Alaska Cruise/Tour South Bound?

[gregdude]

We have a cruise booked on the Zaandam that begins in Fairbanks as a cruise/tour. My question is what time will we arrive in Seward if our tour uses a coach that departs from Denali at 8:00 AM? Will our luggage already be in our cabin? If we arrive after 6:00 PM when is the boat drill and will we have time for dinner (we have any time dinning). We are on the HAL cruise/tour #14 and would appreciate help from folks who have taken this tour.

 

Thanks

[catl331]

We did CT #14 in 9/07. We arrived in Seward around 5:00p and our bags were in the cabin, as they are shipped ahead by truck, not on the bus. We had shipped one bag ahead from our first night in Fairbanks. We stopped in Wasilla for about an hour for a buffet lunch (included) and about an hour at a wildlife preserve midway between Wasilla and Seward.

 

Our lifeboat drill was 10:00a the next day. It was originally scheduled for 8:00p on embarkation day, same as all aboard time, but I believe there were some late arrivals that caused the rescheduling.

 

We were dreading the long coach ride, but it turned out to be very enjoyable. Soft leather seats, and we've never had so much leg room on a bus. It had plexiglas for part of the roof so we could see the mountains, and the driver/guide was very interesting.

 

Anything else you'd like to know?

[GeriatricNurse]

We have a cruise booked on the Zaandam that begins in Fairbanks as a cruise/tour. My question is what time will we arrive in Seward if our tour uses a coach that departs from Denali at 8:00 AM? Will our luggage already be in our cabin? If we arrive after 6:00 PM when is the boat drill and will we have time for dinner (we have any time dinning). We are on the HAL cruise/tour #14 and would appreciate help from folks who have taken this tour.

 

Thanks

 

 

You mean "Open Dining", don't you? ;)

[Taz]

I just did this tour a couple of weeks ago.

 

We arrived in Seward (along with a lot of other HAL tour buses) a little after 5:00 PM. It took about 45 minutes of standing in line, getting pictures taken, etc. and then we were on the ship. The bags that were trucked down from Denali arrived in our cabin about 30 minutes after we did. Lifeboat drill was 7:00 and we ate after that.

 

Have a great time! Denali is awesome!

 

BTW....you'll get more than a few sales pitches for Prospectors Park and the Salmon Bake in Fairbanks. Resist!! The show was tolerable, but the food was absolutely horrible!

[catl331]

You mean "Open Dining", don't you? ;)

You know they do. As long as they don't say As You Wish Dining I'm good with it. :)

 

We arrived in Seward (along with a lot of other HAL tour buses) a little after 5:00 PM. It took about 45 minutes of standing in line, getting pictures taken, etc. ...

I guess we were lucky, as we were the only bus arriving, and went through check-in in a couple of minutes.

[ScottishMaid]

We are on the Statendam southbound leaving Seward but we are cruise ONLY.

As far as you know do all the guests do the lifeboat drill together and are there no afternoon drills? So if we could get on the ship early, we could get off again for the entire afternoon?

 

Also has anyone reading this taken the HAL transport from Anchorage by just turning up at the airport or the downtown embarkation center (i.e. not prebooked). My documents say that is an option. Is there a big wait if you do this?

Thanks for any comments on the whole procedure on embarkation day.

[gregdude]

Thanks catl331, just the information I was looking for.

 

As for those concerned about "open dinning" or "As you wish dinning" we have done this before, twice, and we loved the flexibility, never made a reservation, just walked up and were seated without a wait.

[catl331]

We are on the Statendam southbound leaving Seward but we are cruise ONLY.

As far as you know do all the guests do the lifeboat drill together and are there no afternoon drills? So if we could get on the ship early, we could get off again for the entire afternoon?

Everyone does the drill together, and it will be sometime after "all aboard" time ... usually that night, I think, but as I mentioned sometimes the next morning.

Also has anyone reading this taken the HAL transport from Anchorage by just turning up at the airport or the downtown embarkation center (i.e. not prebooked). My documents say that is an option. Is there a big wait if you do this?

I wouldn't take that chance.

[gregdude]

OK, another question about the trip from Fairbanks south. Which side of the train from Fairbanks to Denali offers the best view? Which side of the coach from Denali to Seward offers the best views? My final question, I promise, are the train seats reserved or first come first serve and are they all upstairs?

 

Thanks again!!

[Taz]

OK, another question about the trip from Fairbanks south. Which side of the train from Fairbanks to Denali offers the best view? Which side of the coach from Denali to Seward offers the best views? My final question, I promise, are the train seats reserved or first come first serve and are they all upstairs?

 

Thanks again!!

 

I thought that the left hand side (as you're facing the front) of the train from Fairbanks to Denali offered the best views once we actually got in to the Denali area. All of the seats are upstairs, with the dining facility being downstairs. Seats were reserved/assigned.

 

As for the bus from Denali to Seward - neither side really provided an advantage, although the right hand side did get a really nice view of mountains/water just south of Anchorage. They showed a video about altitude sickness on Denali early in the trip and then I dozed for a couple of hours.

[catl331]

OK, another question about the trip from Fairbanks south. Which side of the train from Fairbanks to Denali offers the best view? Which side of the coach from Denali to Seward offers the best views? My final question, I promise, are the train seats reserved or first come first serve and are they all upstairs?

 

Thanks again!!

There are good views from both sides at different points along the routes. We were on the left side of the train and got our fair share of good views --- but you don't get to choose your train seats. They are assigned in advance (though I don't remember when exactly). All seats are upstairs and the dining room is downstairs. The dining room only holds about half the number of people as upstairs, so first the forward half of the car goes and after they're through then the back half. You don't have to go eat breakfast, but nearly everyone did in our car.

 

On the train you can get up and walk out to the open area at the end of the car and take pictures without glass reflections. Many people (mostly men) hung out there a lot. It was fun there while crossing a narrow bridge. I think it was at Nenana.

 

On the bus the seats are not reserved, and the only time we felt we were on the wrong side (left) was when we went along Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet, just ESE of Anchorage. I was disappointed that the bus made no "picture stops" along the way at all ... just for lunch and the wildlife preserve.

 

Go ahead and ask all the questions you like ... it's fun "reliving" the trip! :)

 

This pic is of the front part of the train were on, going around a big sweeping bend.

 

[catl331]

IIRC the first half of the train (approximately) was Princess Cruise people and the back half was HAL.

 

If you're looking for a good place to eat in Fairbanks after your full day there, I recommend Gambardella's at 706 2nd Ave, roughly 6 blocks north and two blocks west of the Westmark Hotel where you will probably be staying. Good Italian food at good-for-Alaska prices. (Nearly everything in AK costs about 50% more than what we pay in FL.)

[agabbymama]

IIRC the first half of the train (approximately) was Princess Cruise people and the back half was HAL.

 

 

I think this will vary by the number of people on the cruisetour. We did Yukon Wilderness cruisetour # 1 with HAL, and there were so many of us, we had two coaches that traveled together for the eight days on land. And we had a railcar totally to ourselves. I believe we had 80 folks. And our Tour Director traveled with us on the train to Denali. And the seats were assigned by our Tour Director as we boarded the train. We were sent to dinner by side of the train, not by front or back. Each car has it's own kitchen/dining.

 

I believe we had like two cars that were HAL, two cars that were Princess and 1 car that was Royal Caribbean. That is besides the regular Alaska Railroad cars. They are hooked together and pulled by the Alaska railroad engines.