“Join Me Tonight” luggage? Alaska land trip

[Sharon1313]

We’re headed for Alaska, cruising on the Noordam with a few days on land before. We have just recently been alerted by another cruiser that while traveling Anchorage > Denali > Seward, there are luggage restrictions. The information I found through HAL is a bit confusing (as is almost everything about HAL) but what I’m understanding is that once we take off for Denali on the train, we’ll be allowed one SMALL carryon for the train (like a backpack) that stays with you, and one small roller bag (like you would carry on to a plane) that will be stowed until we arrive in Denali. All other luggage will be tagged and stored until we get back to Seward. 

 

Am I reading this correctly? If so we need to rethink our packing plan very quickly. Would appreciate any insights from someone who has taken this itinerary in the past. (Also... tried searching and couldn’t find anything on this topic on the boards, so please forgive if this is asked and answered already.)

[CRu1853!!]

We have been to Denali twice. Husband and I both had large “checked style” bags and then carry-on types. Your larger bags are transported to Denali by trucks, small personal bags stay with you in the train. 

[Sharon1313]

Thank you so much! Very helpful.

[rajkr74]

We took a HAL land-sea cruise in 2016 going thru the Yukon from Vancouver to Anchorage.  We went from Denali to Anchorage on the train (opposite of the way you are going) and just took "day" packs on the train with all of our luggage loaded on the train and delivered to the hotel in Anchorage.  We did not have any restrictions on what suitcases we could take on the train or the whole 14 day land-sea cruise.  Maybe things have changed since we went????

 

Here is a link to the review, with photos, that we did after we took the cruise.  We found very little info on Land-Sea cruises prior to our cruise that we did the review to help others on any of their Land-Sea cruises. I'm thinking a lot of what we did is still being done by HAL.  Hope it helps.

 

 

 

[Sharon1313]

37 minutes ago, rajkr74 said:

We took a HAL land-sea cruise in 2016 going thru the Yukon from Vancouver to Anchorage.  We went from Denali to Anchorage on the train (opposite of the way you are going) and just took "day" packs on the train with all of our luggage loaded on the train and delivered to the hotel in Anchorage.  We did not have any restrictions on what suitcases we could take on the train or the whole 14 day land-sea cruise.  Maybe things have changed since we went????

 

Here is a link to the review, with photos, that we did after we took the cruise.  We found very little info on Land-Sea cruises prior to our cruise that we did the review to help others on any of their Land-Sea cruises. I'm thinking a lot of what we did is still being done by HAL.  Hope it helps.

 

 

 

Really enjoyed reading your review, thank you for the link! Sounds like a great trip. I’m really glad we chose to do some land touring. I have a feeling it’s only going to whet our appetite to visit Alaska again!

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[Crew News]

When heading to Denali by any means (bus/train) you are allowed only one suitcase (per person) that will go by truck and be waiting for you in your Denali room when you arrive.  You may take a small backpack (see dimension in the below tips) with you.  All of your other luggage will be tagged and join you after you leave Denali.  Note that roller bags are not permitted to accompany you on the train/bus unless you have pre-arranged to transport medical equipment.

 

Here is a link to the Alaska Tour Tips on the HAL website:

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/content/dam/hal/marketing-assets/manage-my-cruise-already-booked/faqs/Tour_Tips.pdf

Edited May 28, 2019 by Crew News