Likelihood of an April 2015 Alaska cruise with HAL?

[spazwok]

Hi

 

I am working on a 6 week itinerary for a trip we plan to take in 2015. We are currently booked on the 16 Day Panama Canal cruise with HAL departing FLL on the 11th of April. That cruise ends in San Diego on the 27th of April and we're hoping to fly to Vancouver, with the hope there will be a 7 day Alaska departure from Vancouver between 27-30th of April.

 

I know that in 2014 there is a departure on the 30th of April, and HAL seems to be one of the only cruise lines offering April Alaska departures. Is this common for them?

 

Do you think it's likely there will be on in 2015?

 

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated :)

[startwin]

Hi

 

I am working on a 6 week itinerary for a trip we plan to take in 2015. We are currently booked on the 16 Day Panama Canal cruise with HAL departing FLL on the 11th of April. That cruise ends in San Diego on the 27th of April and we're hoping to fly to Vancouver, with the hope there will be a 7 day Alaska departure from Vancouver between 27-30th of April.

 

I know that in 2014 there is a departure on the 30th of April, and HAL seems to be one of the only cruise lines offering April Alaska departures. Is this common for them?

 

Do you think it's likely there will be on in 2015?

 

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated :)

 

Well, usually the ships repositioning for Alaska don't arrive in Vancouver - or Seattle - until the first week in May. We will be on Zuiderdam this year, arriving back in Vancouver on May 10th.

[beamqueen]

Carnival has an April 28th in 2014 that includes Glacier Bay. Not sure if you are interested in sailing a different cruiseline...but is an option if 2015 has it too :)

Edited January 3, 2014 by beamqueen

[whyyz]

At that time of the year, it is very likely that your ship is headed to Vancouver after San Diego to start its Alaska season. (It will stop in Vancouver first, even if it will be Seattle based for the Alaska season, due to PVSA issues).

 

Look for the ships doing similar itineraries to yours, as well as ships doing Asia or Australia cruises in April, as these ships will be headed to Vancouver to start their Alaska season. Once they arrive in Vancouver, they may do a short coastal cruise to properly align the departure days (E.g. Zuiderdam leaves Vancouver Saturdays in 2014). Hopefully you can find a ship arriving in Vancouver at your desired time.

 

It will depend entirely on how the other Panama/Asia/Australia schedules align, as the Alaska season's ships arrive as early as late April some years, and as late as mid-late May other years.

[startwin]

From Vancouver, the Alaska season begins on May 2, this year (the Zaandam). It's usually around that time. I don't recall it ever being earlier than that. It gears up on May 7th onwards, as the other ships arrive from their repositioning cruises.

[SilvertoGold]

This year HAL's Volendam does a roundtrip Vancouver to Vancouver departing April 30.

[startwin]

This year HAL's Volendam does a roundtrip Vancouver to Vancouver departing April 30.

 

You're right, and Carnival has one leaving the 28th. Unusually early - before I retired I worked close to the cruiseship terminal, and May 1st was when the first ships usually arrived. Don't think I would want to do Alaska that early, though.

[Vict0riann]

Hi

 

I am working on a 6 week itinerary for a trip we plan to take in 2015. We are currently booked on the 16 Day Panama Canal cruise with HAL departing FLL on the 11th of April. That cruise ends in San Diego on the 27th of April and we're hoping to fly to Vancouver, with the hope there will be a 7 day Alaska departure from Vancouver between 27-30th of April.

 

 

You could just stay on board the Westerdam all the way up the west coast, and continue into its first Alaska cruise of the season!

[Krazy Kruizers]

A few years ago we did the Westerdam's repositioning cruise from Ft Lauderdale and stayed on the ship for an Alaskan cruise -- which for that year was the second week of May.

It varies by year as to what HAL wants to do.

[sapper1]

At that time of the year, it is very likely that your ship is headed to Vancouver after San Diego to start its Alaska season. (It will stop in Vancouver first, even if it will be Seattle based for the Alaska season, due to PVSA issues).

 

Look for the ships doing similar itineraries to yours, as well as ships doing Asia or Australia cruises in April, as these ships will be headed to Vancouver to start their Alaska season. Once they arrive in Vancouver, they may do a short coastal cruise to properly align the departure days (E.g. Zuiderdam leaves Vancouver Saturdays in 2014). Hopefully you can find a ship arriving in Vancouver at your desired time.

 

It will depend entirely on how the other Panama/Asia/Australia schedules align, as the Alaska season's ships arrive as early as late April some years, and as late as mid-late May other years.

 

The Westerdam does continue on to Vancouver. We are booked on that cruise for 20 days out of Fort Lauderdale. We will be leaving the ship in Vancouver and it will leave for an overnight sail to Seattle the same day to begin Alaska cruises the next day.

[Krazy Kruizers]

There are not a lot of choices.

It is very rare for HAL to start Alaska with ships that reposition from Ft Lauderdale in April.

Your choices in 2015 are:

Westerdam April 11 - May 2 ending in Seattle and starting her 7 day round trip Alaskan cruises.

Noordam April 20 - May 9 ending in Vancouver when she starts her Alaskan cruises.

[VioletHorse]

This year HAL's Volendam does a roundtrip Vancouver to Vancouver departing April 30.

 

That cruise is the first Alaska cruise after the Volendam's Trans Pacific repositioning from the Far East.

 

It is early in the Alaska cruise season, but hopefully there will be snow on the mountain tops. It more importantly does not conflict with DH's golf leagues (yes there are 2) schedules, which go through mid-August. :D

[spazwok]

The Westerdam does continue on to Vancouver. We are booked on that cruise for 20 days out of Fort Lauderdale. We will be leaving the ship in Vancouver and it will leave for an overnight sail to Seattle the same day to begin Alaska cruises the next day.

 

Thanks for this info. That might be what we end up doing. Do they let you stay on from Vancouver, or would we need to get off and fly to Seattle to get the next day cruise?

[whyyz]

Thanks for this info. That might be what we end up doing. Do they let you stay on from Vancouver, or would we need to get off and fly to Seattle to get the next day cruise?

 

 

There is no need for you to disembark the ship at any port after San Diego, until you want to. The itinerary you have chosen already satisfies the PVSA by visiting a distant foreign port between Fort Lauderdale and San Diego.

 

In Theory, you could disembark the ship at Vancouver, Seattle, or any of the Alaskan ports. (The cruise line would charge you a return fare to Seattle as they couldn't resell your cabin to another guest from the Alaskan ports).

 

The only guests that need to disembark in Vancouver are those that board in San Diego, as the cruise line isn't able to transport passengers from one US city to a different US city without having visited a distant foreign port.

 

Guests boarding in Vancouver can disembark in Seattle after one night, or can remain onboard for the Alaskan cruise also.

 

Acceptable cruises according to PVSA:

 

USA port - near foreign port -must disembark from same USA port

USA port - disembark any foreign port

USA port - visit Distant foreign port - can disembark any USA port

 

Guests are allowed to visit other USA ports during the cruise. It is the boarding and disembarking ports that matter for PVSA compliance.

 

There is no need for you to fly anywhere in the middle of your vacation, unless you want to. (The floatplane excursion to Taku Lodge near Juneau is a good reason to want to fly).

[spazwok]

There is no need for you to disembark the ship at any port after San Diego, until you want to. The itinerary you have chosen already satisfies the PVSA by visiting a distant foreign port between Fort Lauderdale and San Diego.

 

In Theory, you could disembark the ship at Vancouver, Seattle, or any of the Alaskan ports. (The cruise line would charge you a return fare to Seattle as they couldn't resell your cabin to another guest from the Alaskan ports).

 

The only guests that need to disembark in Vancouver are those that board in San Diego, as the cruise line isn't able to transport passengers from one US city to a different US city without having visited a distant foreign port.

 

Guests boarding in Vancouver can disembark in Seattle after one night, or can remain onboard for the Alaskan cruise also.

 

Acceptable cruises according to PVSA:

 

USA port - near foreign port -must disembark from same USA port

USA port - disembark any foreign port

USA port - visit Distant foreign port - can disembark any USA port

 

Guests are allowed to visit other USA ports during the cruise. It is the boarding and disembarking ports that matter for PVSA compliance.

 

There is no need for you to fly anywhere in the middle of your vacation, unless you want to. (The floatplane excursion to Taku Lodge near Juneau is a good reason to want to fly).

 

Thank you! This information is great. I really appreciate the time you and everyone took to help me out. This is only the second cruise departing outside of Australia that we've done so I'm still trying to figure it all out.

 

Thanks again!!

[vbmom87]

Thanks for this info. That might be what we end up doing. Do they let you stay on from Vancouver, or would we need to get off and fly to Seattle to get the next day cruise?

 

Since you are coming all the way from Australia, I would carefully watch to see if any Alaska cruises will be leaving from Vancouver on days that work for you. I know it would not be as convenient to have to get off the ship and reboard another ship, but the scenery is better if you can find a cruise that sails to the east of Vancouver Island. Most of the Seattle cruises sail to the west of Vancouver Island out in the open ocean. Of course, is scenery is not a big concern for you, then this is a mute point. You have lots of time to research and make a decision that works best for you. Enjoy your cruise!!

[donaldsc]

Hi

 

I am working on a 6 week itinerary for a trip we plan to take in 2015. We are currently booked on the 16 Day Panama Canal cruise with HAL departing FLL on the 11th of April. That cruise ends in San Diego on the 27th of April and we're hoping to fly to Vancouver, with the hope there will be a 7 day Alaska departure from Vancouver between 27-30th of April.

 

I know that in 2014 there is a departure on the 30th of April, and HAL seems to be one of the only cruise lines offering April Alaska departures. Is this common for them?

 

Do you think it's likely there will be on in 2015?

 

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated :)

 

You might want to go over to the Alaska board on this one. I feel that even a late April cruise is way to early for Alaska. Many things may not be open.

 

DON