olya1972

Both times in Victoria, BC even with late ship arrival there at 6pm or 7 pm (don't recall exactly) we went to Buchard Gardens and would do it again if ever there. First time we just got on a tour van offering the trip outside the pier, second time we had significant amount of On Board Credit still left, so we booked a cruise ship tour (that was on Holland America ship). We actually liked cruise ship excursion more. Drive to the gardens is about 40 min each way through town of Victoria, which is beautiful, and then on through surrounding areas, not less impressive. Drive is narrated. We had good guides both times (ship cruise tour had a more interesting narration). On a way back you are driven through town again with night lights on now. Google pictures of Victoria, BC at night so you can see how beautiful it is.

If you are doing too many tours elsewhere and looking to just wing it in one of the ports, IMHO Ketchikan is a good place to do so. We have been there twice. Ship docks practically in town. First time we booked van tour right outside the ship on a pier, which took us around with a stop at one of the Totem parks, which was the best part of the tour. Then they left us in town center (15 min leisurely work to the pier) and we realized how easily walk-able the area is. Next time in Ketchikan we walked the Creek Street, visited numerous souvenir and artisan shops in town, came across a glass elevator which took us up to what's called a Fox Lodge ($2 or so per person fee). At the lodge there is small native people exhibition and small park with five or so Totem poles. There is delicious coffee there as well in a coffee shop in a lobby. Free WIFI, comfy chairs in a lobby, clean bathrooms. Cool gift shop. So Lodge is a nice place to take a break from walking, relax. Now this is only if you are in town half a day like we were on both cruises (7am to 1pm). Of course, if you are there a full day, you can do above and tour. This time around we are considering Misty Fjords Float plane tour.

In Juneau the first time around we booked a combination whale watching and Mendenhall Glacier tour through cruise ship. We thought tour was well organised and good intro to things one can do in Juneau. Second time around we bought ship transfer to Mendenhall (same money as shuttle on a pier) and Tram ticket. Taking gondola up the mountain(tram) was really nice, beautiful views. Word of warning: getting down on a tram took us over an hour in line, so plan accordingly.

In Skagway we took White Pass train round trip through cruise ship. It was one of our favorite excursions. Beautiful views. It was first time in AK, last minute booked cruise (under a month to sailing), so could't do much research. If I were to go to Skagway again, I would book train / bus combo mentioned above for variable perspective.

False Creek Ferries (or Aquabus - though since these don't go out to Vanier you're definitely better buying from FCF to get to BotB) 'tours' are not actually tours - they're just a brief or less-brief pootles around on the regular water taxi route (45mins gets you a full loop, 25mins is a one-way from end to end). Better to buy a Day Pass and use it to cover the whole route as often as you like, then head out to Bard. It's a good way to experience the whole Seawall around False Creek without doing much walking - you can go on a False Creek Booze Cruise by getting off at each stop and hitting the nearest bar (several have great patios) before continuing on the next leg. Skip the Casino stop though - since it moved there's just the empty shell of the building left, which is being used a lot for filming but doesn't have any booze or food sales any more.

 

Other than booze, you can go check out the old Athlete's village from the 2010 Olympics (NB: no actual olympic memorabilia is here) and the resident Beavers (best around dusk or dawn, but sometimes they show in day time too); Science World; some nice public artwork (the Davie Marina stop is well worth getting off at to see several nice pieces); Chinatown may be more walkable than from your hotel depending where that is; Granville Island you're already aware of - but perhaps not their resident harbour seals that hang out at the back, away from the public market, feasting on scraps from the fishing fleet; and the Maritime Museum/Museum of Vancouver/Space Centre out in Vanier Park are also totes worth visiting.

Hello, I have a question about FCF as well, hope it's ok with OP to ask it here. We are planning to book Hop on Hop Off tour for Thursday, May 10 ( latest Friday, May 11 th). I think, I have read that we can get off one stop before Granville island and get on FCF to take that to the island instead of proceeding on HOHO over the bridge. My question is whether once on the FCF we can do a full loop (45 min you said?) with return to Granville island? If yes, do we just stay on the ferry untill it returns to Granville or do we have to disembark at the last stop and reboard? If reboarding, can we use the same ticket we have as a part of HOHO?

Thank You.

Sorry, one more question. What does it mean full loop vs one end? One end from where to where? Thanks.

Just want to bump it up, also interested in this info:).

The captain turns the ship very slowly so all get a great view. I also think you need to see the views from many spots, crows nest and the open decks. And try the pea soup. Magical. I wish you a sunny day!

Thank you:). Will call TA again today to contact HAL for upgrade.

We paid a lot last year for a paid upgrade but enjoyed the extra space. We were surprised that the Noordam had not been updated. So if you can get it for a reasonable price it might be worth it. You could also ask if the upgrade qualifies for the double points as upsells do not.

 

I don’t think the side of the ship matter so on this itinerary. We had stunning views all along the way.

Thank you for responding. I thought port side is important for Glacier Bay viewing if we stay in a cabin for part of this day.

What is the price to upgrade to SS?

SS is expensive, the difference between what I paid for VC and SS now is $465 per person. To upgrade to SY is $395 per person. There is also SZ and the difference there is only $112 per person. All prices are for first and second passenger in a room. Now, this are listed price difference if I just went ahead and was booking a new booking. The price may be better if we call for paid upgrade.

Upsells don't always come to everyone and dummy bookings don't tell the story.

 

There could be a lot of guarantees for those categories which would be instantly filled once enough booked.

 

Always book the cabin you will be happy with and if an upsell happens and you like the price, it's a bonus.

Yes, all true and that's what I did, booked the cabin I found to be the best one available in the price range. At the time of my booking all balcony cabins, VF to VA, were the same price on that particular promotion. I chose VC balcony as close to mid ship as possible on the 6 th floor, port side, as midship is our preference. Exactly as you said, I was looking at upsell as a bonus. That didn't happen, so now I am trying to figure out if we should upgrade to Signature Suite.:)

JMO -- but your TA should have called HAL and asked about upsells.

I agree, but they are not really " my TA" in true sense of the word. Just some company who put big promo for HAL AK cruises through travelzoo. My expectations of them are zero. I could have asked them to call but wanted to wait and see if HAL would come around with so many Neptune Suites showing available for booking. Like another poster said above, I thought if it came from HAL it would be a better deal then me asking HAL for their offers. Plus, I was always a little ambiguous about paying close to a $1000 (I figured $650-700 if we lucky) for upgrade to a room that wasn't refurbished. I agree with you if it was a personal TA with whom I have any business relationship I would absolutely expect them to call.

Just an update. I contacted TA, they had no offers from HAL, told me to stay put, would forward any offer to me as soon as they get it. None came, and we are 23 days to sailing. Meanwhile out of 15 NA cabins showing through dummy bookings yesterday NONE is available today. Well, HAL must have assigned their guarantees. Now the most we can be offered is a Signature Suite. There are many of Signatures left, but most are on a starboard side. We are going to Glacier Bay and are currently booked in a port side balcony, decent location, by front elevators. The difference in price between our cabin and Signature Suite is not that much at this point. I can call to do paid upgrade, but can't decide if it is worth it. No suite perks. Is there really a tangible difference between Balcony cabin and Signature Suite? Last time when on Oosterdam we took upsell from balcony to Neptune. At that time Neptunes were just updated with modern decor, new bathrooms while other cabins didn't undergo any changes during dry dock. On Noordam there are no updates, so difference is the size mostly, especially between Balconies and Signatures, I assume. Just thinking out loud, putting it out there if anyone wants to chime in:).

Thank you. I appreciate it very much. And, if you have any Neptune Suite feedback that is also appreciated.

We are booked in VC Balcony cabin by front elevators on the 6 th floor, but waiting anxiously for upsell offers for Neptune. Should that come to fruition, I will surely update on the condition of Neptune Suite.

Hi, all. I am the OP. Just wanted to update all who took time to reply. We did book Noordam and are four weeks out to sail away. I will post regarding ship conditions when we return.

Actually there is a Roll Call -- small one:

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2584195

 

 

You need to call your TA and have him/her contact HAL to see if there are any upsell offers.

Hi again. I am only able to get to this Roll call from your link. I can't find it just by going through HAL Roll Calls. I am putting" Noordam" , dates in search but this Roll call doesn't come up. What am I doing wrong.?

If you booked through a TA, HAL will only deal with TAs.

 

If you (or your TA) contact HAL, most likely you will get full price offers. If HAL contacts you (or your TA), that is when possibly exciting upsell offers will develop.

Thank You. I realize if I'll be asking for it HAL has no incentive to make good offer. Will contact TA tomorrow. Hopefully they will be helpful. They may have offers sitting in their emails and too big and too busy with forwarding those.

Actually there is a Roll Call -- small one:

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2584195

 

 

You need to call your TA and have him/her contact HAL to see if there are any upsell offers.

Thank you. I was looking through Roll calls but must have missed it. Posted question there. Will see if any replies will come in. Like you said, it's a small Roll call.

Hello, all. Looking if anyone on Nordam May 12-20, 2018 sailing (35 days out) received any Upsell offers. We booked through on-line travel agency. When I called Upsell phone number I found on this boards, rep told me they can't help me, I have to deal with my TA. I thought I read before that even those booked through TA can contact Upsell office on their own at least for the info and then do the actual transaction through TA. Is this incorrect? TA s not forwarding us any Upsell offers at this time. I saw on a different thread that other Alaska sailings have been offered Upsells even at 37 days out. Anyone on our sailing received an offer? In general how do I make sure not to miss the offer dealing with big online TA? Any tips on getting at least the info from HAL's Upsells Department directly? Thank you all who will reply. BTW, there is no Roll Call for this sailing ( before someone directs me there:)).

No matter what size ship we cruised to Alaska on, there were always lots of families.

Yes, the Oasis is gone from the couple of ships that had it.

Is there Oasis on Nordam? Going with 13 year old in mid May this year, hope he isn't the only teen onboard! Thank you.

Hey all--

 

Newbie to the board. We are looking to book an Alaskan cruisetour when DH retires. Probably 2020. From what I've gathered so far it looks like Princess or HAL are a couple of the better cruiselines to use. (Unless you can recommend a better non-luxury line)

 

The dilemma: It looks like HAL is geared more towards an older crowd?? Don't get me wrong, because, hey, we won't be young either (we'll be 58 &62) but very young at heart. :cool::cool::cool: We LIKE adventure- we like casinos, music fests, rock and roll, and riding Harley's So yeah, not your typical 'old farts' Lol. ALSO, I've read that the on-board entertainment is somewhat lacking and I've also read some not-so-stellar reviews about the attitudes of some the the crew. Your comments appreciated......

 

Also, we are not into the fancy schmancy stuff. We do not eat in the main dining room when on a cruise because we don't want to 'dress up". DH wears a Harley t-shirt every day. We are your typical jeans and t-shirt kind of folk. No frills necessary. So what would your recommendation be for a good 'fit' for our cruise????. We don't want others to snub us based on their interpretation.

 

Details: We are looking to do a land first- southbound cruise. (somewhere between end of May-mid June) At this point I am thinking a 12 day may be ideal. I am looking to book our cruise as soon as they become available for 2020 for best location for stateroom and so that we can begin paying on it now and then research for possible excursions. What can I say....I AM A PLANNER!!! . I am already obsessed with this vacation, but becoming a little overwhelmed trying to narrow down which cruiseline.

 

So yeah, just looking for your feedback. Thanks in advance.

.

Hi. We did both HAL and Princess in Alaska. From your description above, definitely Princes. We didn't find people on HAL to be snobby, but it's not overall jeans and t-shirts type of crowd. Princess is more casual and they do have very good enrichment programs on board.

Sailed all three, would sail either one again in a heartbeat. In order of preference Breakaway, Anthem, Gem. Yes, production shows are better on Anthem, but other entertainment venues are better on Breakaway. Overall vibe is more to our liking on a Breakaway ( like being out on a night in NYC type of vibe). Buffet is better on Anthem. Service is the same on all three. Food is very similar in paid venues and MDR on all three. Would go with itinerary and the price. There is no big difference in overall experience in my opinion.

Thanks everyone for your input! I just booked with HAL. We'll do Princess next time. :)

We did two Alaskan cruises, HAL May, 2017 with kids (12 and 18 y.o.) and Princes May ,2015 without children. We liked HAL more. Kids loved the cruise and said it was their favorite cruise. They have been to other two cruises with us to Bermuda ( NCL) and Caribbean ( RCCL). We booked HAL for the same reason you did. We are going on HAL again next May.

The cruise the OP booked was on special promotion, one TA was selling it cheaper then all others around but all the money had to be paid upfront, not just non-refundable deposit. Another condition was no changes can be made to the booking. We actually wanted that specific cruise because it is eight nights, not standard seven and includes Hanes( talk about personal preferences) and Icy Straight, both of which we have never been to.

It's one of the Trusted Traveler programs - all of which are summarized here.

 

Thank you.

Thank you, Martin ( I assume). What is NEXUS? How do one obtain it?

Thank you again, Keith and all others who replied.

I just realized that the 11:15 flight is to Toronto!!! It means we don't have to go through US immigration in YVR, correct? The customs clearance will be done on the second leg Toronto to NYC flight? Does it make 11:15 am comfortable return flight time?

Thank you, Keith. Return arrival to Vancouver is on Sunday, May 20th.