Haines and Icy Straight Point on same sailing

[olya1972]

We are looking to book 8 day Alaska cruise , round-trip from Vancouver to two ports above, plus Juneau, Ketchikan and Glacier bay. How common is this itenerary? We have reservations about the ship ( HAL Noordam, seems to be too worn out, especially after going on just refurbished Oosterdam last year in Neptune Suite). Are we likely to find same itinerary on different ship? I really want to go to Haines and Icy Straight since I have never been to either one before. This would be our third Alaska cruise. Two others were Seattle roundtrip. We have been to Juneu, Scagway, Ketchikan, Sitka, Glacier bay and Hubbard Glacier, plus Victoria, BC. Thank You all who will reply.

Edited November 4, 2017 by olya1972
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[SuperCrewBear]

Haines is not that common. If you're wanting to go there I'd take the Noordamn cruise. Otherwise most cruises stop in Skagway - take the fast ferry from Skagway to Haines for the day. It might be tight timing though. You do know that the Noordam is probably not a DUMP.

[new_cruiser]

I don't think there are many that do both. Many cruises just do Juneau, Ketchikan & Skagway.

 

I'm booked on a Windstar Cruise that does both.

 

Their North and South bound itineraries have both. The round trip from Vancouver has Icy Straight and some other unusual stops, but not Haines.

 

Price is probably more, but if one is patient, they have been showing up on their weekly 7 for 7 special. The May cruise was ~26% off when I booked.

 

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[olya1972]

Haines is not that common. If you're wanting to go there I'd take the Noordamn cruise. Otherwise most cruises stop in Skagway - take the fast ferry from Skagway to Haines for the day. It might be tight timing though. You do know that the Noordam is probably not a DUMP.

Whether it's a DUMP or not I am trying to establish by posting on HAL board. Few people say they enjoyed it, most people (HAL cruisers) are not too enthusiastic about the ship. Someone even comented that they saw same itinerary but wouldn't do it because it's on Noordam. I don't know what to do. Will have to think about that one. Thank you.

[olya1972]

I don't think there are many that do both. Many cruises just do Juneau, Ketchikan & Skagway.

 

I'm booked on a Windstar Cruise that does both.

 

Their North and South bound itineraries have both. The round trip from Vancouver has Icy Straight and some other unusual stops, but not Haines.

 

Price is probably more, but if one is patient, they have been showing up on their weekly 7 for 7 special. The May cruise was ~26% off when I booked.

 

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Thank you. Price is a factor for us. Airfare from Northeast is very expressive. We have to do HAL or Princes, roundtrip.

[Coral]

Whether it's a DUMP or not I am trying to establish by posting on HAL board. Few people say they enjoyed it, most people (HAL cruisers) are not too enthusiastic about the ship. Someone even comented that they saw same itinerary but wouldn't do it because it's on Noordam. I don't know what to do. Will have to think about that one. Thank you.

 

As funny as this sounds, when the Zuiderdam first came out - the people on the HAL board rejected this new class of ships very loudly. They hated that the ships were getting larger and were appealing to a different demographic (families). They were so negative the Zuiderdam that I cancelled my cruise on it. I later sailed on her sister ship and really enjoyed it. I personally prefer older ships so that wouldn't phase me.

 

Honestly - in Alaska, I would focus more on itinerary since that is important to you. Though - it is not that difficult to get to Haines from Skagway. I personally am not overly impressed with Haines but that is me.

[JT1962]

I would choose the itinerary over the ship in Alaska. We find most of our time is spent off the ship touring, so the newest / nicest ship is not as important as a Caribbean or other cruise.

 

We were on Royal Caribbean in May and stopped in both Haines and Icy Strait and enjoyed both. We rented a car in Haines and went to the Kroschel Wildlife Center and drove the Haines Hwy. We took a whale watching cruise with Glacier Winds, walked the forest trails and toured the restored cannery in Icy Strait Point.

 

 

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[oaktreerb]

We were on the Noordam in June. We went to Haines. We had no issues with the ship. Ships are constantly undergoing maintenance. The stateroom was well maintained. The dining room staff was friendly and efficient and the food was good. I am not aware of any issues. Dry dock has been delayed possibly because other ships needed it more. We had a very nice cruise experience. Noordam was doing the Vancouver-Seward itinerary.

Edited November 5, 2017 by oaktreerb