Moparop

Can I reserve a cab/limo beforehand?

Sorry about that.

Original poster here-

We are flying into YVR and need to get to the downtown Hampton. Two adults and three kids between 8-13.

For luggage, I'm thinking we will have two checked bag, one carry on and then everyone's personal item. Arriving in July with a two night stay before boarding the cruise.

What's the easiest, economical way to get a family of 5 from the airport to the Hampton downtown? My understanding is that cabs hold a max of 4. I trying to figure out if we go two cabs or some other option.

Is almond milk readily available on the ships? Do you need to ask specifically for it?

We have a multi-generation cruise to Alaska on Zaandam in July. We got our cruise documents today and we got an email from my dad, the planner of the trip, that a collared shirt and nice pants would not be enough for the men in the group. He thought they should have at least a sports coat and tie. The email didn't say anything about my 11 and 13 year old. Are most boys that age wearing polo style shirts, oxfords, sports jackets or suits? I'm fine with whatever, I just need to know!

Yep $24 USD for the taxi carload (max 4 passengers).

Oh. What's the surcharge for person #5? Or does that mean we can't take a cab?

If it was me: definitely rent a car. This late in the game, it'll be expensive, but worth it. You have a lot of options, but I think I would head to the Matanuska Glacier for a guided hike. You could go up into Hatcher Pass, visit a reindeer farm and/or musk ox farm. This would be north of Anchorage.

 

If you are up for some hiking, you could go south to Whittier and do the Portage Pass trail. http://akstafford.blogspot.com/2016/07/portage-pass-trail-to-portage-glacier.html

Suggestions for rental car places?

Is $31 total or per person? Just trying to figure out when I need to multiply things by the number in our party!

We have the Northbound Double Denali booked for July 9-19 on the Zaandam. Does HAL use a standard hotel for the last night in Anchorage? I am trying to figure our game plan for the day of the 19th as we aren't flying until !2:05am on 7-20.

You probably docking Seward which is several hours outside of Anchorage so your time begins to dwindle.

 

We did two things- the downtown area which has an interesting museum with an amazing video about the massive earth quake and tsunami. We also went out to the Alaska Culture Center http://www.alaska.org/advice/alaska-culture which we thought was well worth doing. Those two things would make a day and the kids enjoyed both. No need for a guide for either and although a car would be helpful (there were also 5 of us about the same age it sounds like your gang) both the downtown and the Center are contained areas so you could taxi between them. Don't remember about hiring a car in Anchorage- they do tend to be expensive.

We get off the boat in Seward, but are also doing Denali. The night before the tour ends we will be put up in a hotel where ever HAL puts their guests in Anchorage. Both of those sound like interesting options. Thanks!

Anytime I hear a group of N where N is greater than 10, I cringe, You can have all the togetherness on the ship. Off the ship, my wife and I our own thing and if any of the group wants to join us, they are welcome. However, we are not going to change our land plans to suit anyone else in the group.

 

DON

Trust me, I hear you!!! The trip is to celebrate my parents' 50th anniversary. They are paying for the whole thing. So, if they want us to be together for an excursion, we will go together. It's sounding like my dad wants us together to do one event in each port and the rest of the day is our own. I'm sure there will be people who back out of stuff, but being the one with almost all of the kids I am trying to make sure the group things we do will keep my crew entertained. :')

Our HAL cruise tour is done at 10am in Anchorage. Our flight out does not leave until 12am the following morning. Any suggestions for what we should be thinking of doing with our day there? At this point, we do not have a car but would not be opposed to getting one. If we get a car, where would you suggest getting one from. I also wondered about picking up a Groupon to use for that day. Anyone had experience with Groupon tours? We are a family of 5, kids between 8-13. We like to be active, but it's not a requirement.

Yup; for a cheesier time you'd have to hit a Wisconsin dairy farm. I've seen many lumberjack shows (fortunately I'm a lover of bad puns and panto) and they are universally cheesey as all get-out! Generally the only difference is the proportion of Canadians to Americans to Scandinavians - so jokes dependent on people's accents vary.

 

 

 

 

 

The actual skillsets demonstrated are also pretty much identical with log-rolling, climbing, topping, hand-and-chain-sawing (the latter usually for artistic purposes), speed axe-chopping, axe-throwing - and given the very sharp implements used everyone is thoroughly competent! But the presenters do their darndest to 'entertain' in similar fashion to cruise directors on ships.

 

 

 

 

 

Grouse has a metric buttload of things to do - the entry price is an absolute bargain compared to Cap Bridge and you can easily spend 4-5 hours up there just taking in the various shows & attractions without even doing any hiking.

Awesome!! All that's left to decide now (assuming the weather is good) is do we go up with the whole group on the morning of embarkation or do I just go with my immediate family the day.

Since you're on the Zaandam, that means either starting or ending in Vancouver.

 

There's another lumberjack show on Grouse Mountain, and it's free (well - included in the price of getting up there) so even if you feel your group would enjoy such a show, you can do it elsewhere, while the Ducks can only be done in Ketchikan.

 

I'll also raise 'hokey' to 'cheesey as all get-out' in describing lumberjack shows - young kids and those who appreciate panto will enjoy, but teens and more cynical adults will do a lot of eye-rolling and sighing at the cringe-worthy spiels delivered.

We are starting in Vancouver and just saw the Grouse Mtn trip to incorporate the lumberjack show. Is that also as cheesy as all get out? I read a suggestion of doing Grouse Mtn on the day we board the ship and it sounds like that could be a good adventure for the entire group before we get on the ship and there would be enough to do up there if people didn't want to watch the lumberjack show. The teen is at least a pun lover and the cynical adults like to torment my kids so they at least will enjoy it in that respect.

We'll be cruising to Alaska this July:

 

Juneau- pilot's choice helicopter tour. It was cancelled last time we were in Alaska so we're hoping for the best.

 

Skagway- zip line. Then shopping

 

Ketchikan- rented a boat for salmon fishing. On our own, not through the ship. We wanted to rent the whole boat.

 

Victoria- Butchart gardens. My husband thinks he'll dislike this and he says he's only doing it for me but I know he'll enjoy it.

What zip lining did you go with? I think we would like to do this in Skagway as well and was just looking into options.

Group of 14, 7 to 70something, three generations. Arriving in July on Holland America Zaandam. I can't remember the exact hours we will be in port, but it's a pretty long day.

Not wanting to spend a ton of money but looking for something organized and entertaining to do as a group. Which way would you go? We would probably do some hikes or whatever after to fill in the rest of the day.

Are the doors on Zaandam magnetic? Are there any rules about white boards or putting magnets on doors? We are traveling in a larger group and I wanted to identify our doors to others in the group and have a spot for people to leave messages to each other. I know this is a thing on other lines but didn't know if this was allowed on HAL.

We are doing a cruise this summer to Alaska with a total of 7 cabins. Due to some people in the group doing the extended land package and others not, we needed to book differently than how we will be sleeping. Once we are on the ship, does HAL allow you to change the names of who is sleeping in which room or will things always be tied to how the reservations are made? I know they don't care which bodies are in which rooms but I didn't know about names for things like who charged to which room, etc.

I have a daughter that will be less than a month shy of her 8th birthday when we cruise to Alaska this summer. She has heart set on being with her brothers who are 11 and 12 in the tween club. Is there any chance of that happening? If it's a no go, I'd like to start preparing her now for the possibility. If you have experience with both their 3-7 and 8+ club, which has better activities for a creative, somewhat shy rising 3rd grader?

Thanks!

We are going to be in Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, and Anchorage on our cruise this summer. We have two boys, ages 11 and 12, that would really enjoy the experience of zip lining. Anyone have experience in any of these ports with zip lining - what companies would you suggest?

I think we are doing HAL in July as well. I wanted glacier bay and an indoor pool. Are you on the eurodam?

 

 

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No, we will be on Zaandam. Based on the availability of everyone, northbound on Zaandam was the only time people were free.

We are doing HAL in July as part of a 14 person group. We are a family of 5 (kids aged 12,11, and 7) and have worked it out that our oldest will stay in another cabin (with his grandparents) so we don't need a second cabin just for our family. When picking a line for Alaska, getting in to Glacier Bay was a top priority as was a smaller ship. My kids have only cruised DCL so this will be a bit different for them. One of the things that intrigued me about HAL was that they bring naturalists on board for even the kids. While they don't have the nonstop activities in the clubs that we saw on DCL, there seems to be plenty to do after looking over the ClubHAL offerings. Also, having fewer kids may be a plus for us. Making a bestie because there are only 3-4 kids my daughter's age will likely make her more comfortable going to the club.

We are on Zaandam, which also has a retractable roof.

We are a group of 14 looking to do a whale watching excursion while in Juneau for our July 2017 trip on a HAL cruise. We have 4 children in the group, ranging in ages from 7-15. Ideally, we would like to have the whole boat I know Harv and Marv is an option, but I am looking for suggestions of other possible companies to look into.

Thanks!

Are uber cars allowed at the airport as well? Is there a difference in cost between a cab and uber?