tundra1

Congratulations Grammi for not being on the list! 🤗

Thank you so much for this article!  I was so worried last night, I couldn't sleep.  I then tried to call HAL today for confirmation, and ended up being routed to 3 different people before I got an answer.  (Thank you Paul, you were very helpful!)

While on hold, I started looking at options to rearrange our trip to keep our flights and do the land portion on our own.  I found a nice VRBO up near Denali, a 2021 Jeep Wrangler with unlimited mileage from Turo,  and another Airbnb in Palmer.  I discovered we could take a southbound cruise from Whittier or fly to Vancouver from Anchorage and board our current ship for the round trip sailing.  While the room choices are not as plentiful, we could have done it.  It is reassuring that HAL is offering folks the chance to rebook on a cruise-only option should their Land portion be cancelled, and still have that future cruise credit for another adventure in 2023!

Somehow the cruise gods were smiling down on us, and we got lucky.  Although 5 tour groups leaving on August 24th were cancelled, miraculously our Y6L is not on the list.  I have a feeling we will be a small group enjoying this adventure, but I will appreciate the opportunity to explore this great area of the world even more.  On top of that, I will be that much more grateful to the service workers driving the buses, staffing the resorts, leading our tours, and preparing/serving our food throughout our journey!

There are plenty of Vrbo and Airbnb options in Alaska.  However, it is hard to find rental cars.  We ended up booking a car with Turo for our trip next month, and there were plenty of choices there, at a lower cost than the Rental Car companies.

We are doing a hybrid this year, exploring the Seward and Kenai Fjords area before joining our tour group in Anchorage.  Then once we get to Dawson City, we are renting a car there and doing those two days on our own. Lots of people choose to rent a car in Skagway to drive to Canada, which is a great way to spend a day, also.

But the included trains and flights with the land tour were worth doing through HAL.  Also, in Alaska, there is not much difference in cost doing excursions with HAL vs. booking directly with private companies.  The $10 difference is what we would have spent to get to the tour company location via ride share.  We are booking some private excursions at our port stops because what we wanted to do is not offered currently by the cruise line, and we are happy with our choices.

However, if traveling to the Yukon is not in your plans anyway, and you will just be traveling to Denali, then by all means, you can rent a car and easily do it on your own and explore areas not covered by the typical land tours.

We are bringing our own kits for our upcoming Land/Sea cruise, even though we are double boosted.  I would rather know before any mandatory testing that I have a negative result, or that I can do a retest with my own kit should I get a false positive from the company and then have the proof to demand a retest.

That is terrible that they made you wait like that!

Ketchikan Kayak Company has an Electric bike/Rainforest hike or a keyaking adventure out of Ketchikan.  They pick you up at the cruise port, you do the activity, and then they return you to the ship or downtown (your preference).  They are a good company to book through.  You can find them on the web.

I feel your pain!  I thought I had planned out my vacation so I would be home to do payroll on the day before I left and then the day after I returned.  Unfortunately, I counted wrong, and now I also have to do payroll mid-way through my vacation.  I am bringing my laptop to make sure I have all the connections and security needed.  One more thing to pack in my carry-on unfortunately.  Have a great cruise otherwise!

Yes, I looked through the wines offered with the Have It All package.  There is an amazing selection and I will enjoying trying some new wines.  I will be purchasing a few bottles along the way on our land tour, however!

Thanks for the photo of the chocolate party!  I like something sweet, but prefer not to overindulge!  LOL!  This looks like a good solution.  Thanks for all you hard work with this review!

Thanks for your updates!  I never knew that about the table!  That is so good to know!  We like to play cards, and that table will be perfect!

On 7/19/2022 at 9:59 PM, kazu said:

 

Thank you so much for your reply. It is SO appreciated.

 

Now that I have the details, I can get your Bon Voyage timed correctly.  Have a wonderful time 👍 .  

Thank you!  Your thoughfulness is really appreciated!  We are new to cruising and this makes me feel like i am part of the HAL family already!

On 7/17/2022 at 4:51 AM, kazu said:

 

Lovely!  Happy to add it for you 👍.  Could you let me know the name of your cruise & land tour 7 # of days please so I can find the right one for your Bon Voyage?

 

Hope you have a wonderful first cruise!

 

 

Thank you!  We are on the HAL Y6L (10 nights) Yukon/Denali Land and Sea Tour, starting the land portion in Anchorage on 8/24, and joining the Koningsdam ship in Skagway on 8/30, ending in Vancouver on 9/3.

We will be on the Koningsdam after our land tour to Denali and the Yukon.  The Koningsdam leaves Vancouver on August 27, and we meet up and board her in Skagway on August 30th.  This will be our first cruise!

The video did not load, but your other photos are great!  Looking forward to seeing the rest of your adventures!  

Happy Birthday to your mom! 🎂

I think this is brilliant!  Thank you for sharing the link!  I am keeping my fingers crossed that I receive it.  I have been working as a nurse in an ER for 40 years.  These last two years, dealing with the increasing community violence and covid, has made me feel as though I work in a war zone.  This will be my first vacation since 2020, and the on board credit would be used for a much needed massage!  

If you go on YouTube, Legglife just posted a series of videos from a Royal Class ship in one of those rooms.  They loved it and the balcony was big enough for them and their two friends who were staying in an interior room nearby.  The only issue is that there were some pieces of the ship that they had to look around.  But otherwise, the views were great!  If it was windy, they stayed near the balcony door and the wind was not a factor.

On 7/10/2022 at 1:38 PM, nasellemom1 said:

Thanks for the information. I actually changed to a Y4l to include those extra 2 nights. I really for some reason want to overnight in Skagway. Hoping to have the opportunity to see the northern light at some point. That's a bucket list item for the family! 

I am sure you will have a wonderful time!  Skagway does seem like a town straight out of a movie set! 

We received a notice from HAL today, so I guess our land / cruise tour is one step closer to happening.  The email topic line said they had sent our ship boarding time, but unfortunately, that part was missing from the memo!  LOL!  It had included items that I did not realize were part of our package, along with a little bit of travel information, such as the time of the train to Denali and that we have a 15 minute stop in Talkeetna. It did confirm that we will be flying from Dawson City to Whitehorse, taking a bus to Skagway, and then boarding the White Pass Train for a round trip to the Summit before boarding the ship.  The flight times and flight numbers are still missing for all our plane transfers, so we still can't complete the Arrive Can / Verifly information needed, but I do feel we are one step closer!

On 7/7/2022 at 2:32 PM, nasellemom1 said:

We have the same itinerary booked for May 23, do you remember how far out you were able to book excursion for the land portion? We are able to book and see what's available for Skagway and Ketchikan but not the rest. Just wondering when I should start looking? Thanks. 

We booked ours in September, and by January we could see the options for the land portion.  However, besides Denali, there are not many options.  There were 5 choices for Dawson City and 3 for Fairbanks (the Salmon bake / dinner theater, an Aurora Borealis viewing excursion to a Yurt, and the Chena Hot Springs tour),  I had heard that the riverboat excursion is really nice, but that is not offered to us.  Dawson City offered the Tombstone Park excursion, a couple of Gold mining excursions, Diamond Tooth Gerties, and a Top of the Dome excursion to an overlook above Dawson City.  I am hopeful that other options will still be available, but have not heard anything yet.  That is why we decided to rent a car.

Just so you know, our group was not offered any excursions in Skagway.  I think we arrive too late after the White Pass Train ride to do anything else.

Have a great time!  Looking forward to following along on your adventure!

Call HAL and speak with a live person.  They can tell you the time of your trains, your Tundra Wilderness Tour in Denali, Etc.  If the tour has been cancelled, they would be able to verify that also.

On 7/3/2022 at 1:52 AM, C1nnabar said:

For some reason, I didn't see the 8/24 option when I did the search, oops. (Maybe it's sold out).

 

That is a pretty packed day from Dawson City to Skagway. There's only one flight from Dawson City to Whitehorse that day (10:30 - 11:40), so it's a good bet that you'll be on it. The trip from Whitehorse to Skagway is, in theory, about two hours, but you'll likely make a few stops on the way, so maybe three. And then the train trip takes about 2 1/2 hours. So you might have an hour in Skagway thanks to the "extra" hour. Most of the historical sights are along the one main street or within a block of ot, so you can expect to see them anyway!

 

 

The 8/24 cruise tour was sold out before final payment was due.  Then on Memorial Day Weekend, the 11-day tour was advertised at a lower cost than our 10-day one, but not by much.  We could have switched tours, but would have had to give up Seward, which I was not keen on doing.

Thanks for the flight information.  I was hoping we would leave earlier, but now we will have time to find a cute little breakfast place in Dawson City before we head out.

I think we will end up walking around downtown Skagway before boarding the ship.  I might as well be productive instead of standing around waiting in line!  LOL!  I appreciate your insight!

Your pictures are beautiful!  I am so happy you made it to the ship safe and sound and Covid free!

I hope you have an amazing cruise also!

Looking forward to following along!  Wishing you safe travels and Negative Covid Tests!

Thanks for all the helpful information!  If anyone has ideas about Fairbanks, I would love to hear your suggestions!  Chena Hot Springs or hang around downtown?  Are there any good venues with music on a Saturday night?

Thanks for this great trip report!  I am learning so much!  😀

I am guilty of being a "planner".  I like to have my itinerary somewhat laid out in advance. 

We are on the Y6L, which is 10 days total.  The dates are August 24-Sept.3.  I would have loved to take a longer land/sea tour with a 7 night Southbound cruise, but because of my work, this was the best option for us. 

8/22:  We are traveling two days early to Anchorage, on a non-stop flight from O'Hare which arrives at 1pm,  and then driving down to Seward for 2 nights. The choice was 2 nights in Seward on our own, or the overnights in Whitehorse and Skagway, and Seward won out.

8/23:  We have the Kenai Fjords Tour with Major Marine scheduled for this day.

8/24:  We have a kayaking excursion on Resurrection Bay planned for the morning, and then we drive back to Anchorage and meet up with our tour group that evening. 

8/25:  Train to Denali, with an ATV excursion booked from 7-10 pm.

8/26:  Tundra Wilderness Tour from 7am - noon.  Hopefully we can fit in a hike around Horseshoe Lake in the afternoon, and then attend the Music of Denali show in the evening.

8/27:  Ziplining in the morning, and then we take a bus to Fairbanks at 2pm, scheduled to arrive around 5:30pm.  We might do the Chena Hot Springs excursion that evening, but I am not sure if it is worth it. We might just want to walk to a local bar and listen to music somewhere in Fairbanks, instead.  Any suggestions?

8/28:  Fly to Dawson City, unknown time.  There are no excursions offered for this day, so I am not sure what we will end up doing or what our timetable will look like.

8/29:  We have the whole day to ourselves, so have decided to rent a car and tour the area on our own.  We were thinking about going to Tombstone Park for part of the day, but we don't have that mapped out yet.  Again, any suggestions would be welcome!

8/30:  Fly from Dawson City to Whitehorse, board a bus to Skagway, ride the White Pass Train, and board the Koningsdam ship for four nights. There is no overnight in Whitehorse or Skagway before boarding the ship. It would be great if the bus stopped along the way so we could see the sights.  I would also love an hour to spend in Skagway.  We do gain an hour on this day going from PST in Canada into Alaska Time, but this day still looks pretty packed.  That is why it would be helpful to know our flight time and White Pass Train time.

8/31:  Glacier Bay

9/1:  Ketchikan:  Electric Bike and Rainforest hike excursion planned.

9/2:  Inside Passage:  Rest and relax!

9/3:  Vancouver,  Our flight leaves at 2pm and is a non-stop to O'Hare.  I have to work the next morning, so we cannot stay overnight in Vancouver.  That is on the bucket list for next time!

I have been reading some amazing trip reports from folks who have done the Land / Sea cruises ending with a 7 night voyage out of Whittier.  We are taking a HAL cruise in August, starting in Anchorage, going to Denali, then Fairbanks, then Dawson City, and then to Skagway to board the ship for a 4 night journey, ending in Vancouver.

HAL was able to give me the times for the train departure to Denali, the time of our scheduled Tundra Wilderness Tour, and the bus departure to Fairbanks,  but not the times of our flights from Fairbanks to Dawson City or from Dawson City to Whitehorse.  Then, with the White Pass train not running to Fraser, I was told we would be taking a bus from White Horse to Skagway, then boarding the White Pass train for a round trip to the Summit, and then boarding the ship on our return to Skagway.  However, no one has been able to tell me the times for all of that. 

Will we have some time in Dawson City that last day before getting on the flight to Whitehorse?  Does the bus from Whitehorse to Skagway stop anywhere along the way?  I would love to see Emerald Lake or Carcross, and perhaps stop along the bus route to see the Train passing by from the other side.  Also, will we have any time in Skagway before we have to board the ship or the train?  It would be nice to be able to take a short stroll around the downtown area.

Sorry for all the questions!  Thanks for any information!  

Terri