Alaska Cruise Tours

[ron1946]

Booked on HAL R2L: Seattle Gold Rush 16 Day Tour for August 16, 2016. Looking for anyone that may be joining us. Would also like info from those who have participated in the HAL Cruise Tours.

 

Going to Seattle, Anchorage, Denali, Fairbanks, Dawson City, Whitehorse and Skagway. Boarding Volendam in Skagway going to Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, Vancouver and back to Seattle via "motor coach".

 

Any information on any of these locations or your thoughts on the HAL Cruise Tours would be greatly appreciated. BTW this is our 3rd trip to Alaska, but first for the interior. Thanks in Advance! :)

[CruiserBruce]

For each of the ports, they are covered very extensively just down the board...just a little reading.

 

 

To meet others on your cruise, the Roll Call boards are used. Don't know which HAL ship you are on, so here is the master list of HAL Roll Calls:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=86

 

 

Select your ship, then your sailing date.

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Edited October 14, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[oaktreerb]

We did this itinerary for the fourth time in 2015. THe itinerary has been modified through the years but it remains a great trip. YOu have just the right amount of time in each location. If I were you I would be contacting visitors bureaus in each location as you will have time for your own activities. Parks Canada has some wonderful programs in Dawson City. Since we had been here before I researched Trip Advisor for places to eat in each location.

 

We did not use the Seattle connection and we did not use the meal plan.

[rostbp]

We did the same tour this past August. Ours started in Anchorage and ended in Vancouver. Glad they added the Seattle connection to this tour. Well, I am still going through withdrawals. This was my 4th trip to Alaska and the best ever! There are great excursions included in the tour. There is enough time in all the locations for your own excursions. Loved, loved Dawson City. Try the "sourtoe cocktail". I don't think I would go back to Alaska without a trip to the interior and the Yukon. So jealous of you!

[ron1946]

Thanks for all the info everyone.

 

For Rostbp - "We did the same tour this past August. Ours started in Anchorage and ended in Vancouver."

 

Probably same itinerary with Seattle thrown in! Any advice for "extra" excursions.? Did you do the meal vouchers? If not, how were the meal prices? How was your weather during this time - We will be there 17-31 August. Any other advice/info greatly appreciated. Seems hard to find folks on this and the HAL boards that have done the Cruise/Tours.

[rostbp]

We did not include meals. It seemed awfully pricey. Majority of cruisers do not recommend it. However, meal prices are high in Alaska. Your tour host will recommend good restaurant choices during your land portion. Also, a lot of tipping, bus driver and journey host the most. They suggest $7 per day per person. We did slightly under. We went August 15th. We were very lucky on the train to Denali. The mountain was fully visible. We had a few sunny warm days, bot majority were cool and overcast and a little rain. Our train from Fraser to Skagway was horrible. It was totally foggy and rainy. We bought the video. We did whitewater raft trip in Denali. We did at 6 pm. Too late, do an earlier one. Dawson City has nice walking tours with Parks Canada. There is a gold mine tour there some people went on and liked. In Skagway we did the Glacier Wilderness Tour. Highly recommended. We did the Deadliest Catch excursion in Ketchikan. Fun. There is an 8 hour bus ride in the Yukon to Fraser. I was dreading the long ride, but is was fun, scenic and great cinnamon rolls the size of your head! You will enjoy your trip regardless of any weather. We WILL do that trip again.

[ron1946]

We did not include meals. It seemed awfully pricey. Majority of cruisers do not recommend it. However, meal prices are high in Alaska. Your tour host will recommend good restaurant choices during your land portion. Also, a lot of tipping, bus driver and journey host the most. They suggest $7 per day per person. We did slightly under. We went August 15th. We were very lucky on the train to Denali. The mountain was fully visible. We had a few sunny warm days, bot majority were cool and overcast and a little rain. Our train from Fraser to Skagway was horrible. It was totally foggy and rainy. We bought the video. We did whitewater raft trip in Denali. We did at 6 pm. Too late, do an earlier one. Dawson City has nice walking tours with Parks Canada. There is a gold mine tour there some people went on and liked. In Skagway we did the Glacier Wilderness Tour. Highly recommended. We did the Deadliest Catch excursion in Ketchikan. Fun. There is an 8 hour bus ride in the Yukon to Fraser. I was dreading the long ride, but is was fun, scenic and great cinnamon rolls the size of your head! You will enjoy your trip regardless of any weather. We WILL do that trip again.

 

Thanks for the info! I will probably bug you to death, since you have been the only one answering any questions! :D

 

How were the wild life sightings? How did you find the Volendam? We have been on the Ryndam and I believe it is the same class/size ship.

[rostbp]

Was our first time on HAL. We are used to larger ships. It was nice, ok. I did like their top deck viewing area. Think it was the Crows Nest. Nice large area with comfortable seating. The park ranger was up there going through Glacier Bay. We seen a lot of wildlife on the 6 hr Tundra Tour in Denali. This is included in your trip. The Bears were pretty active sine it was berry season and they were stocking up for the winter. The bus has TV screens and the driver has a long distance camera that projects the animals on your screen. Really neat. You can purchase the video of what she took with some added stuff. Don't know what that is or how the video is since we still have not received it. Paid 30 bucks for it already. Try going on HALs site to find out more info. I never found anyone n our tour either. We had about 50 on our trip.