oaktreerb

You can walk to the end of Creek Street. There is a path called Married Man’s Trail, maybe a functioning funicular, and a stairway up to the Cape Fox Lodge where you can see totems, have lunch and see the exhibits at the lodge. I have seen Totem Bight twice in the pouring rain. You would need to take a bus there. There are city buses with a pretty simple route. It rains a lot in Ketchikan. Look online at the Ketchikan visitor’s bureau for ideas and possibly trail maps. My favorite place to take an easy hike is either Skagway or Sitka, also information provided online.

The bus will stop along the way and have commentary from the driver/host. You will probably hear stories about the Gold Rush. The train has a conductor who offers some commentary but having taken the bus you will have a better knowledge of the area and its history. I enjoy the excitement of riding the train down the hill into Skagway and seeing the town come into view.

Doesn’t your cruiseline have a transfer to Anchorage? That would get you to the airport by train or bus. There are other options if you look online. You can rent a car at the airport or there are cheaper locations in downtown Anchorage.

Ketchikan: Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour. Skagway: Bus up and White Pass Yukon Railroad back combo. Skagway is also good for hikes. Pick up a hiking trails map at the visitor’s center or online. Icy Strait: Whale Watching and Zip Lining. Juneau is also good for whale watching and/or Mendenhall Glacier activity. Victoria is usually a short stop: walk down to the inner harbor.

Research the options for the 6 hour Kenai Fjords cruise. Great scenery and wildlife viewing.

Juneau is favorable for whale watching. Skagway is all about the gold rush and is a national park. If you do the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, do the bus up and the train back to Skagway. Sled dogs are extremely well cared for and are a happy/lively group. Ketchikan has a Bering Sea Fisherman’s tour that’s a lot of fun and educational, too. Victoria has a lovely inner harbor and Butchart Gardens if you have time. Go online and look at the tourist information for your ports of call. There is a lot of information to help you decide what you want to do.

Which is from Rudy’s? Is it #2? and what and where from is the other one? Would you order the Profiteroles or the Salzburger Nockerl? I do not understand this post. Totally confused!

In the early days of Club Orange in the MDR we received a different menu for Club Orange with the added entree listed. HAL has probably changed that procedure. It wasn’t very efficient.

HAL uses the Westmark in Fairbanks. Call them and tell them that you will be joining a cruise tour and you would like to fly in early and book a room. Have your dates handy.. It’s a big hotel and you should be able to book with them. They probably are holding rooms as “sold out” that they have set aside for the tours. HAL owns the Westmark hotel.

yes. It has been $25pp per day or $15 pp per day for longer cruises. Ours was $15 pp per day for an 18 day cruise. Everything is subject to change, however.

On the Rotterdam, yes it’s worth it. When you book your cruise, decide which inside cabin you want to book and add Club Orange at that time. You will be charged for the cheapest inside cabin and upgraded to your inside cabin of choice. You can’t add Club Orange if you are self booking the cruise online. Keep it simple!

Not good. Captain Alberts blog does not seem to be available as part of the HAL official blog. He is still active on the captainalbert.com website. He recently updated (2023) the current schedules for ship captains.

I got really good feedback on my very long and descriptive letter to HAL re: the Alaska itineraries for 2023. They listened: Look at the amazing Alaska 28 day Alaska 2024 itinerary! More than I had hoped for!

How about forwarding that suggestion to the appropriate department at HAL Corporate. Grand Ditch Cafe has been a very welcome addition to HAL ships and fits into the history of the Holland America Line.

From recent onboard accounts HAL is now operating at full passenger capacity. They are still working at adding crew to increase service levels. May would be a good time to cruise since there will be fewer children aboard due to the school schedules in most states.

If the adults have a two person cabana, the children need to be in Club HAL. The HAL response was beyond belief. They are saying that the adults pay for the 2 person cabana and the kids (however many) have the whole retreat open area as a playground and the stewards as their “tenders”. This needs to be clarified by the Food and Beverage Dept at Corporate. The ships seem to need guidance in this matter. HAL needs a new brochure to define the actual permitted use of the Retreat. Cabanas on the Lido Deck are kid friendly. A Retreat for adults is not a kid friendly area.

A better question might be why do want a balcony and cabana🤔

Times are changing.

Kids sail free holiday cruises! Some ships have the cabana areas on one side of the Lido pool area. That keeps the kids in a more confined, activity area. I agree the Retreat on the Koningsdam should be for adults only and HAL should make that clear when the Retreat is booked. It’s not even on the same level as the pool or ping pong table. In the “What and Where” in November we were encouraged to submit a request for a visit with the Hotel Manager on the ship. Not only did I ask for a meeting, I also submitted a request on the Navigator App. He never did contact me. I hope the Koningsdam has a new Hotel Manager on my next cruise. To request feedback and not make yourself available to receive feedback tells me he’s not doing his job. He’s expecting every problem to be resolved by someone else. @OlsSaltDid you contact the Hotel Manager? If he says it’s not his department, then find out whose department it is.

Seabourn is luxury. Check out their itineraries. The cabins are large. Food is good. You can choose your excursions off the ship according to your own interests. There are yachts that cruise in Alaska during the summer. You might need to research those with a Travel Advisor.

A simple answer to the question. If you have children, take the Princess cruise out of Vancouver that goes through Glacier Bay. You will disembark in Whittier and you can take a bus or train by ship transfer to Anchorage where you can rent a car. You sound like you have done some good research concerning Denali. Only appx 30% will see the mountain from various points between Anchorage and Denali. You can get a great view from the Princess lodge in Talkeetna when the mountain is “out”. So, rent your car in Anchorage (or Whittier) and the sooner you rent it the cheaper it will be. Downtown Anchorage is a good source for more than one car rental company. The Anchorage airport is more expensive for rentals. Plan your itinerary by researching online for visitor’s information, like Travel Alaska. Plan ahead as a lot of visitors enjoy DIY trips in Alaska.

Holland America and Princess have modern dome cars with a dining car on the lower level that will transport you to Denali National Park. You will ride in the dome car and be called to the dining car when you are ready to have breakfast or lunch/dinner. I have been in both Princess and HAL and Holland has the more comfortable seating. The food is excellent on both. Grayline Tours of Alaska is owned by the Princess/Holland Tour Group and has tour packages that do not include cruises. We toured separately with them to Kantishna and were transported in the Holland America dome cars (a nice treat). In my experience a few years ago the railcars used for transport between Anchorage and Seward to meet the ship were not luxury. Alaska Railroad has different levels of service so choose the more expensive luxury service.

The location near the spa would be the perk. You will get a yoga mat and maybe some included bottles of water. I would not expect more than the features listed on the HAL website which is the same as any other veranda in that category…except for the yoga mat and water. Some people in all categories get coupons for discount services in the spa but don’t expect anything more than published on the HAL site.

No. halfacts.com is a site that provides HAL cruisers a place to post stateroom information and pictures online, and lots of other ship related information. You may like the location of the spa cabins if you use the spa or enjoy the sports deck. On some ships the balconies are smaller than other verandas.

You should probably write a letter to HAL corporate. Did you receive paperwork from the ship following your quarantine that would indicate a contact for follow-up? The letter will need your booking #, dates of the quarantine, the ship, and your names and contact information. You can always address the letter to Gus Antorcha’s office and they will get it to the right people. HAL probably doesn’t read Cruise Critic and it wouldn’t be able to solve your problem anyway.