rslinky

Perfect Crew News. But alas, on deck five but not aft. Maybe the upgrade email will find us before we depart!

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I was hoping they would be open if weather permits as we love to be in front of ship when leaving or entering ports. We have a verandah but like the full view from the front decks. Will remain hopeful they will be open for the Canal.

Sailing on her for first time in November. Are the front observation decks on 4, 5, or 6 open at all times or just at certain times like through the Panama Canal?

Rick and Janie - if you go back to Alaska, I highly recommend doing Denali on your own. Give yourself a minimum of three nights there, more if you can. We went on a land/sea tour last year and if we go again, it will be flying into Anchorage and renting a car. We arrived in Denali in the evening, went to the dinner theatre - fun but nothing to rave about - but it was dinner taken care of our first night there. The next day was our TWT which was fabulous. We got back in time to hop another bus to see the dog demonstrations in the park. The second day there we did a helicopter ride and then went hiking on the Savage river trail in the afternoon. So depending on what you want to do in the park, you can do at least two very different things every day.

I am always one for getting out and being active. Ride the city shuttle bus to the glacier. No it isn't spectacular. But the short hike, more of a walk, is a great way to stretch the legs and the waterfall is really pretty and you can get close. I am glad I did it, even after the perfect day at Glacier Bay.

The free shuttle to Savage River - 15 miles - we highly recommend. It runs every couple hours. Depending on weather when you do the long trip, you may actually get to see wonderful views on this second trip into the park. We recommend doing the two mile hike/walk at Savage River. You go up one side of the river for a mile, cross a bridge and come back the other side. There are restrooms. The trail is level for the most part so really a walk more than a hike. We saw bears when we did this in May of 2015. A mother and yearling and then a mother and new cubs. Also, there is a shuttle to see the Huskies. This is free - not an excursion. Short demonstration and lots of time to pet the dogs. Hike along the river. Schedule a helicopter tour to a glacier. We did the three nights at Denali and packed in all the above. Edited to add that yes, you can book tours once there depending on how you feel and the weather. There were plenty of openings for the helicopter tours.

We did a land/sea tour last year and that 8 hours to the ship seemed daunting. On Holland, we stopped in Wasilla and had lunch and then went to the headquarters for the Idid. We also stopped for a couple bathroom breaks. The ride between Anchorage and Whittier is beautiful. I will tell you that the trip was closer to 10 hours for us. Leaving Denali at 7:30 and getting to the ship just before 5:30. No way around it, the trip is long. It was made bearable by the stops, the day was perfectly clear so we enjoyed the mountain in its full glory. We had a great bus driver who played trivia games and gave us lots of history/information. Knowing the ship was waiting at the end of the long day helped too.

We only got to mile 53 last May and saw everything you look for except Grizzly bears. The next day we took the free Shuttle to Savage River and did the two mile river walk. We had two bears cross the trail just in front of us and watched them play in the river for several minutes. While waiting to go back, those two bears met up with three more. So our best wildlife show was just 15 miles out.

We cruised mid May. Ship was not full, ports not crowded and because it's early, all the workers are so excited to be on their Alaskan adventure so I think service is friendlier. Only negative for us was that Road not fully open in Denali. But our weather was perfect.

We did this D2L in May. Any shorter time in Denali would have been too little. We also stayed in the Canyon Lodge and found it very suitable. The long bus ride to the ship was just that, long, but made as pleasant as possible by the entertaining driver. So glad you were able to see the mountain. We didn't see a rain drop on our trip, but love your attitude despite some rainy days. Hope to see Alaska again some day, will only do land and skip the cruise part.

So happy you had such an incredible trip. We had one just like it in May. Saw bears while hiking in Denali. Hardly needed more than long sleeves. It was so perfect, I want to go back but then again, maybe I don't because it could never be this perfect a second time. Lucky you. Relive it through your pictures.

It was available on our May Alaskan cruise this year.

Definitely the land. Denali was incredible. Wished we had more time there. Were there three nights. Glacier Bay was equally impressive, but ports while nice, were less so. If I go back to Alaska, I plan to rent a car and just do the interior and the Kenai Peninsula and skip the cruise portion. But I travel for the experience and seeing new places and some cruise to cruise.

We were there this May from the 12th to the 24th. It was unusually warm. Warmest thing I put on was a sweatshirt. Often by afternoon, I was in just a light weight long sleeve shirt. Saw people in Anchorage and ports in short sleeves and shorts. I did sit out in the balcony waiting to sail when leaving Ketchikan in bare feet. So we had perfect weather. As everyone will tell you, no guaranty what you will get. You book and hope for the best and keep a good attitude about what you can't control.

All I can tell you is what factored into our decision when it came to choosing when to do Alaska.

1. We love children. But when we travel, we like to go when places are not packed with children. We figured May before school was out or Sept when it was back in session.

2. We like good prices. The prices are cheaper on the shoulder seasons of May and Sept.

3. We looked for incentives. The explore 4 was offered for certain cruises and there was OBC for booking before a certain date.

4. We can't get predict weather a day ahead yet alone months or a year out so we look at what is typical knowing we may get an extreme or a normal and know there is nothing we can do about it. So May might be colder but less rainy. Sept may be warmer but greater chance of storms.

July and August can have problems with mosquitos. Decided it would be nice to avoid those months but they were already not at the top of the list due to schools being out.

We chose May. We booked in Sept of 2014 for a May 2015 trip. This year it was a great choice. May was not cold. We had sunshine every single day - in fact never saw a drop of rain in Alaska. We saw Denali all three days we were there. The ship was not full and even though it was our first HAL, we got an incredible upsell to a suite.

Decide what is important and make your choices accordingly. Make your decisions based on what you can control. And then keep a good attitude if the weather isn't perfect.

We were on our first HAL mid may - Alaska. We had sailed once before with Carnival. We did get an invitation to the brunch, which I believe was the sea day between Ketchikan and Vancouver. We weren't expecting the invite as it was our first HAL, but we did go and have lunch - we always prefer the dining room to the Lido. There was only one seating, it was listed in the daily log, and the dining room wasn't close to full. Must be that many don't like going because I would have figured that 98% of that ship had to have had a previous HAL cruise. We met only one couple who was on their first ever cruise. We just don't know if we got invited because we were in a suite or due to the previous carnival cruise.

Had read about the "tiles" and had no idea what they were - everyone refers to them as "tiles". We surprised that they were what I would call a "coaster". Yes, read the back and they are certified Delft. When I think of tiles I think of the letter pieces in scrabble, so was just surprised to find this coaster sized tile.

Spears does beautiful enamel work. Hubby got a mermaid there a few weeks ago. Made right there. Scrimshaw pieces found throughout Alaska are our favorite. We shipped them home to avoid any custom problems. I think our future son in law is going to love his mammoth ivory guitar pick purchased in Skagway.

I took the Mendenhall Express Shuttle for a 20 buck round trip. Easy to find, and schedule worked for the time I wanted at the glacier. I would not take an excursion that did not give you time to do the short hike to the waterfall. It is a very easy walk - not really a hike. But wooded with nice views along the way and then out on the sand/gravel bar for unobstructed views of the waterfall and the glacier. There are good views from the Visitors Center - it will cost you to enter the visitors center unless you have a National Park pass. The movie in the center is worth spending time seeing. As others have said on other threads, just don't plan to take the last shuttle scheduled or there may be too many people for one bus. I went early morning with a noon return so did not have to worry. Bus wasn't full at all going out and about half full heading back to town. Los of eagles to see on the way.

Should be fine. You will get Denali and meet me at the ship tags. You are allowed one suitcase each for the land and the backpack will work as your carry on for train or bus.

Don't know how old the kids are but Eielson is long bus ride. If you don't see much wild life, will the kids get bored looking at mountains for 8 plus hours?

We started in Anchorage. There two days. Then train to Denali where we were for three nights. Then we took a bus from Denali to Seward to board the ship. The only thing we did in Seward was board the ship.

Our tour included one night in Anchorage, the train to Denali and there for three nights, and then the bus to Seward.

We opted to fly in a day early to give us two nights in Seward. We stayed at the Westmark, HAL's hotel. The room was small but newly refurbished and very clean. The location is great for walking Anchorage.

We ate at the Glacier Brewhouse which we enjoyed. We were tired from our 15 hour journey to get there so we just split a pizza but it was very good. The second night we ate at the Snow Goose which was also good.

We took the simple trolley tour of town. Not good for taking of pictures, but informative, taking us places we wouldn't have walked. We took the free shuttle to the Native Heritage Center. Enjoyed the dance demonstrations and the examples of living quarters from various tribes.

We were able to pick up our check in packet early before it got crowded. The bus ride to the train was short and well organized.

Train was very comfortable - lots of leg room and comfy seats. The guides were new and didn't have it down perfectly, but we were a captive audience. Our train car was only about 80% full. Having read that lunch could get really late we made a plan. We stopped at a donut place in downtown Anchorage and got a donut to have in the morning. We were up by 6:00. Then we opted for breakfast on the train. By the time we ate it was close to 10:30. It was a great breakfast - couldn't eat it all. People wanting lunch were not called until about 12:30 and second seating much later. If we had been hungry in the afternoon, we knew that we could order the nachos, popcorn, chili or other snacks in the upper car. So I recommend that you opt for breakfast and snack later if necessary.

We didn't get to the McKinley Chalet Resort until 5:30. So a long day, but we saw several moose, the dall sheep, a few eagles and of course, pretty scenery along the way with lots of stories and history from our guides.

We stayed at the Canyon Lodge. It was like a regular hotel - a new accommodation there. Room was small but adequate considering we only slept there. Great mountain view out our front window.

Lodge was a busy place but everything seemed very organized. Two computers there for checking internet were seldom in use. Dinner in the Bar/Grill two nights. A nice drink, view and simple dinner. We did the dinner theatre show the first night. The food was better than I figured it would be but the show was really not very entertaining.

The only real complaint of the Resort was the shuttle. This was early season and they used one small shuttle that was usually full by the time it got to the Canyon Lodge, the last stop before the top. More shuttles or larger ones are certainly necessary.

Denali WOW What a beautiful place. Do your homework before you go so you can make the most of your limited time there. First day was our Tundra Wilderness Tour which was shortened to only mile 30 due the road not being fully open. By end of this month, I believe the full road will be open.

Bus uncomfortable, but the driver really had a passion for the park. Even stopped to pick up some trash - which is seldom seen in the park. When we got back from that - about 5 hours, we took the free shuttle to the Huskies. You really get up front and personal with the dogs, being able to pet many, and hug a few more. The demonstration is quick and the information is mostly about using the dogs in the park as that is how they patrol in the winter. A great option if you don't want to pay the price of the actual huskey excursion where the information will be more about the race.

There is a free shuttle that will take you out to mile 15. It was running every two hours when we were there and I suspect will have added runs as season gets under way. There is a 2 mile simple hike at Savage River. You get let off and can walk a mile into the canyon and then cross the river on a bridge and walk the mile back. Wild flowers, beautiful views, dall sheep. There were very few people on it the day we did it. We were fortunate to encounter two grizzlies who ignored us. They were above us when we first spotted them. Kept our distance and they walked across the trail and down to the river where they played. So much fun to see them. So if you go, watch for bear, and know what to do. Make noise, make your self big and most of all do not run. It was a windy day so mosquitos were not an issue, though we had seen a few around the resort. Go prepared with water and mosquito repellant.

Best part of our time there was the mountain itself. We saw it partially the first day, and clear and full the other two days. So lucky.

The bus ride back to the ship was long and not near as comfortable as the train. The driver - Dwayne - made it bearable by his stories and knowledge. Enough stops and beautiful scenery. The trip was just over 10 hours.

Sailed on the Oosterdam on the 5/17 to 5/24 Seward to Vancouver. These are my thoughts on the ships condition and services. We are frequent travelers but this was only our second cruise.

Ship seems in good condition. Very clean. Only really worn places I noticed were on the seats in the show lounge. Outside areas pristine white, no rust. We had a signature suite and it was obvious that a section of the carpet had recently been replaced. Bed and chairs comfy. Deck had two chairs and a table in one corner, and a chair, lounge and table in the other corner. Only noticed smoke once and it was while in port from a deck below. We were going ashore, so didn't matter for long.

Ship never seemed crowded at any time. Only line we ever saw was getting on in Seward and then getting off at ports.

We ate breakfast in both the buffet and the dining room depending on our day. Food always hot. We had the hamburgers for lunch once - OK, but the wait was long for just a few people in line. Dinner in the dining room except for formal night. We chose not to pack formal clothes for our 17 day trip. Portions not huge, but certainly adequate. We ate in the Pinnacle one evening. Steak cooked perfectly and very tender. A great meal. Had open seating and never a wait in the dining room. We eat meals and that is basically all. No anytime pizza or late night options. Saw they had a taco bar in the buffet but didn't try it.

We went to the country show. A couple great dancers and voices, but over all, a mediocre show. Did enjoy the Illusionist. Also went to the late night crew show. It was not well attended but was fun to see their native dances. Skipped a couple other shows - Dancing with the Stars and another with the singers and dancers because we figured the scenery was the better show.

We spent the majority of our time in the Crows nest. The view for the Alaskan sailing was perfect. With daylight until almost 10:30, it was the perfect way to spend the evening, watching the view with a few drinks. Service was a bit slow there. Its a great place for talking and meeting fellow travelers.

Loved the signature suite - the bit of extra room even though we are not in the room much. Our room stewards introduced themselves to us the first even. R-one and Sandy. I will give them a B. We didn't use all the storage space in the room and on the last day when I was packing up and checking every drawer and door, I found the robes in the storage cube at the desk. Some days we got the ice twice a day as requested, other times we did not. We did have slippers on the bed the second night and a tote on the third. Don't know if everyone got this or just suites as this was our first Holland.

Just returned. Have trac phone. Worked in Anchorage, Denali, Haines, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. Did not try in Glacier Bay. Did not work in Vancouver.

If helicopters and glaciers are what you want, you will have to pay the price. If you just want interactions with dogs and a demonstration, you can do this for free in Denali. Three opportunities a day. Free shuttle from visitor's center.