoyable.

The Koningsdam is not going to be a Panama Canal transit ship. It does round trip San Diego to Mexican Riviera/Pacific Coast/Hawaii/and South Pacific. I wouldn’t consider them “fillers”. Disney also sails out of San Diego on mostly Mexican Riviera 3-4 day short cruises. The repositioning cruises for other HAL ships happen every fall and spring and they do stop to pick up passengers in San Diego. Koningsdam is home ported in San Diego between Alaska seasons. The K also does a Hawaii cruise RT Vancouver before the Alaska season begins. The round trip do have to stop in Ensenada. The repositioning cruises do not.

I would not expect to pay HIA on a fare that is for a “nonperson”. Maybe pay the HIA for #1 and the advantage for the “nonperson” #2 fare, a child as #2 would not have to purchase HIA, would they? I would consult my PCC on that issue. My DH and I always get the same points added to our mariner account. We sailed to Hawaii for 18 nights in a VB stateroom and got 18 (days) and 18 spending points (max) for a total of 36 points. We did both have HIA and that expense and CO must have earned us the spending points.

If you have paid for HIA you don’t have to drink the drinks. You have already paid for them whether you drink them or not. Because you paid for the drinks you get the points (credit).

You don’t get the double points because you are one person in the stateroom. You would not have two HIA packages. If you have HIA you have it for one person. You may have to cover the stateroom charge for the second “nonperson” in your stateroom but they don’t pay for HIA or spend for anything onboard. With two people with HIA in the stateroom they both get the points for both HIA packages and any other onboard spending. It’s not double points, it’s points earned for both people in the stateroom. Each person earns credit points, both get the same mariner spending credits for the stateroom account.

No. It’s hardly worth messing with since they changed it….but it’s nice to have that deposit available when you are ready to book a cruise.

We sail out of San Diego and enjoy the November cruise and the overnight in San Francisco on rhe Koningsdam. Catalina and Santa Barbara are tender ports and lovely places to visit. Monterrey is sometimes on the itinerary but we know it’s probably not going to happen. The dining room can be crowded since most people opt for early dining. You can request fixed dining for your booking so that you always have the same time, table and wait staff. If you have a Neptune Suite you will have priority tendering and the option to have breakfast in the Club Orange dining room. If you don’t have a NS you can upgrade to Club Orange which will give you those two priorities …plus other benefits. See the HAL information for CO online. The dress and the vibe is casual and on “dressy” night it’s more like country club dining casual. I didn’t take any “formal’ clothing last November; some people enjoyed dressing up for formal photos. Recently the only dress restriction is no shorts or ripped jeans in the main dining room at dinner. The Lido is always casual.

Is the ship docked at the railroad dock (RRA)? Can you walk to town or do you have to tender to shore? I know that the officials are monitoring the slide. Skagway is a great port for hiking.

If it gives you the option to “waitlist’ and you accept that option HAL will notify you when the excursion becomes available, assuming someone cancels or new times open up.

I got no FCC reimbursement, this was 2009. I was really happy that they didn’t bill me for the visit!

A few years ago I got noro on a 7 day Alaska cruise. There was an announcement when we were in Ketchikan (1st port) about an outbreak and we were asked to contact medical if we were ill. I had symptoms on our excursion so I called to report, the nurse came to my room to take my temp and offer meds which I refused since I already had Imodium. There was no billing from HAL. I had to stay in my room for a couple of days. My traveling partner didn’t get sick so could be out and about on the ship. I told the nurse I thought it was the crab legs I had for dinner, she said a group who flew in from Calif had symptoms of Noro. Anyway, no charge for the visit. Maybe because we were asked to report. Since then I always pack Musinex, Imodium, Tylenol, and other remedies in my travel bag. It’s best to take them with you!

You should be able to control the temperature in your cabin. The ship will have warm and cold areas.

@mrbucky Good question and I’m sure a lot pf people want to know! Your room classification on the ship is ship only! You can upgrade your accommodations at the Holland America McKinley Chalet Resort in Denali if you want to pay for it. Check with HAL for upgrades. The quality of the HAL Denali overnight experience varies from rustic cabins to hotel type rooms, all assigned randomly.

Skagway is a national park so you can visit some of the exhibits. Skagway also has some wonderful hiking trails. You can pick up a hiking guide at the visitor’s center or go online to plan ahead for the Skagway Visitor’s Bureau. The Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s tour is great fun (and educational) in Ketchikan. There is also a Lumberjack show that the kids would probably enjoy. Juneau is a good place for a whale watching excursion. Also Tracy Arm small boat excursion. Mendenhall Glacier area has hiking trails. If you want to do the Mt Roberts tram, buy the tickets at the tram when you get to Juneau, not from the ship. You never know what the weather will be like. Fog and rain ruin the view. You may find snow in June on the trails at the top.

HAL wants you to buy the HIA package. Seabourn will supply you with alcohol for your room at no extra cost.