Roz

That went away Oct. 1 of last year.

I'm booked on a 14-day Alaskan cruise on the Noordam that leaves Vancouver on Sept. 17, 2023. It goes out to Kodiak but not Dutch Harbor.

The last cruise I took pre Covid was a Panama canal full transit on the Carnival Miracle. It was a wonderful, fun, lively cruise. The best Alaskan cruise I took was an 8-day on the Carnival spirit. Also did a great 12-day Hawaiian cruise on the spirit. When I wear my Carnival tshirts on HAL I get all kinds of flack. If you sail Carnival you have to be selective.

I've done 3 solo cruises on uniworld and taken advantage of the solo discount on all of them. I echo what the others have posted. I've never worn a cocktail dress or evening gown when river cruising. Usually black pants and a nice top or tunic. There is no pressure to drink alcohol. In fact, on my last uniworld cruise, the cruise director shared that he was a recovering alcoholic. There were several solo sailors on all of my river cruises. There's a $100 - $200 discount for previous passengers, but it's not a secret. Do tell, what is a secret squirrel??? 🐿

@Lois R, I've been looking at TAs now that I'm retired.

Thank you for the explanation. HAL needs to do that on its website.

@kennystwin, that is very helpful and gives me a good idea of what to expect. I'll just play it by ear and wait until I get there. Thanks again.

This cruise in not sold as 2 7-day cruises. It's a unique 14-day cruise that HAL is doing twice this year.

I'll have to check about the airport stops.

I've done the historic nature hike on HMC as well as the trolley tour around the island. Seems odd to me that renting a cabana is the only option for HAL guests.

@Seasick Sailor, thank you. There are only 3 tours for passengers not in transit so I'll have to come up with something on my own.

So if I'm on the cruise for the whole 14 days, am I considered intransit? @NotLikeBelleRosen,IHope, I've heard of land tours joining the cruise at the beginning or end, but Anchorage is Day 5 of our cruise. Seems odd to me.

@Seasick Sailor, the cruise doesn't begin or end in Anchorage/Seward. It's roundtrip from Vancouver. I was thinking the same thing but it doesn't make sense on this cruise.

That's unfortunate.

I'm taking a 14-day Alaskan cruise on the Noordam in September. I was looking at tours in Anchorage. There are 15 on the HAL website, and all but 3 of them say "intransit". What exactly does that mean?

That makes sense.

I've taken 4 river cruises and have 2 more (back to back) booked for this coming December. Have always booked air thru the cruise line(s) and saved considerably. As an example, I just booked round trip to Amsterdam over Christmas and New Year's. Cruise line's premium economy was $1,490, booking on my own was over $2,000. I don't know why Flight Ease works for some people and not others. I'm flying to Buenos Aires in March for a South American cruise. Flight ease was $5 less. Big whoop! Pretty much the same with other cruises I have booked that require international air travel.

I received an email from Uniworld informing me of the following: Travels with Darley: Bordeaux, France Wine & HistoryAiring February 13, 2023Travels with Darley: Bordeaux, France Markets & VillagesAiring February 20, 2023 The email says to check your local listings. The ship is the S.S. Bon Voyage. Th

The last few years I've found the dressy night menus to be rather meh. Nothing special.

You're going to find that your fellow passengers are active, interesting people.

@azalice, a lot depends on the port, but most days there's a morning excursion and sometimes another one in the afternoon. Agree with @Daisi about the times.

HAL has a service called Flight Ease for booking flights for cruises. You could go to the HAL website and check it out to see if they offer something better. Some people get really good fares, that has never been the case for me.

@azalice, I'm glad Tom and Judy stopped by and gave you their impressions. Some people don't care for the decor on Uniworld. I would characterize it as ornate. I've done 3 cruises pre-Covid on Uniworld, 2 on the Danube and 1 on the Rhine. All were well done and I was satisfied with the tours, food, and service. As Tom and Judy already pointed out, a lot can depend on the cruise director.

I'm not Jewish, but I did a Jewish Heritage cruise on Uniworld in 2019. I took the Jewish Heritage optional tours in all but 2 ports. It was the first year Uniworld offered this. I found some tour guides more interesting than others, and there were a few places I would have liked to have spent some more time, such as the Jewish Museum in Frankfurt. I learned a lot. I joked at the end of the cruise that I was "mikvaed out".

I can't imagine 100+ days on the Zandaam. 😒