Need Help - Thinking of Switching from 9 Day D8C to 14 Day D3C Cruise Tour

[Theresa72]

Hello All! Long time lurker here.

 

In August we booked the Alaska May 21st D8C 10 day cruise tour (VB balcony category) on the Noordam from Vancouver. Since then, I was sorry I didn't book a cruise tour that had 2 nights in Denali, so I've been checking every day on deals, but cabins are either sold out for my sail dates or prices too high. On Friday, I received a call from my TA about a deal for the 14 day D8C from Vancouver on the Noordam. :) The price she quoted is a lot less than the price I get on HAL's site and looks like a good deal, so I asked her to hold 2 cabins (same date and same category cabin) for me until I could speak to DSIL and DBIL who are traveling with us. We have until Monday to decide.

 

My dilemma - DH said he is okay with booking it, but is leaving it up to me to decide, which makes it all the harder for me! :confused: It's about $2400 more than the D8C cruise, so I've been thinking about this all weekend and I'm having a hard time deciding if I should just go ahead and spend all that money, or just stick with our original plans. I know there is a lot more included with hotels, excursions and domed train ride, etc., and I really want to do the Wilderness Tundra tour and the train ride.

 

One more problem to complicate this is that DSIL and DBIL may not go now since DBIL decided he doesn't want to cruise to Alaska after giving his okay. :( She doesn't want to cancel because he's done this before and then changes his mind, so she's leaving it up to me to decide as well. :( I should add that they are in their early 50s and big cruisers who like to do all the stuff they have on Carnival and RCCL (rock climbing wall, zip lining, dance classes, parties on deck, etc) and enjoy all the entertainment, so I'm concerned that she will think HAL may be a bit boring for them since from what I read don't seem to have all the party stuff that other lines do. They have cruised to Alaska before but not on HAL. She thought NCL was boring as she said everyone was in bed by 10pm. :eek:

 

I've searched but can't find too much information on the D3C. We've cruised before but never to Alaska, and it's been many years since we sailed on HAL (1985 old Noordam), so this probably will be a once in a lifetime trip. It will also be our 45th wedding anniversary next year in October, so I can justify the cost using that excuse even though it's not during our cruise :rolleyes: (can't travel starting late July/early August through December due to DH's work).

 

I would appreciate any information from those who have done the D3C cruise - if you liked it and thought it was worth it, do you like the Noordam, or if you thought it was too much moving from hotel to hotel, any pros and cons, etc.

 

Thanks for any info/advice!

Edited October 31, 2016 by Theresa72

[serendipity1499]

Hello All! Long time lurker here.

 

In August we booked the Alaska May 21st D8C 10 day cruise tour (VB balcony category) on the Noordam from Vancouver. Since then, I was sorry I didn't book a cruise tour that had 2 nights in Denali, so I've been checking every day on deals, but cabins are either sold out for my sail dates or prices too high. On Friday, I received a call from my TA about a deal for the 14 day D8C from Vancouver on the Noordam. :) The price she quoted is a lot less than the price I get on HAL's site and looks like a good deal, so I asked her to hold 2 cabins (same date and same category cabin) for me until I could speak to DSIL and DBIL who are traveling with us. We have until Monday to decide.

 

My dilemma - DH said he is okay with booking it, but is leaving it up to me to decide, which makes it all the harder for me! :confused: It's about $2400 more than the D8C cruise, so I've been thinking about this all weekend and I'm having a hard time deciding if I should just go ahead and spend all that money, or just stick with our original plans. I know there is a lot more included with hotels, excursions and domed train ride, etc., and I really want to do the Wilderness Tundra tour and the train ride.

 

One more problem to complicate this is that DSIL and DBIL may not go now since DBIL decided he doesn't want to cruise to Alaska after giving his okay. :( She doesn't want to cancel because he's done this before and then changes his mind, so she's leaving it up to me to decide as well. :( I should add that they are in their early 50s and big cruisers who like to do all the stuff they have on Carnival and RCCL (rock climbing wall, zip lining, dance classes, parties on deck, etc) and enjoy all the entertainment, so I'm concerned that she will think HAL may be a bit boring for them since from what I read don't seem to have all the party stuff that other lines do. They have cruised to Alaska before but not on HAL. She thought NCL was boring as she said everyone was in bed by 10pm. :eek:

 

I've searched but can't find too much information on the D3C. We've cruised before but never to Alaska, and it's been many years since we sailed on HAL (1985 old Noordam), so this probably will be a once in a lifetime trip. It will also be our 45th wedding anniversary next year in October, so I can justify the cost using that excuse even though it's not during our cruise :rolleyes: (can't travel starting late July/early August through December due to DH's work).

 

I would appreciate any information from those who have done the D3C cruise - if you liked it and thought it was worth it, do you like the Noordam, or if you thought it was too much moving from hotel to hotel, any pros and cons, etc.

 

Thanks for any info/advice!

 

I bolded the price in your post..

 

You state the price for 4 additional days is $2400! Is that per person? or per couple? or for all 4 you?

 

Is that for the cabin alone or does it include meals & sightseeing?

 

If it's per person that's $600 per day more! As much as I would like a 14 day cruise tour I would not pay that just for a VB cabin..

 

If it's for all four of you & includes meals & sightseeing while you are on land, then it might be worth it to me..Meals in Alaska can be quite expensive..We did not take the meal or sightseeing package, something we would consider next time, but loved our two days in Denali..

 

Happy Anniversary to you!

Edited October 31, 2016 by serendipity1499

[summersigh]

I didn't go look up the itinerary for the 2 you mentioned but I would not have wanted to miss 2 nights in Denali.

 

We had no problem filling the time. We loved the 7 hour Wilderness tour back into the park. It started at 6am for our group and ended about 2:00 at the lodge.

On our own - We spent time in the park museum and went to see the real working Denali sled dog demonstration - fantastic since we even got to meet and pet the dogs before the show.

 

The painless "thing" about moving from hotel to hotel on a land tour with the cruise line is that any morning you're "moving" you set your bags outside the door and they reappear **like magic** in your next hotel room. We just carried one small tote bag with us on the train.

[Theresa72]

I bolded the price in your post..

 

You state the price for 4 additional days is $2400! Is that per person? or per couple? or for all 4 you?

 

Is that for the cabin alone or does it include meals & sightseeing?

 

If it's per person that's $600 per day more! As much as I would like a 14 day cruise tour I would not pay that just for a VB cabin..

 

If it's for all four of you & includes meals & sightseeing while you are on land, then it might be worth it to me..Meals in Alaska can be quite expensive..We did not take the meal or sightseeing package, something we would consider next time, but loved our two days in Denali..

 

Happy Anniversary to you!

 

Thank you on the anniversary wishes!

 

It is for each package, so for 2 people and includes hotels, train ride, sightseeing, motor coach, transfers. A couple of meals are included, but most are on our own. We also get the Explore4 package, which is cheaper than booking without it (TA priced it through HAL), so $250 in onboard credit, drink package, etc. Good thing is we get to keep our cabins that we already booked, already confirmed by HAL. With our other package, we go from Anchorage to Denali and stay overnight. Then we leave for Fairbanks the next day, so not much time for anything and no tours included or train ride.

 

Do you think it is still too much of a difference?

[Theresa72]

I didn't go look up the itinerary for the 2 you mentioned but I would not have wanted to miss 2 nights in Denali.

 

We had no problem filling the time. We loved the 7 hour Wilderness tour back into the park. It started at 6am for our group and ended about 2:00 at the lodge.

On our own - We spent time in the park museum and went to see the real working Denali sled dog demonstration - fantastic since we even got to meet and pet the dogs before the show.

 

The painless "thing" about moving from hotel to hotel on a land tour with the cruise line is that any morning you're "moving" you set your bags outside the door and they reappear **like magic** in your next hotel room. We just carried one small tote bag with us on the train.

 

That sounds great on moving your luggage. And yes, I really would love to do the Wilderness tour, but 6am??? Yikes, but I would still do it if we get that time.

 

Is the Denali sled dog demonstration considered a tour, so there is a cost to see it?

[serendipity1499]

Thank you on the anniversary wishes!

 

It is for each package, so for 2 people and includes hotels, train ride, sightseeing, motor coach, transfers. A couple of meals are included, but most are on our own. We also get the Explore4 package, which is cheaper than booking without it (TA priced it through HAL), so $250 in onboard credit, drink package, etc. Good thing is we get to keep our cabins that we already booked, already confirmed by HAL. With our other package, we go from Anchorage to Denali and stay overnight. Then we leave for Fairbanks the next day, so not much time for anything and no tours included or train ride.

 

Do you think it is still too much of a difference?

 

IMO it probably would be worth it to us since you are getting so much more..And we loved our two days in Denali..We also took the 7 hr tundra tour & loved it, but the buses were not that comfortable..They were like school busses..

 

we took the train ride from Denali to Anchorqage, but we were also on an all inclusive HAL tour without meals & our coach driver met us in Anchorge & took us to our hotel..

 

Also the title of your thread states you are presently booked on a 9 day, but in the body of your msg you say 10 days.. I would break it down by person per day.. Understand the Explore 4 pkg is well worth it..

 

I think you really have to decide your yourself if it would be a good price for each couple & would the other couple go for the increase in price or could you afford to pay their way?

Edited October 31, 2016 by serendipity1499

[oaktreerb]

The D8C is a waste of your money and would also be boring. You may as well just do the cruise as you will spend the land part of the trip on the bus.

 

The D3C is so far superior that I can't even compare them. The D3C gives you time in Seward, Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks so that you will have time to actually plan activities on your own. HAL is very well organized and you will have a great time.

Edited October 31, 2016 by oaktreerb

[summersigh]

That sounds great on moving your luggage. And yes, I really would love to do the Wilderness tour, but 6am??? Yikes, but I would still do it if we get that time.

 

Is the Denali sled dog demonstration considered a tour, so there is a cost to see it?

Our guide said the earlier you go the more animals you see. Remember it's daylight almost all the time in the summer up there :D

 

As to the dog sled demonstration I copied from the Park web page:

Rangers and dogs work together to demonstrate a traditional Alaskan mode of travel. These unique, 30 minute programs include an opportunity to tour the park kennels and visit Denali's Alaskan huskies.

 

Free buses leave the Denali Visitor Center for the kennels approximately forty (40) minutes before each demonstration. No parking is available at the kennels, so please plan on using the buses or walking the 1.5 miles from the Denali Visitor Center to the kennels.

 

Some seating is available for the demonstration, and there is plenty of standing room. Programs are given rain or shine, so be prepared with an umbrella or rain coat if skies look forbidding.

 

No fees or reservations, for either the bus or demonstration, are required.

Demonstrations are given three times daily in peak season (Jun-1 through Sep-1), at 10 am, 2 pm and 4 pm. Check our calendar of events to determine how many daily offerings there are at a given point in the summer. Fewer programs are offered in May and September.

[oaktreerb]

The Tundra Wilderness Tour time will depend on when your group is scheduled. The days are long in Alaska in the summer and the tours run during daylight hours. You will travel with your group for this excursion.

 

Dogs in Denali. There are the working dogs of Denali National Park which you can visit free as part of the park experience. They have shows scheduled. There are also the Jeff King iditarod dogs at Husky Homestead which you can sign up for as an excursion. They will pick you up at your hotel and bring you back. We scheduled this for our first evening in Denali. It is interesting to see the different dogs that are chosen for these two functions and the training they receive. You get to help socialize the puppies by holding them at Husky Homestead.

 

In Seward you can do the Kenai Fjords excursion, Exit Glacier, the Seavy Iditarod Kennels, or just enjoy the town. There is so much to do and see.

 

In Fairbanks you will have an excursion included on the Riverboat Discovery.

 

It's all good.

Edited October 31, 2016 by oaktreerb

[Theresa72]

IMO it probably would be worth it to us since you are getting so much more..And we loved our two days in Denali..We also took the 7 hr tundra tour & loved it, but the buses were not that comfortable..They were like school busses..

 

we took the train ride from Denali to Anchorqage, but we were also on an all inclusive HAL tour without meals & our coach driver met us in Anchorge & took us to our hotel..

 

Also the title of your thread states you are presently booked on a 9 day, but in the body of your msg you say 10 days.. I would break it down by person per day.. Understand the Explore 4 pkg is well worth it..

 

I think you really have to decide your yourself if it would be a good price for each couple & would the other couple go for the increase in price or could you afford to pay their way?

 

Our original cruise tour for the land portion is 9 nights, 10 days, and the D3C is 13 nights, 14 days. Both are 7 night cruises. Sorry for the confusion! SIL definitely can afford to pay for the upgraded cruise and wants to go, but it's her husband, my DH's brother that is giving her a hard time about the cruise in general. You see they travel all the time, most of the year they are going somewhere (camping, cruising, and flying to Caribbean to all inclusive resorts), and he wants to stay home more now. We will see who wins! :rolleyes: If they don't go, then we will be on our own and we haven't traveled by ourselves for that long of a trip in many years!

 

Our transfers are all included from what I understand too, but we only get a couple of meals. Do you know if any of the hotels that we will be staying at offer the free continental breakfast or are we are on our own for breakfast as well?

 

Not happy about the buses being uncomfortable like school buses, but it is what it is. I hope they at least have bathrooms on board.

 

The Explore 4 is worth it in our case since the price without it actually goes up over a $100. ;)

 

Thanks for your help!

[Theresa72]

The D8C is a waste of your money and would also be boring. You may as well just do the cruise as you will spend the land part of the trip on the bus.

 

The D3C is so far superior that I can't even compare them. The D3C gives you time in Seward, Anchorage, Denali, and Fairbanks so that you will have time to actually plan activities on your own. HAL is very well organized and you will have a great time.

 

You know I had a feeling about the bus tour being long and boring traveling from Seward to Denali. I kept trying to find out how long the trip was and I never seemed to get a straight answer on that other than it was several hours. I wasn't happy about that and then only being there overnight. I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to do any excursions.

 

I appreciate your help in helping me to decide!;)

[Theresa72]

Our guide said the earlier you go the more animals you see. Remember it's daylight almost all the time in the summer up there :D

 

As to the dog sled demonstration I copied from the Park web page:

Rangers and dogs work together to demonstrate a traditional Alaskan mode of travel. These unique, 30 minute programs include an opportunity to tour the park kennels and visit Denali's Alaskan huskies.

 

Free buses leave the Denali Visitor Center for the kennels approximately forty (40) minutes before each demonstration. No parking is available at the kennels, so please plan on using the buses or walking the 1.5 miles from the Denali Visitor Center to the kennels.

 

Some seating is available for the demonstration, and there is plenty of standing room. Programs are given rain or shine, so be prepared with an umbrella or rain coat if skies look forbidding.

 

No fees or reservations, for either the bus or demonstration, are required.

Demonstrations are given three times daily in peak season (Jun-1 through Sep-1), at 10 am, 2 pm and 4 pm. Check our calendar of events to determine how many daily offerings there are at a given point in the summer. Fewer programs are offered in May and September.

 

DH's brother and wife are not early people so we will see how they do getting up early for all these excursions. :rolleyes: Even though 6am is very early, I would want to go earlier to see more animals.

 

I am definitely interested in seeing the dog sled demonstration, so I will plan on allowing time to do this. I just hope they have enough times for us to see it since we will be there the end of May.

 

I've heard it is daylight most of the time in May and June. I'm the kind of person who has to have the room very dark in order to sleep, so I hope they have good room darkening curtains/blinds! ;)

 

Thanks for the information on the dog sled demonstration!

[Theresa72]

The Tundra Wilderness Tour time will depend on when your group is scheduled. The days are long in Alaska in the summer and the tours run during daylight hours. You will travel with your group for this excursion.

 

Dogs in Denali. There are the working dogs of Denali National Park which you can visit free as part of the park experience. They have shows scheduled. There are also the Jeff King iditarod dogs at Husky Homestead which you can sign up for as an excursion. They will pick you up at your hotel and bring you back. We scheduled this for our first evening in Denali. It is interesting to see the different dogs that are chosen for these two functions and the training they receive. You get to help socialize the puppies by holding them at Husky Homestead.

 

In Seward you can do the Kenai Fjords excursion, Exit Glacier, the Seavy Iditarod Kennels, or just enjoy the town. There is so much to do and see.

 

In Fairbanks you will have an excursion included on the Riverboat Discovery.

 

It's all good.

 

You have given me so much more to think about! I'm interested in the Kenai Fjords excursion in Seward now! The Jeff King Iditarod tour sounds good too!

 

I have so much to consider and decide upon for the cruise and land portion!

 

Thank you!

[serendipity1499]

Our original cruise tour for the land portion is 9 nights, 10 days, and the D3C is 13 nights, 14 days. Both are 7 night cruises. Sorry for the confusion! SIL definitely can afford to pay for the upgraded cruise and wants to go, but it's her husband, my DH's brother that is giving her a hard time about the cruise in general. You see they travel all the time, most of the year they are going somewhere (camping, cruising, and flying to Caribbean to all inclusive resorts), and he wants to stay home more now. We will see who wins! :rolleyes: If they don't go, then we will be on our own and we haven't traveled by ourselves for that long of a trip in many years!

 

Our transfers are all included from what I understand too, but we only get a couple of meals. Do you know if any of the hotels that we will be staying at offer the free continental breakfast or are we are on our own for breakfast as well?

 

Not happy about the buses being uncomfortable like school buses, but it is what it is. I hope they at least have bathrooms on board.

 

The Explore 4 is worth it in our case since the price without it actually goes up over a $100. ;)

 

Thanks for your help!

 

The school bus does not have a bathroom on board, but they do make bathroom stops during the wilderness tour..All the other buses are big coaches & do have bathrooms on board..That is important to me too..

 

If you can I would take the longer tour..DH never wanted to go to Alaska, but only did it for me after I had a fall & was in bed with two sprained ankles for several weeks..He felt sorry for me & told me in a weak momement to book it..I hobbled to the phone & it was booked in 10 minutes..LOL DH was very happy that we went to Alaska though..Hopefully your Brother-In-law will still be OK..Alaska was a trip I'll never forget & we've had some wonderful ones over the years, only because I worked for an international airline & always went on great trips..

 

Please let us know when you get back how your trip of a lifetime was..

[Theresa72]

The school bus does not have a bathroom on board, but they do make bathroom stops during the wilderness tour..All the other buses are big coaches & do have bathrooms on board..That is important to me too..

 

If you can I would take the longer tour..DH never wanted to go to Alaska, but only did it for me after I had a fall & was in bed with two sprained ankles for several weeks..He felt sorry for me & told me in a weak momement to book it..I hobbled to the phone & it was booked in 10 minutes..LOL DH was very happy that we went to Alaska though..Hopefully your Brother-In-law will still be OK..Alaska was a trip I'll never forget & we've had some wonderful ones over the years, only because I worked for an international airline & always went on great trips..

 

Please let us know when you get back how your trip of a lifetime was..

 

Not good on no bathroom, so I hope there are plenty of stops. ;)

 

I would never wish anyone to be in bed with two sprained ankles, but in your case I guess it worked to your benefit! :D My husband is not a big fan of cruising, so that's why we only cruise every couple of years, but he did say that he would be willing to go to Alaska, so I'm happy for that!

 

My sister-in-law has several trips already booked for every month from Nov. until next summer and that's why BIL is backing out. But the Alaska trip would be much better than all their other trips, so I'm hoping he'll eventually change his mind. At least their cruise is booked and they have until end of February to decide. ;)

[Theresa72]

I just want to let everyone know that you convinced me to book the D3C 14 day cruise tour. I just received my confirmation from my TA and we were able to keep our same cabins on Deck 6. We got the Explore 4 and $250 in onboard credit per cabin! And the cost of the cruise is actually $200 less per cabin than what I was quoted!

 

I'm so happy we went with the upgraded tour. Now I won't feel like I'm missing anything, and I won't regret afterwards that we didn't get to really see Denali. I'm so excited, now I have to start planning our excursions!

 

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to offer your insight and advice! I have learned so much from reading these discussion boards, and I appreciate all that I've learned about cruising from Cruise Critic members! You guys are the best!