Cruise tour luggage

[Need to Know]

My wife and I are taking a cruisetour on HA Statendam in May 2012 going Northbound to Seward. I opted for the Morning cruisetrain from Seward to Anchorage. I am unsure of what happens to the luggage.

 

1. Is it automatically transferred to transport to Anchorage?

2. Is it transported by Train?

3. What if I do not want automatic transport can it be taken off ship and checked on train by me?

4. Is it all acessible in Anchorage? If so When and where?

5. Is there a limit to carry on size on train?

 

You maybe wondering why the questions. My wife smokes, perferably outside. In 2012 only HA offers smoking on the Balcony, a must unless you want to see a half dressed middle aged lady meandering around the ship looking for a smoking area. However HA will not sell a Balcony on a oneway cruise unless you buy the cruise tour package. I opted for the cheapest cruisetour package. I intend to rent a car in Anchorage and independently tour inland Alaska. (She can smoke when she wants and wake up when she wants) So ideally the sooner I can get our luggage in Anchorage, the sooner I can begin our tour.

 

And yes the other option is to take all the luggage off in Seward, tour Seward for the the day ie Kenai Fjord boat trip, and take the evening train to Anchorage. I may do this if all luggage is not available until the end of the Land Tour . But to get atleast some value out of the land portion of the cruise tour option I want to know the feasibility of the other option.

 

You people seem to know more about Alaska Cruise tours than the sales people at HA. Therfore the questions are posted here.

 

Thank you.

[Budget Queen]

IF you are taking a "cruisetour", these usually are a "package" right from the ship in Seward.

 

I am questioning your "early" train "option"???? Did your cruisetour, have the late one included in your package?? Or was it a bus transfer??? Then, are you overnighing in Anchorage, or what?????

 

Copy and list your actual cruisetour. Then the answers will be clear, what happens to your luggage.

[Need to Know]

The morning cruise train was an option instead of the morning bus from Seward to Anchorage. The cruise tour would spend the first night on land in Anchorage and then by train to Denali and subsequently to Fairbanks. I am not sure what hotel the cruise tour would stay in in Anchorage but if I leave the tour I would not stay in Anchorage that night in any case.

 

Ideally I leave the train at its stop at the Anchorage airport, take my luggage, rent a car and drive out of town. But this depends on whether the luggage is on the train and whether it can be accessed by me at the time the train stops.

[Budget Queen]

The morning cruise train was an option instead of the morning bus from Seward to Anchorage. The cruise tour would spend the first night on land in Anchorage and then by train to Denali and subsequently to Fairbanks. I am not sure what hotel the cruise tour would stay in in Anchorage but if I leave the tour I would not stay in Anchorage that night in any case.

 

Ideally I leave the train at its stop at the Anchorage airport, take my luggage, rent a car and drive out of town. But this depends on whether the luggage is on the train and whether it can be accessed by me at the time the train stops.

 

So you are looking at canceling your cruisetour?? None of the trains, other than cruise contracted go to the airport. (unless they start next year??)

 

IF you are open to independent, they you have more considerations that are superior to what you have currently booked. Determine WHY you would go to Fairbanks, since flights are more limited, cars will have drop fees, and it eats up time that may be of interest elsewhere. There are some excellent touring options available, certain, but a lot of cruisetours completely miss them. For some Seward is a far better option, and offers plenty of superb touring opportunities. This really is a highly recommended "must" be area if wildlfie is a priroty. The Kenai Fjords boat tours, offer plenty of varied widlife viewing along with a close up glacier view. Far superior to anything seen from the cruise ship. Whittier is also superb for their glacier boat tours, again grossly superior compared to cruiseship viewing.

 

The cruise contracted train you have now booked is about 1/3 more than the regular run at 6pm. The cruise contracted train leave around 7am. I am also not certain of your "leaving" the cruisetour and not staying in Anchorage????? You will have to check into the train by 7:30am and would have had notified the cruisetour what you are doing. There likely would not be a hotel refund???

 

If you are open to having a car, and not happy with your cruisetour, then go independent, it is darn simple to do so, with excellent, detailed accurate trip information available on this site, if you care to take advantage of it. You never see any trip reports of returning independent travelers, every saying they wished they had taken a cruisetour, with their reports being consistant raves.

 

Determine HOW you wish to proceed, there also may be a better cruisetour to select.

[greatam]

So you are looking at canceling your cruisetour?? None of the trains, other than cruise contracted go to the airport. (unless they start next year??)

 

 

I don't think he is canceling the cruise tour. He only booked the cheapest one he could find because HAL would NOT let him book a balcony cabin WITHOUT the cruise tour. And he wants the balcony cabin so his wife can smoke. He is essentially paying for the cruise tour but ditching it (other than transport to Anchorage).

 

He needs to either get his luggage in Seward, get on the train, then ditch the cruise tour in Anchorage. OR be assured he can get ALL of his luggage in Anchorage so he can get in his rental car and take off on his INDEPENDENT vacation.

[Need to Know]

I don't think he is canceling the cruise tour. He only booked the cheapest one he could find because HAL would NOT let him book a balcony cabin WITHOUT the cruise tour. And he wants the balcony cabin so his wife can smoke. He is essentially paying for the cruise tour but ditching it (other than transport to Anchorage).

 

He needs to either get his luggage in Seward, get on the train, then ditch the cruise tour in Anchorage. OR be assured he can get ALL of his luggage in Anchorage so he can get in his rental car and take off on his INDEPENDENT vacation.

 

Thats exactly right.

 

On the many discussions about southbound cruisetours the posters mention that some of the luggage is not available during the land portion of the tour. That is they have no access to some of the luggage until they board the ship. If this were similar on a northbound tour and I could not access some of the luggage from Seward to the end of the tour in fairbanks, I would need to make adjustments to keep all the luggage with me at debarkation from the ship rather than allow the tour director control the luggage.

[PennyAgain]

It is true that your big luggage is due to be automatically handled by the cruise tour. Often they will give you luggage tags that say 'meet me at the airport' uness you only have one big bag and that bag will meet you at every cruise tour hotel and be picked up the next morning. If you only have one large bag each, then you won't be separated from your luggage other than the time during the day when it is being moved.

 

Read the terms and conditions of your cruise/tour contract. There may be some surprises in it about cancelling the cruise tour.

 

You will be paying for hotel rooms you won't use with no hope of a refund and buying other hotel rooms for your nightly stays.

[Budget Queen]

Thats exactly right.

 

On the many discussions about southbound cruisetours the posters mention that some of the luggage is not available during the land portion of the tour. That is they have no access to some of the luggage until they board the ship. If this were similar on a northbound tour and I could not access some of the luggage from Seward to the end of the tour in fairbanks, I would need to make adjustments to keep all the luggage with me at debarkation from the ship rather than allow the tour director control the luggage.

 

No this isn't an issue, you will get your bags in Anchorage.

 

Hopefully you will be on top of bookings, since I have seen in the past the release of balconies for single bookings. With that, you would be able to cancel the cruisetour. BUT, many times this is right near final payment, so I suggest you check- daily the month before.

 

Princess wasn't in the picture?? You are getting right out of Seward and missing that, so little reason to sail there in my opinion. Princess has excellent itineraries, that would be less costly I would assume without purchasing the throw away cruisetour.

[Need to Know]

Thank you for your help.

 

I do not expect I will be able to cancel the land portion of the cruise tour. We will just not show up after we arrive in Anchorage. Kind of like missing the boat due to a late excursion not booked through the cruise line.

 

I figure the additional cost of the cruise tour over the cruise is just a cost I will absorb as the price of traveling with a smoker and having a pleasant cruise. I can rationalize the cost by figuring since we are traveling in late May as opposed to Mid-June through August we will save that much or more just off the basic cruise fare.

Of course I could just pay the smoker fine of $250 and let my wife smoke to her heart's content in the room but that would be a topic for a different and more heated discussion.

 

Budget Queen, yes I will spend more time in Seward doing the Kenai Fjord boat tour(major marine as they allow smoking on the top deck) and other activities in the town though probably toward the end of the land portion of the trip. Princess was not an option as smoking is prohibited both in the room and on the balcony in 2012. Also the HAL cruise has an itinerary exactly as I wanted.

 

 

As this will be our first cruise, I have found this board to be a lot of help particularly in determing the quality of independently reserved shore excursions. So thank you posters.

[Budget Queen]

Thank you for your help.

 

I do not expect I will be able to cancel the land portion of the cruise tour. We will just not show up after we arrive in Anchorage. Kind of like missing the boat due to a late excursion not booked through the cruise line.

 

I figure the additional cost of the cruise tour over the cruise is just a cost I will absorb as the price of traveling with a smoker and having a pleasant cruise. I can rationalize the cost by figuring since we are traveling in late May as opposed to Mid-June through August we will save that much or more just off the basic cruise fare.

Of course I could just pay the smoker fine of $250 and let my wife smoke to her heart's content in the room but that would be a topic for a different and more heated discussion.

 

Budget Queen, yes I will spend more time in Seward doing the Kenai Fjord boat tour(major marine as they allow smoking on the top deck) and other activities in the town though probably toward the end of the land portion of the trip. Princess was not an option as smoking is prohibited both in the room and on the balcony in 2012. Also the HAL cruise has an itinerary exactly as I wanted.

 

 

As this will be our first cruise, I have found this board to be a lot of help particularly in determing the quality of independently reserved shore excursions. So thank you posters.

 

OK one final point, unless you have a lot of time interior Alaska, meaning weeks- which you certainly may?? But, not sure why you are backtracking to Seward, especially if shorter on time. You already are dumping the cruisetour, so no rush getting to Anchorage.

[frugaltravel]

OK one final point, unless you have a lot of time interior Alaska, meaning weeks- which you certainly may?? But, not sure why you are backtracking to Seward, especially if shorter on time. You already are dumping the cruisetour, so no rush getting to Anchorage.

 

Apparently because he wants to use the cruisetour transfer to Anchorage. But if they can walk off the ship with their own luggage, staying in Seward is by far the best option rather than backtracking.

 

But if the car rental is already booked at a good rate, it might be quite a bit more expensive to change the dates of the car rental at this point.

 

It is only a 2-3 hour drive each way between Anchorage and Seward, so the backtracking comments with "weeks" isn't really applicable IMHO.

[PennyAgain]

Having been a tour guide, I can tell you that not showing up with delay that group's departure and will cause all sorts of issues.

 

They will look for you, look for your luggage, make telephone calls and even check your booked (cruise tour) hotel to see if you over slept.

 

Please figure out a way to let the folks know that you are not going to show up for the tour!

[Need to Know]

While it is too early to let the cruise people know we will not be taking the land portion, it is not too early too make the plans and by the time it would be appropriate to let the land tour people know it would be too late to make adequate plans. I intend to let the tour people know prior to the beginning of the tour. However I was afraid that some procedures and systems were set in stone and woo to those who try to violate the procedures.What I needed to know is what these procedures were and if they were set in stone so I could plan accrdingly and you have given me the answer.

 

There is merit in staying in Seward after the cruise but I do save some logistical issues and money by doing the early train to the airport particularly since I now know the cruise line will handle the luggage transfer to the airport where the car is being rented and part of the transportation costs to the airport. We already planned on spending two and a half days exploring the Kenai peninsula visiting Homer at the end of the week so not much problem with a slight detour to Seward. There will be a lot of driving but it is what I like to do and being in control of when and where we stop makes for a more pleasant vacation.

[PennyAgain]

You bet that is a lot of driving. Study up on possible places to stop as there are not many on the way down to Homer.

 

You can do a GOOGLE Street View search for the route from Anchorage to Steward that will give you some really good ideas on what the road is like and what the views are as far as the turn off to Whittier. Fair warning that it is hard to quit doing Street View.