Triple Denali lunches question

[CobbClan]

Traveling northbound from Vancouver, and realize that the bus to Denali is a long ride. Do you stop for Lunch? And on the way back to Anchorage by rail, can you bring a lunch with you or do you have to buy your food in the dining car?

[Shmoo here]

Traveling northbound from Vancouver, and realize that the bus to Denali is a long ride. Do you stop for Lunch? And on the way back to Anchorage by rail, can you bring a lunch with you or do you have to buy your food in the dining car?

 

Sorry, don't know whether the bus stops for lunch or not (that's new since our cruise/tour - we had the train ride).

 

I do know on the train meals are available, for a cost. On the train from Fairbanks to Denali, we brought our own snacks stuff (fruit, trail mix, cookies). We did buy sodas (so we could get the "collectable" glass it comes in). But lunch was available for purchase.

 

On the train from Denali to Anchorage, we bought dinner.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Shmoo here

[OldBoot]

If you can, dine on the train! The food is lovely.

 

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[Koali]

We did the cruisetour to denali from anchorage, so your route is different but I'm sure they'll do something similar. There's a dining car on the train. A bit pricy but I thought the whole area of Denali was more expensive in general. Then we took a bus back to anchorage to catch our ship. They will stop along the way for bathroom breaks and food. I don't think food is covered on the bus trip either. My bus got stuck in ice and snow on our way, so they bought us lunch at the nearby Princess lodge. Awesome view of Denali.

 

 

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[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

When we went, we took the train to Denali from Anchorage and there was food available in the dining car. On the way back to Seward from Denali on the day of sailing, we were transported by bus and we stopped at a restaurant in Wasilla for lunch......a buffet (sandwiches, etc.) and it was paid for by HAL.

[Lady Chew]

We did a cruise tour this past summer. The bus ride was very long, but if you have a good driver/guide you can have a lot of fun. We certainly did. I don't think we ever went more than two hours without a stop. Several of the lunches were included in the overall cost of the cruise tour. We did bring water & snacks with us, however. At some point you get all of the details of what is covered, when you get your cruise documents, I think.

 

We elected not to eat in the dining car on the train; our travel companions did, and they were very unhappy with the quality, price & service. Mr Chew & I had purchased sandwiches & such to eat, and we ordered our drinks on the train (separate service from the dining car).

 

Having said all of that, I thought I read somewhere on CC that they were discontinuing the long bus rides and were now flying passengers into Denali? Having experienced this trip for ourselves, I think we would prefer the bus ride & train. You see a lot more from the ground. Animals, landscape, scenery, things you just can't pick up from an airliner.

[Okie1946]

We are doing the Seattle Gold Rush (Plane from Seattle to Anchorage, 3 days in Denali-train, Denali to Fairbanks-bus, Fairbanks to Dawson-plane, Dawson to Whitehorse-bus, Whitehorse to Fraser/Skagway-bus) and join the Volendam in Skagway.

 

My DH's question to Lady Chew - when we are traveling, are we responsible for our baggage when moving from location to location then from shore to ship?????

 

Appreciate any helpful information that you can give us about what to expect.

 

Thank you.

 

Barbara

 

Previous Cruises

 

 

September, 2009 Westerdam Alaska

September, 2010 Rotterdam Alaska

Oosterdam April, 2011 Mexican Riveria

Amsterdam September, 2012 Alaska

Edited January 8, 2014 by Okie1946

[Shmoo here]

We did a cruise tour this past summer. The bus ride was very long, but if you have a good driver/guide you can have a lot of fun. We certainly did. I don't think we ever went more than two hours without a stop. Several of the lunches were included in the overall cost of the cruise tour. We did bring water & snacks with us, however. At some point you get all of the details of what is covered, when you get your cruise documents, I think.

 

We elected not to eat in the dining car on the train; our travel companions did, and they were very unhappy with the quality, price & service. Mr Chew & I had purchased sandwiches & such to eat, and we ordered our drinks on the train (separate service from the dining car).

 

Having said all of that, I thought I read somewhere on CC that they were discontinuing the long bus rides and were now flying passengers into Denali? Having experienced this trip for ourselves, I think we would prefer the bus ride & train. You see a lot more from the ground. Animals, landscape, scenery, things you just can't pick up from an airliner.

 

The changes to the cruisetour (at least the longer, Yukon included land portion) are those going between Dawson City/Fairbanks now fly, instead of taking the bus. And the trip from Fairbanks to Denali is by bus, with only the Denali/Anchorage leg being by train.

 

I'm not sure about those Denali-only land tours. It appears that they take the bus one way and the train the other.

[Okie1946]

We are doing the Land/Sea Cruise in June - the only difference - we are doing 10 days starting with Anchorage, 3 days in Denali and going on to Fairbanks, Dawson, Whitehorse, and Fraser/Skagway, then joining the Volendam for the last 3 1/2 days.

 

1. We were wondering about our luggage and if we were responsible for making sure that it was loaded on board the buses or planes that would be transporting

us between the various locations?

2. With us being on land for 10 days, are there laundry facilities available some where along the route?

3. How many meals will we be responsible for while on the Land portion?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Barbara

 

Previous Cruises

 

September, 2009 Westerdam Alaska

September, 2010 Rotterdam Alaska

Oosterdam April, 2011 Mexican Riveria

Amsterdam September, 2012 Alaska

Edited January 8, 2014 by Okie1946

[Shmoo here]

We are doing the Seattle Gold Rush (Plane from Seattle to Anchorage, 3 days in Denali-train, Denali to Fairbanks-bus, Fairbanks to Dawson-plane, Dawson to Whitehorse-bus, Whitehorse to Fraser/Skagway-bus) and join the Volendam in Skagway.

 

My DH's question to Lady Chew - when we are traveling, are we responsible for our baggage when moving from location to location then from shore to ship?????

 

Appreciate any helpful information that you can give us about what to expect.

 

Thank you.

 

Barbara

 

Previous Cruises

 

 

September, 2009 Westerdam Alaska

September, 2010 Rotterdam Alaska

Oosterdam April, 2011 Mexican Riveria

Amsterdam September, 2012 Alaska

 

Not Lady Chew, but on the land portion, we had to have our bags outside our rooms early each morning (like by 7-8 am) for pick up and putting on the bus. At the end of the day, the bags were delivered to our rooms. The day we joined the ship, our bags were picked up in the morning and showed up at our room onboard after we were boarded.

[Koali]

We are doing the Land/Sea Cruise in June - the only difference - we are doing 10 days starting with Anchorage, 3 days in Denali and going on to Fairbanks, Dawson, Whitehorse, and Fraser/Skagway, then joining the Volendam for the last 3 1/2 days.

 

1. We were wondering about our luggage and if we were responsible for making sure that it was loaded on board the buses or planes that would be transporting

us between the various locations?

2. With us being on land for 10 days, are there laundry facilities available some where along the route?

3. How many meals will we be responsible for while on the Land portion?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Barbara

 

Previous Cruises

 

September, 2009 Westerdam Alaska

September, 2010 Rotterdam Alaska

Oosterdam April, 2011 Mexican Riveria

Amsterdam September, 2012 Alaska

 

 

We started with the land part of the cruisetour first. We had to pack separate luggage for the land portion and for the cruise portion. We didn't see our cruise clothes until we boarded the ship. Generally, you leave your luggage outside the room in the morning and the luggage will arrive at your next location. The luggage usually went in a separate truck so make sure you keep the important items with yourself. It might be different depending on your tour. I don't know if there were any laundry facilities at the hotels we stayed on land, but you can do laundry on the ship if needed.

 

Here's a link to a PDF that has lots of information about packing. http://www.hollandamerica.com/assets/cruise-destinations/Tour_Tips.pdf

 

Meals covered by HAL depends on the tour, my trip did not cover any meals on land except for the bus ride to the ship. I think the link I provided above may have some details about meals.

 

 

 

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[Shmoo here]

We are doing the Land/Sea Cruise in June - the only difference - we are doing 10 days starting with Anchorage, 3 days in Denali and going on to Fairbanks, Dawson, Whitehorse, and Fraser/Skagway, then joining the Volendam for the last 3 1/2 days.

 

1. We were wondering about our luggage and if we were responsible for making sure that it was loaded on board the buses or planes that would be transporting

us between the various locations?

2. With us being on land for 10 days, are there laundry facilities available some where along the route?

3. How many meals will we be responsible for while on the Land portion?

 

Thanks for the help.

 

Barbara

 

Previous Cruises

 

September, 2009 Westerdam Alaska

September, 2010 Rotterdam Alaska

Oosterdam April, 2011 Mexican Riveria

Amsterdam September, 2012 Alaska

 

2. Depending on the hotels you stay in, yes there are facilities for doing laundry. We did laundry in Whitehorse, Fairbanks, and (I think) in Anchorage.

 

3. It depends, we had an included dinner the first night in Whitehorse, lunch along the route between Whitehorse & Dawson City, a lunch in Dawson City, lunch in Denali (on the Tundra Wilderness Tour). And several of our excursions we booked during the land tour included lunches. Beyond that, you can either purchase the dining plan or just do it on your own.

[Okie1946]

A lot of good information in this link Koali - Thank you for posting it.

 

 

Here's a link to a PDF that has lots of information about packing. http://www.hollandamerica.com/assets.../Tour_Tips.pdf

 

 

Previous Cruises

 

September, 2009 Westerdam Alaska

September, 2010 Rotterdam Alaska

Oosterdam April, 2011 Mexican Riveria

Amsterdam September, 2012 Alaska

[CobbClan]

Ok, so back to my original question. With the Denali only, we are northbound, with a bus going up and train back down. So is there a place when you get off the ship to buy snacks or drinks before getting on the bus? And do they have a problem with you bringing food onto the train?

[Shmoo here]

Ok, so back to my original question. With the Denali only, we are northbound, with a bus going up and train back down. So is there a place when you get off the ship to buy snacks or drinks before getting on the bus? And do they have a problem with you bringing food onto the train?

 

I can only address the second question. We brought food onboard the train for lunch when we went. No problem.

[Lady Chew]

Sorry, I didn't get back on CC until just now ... I think your questions have been answered ...

 

Every hotel we stayed at had laundry facilities. You should be prepared to stay with your laundry however; if there was more than was tour group in the hotel there were a lot of people doing their laundry, and you know what that means - they will move your laundry out of the machine in order to do their own.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by getting off the ship and wanting to buy snacks to take on the bus. I thought you were doing the land first? At any rate, we bought our snacks & meals for the bus or train in advance. There are grocery stores or 7-11 type stores in many of the locations. In Denali, we bought sandwiches from a Subway, and fruit & granola-type bars & sodas from one of the other shops, about an hour before we had to get on the bus.

 

We had a HAL "host" who accompanied our tour the entire time. She was not a guide, although she was very familiar with everywhere we went, but she was responsible for getting us all from one place to another. Every night she provided written instructions about luggage & meals, handed out hotel keys, etc, answered questions, took care of logistics. You should have someone like that who will give you the times to put out your luggage, times to meet the bus, etc. They are very well organized for this.

 

We had all of our luggage travel with us at all times. We did not pack different bags for cruise wear, although there were a few items that we did not use until we got onto the ship. We just kept them in the bottom of our suitcases.

 

Your luggage is picked up outside of your room in the morning, sometimes a few hours before you're even dressed! Our luggage traveled with us in the bottom of the bus or train; we only had to manage our carry-ons. There was plenty of space for carry-ons, by the way.

 

When we left the hotel in Anchorage to catch the ship in Seward, there were several other tour groups going to the ship as well. Each group had their own bus, but all of the luggage was loaded onto a truck for transport to the ship. that's the only time it wasn't in the same vehicle with us. It was delivered to our stateroom before we were even on the ship.

 

This was one of the best trips we've ever had and we're thinking about taking another Alaska cruise tour in the next few years. Mr Chew would love to get back to Dawson City, and I'd love to go back to Denali. I hope you have a great trip!!

[CobbClan]

Actually, no, no, my questions were not answered. The questions about laundry, luggage, were not mine anyway, however informative they were. If you had actually read my OP, you would see it began with "Going northbound from Vancouver..." So it would be safe to assume I am doing sea first. But no matter. I am going to reword this and ask it anew over on the Alaska board.

[hvsteve1]

Two simple questions blew up into a huge discussion.

 

Our bus stopped in Wasilla, which appears to be the major (?) shopping area on the otherwise rather rural trip. I went on Alaska Railroad on the other leg and see no problem with bringing food on board. There was, at the time, an upcharge to ride in the coaches that included a dining car, though I seem to recall a snack bar in the other cars. Things may have changed since ARR has added more new equipment. Keep in mind ARR is a common carrier the same as Amtrak or a commuter line, though they cater to tourists in the summer. I would check their web site. If you cruise line is providing the train a.k.a. McKinley Explorer, that's a different story so far as rules and food, which may be included.

[Lady Chew]

Well, there are cruise tours that start from Vancouver, and go north on land, as ours did, before boarding the ship. Hence, the confusion.