If you were sailing to Alaska on HAL...

[midwestchick]

We saw an ad in the newspaper about a company doing HAL for Alaska. We have not signed up for the free siminar as of yet. I remember one TA telling me, if we do Alaska, do HAL. I believe he also mentioned they "own" most of the hotels. Is that true?

Would you do just the cruise or the cruise tour? The cruise would be for the summer of 2014 so I guess there is not truly a whole lot of time to prepare.

Please tell all I need to know and your experiences. Of course, I've been doing some research about different areas and itineraries but they mean little to me as I"m not even certain which port we would cruise from.

This Alaska cruise shopping newbie needs some assistance.

I have also looked into Celebrity...actually read some reviews.

I thought at one point I may have asked something similiar on this forum but don't see it.

[MissShelllly]

I'm sure you are going to get a lot of good advice from others on this board. Here's my two cents worth based in the research I did for our Alaskan cruise tour in 2010.

 

What I noticed on the cruise was that the HAL ships were the smaller ones in each of the ports and because of that, we usually got the best docking places. The bigger ships had to dock further away, so the people on those ships had further to walk.

 

We stayed in hotels owned by HAL in several places. They aren't the only cruise line that owns their own hotels.

 

As for choosing an itinerary, how much time do you have? The shorter itineraries do a round trip from Vancouver. We wanted to see more. So we chose to go one-way from Vancouver to Anchorage. We then continued on by bus and train to Denali, then into the Yukon, Dawson and Whitehorse and then boarded a short flight back to Vancouver. We loved our trip, even though it didn't go according to the scheduled itinerary - the road was washed out, and we were stuck in a tiny HAL hotel for two days and later on the bus broke down. But that was all part of the adventure. I'm so pleased we had the time to take the longer journey.

 

I hope you decide to go, and have a wonderful time.

 

Michelle.

[sunnydaze]

it didn't go according to the scheduled itinerary - the road was washed out, and we were stuck in a tiny HAL hotel for two days and later on the bus broke down. But that was all part of the adventure.

Michelle.

:D

 

Our "most fun" vacations ever, were ones where our plans all went sideways. We always just go with the flow and make the most out of the adventure. Sometimes all you can do is laugh.

Too many people get angry and stressed out about everything.

Sorry - I'm off topic, but I just had to say that I LOVE your attitude!

[MissShelllly]

:D

]

Sorry - I'm off topic, but I just had to say that I LOVE your attitude!

 

Thanks Sunnydaze! Our attitude is that when things go awry, you usually get a great story to tell

 

Michelle.

[Krazy Kruizers]

HAL and Princess have been in the Alaskan business the longest and have their own hotels for the land tours.

I would suggest that you do the land tour first. Those days can be long traveling on the buses and trains.

Then do the cruise so that you can rest up before traveling home.

I am not certain what high lights you are considering, but keep in mind that Celebrity does not go to Glacier Bay and many people do like to see that.

[BumperII]

We love cruising Alaska. We have done the b2b Vancouver - Anchorage - Vancouver three times on Princess and five times on HAL including a 14 day out of Seattle.

 

Cruise Tours: Bear in mind that you are on a tour, not on vacation during the cruisetour portion of the trip. As noted before, it can get strenuous, so do the land tour first. That way you can rest up on the cruise portion. The Inside Passage is through a temperate rain forrest, expect rain. The experience is still wonderful.

 

We will be doing the 14 day out of Seattle this August for the second time.The big advantage here is that you visit many more ports of call.

 

Vancouver air travel prices are a little different. It costs twice as much to get out of Vancouver as it does to fly there. On our last trip we flew to Vancouver. Coming home, we took the train south to Seattle and flew home from there. Saved about $1000.00.

 

There is a recreational aspect of the research and planning part of a vacation. I would encourage you to look at a lot of options. Have fun! :)

Edited March 2, 2014 by BumperII

[luvteaching]

Good morning,

 

As you can see by my signature my hubby and I have done Alaska many times. We've always cruised out of Seattle because we live 90 minutes north of there and it's easier than crossing the border to sail out of Vancouver!

 

I can highly recommend HAL and we love the 14-day on the Amsterdam. You do ports that nobody else does - Anchorage (what others say is Anchorage is really Seward when docking), Homer and Kodiak. You get two glacier days and you get longer times in port. The Amsterdam is a smaller ship but it "fits" us perfectly!

 

We've done the 7-day out of Seattle and enjoyed them all. We've done one on Princess but it wasn't our top pick. One selling point for us is the totally walkable wrap-around promenade deck on HAL. Hubby has to use a mobility scooter and he can go all the way around on HAL but only partway on Princess due to stairs.

 

Whatever you choose have a great time!

 

Karen

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

If you have never been to Alaska, I recommend you do the Cruise Tour option so you can see the best of the land and the sea. I agree with KK that the land part should be first as it is a lot of travel and ending with the cruise part is definitely relaxing. We have done Land/Cruise Tours twice, once on HAL and once on Princess. We like the smaller ships of HAL so recommend them.

[RuthC]

First off, you need to accept that The Great Land is far too vast to see it all in one visit. Once you do that, then you can proceed to limit your focus to what's most important to see and do this time.

 

There are cruises only, and cruise tours. My personal thought is that since Alaska was settled along the coast first, then those are the places to see first. But if you do decide to do a land tour, too, then that should come before the cruise portion, as the land tour is exhausting.

 

There are 7-day round trip cruises out of Vancouver and Seattle, one-way cruises out of Vancouver/Seward, and the 14-day Amsterdam cruise out of Seattle.

I'm taking that for the third time this summer. As mentioned earlier, it offers a full day right in Anchorage, as well as the rarely offered ports of Homer and Kodiak. Excellent! :)

 

There are also 3- and 4-day cruises that link to land tours. Again, personally, I think those hardly worth the trouble.

 

I suggest you plan on how much time you have to spend there, research the ports on the various itineraries, then narrow your options down.

I expect one or two choices will stand out, and it will be fairly easy to make a decision once it's not so overwhelming.

[Copper10-8]

HAL owns Westmark and their hotels so, if you choose HAL and do a land tour, that's where you'll be staying. We did a HAL land tour/cruise combination back in 2010. We flew into Anchorage, checked in the Westmark Anchorage and spent the next day on our own exploring Anchorage and surroundings.

 

The following morning, Day 1 of the land tour, a bus transported us and others to the Anchorage Railway Depot (a 10 min. ride) where we boarded the McKinley Explorer train and departed for Denali National Park, an approx. 8-hour train ride in a glass/roof enclosed RR car. Lunch is served downstairs in the double-decker train. Accommodation was at the McKinley Chalets Resort in Denali.

 

Day 2 of the land tour had us going on a 5-hour Denali National Park history tour with transportation that afternoon to the Denali Park Railway Deport for a 4:00 PM departure to Fairbanks, again by McKinley Explorer (a 4-hr train ride). Accommodation was at the Westmark Fairbanks

 

Day 3 in Fairbanks started with bus transportation to the Sternwheeler 'Discovery' and a 4 1/2 hr. scenic cruise down river to a native American village. Lunch was at the historic Gold Dredge No. 8, followed by a guided tour of the El Dorado Gold Mine and a Tanana Valley railroad ride. Dinner that night was an Alaska salmon bake, followed by a show at the Palace Theater.

 

Day 4 was a 1-hr flight on Alaska AL from Fairbanks back to Anchorage followed by a 3-hr bus ride down the Seward Highway to Seward, AK. Upon arrival there, we boarded the Statendam with Capt. Frans Consen (now retired) for a 7-day southbound voyage to Vancouver, BC with scenic cruising on College Fjord and Glacier Bay and stops at Haines, Juneau and Ketchikan

[midwestchick]

Wow...so much great advice. We have as much time as we want so time is not a factor. I also do not want to make this a cost prohibitive vacation.

We do prefer the smaller ships also. I'll keep researching and looking at HAL itineraries. I know the land tours can be exhausting. We did a 5 day tour last year prior to our Eastern Med cruise and it did wear us out.

Thank you all for your input....appreciate it.

We would probably want to go in July.

We fly out of O'Hare. I did not know it was more expensive to fly out of Vancouver.

[travelinjones]

Alaska is a huge state -- you can cut it in half and each part is still significantly larger than Texas -- so you get to experience a lot more if you do a cruise tour.

 

Tour D5C is one of our favorites - you cruise the Inside Passage for 7 nights from Vancouver to Seward including a full day in the spectacular Glacier Bay National Park. From Seward you spend a night in Anchorage, then you take the domed rail cars to Denali for a 2-night stay with a tundra wilderness tour by the park service.

 

Then you are bused to Fairbanks, where you get the Discovery river boat and learn about the gold and pipeline influences in Alaska before an overnight and flying home.

 

This tour is also available in the other direction with the land first but is generally several hundred dollars more expensive.

 

We like the HAL experience best but the one area Princess excels in is its Lodges like the Kenai Princess Lodge and one at Copper River. Princess also uses the iconic Captain Cook hotel in Anchorage which is a premier hotel. HAL uses the Westmark and the Hilton -- but if you stay at either of those you can walk to the Captain Cook and enjoy dinner or a cocktail (and the view) at the Crow's Nest.

Edited March 2, 2014 by travelinjones

[RuthC]

We fly out of O'Hare. I did not know it was more expensive to fly out of Vancouver.

Although that's a consideration, don't let it be a major one.

There are ways to get to Vancouver after flying into Seattle, or even Bellingham, WA. Train, bus, shuttle, and car rental are all alternatives to consider.

[DaveOKC]

In addition to the hotels, I understand that HAL owns a number of the tourist attractions on the tour as well.

 

DaveOKC

[HokiePoq]

We saw an ad in the newspaper about a company doing HAL for Alaska. We have not signed up for the free siminar as of yet. I remember one TA telling me, if we do Alaska, do HAL. I believe he also mentioned they "own" most of the hotels. Is that true?

Would you do just the cruise or the cruise tour? The cruise would be for the summer of 2014 so I guess there is not truly a whole lot of time to prepare.

Please tell all I need to know and your experiences. Of course, I've been doing some research about different areas and itineraries but they mean little to me as I"m not even certain which port we would cruise from.

This Alaska cruise shopping newbie needs some assistance.

I have also looked into Celebrity...actually read some reviews.

I thought at one point I may have asked something similiar on this forum but don't see it.

 

Our very first cruise was to Alaska on the beautiful Volendam with a company that had one of these seminars. It was escorted, including many excursions, hotels, etc. We added the more expensive excursions I wanted to do such as the helicopter to the top of the Mendenhall Glacier and the float plane to Misty Fjords. It was probably a good way to start our traveling days. Now I would do more of the booking and planning myself.

Yes, we stayed in HAL hotels and the Carnival Corp. owns some of the attractions as well. There is a special HAL rail car for the rail segment.

It was a great trip. Unlike another poster, I would recommend doing the cruise first. You will be tired at the end of the land tour part and our agent recommended being tired at home instead of while you are on the cruise. Happy Cruising!

[carri cruiser]

First off, you need to accept that The Great Land is far too vast to see it all in one visit. Once you do that, then you can proceed to limit your focus to what's most important to see and do this time.

 

There are cruises only, and cruise tours. My personal thought is that since Alaska was settled along the coast first, then those are the places to see first. But if you do decide to do a land tour, too, then that should come before the cruise portion, as the land tour is exhausting.

 

There are 7-day round trip cruises out of Vancouver and Seattle, one-way cruises out of Vancouver/Seward, and the 14-day Amsterdam cruise out of Seattle.

I'm taking that for the third time this summer. As mentioned earlier, it offers a full day right in Anchorage, as well as the rarely offered ports of Homer and Kodiak. Excellent! :)

 

There are also 3- and 4-day cruises that link to land tours. Again, personally, I think those hardly worth the trouble.

 

I suggest you plan on how much time you have to spend there, research the ports on the various itineraries, then narrow your options down.

I expect one or two choices will stand out, and it will be fairly easy to make a decision once it's not so overwhelming.

 

I agree with Ruth, the 14 day Alaskan cruise is the best!! so many places the other, shorter cruises don't go to.... the 14 days are only offered once each month that HAL sails, and is a little more expensive than some, but totally worth it. I have sailed Alaska 6 times, and am booked for a 7 day this summer.:)

[Bodger]

We did the five day land tour from Fairbanks south to Seward, then seven days to Vancouver. The land portion was as good as, if not better than the sea portion.

 

Bodger

[midwestchick]

I agree with Ruth, the 14 day Alaskan cruise is the best!! so many places the other, shorter cruises don't go to.... the 14 days are only offered once each month that HAL sails, and is a little more expensive than some, but totally worth it. I have sailed Alaska 6 times, and am booked for a 7 day this summer.:)

 

Would we see as much on the 14 day cruise as we would the cruise tour and a 7 day cruise?

I've read about the inside passage but not sure what that is compared to other sailings.

One more thing...the food...yes...two foodies here. What are the opinions on the food offered by HAL?

What kind of formal nights should I expect on HAL on an Alaskan cruise?

Again...I appreciate the input from each and everyone of you. You have all been so kind.

[luvteaching]

Good evening,

 

I think that you have to decide what it is you want to see. If you want to see more of the interior areas of Alaska then the cruise tour is the way to go. If you want to cover a lot of the coastal towns and enjoy the glaciers then the cruise (and the longer the better) is the way to go. THe advantage of the 14-day itinerary is that you get some ports that nobody else goes to - Homer and Kodiak. You get a full day (7:00 AM - 11:00 PM) in Anchorage and you get longer stops at Ketchikan, Juneau, etc.

 

Food, on these boards, is said to be so subjective and I think everyone is right. Let's just say that there's never been a time we went hungry and we've gained some favorites. My DH loves the cold soups in the dining room at dinner as well as the hamburger and fries at the Terrace Grill. I love the chocolate croissants, crab eggs benedict, and anything with seafood! We've loved the food but we aren't picky. If I'm not cooking it I'm happy.

 

Formal nights aren't as formal, from what I've read, as on some of the other itineraries. You see a lot of men in suits or sport jackets and ties. Ladies are in sparkly tops or something dressy.

 

We've done the Inside Passage once. This route is north from Vancouver between the mainland and Vancouver Island. The scenery is very nice but, if I remember correctly, on most cruises you do a lot of it at night. Going out of Seattle you do the outside of Vancouver Island on the west side which has its own scenic draw.

 

Have fun making a decision and keep coming back with the questions!

 

Karen

[carri cruiser]

Would we see as much on the 14 day cruise as we would the cruise tour and a 7 day cruise?

I've read about the inside passage but not sure what that is compared to other sailings.

One more thing...the food...yes...two foodies here. What are the opinions on the food offered by HAL?

What kind of formal nights should I expect on HAL on an Alaskan cruise?

Again...I appreciate the input from each and everyone of you. You have all been so kind.

 

I have never gone on the land tour, so I can't comment on that part, but we have been on two 14 day cruises, one was a collectors cruise that took us to a couple of ports we hadn't been to before... Ketchikan, Juneau and beautiful Sitka are probably the mainstay of Alaska cruising, but I really enjoyed Icy Point, and Homer, and Kodiak, also Anchorage had lots to see and do, and was easy to get around. I have been to both Glacier Bay (a few times) and Tracy Arm, of the two I was most impressed cruising into Tracy Arm!! Glacier Bay was more impressive back in the '80s when you could actually "feel" the cold from the glacier!!... I am not a foodie, but have enjoyed the food on HAL and of course there are many selections as to where to eat. We like the MDR for dinner. I feel that the formal nights on an Alaska cruise is a little more simple than on other cruises.... a nice pair of slacks, or a long skirt, and sparkly tops will be just fine.... not a lot of long formals, or even cocktail dresses, although if you want to get that fancy, no one will find you "ODD". I was disappointed in cruising the inside passage, it was nothing like back in the '80s when we cruised it, most was at night, and that in itself was disappointing.

My favorite thing on an Alaska cruise is watching for whales, and we haven't been disappointed in that!! most of the cruises will take you to the 3 main ports I mentioned, but the 14 day had some beautiful scenery when cruising, and........ you get up into Alaska enough to be able to see that the sun doesn't really set, it never got dark.... all night!! you could still see the coastline!!

Whatever you do in Alaska, you won't be sorry, and you will never forget It, I'm sure you will want to visit Alaska over and over, as many of us do!!

[Alberta Quilter]

Please, as Ruth said previously, don't try to do all of Alaska in one trip. I don't know if anyone has enough time to do it all!!!

 

I have done both cruises and a cruisetour. I am about to go on the 14 day cruise in May, my fourth time to Alaska.

 

The first time, we did a three day cruise (Vancouver to Skagway) and an 8 day land tour ending in Anchorage. The last two have been cruise only.

 

If you really think that this might be the only chance you will have to get to Alaska and want to try to do it all in the one trip, do the cruisetour. Be warned, though, that Alaska tends to suck one in to it's beauty and vastness, and you will want to go back. It's happened to pretty much everyone who has already posted on this thread!!!

 

If doing a cruise tour, I would suggest a tour in which you do the land tour first. There are long days, some sitting on a motor coach looking out at the scenery. HAL does the cruise tours quite well. You travel with both a guide and driver. Luggage is delivered to your hotel each night and picked up in the morning. You do have to be fairly punctual so that the tour stays on track. I would recommend going into the Yukon, if time permits. I really enjoyed seeing Dawson City.

 

After the tour, then enjoy being spoiled on the ship. If doing this again, I would start the cruise in Anchorage and cruise southbound back to Vancouver. You may miss some of the scenery between Vancouver Island and the mainland as you will arrive back in Vancouver early in the morning (likely depends on tides and timing going through Seymour Narrows). If going northbound, you will see some of it because of the long days (but that would mean doing the land tour second).

 

If you do the cruise only, then research the ports before deciding on the itinerary. Tracy Arm has spectacular scenery but depending on the ice conditions, you may not get close to the glaciers at the end. Glacier Bay is always open, although one glacier has been restricted, at certain times, due to ice or seals (either mating season or birthing season (can't remember!)). You can also get a little farther inland with certain shore excursions.

 

On the 14 day cruise, we won't be going to GB. We do go to Tracy Arm, and to Hubbard Glacier. I've never been to Hubbard before and am hoping we get there in May. But, I understand that this one can be hit or miss due to weather/sea conditions. But we do have some long days in port.

 

So, if glaciers are important to you, I would ensure you get to Glacier Bay at a minimum. If you want to go to Tracy Arm, maybe go a little later in the season. This is where the research comes in to determine what is best for you. What is important to me, may not be important to you. Make sure to ask lots of questions. You'll find many who want to help you out, both here and in the Ports forum. Check your itinerary choices to ensure you have enough time in port to do the tours you want to do. That may help whittle down your options.

 

Make sure to budget for shore excursions. Alaska has some fairly high cost excursions, even if one does them privately. That may also determine your choice of cruise or cruisetour.

 

Good Luck in making your decision! I can only tell you that it gets a little easier when you're making your third or fourth trip to the same place!

Edited March 3, 2014 by Alberta Quilter

[RuthC]

Would we see as much on the 14 day cruise as we would the cruise tour and a 7 day cruise?

You would see different things if you went to the interior vs. taking the 14-day cruise. One is not really better than the other, just different.

Both would give you the opportunity to get away from the real tourist trap areas near the docks in the usual stops. You would have a chance to meet real Alaskans, have a chat and talk about what life is like.

Both would give you a sense of how remote some of these settlements are.

 

The Anchorage stop offers an opportunity to get to the interior with shore excursions. There's some flightseeing up to Mt. McKinley, even! Expensive, but worth it if the weather cooperates (not at all a sure thing). IIRC, there's also train rides available out of Anchorage, but I won't swear to that.

 

I'm not sure anyone has mentioned this---just plan that this is not going to be your only trip to Alaska.

I made my first "once in a lifetime" trips there in 1990. My 7th & 8th cruises there are booked for August. ;)

[midwestchick]

Once again, more great information.

I did find the company that I was speaking of and watched a video of their cruise tour...it looked like far too many people on the tour and actually I was not impressed with their cruise tour or the price. I was also a little surprised about the cost of airfare and it's only about a 4 hour flight for us.

I've also been playing around on several websites, including HAL's.

I did speak with one of my TA's today and he thought we could see 70% of Alaska doing a 14 day cruise.

I do know some of the places we would definitely not want to miss, so the research continues. It seems right now May and Sept. have the best pricing but obviously we are not able to go in Sept. since we have cruises booked.

And, we had hoped to only go once since there are a number of other other places we'd like to see. Thinking back, I wish we had started cruising earlier in life but we've also enjoyed many Caribbean vacations.

Right now, I could use a beach....lol...it's been one rough winter.

By the way, this is a very user friendly forum and I thank each and everyone of you.

[Alberta Quilter]

Once again, more great information.

I did find the company that I was speaking of and watched a video of their cruise tour...it looked like far too many people on the tour and actually I was not impressed with their cruise tour or the price. I was also a little surprised about the cost of airfare and it's only about a 4 hour flight for us.

I've also been playing around on several websites, including HAL's.

I did speak with one of my TA's today and he thought we could see 70% of Alaska doing a 14 day cruise.

I do know some of the places we would definitely not want to miss, so the research continues. It seems right now May and Sept. have the best pricing but obviously we are not able to go in Sept. since we have cruises booked.

And, we had hoped to only go once since there are a number of other other places we'd like to see. Thinking back, I wish we had started cruising earlier in life but we've also enjoyed many Caribbean vacations.

Right now, I could use a beach....lol...it's been one rough winter.

By the way, this is a very user friendly forum and I thank each and everyone of you.

 

For our cruisetour, IIRC, there was one person booked than could be seated on the coach. So, they split the group into two. This was back in June, 2006. We did not meet up with the other coach at all, after the trainride from Skagway (we did the land tour after the cruise portion). I'm not sure how that happened. So there were about 26 - 30 of us on our coach. The cost of the land tours is high, and in the ports forum, you can get lots of ideas how to do it yourself, if that's an option for you.

 

What we liked about HAL's cruisetour is that we didn't have to worry about anything, other than getting some meals. (We did not purchase the meal plan). One thing to know, is that the cost of food is quite expensive in Alaska. The transportation costs to get the staples there are huge, compared to Canada & the US.

 

If you do opt to do a land tour, think about the value of: driving vs being driven, freedom to do your own thing at your own pace vs being told when to show up, have your bags ready, lugging your own luggage vs having it done for you, planning your stops/hotels/meals vs not having to worry about anything. If you are thinking of DIY, then consider the distances between places. It can take quite a while to get from one place to another. Then make your decision between DIY and a ship sponsored tour.

 

I can't really speak to the air costs as I don't know where you are located. I do know that we found the flights between Anchorage and Vancouver to be rather high, but then, Canadian flights and taxes are high all around. It often costs more to fly within Canada than it does to Europe!

 

Good Luck with your research!

 

I should add, after re-reading your post above, that May & Sept are less expensive because it's early or late in the season. In May, as previously mentioned, ice can block access to some parts of the itinerary. May is one of the drier months in Alaska. In September, I believe there can be worse weather, but sometimes it's nice, and storms. This past September wasn't very good for cruising to/from Alaska, IIRC.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Alberta Quilter

[midwestchick]

The flight were from O'Hare...flying into Vancouver and back home from Anchorage.

The tour group has 40 people.

On our pre-cruise tour last year there were 21 people...nice size group but wouldn't have wanted more than that.