HAL CruiseTour Report - Dawson/Denali Plus (Y4T) - June 26 to July 14, 2013

This was our 4th cruise on Holland America and our first CruiseTour to Alaska.

About 2 years ago I started researching an Alaska Cruise. If I recall, the inside passage cruises left from Vancouver and the ones from Seattle were outside of Vancouver Island. Most of the cruises were either 7 day northbound or southbound and I didn't really want to do 2 cruises back 2 back as I would end up doing the same ports. I also didn't want to do the 14 day cruise out of Seattle because it didn't do the inside passage all the way. The other problem I encountered was flying into or out of Anchorage.

Since I was coming from the East coast of Canada, my flight options became very limited. It looked like I would have to get to Seattle in order to fly to Anchorage. This added a lot more flights to the equation and cost. So I started looking at my options for starting and ending in Vancouver. It was a lot easier for me to book a return flight to Vancouver. Because I wanted to get the most out of one trip and see the most I could, just in case we don't make it back for another trip to Alaska, I figured a CruiseTour was our best option. From all my research and reading, you had to see the interior of Alaska and the Yukon to see the best scenery and wildlife. In the end I decided to do a CruiseTour that started and ended in Vancouver.

Based on research, most people felt it was better to do the land portion first and end up with a relaxing cruise at the end. Now all I had to do was figure out which CruiseTour to do. I had already determined that I would choose HAL. The other thing that was a given based on the research was that you had to have at least three nights in Denali. After looking at the CruiseTours that had triple Denali, I decided on the Dawson/Denali Plus Y4T 19 day CruiseTour.

Oh, there was one other important thing to try and figure out. When was the best time to go. I looked at the weather history of all the ports and land locations and tried to figure out statistically what time of the year had the least amount of rainfall. From what I could determine, the end of June and early July was statistically the best time period, taking all locations into consideration. So I chose a CruiseTour that departed Vancouver on June 26, 2013 and returned on July 14th, 2013.

Now that the CruiseTour is over, I am happy to report that everything worked out exceptionally well weather wise. We had minimal rain during our trip and as expected, it rained quite hard in Ketchican the day of our Alaska Rain Forest Sanctuary excursion. But because we were dressed with water proof jackets, we stayed dry and warm.

Once again thanks to all the CC information on what to take and how to dress for Alaska.

Now that all the background is out of the way, I'll try to present a report with pictures about our adventure.

Day 1 (June 26th):

We stayed at the Fairmont YVR because that is where we would be starting our adventure from. So we came into Vancouver a couple of days early. In the morning (June 26th) we made our way to the Skytrain after purchasing two, day passes. We got off at Harbour Front Station and began walking to Scoozis where had planned to have breakfast. It's a nice Italian place and the breakfast was very good.

Scoozis for Breakfast

Day 1 Continued

After breakfast we walked to Canada Place and purchased tickets for the HOHO bus. We did the Red Loop. It basically went to the main attractions in Stanley Park (Aquarium, Prospect Point, Rose Garden, Totems). We spent all day in Stanley Park and then made our way back to Canada Place. For supper we went to Steamworks (short walk from Canada Place. Great meal and nice views of the harbour while we ate.

Here are a few pictures:

Stanley Park

Stanley Park

Aquarium Jelly Fish Tank

Beluga Swimming

Day1 Continued

As we were leaving the Aquarium to head back to the HOHO pickup point, we noticed this interesting piece of Art. There was a guy cleaning up around the site and we stopped to talk to him. He turned out to be the artist of this very interesting totem pole made from various pieces of garbage that had washed up on the shores from the Tsunami in Japan.

Peter Clarkson - Artist

Peter's Creation from Japan Tsunami

Do you know what this was?

Stanley Park 125 years.

We made our way back to the Skytrain and managed to get back to the hotel without getting lost. I consider it to be a great start to the trip.

Thanks for posting! I've always been curious about the land tours (but not really interested in taking one LOL). I can't wait to read your review and see all your pictures!

Day 2 (June 27th):

Today we were up early (6:30am). Our bags had to be all packed and left inside our room by 8:00AM. We called the Bellman and he came to pick up our bags (all included in the CruiseTour). The bags were taken down to the departure level at the hotel and put on a cart for us to pick up when we were ready to head to the Air North check-in counter. Our flight was at 11:30AM. The worst part of the process was the long walk from the hotel to the Air North counter pushing our carts. Check-in went very smooth.

Air Canada could learn a few things from Air North regarding service. A very nice meal was included in the flight to Whitehorse. Two checked bags per person totalling 100 lbs (max of 70 lbs for one bag).

After a two hour flight we landed in Whitehorse. We were greeted by our Tour Concierge (Leigh Anne) and our Driver-Guide (Jimmie). Leigh Anne gave each couple an envelope with the room keys and baggage tags in it. We collected our bags and attached the Y4T-A tags with our name on each bag and dropped them at a collection point and Jimmie loaded them on the bus.

After everyone was done, our group of 42 people headed to the hotel. Jimmie gave us a narrated tour while we were enroute to the hotel which took about 15 minutes. We took our carry-ons to our room and a few of us headed out to explore Whitehorse before our Group Welcome Dinner at 6:30PM.

We had a very nice buffet dinner and we were all given name tags so we would remember who we were. This turned out to be a good idea as we were in for some real long days.

Whitehorse

Great Restaurant for tomorrows dinner.

Day 3 (June 28th):

Today we have an excursion planned. We are doing a River Float Trip down the Dezadeash River. We have to be ready to leave at 8:00AM. So that meant an early rise time. We also have to endure a 2 hour bus ride to the drop off point (Haines Junction) and of course a 2 hour return ride. The long ride both ways was worth it. We were the only two people on the Float Trip and the scenery was outstanding. It was so peaceful to float leisurely down the river for 90 minutes.

Start of Float Trip down Dezadeash River

Dezadeash River

Dezadeash River

Seagull with chick (very protective and dive bombed us)

Day 3 Continued:

View along Dezadeash River

View along Dezadeash River

After we finished the float, we had a boxed lunch which was included in the tour. We ate the lunch at the Village Bakery where the sign said "Get You Buns In Here". After that our tour guide took us back to the pickup point. While we waiting for the other excursions to arrive, we had kind of a personalized tour of the "Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Da Ku Cultural Centre". This centre contained an exhibit of native Indian bead work.

Da Ku Cultural Centre

Da Ku Cultural Centre

Da Ku Cultural Centre

Day 3 Continued:

Finally back in Whitehorse, it's now time for dinner. The previous day we found the Klondike Rib & Salmon restaurant and decided it was time to try it out. The food was pretty good and the price wasn't too bad. About $67 for two, including beer.

Inside Klondike Rib & Salmon

Klondike Rib Dinner

Day 4 (June 29th):

Today is going to be a long day. We have to have ours bags outside our room by 6:30AM and we depart on the long bus ride to Dawson at 8:00AM. Fortunately there will be a few stops along the way at Braeburn Lodge for Cinnamon Rolls the size of your head, Lunch at Minto with the best looking servers in the Yukon….maybe the world, and Moose Creek Lodge for coffee and perhaps a game of horseshoes.

View between Whitehorse - Dawson

View between Whitehorse - Dawson

Stop at Braeburn Lodge

Cinnamon Buns the size of your head

Just above Five Fingers Rapids

Day 4 Continued

Five Finger Rapids

View of Five Fingers Rapids

Minto Lunch Stop

Moose Creek Stop (huge mosquitoes and lots of them)

Moose Creek

Day 4 continued

We arrived in Dawson around 6:20PM. From the look of the streets, it had been raining earlier in the day and must have stopped a couple of hours before we arrived. The interesting thing about Dawson are the roads and buildings. There is only one paved road in Dawson. It is the main street that runs along the Yukon River. All the other streets are hard packed dirt roads. The reason for this is the extreme depth of the frost that occurs in the winter months and the subsequent thawing that occurs in the spring. You can imagine the amount of frost heaves you can get with all the frost. For that reason it's easier to maintain the dirt road rather than paved or concrete roads. The same applies to the foundations for the buildings.

A word of caution if you go to Dawson, don't wear your good clothes and shoes because they are going to get muddy from all the walking around town. Fortunately, the sidewalks are all constructed from wood but you still have to cross the muddy streets. The streets are actually pretty smooth. A lot better than the pothole infested streets we are used to back home.

Dawson

Dawson Westmark Hotel

Gerties Wing Dawson Westmark Hotel

Dawson Westmark Hotel

Day 5 June 30th:

This morning was going to be relaxing time. Our Tour Director had recommended that we could get a good breakfast for a reasonable price at the Midnight Sun Hotel. It was a short walk from the hotel and so we ventured forth and found the restaurant.

Breakfast at Midnight Sun

After breakfast we walked around town and snapped a few pictures of the town.

Paraglider in Dawson

Dawson Bunk House

Moosehead Slide

Moosehead Slide

Day 5 continued

We continued to walk along the river front in town and noticed a ferry that was taking vehicles across the Yukon River. At the time we didn't realize how important this ferry was going to become tomorrow.

Yukon River Ferry Dawson

Panorama of Downtown Dawson

It's interesting what you will see in the store windows as you window shop.

Self Explanatory

In the afternoon we had an included excursion on the Klondike Spirit, a paddle wheeler that used to transport gold miners and provisions up and down the Yukon River.

Views from Klondike Spirit

Views from Klondike Spirit

Your pictures are amazing! Please continue!!!

Great trip story and amazing pictures, can't wait to see the rest. We have this trip high on our list.

Wonderful review and the pictures are great.

Looks like you had beautiful weather for the land portion.

Looking forward to the rest.

Thanks for the review and pictures!

Glen you are doing a great job on this. Very, very nice. Do continue - otherwise we will all turn blue from holding our breath:D:D

Glen, Come Back! These pictures are amazing and as we're planning a cruise-tour for 2015, I'm really enjoying them!

Rachel

Hi Shrimpboat123: We did the July 11th- 28 Y4T tour and Yes doing the tour first is best you get to meet fellow guests and friendship are built. Olivia Putnam was our Tour director And Jimmie was our driver (Tag on Shirt James W.) we all exchanged e-mail addresses. It will be a Trip to remember. Did you do the Toe in Dawson?

Hi Shrimpboat123: We did the July 11th- 28 Y4T tour and Yes doing the tour first is best you get to meet fellow guests and friendship are built. Olivia Putnam was our Tour director And Jimmie was our driver (Tag on Shirt James W.) we all exchanged e-mail addresses. It will be a Trip to remember. Did you do the Toe in Dawson?

Our Tour Director was Leigh Anne Lewis. She was awesome. So organized and very personable. Couldn't do enough to help everyone. Our group of 42 really bonded. We got together on the ship one afternoon in the Crow's Nest and had cocktails during Happy Hour. We took a group picture and sent it to Leigh Anne. We also exchanged emails. I put all my pictures on Photobucket and sent the link to the group.

Jimmie was the best Driver/Guide. He had the best stories. His jokes were the best also. You never new whether his stories were true or not until you got the punch line.

We didn't do the "Toe" in Dawson. We did eat supper at Sourdough Joe's however.

Day 5 continued

Views from Klondike Spirit

Views from Klondike Spirit

Day 6 (July 1st):

Another long day ahead of us. Up really early and bags outside the room by 6:00AM. Bus departs at 7:00AM for a 12 hour bus ride.

We drove up to the ferry we saw yesterday and discovered we (a 50 foot bus and a large RV) were going to cross the river together. Talk about a tight squeeze. Our driver did a tremendous job getting the bus on and off without pulling the mirrors in. We didn't want to get to the Yukon/Alaska border until 9:00AM when the crossing opened for traffic.

Our journey today was going to take us over "The Top of the World Highway". This road is quite a narrow, up hill, down hill, twisty dirt road for the first 4-5 hours of the trip. There are no guard rails along the road either, and the drop offs are very dramatic.

Our driver told us that large busses had to have a "Pilot Truck" accompany us on the Top of the World Highway. Our driver was in constant radio communication with the Pilot Truck. The Pilot would inform our driver if there was any wildlife on the road ahead, or when any vehicle was approaching us. For that matter, anytime there was anyone approaching us we were informed (even cyclists).

On Ferry crossing Yukon River at Dawson

Pilot Truck

Top of World Highway

Top of World Highway

Top of World Highway

Day 6 continued

Top of World Highway Speed Limit (80 kph or 50 mph)

Top of World Highway

Top of World Highway

Top of World Highway - The Border Population 2 (A US Border Guard and a Canadian Border Guard)

Top of World Highway

Day 6 continued

Top of World Highway

Top of World Highway

Top of World Highway

Top of World Highway - Just when you feel confident you see this sign

Top of World Highway