Alaska land and sea.... train question

[dbird]

Good Afternoon

 

I was hoping that someone who has done a land and sea package via Holland America to Denali can shre their train experience. Are seats assigned, are meals and beverages included while we are on the train.

 

 

Thank you for any information

[catl331]

Ours was 9 years ago, but FWIW seats were assigned and food & beverages were available for purchase, not included.

[TheCalicoCat]

From what I understand, food isn't included until you are on the ship & then only select beverages are included.

[rajkr74]

Good Afternoon

 

I was hoping that someone who has done a land and sea package via Holland America to Denali can shre their train experience. Are seats assigned, are meals and beverages included while we are on the train.

 

 

Thank you for any information

 

We did the Land--Sea cruise last year with HAL in 2016. It was the Y2C from Seattle by bussing to Vancouver then getting on board the Volendam. If was for 14 days total with only 3 on the Volendam. We did a full CC review on the main board since prior to doing this cruise I could find very little photos and reviews on the Land-Sea cruises. Here is the link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2380606

 

We also posted photos on Microsoft's OneDrive:

 

https://onedrive.live.com/?id=7AFC87CDF2F6DCA%2122255&cid=07AFC87CDF2F6DCA

 

There are some duplication of photos in both sites. We really enjoyed this cruise and HAL did a great job. I really enjoyed the train trip from Denali to Anchorage. Understand there are about 26 combinations of this Land-Sea cruise. Ours was for 14 days and strated with the sea portion first. I would not go to Denali any less than 2 days but 3 was better.

 

 

Looks like the links don't work, just copy and paste the link into a browser, sorry.

 

Edited March 2, 2017 by rajkr74

[rajkr74]

Try this link for OneDrive: https://onedrive.live.com/?id=7AFC87CDF2F6DCA%2122255&cid=07AFC87CDF2F6DCA

This link for the CC review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2380606

[Europeantraveler1]

Hello! My husband and I cruised on the Nordam out of Vancouver last September on a "land/sea" package!

It was FABULOUS!!!

We paid extra for the land food package. I had studied previous cruisers opinions on that, wanting to know if it was worth it to pre-pay and perhaps box ourselves into using vouchers at certain restaurants instead of being free to choose where we wanted to eat.

I was very impressed with the food quality and offerings on our train trip to Denali. The travelers are seated on the top level (the glass dome above our heads) and the meals are eaten on the lower level. There was no issue with the food (and I am picky)! It was beautiful to look at and very tasty, filling, and there was plenty to eat!

While in Anchorage, we ate at the Westgate hotel where we stayed. The hotel was older but clean and the food there, more on the average-side.

When we landed in Denali, we were able to use our vouchers at any of the restaurants there on the property and the food was WONDERFUL for breakfasts and dinners!!!

In Fairbanks, the Westgate hotel there was newer and much nicer than the Westgate in Anchorage. There were a couple of restaurants available to us but we chose the more casual one and it was fine.

All in all, if we'd cruise to Alaska again, we'd buy the land, food package again.

Hope this helps.....

[TheEmerson]

McKinley Explorer does not have assigned seating, just assigned car. On a certain HAL fact site you will find the photos I took last year of a typical car. The menu is the snack menu not the meal one downstairs.

[rajkr74]

McKinley Explorer does not have assigned seating, just assigned car. On a certain HAL fact site you will find the photos I took last year of a typical car. The menu is the snack menu not the meal one downstairs.

 

On our Land-Sea last year we were assigned seats on the train from Denali to Anchorage. The good thing is there is not a bad seat on the train coach. Also, the train was not full so we could move around as need be. The one thing we did not know is they served breakfast on the train. We did not need to find breakfast at the McKinley lodge before getting on the train.

[TheEmerson]

On our Land-Sea last year we were assigned seats on the train from Denali to Anchorage. The good thing is there is not a bad seat on the train coach. Also, the train was not full so we could move around as need be. The one thing we did not know is they served breakfast on the train. We did not need to find breakfast at the McKinley lodge before getting on the train.

 

 

Your right. I just pulled the Welcome envelope from Denali and see Rail Car 1057 Talkeetna and our seat numbers of 07a,b,c. Not sure why I did not remember that fact.

[hbgroadends]

We did the Land--Sea cruise last year with HAL in 2016. It was the Y2C from Seattle by bussing to Vancouver then getting on board the Volendam. If was for 14 days total with only 3 on the Volendam. We did a full CC review on the main board since prior to doing this cruise I could find very little photos and reviews on the Land-Sea cruises. Here is the link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2380606

 

Rajkr74, THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU for doing this. My sister and I are doing the Y2C Triple Denali at the end of August and, like you, I have struggled with finding information specific to the land tours. Your review is detailed with exactly what to expect and the pictures are fabulous. Thank you for taking the time to submit the review. Once I've taken my trip, I'll do my best to reciprocate so that others who are stumbling around trying to find more information about the land tours will have better luck finding it. :D

[dbird]

Thank you so much for all the replies. I am going to start reading through everything shared now :)

I am very excited for this trip. While I have cruised round trip to Alaska out of Vancouver twice, I have always wanted to do the train trip and see Denali. Both my fiance and I have a love for trains for some reason. We leave Anchorage by train September 14 (3 days in Denali )so there should be fall colours and hopefully I will have a chance to see the northern lights.

[Swice]

We went on sea/land last year. We're HAL people but chose Princess for variety (my wife and I had been to Alaska on HAL previously).

 

I also had a hard time getting information about our combo tour in advance. I think many of the same things would apply to you. Food was included (I talked about the pros and cons in my review). At Denali, we were told we could use our food vouchers at either the Princess Lodge or the Holland America property right next door.

 

Here's my review-- hope it's helpful.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=538624

[IllinoisGirl1978]

Thank you so much for all the replies. I am going to start reading through everything shared now :)

I am very excited for this trip. While I have cruised round trip to Alaska out of Vancouver twice, I have always wanted to do the train trip and see Denali. Both my fiance and I have a love for trains for some reason. We leave Anchorage by train September 14 (3 days in Denali )so there should be fall colours and hopefully I will have a chance to see the northern lights.

 

 

I was in Alaska, last September I did the land-sea tour. The colors we saw weren't the typical fall colors, it was all gold it was stunning.

Edited March 3, 2017 by IllinoisGirl1978

[eaglegrey]

Thanks for sharing, @IllinoisGirl1978! Doing a land and sea in September so I can't wait to see it in person!

[catl331]

we did the last cruise of the season with a land tour from Fairbanks a few years ago. The yellow foliage was beautiful. We enjoyed the breakfast on the train but the actual scenery was not exciting. Our problem at Denali was a snow storm and we couldn't go far into the park with the provided bus. Did see moose and wolves.