Luggage weight limit question on Denali/Yukon land tour (Y3L)

[defnjeb]

In early June, my husband and I will be on HAL’s Y3L tour and which includes flying between Fairbanks and Dawson City.  I have a question about luggage weight requirements.  HAL’s cruisetour tip sheet indicates that you are permitted 2 checked bags but with a combine weight limit of 50 lbs!  Has anyone had personal experience on this flight and is it indeed a 50 lb total limit for both bags? Below is the excerpt from HAL's tip sheet...

“If you are traveling on a Yukon Land and Sea Cruisetours which involves a flight between Dawson City and Fairbanks or Dawson City and Whitehorse, on the afore mentioned flights each guest is permitted to check up to two bags (on these flights only) with a maximum combined weight of no more than 50lbs.”

[Mary229]

That is per person and that only is the luggage which is in transit with you.   50 pounds combined seems a bit low so you might want to check with HAL to determine if it is a typo.  As with any North American airline you are also allowed a carryon and a personal item 

Edited May 7, 2022 by Mary229

[eggemon]

Right there with the OP… different tour, but the same problem…

 

I’d love for the 50 pounds to be wrong, but I am pretty sure it is correct (small planes, short runways, etc.).

 

We are doing Y1L in July, and definitely have concerns about luggage. We can probably keep within the 50 pounds (plus ONE 13 pound carry on) for the land portion – not that it will be easy (CPAP machines, etc.) – but we will definitely want more clothes, etc. for the cruise (and our continuing vacation after the cruise).

 

As I understand the material from HAL, we cannot use the “Join Me Onboard” program due to customs regulations.

 

I have wondered if, before we head off on our trip, we could ship some luggage to our hotel in Anchorage and meet up with it there… has anyone here tried that? Any other thoughts about how we can connect with more luggage after we complete the restrictive part of our land tour? 

[oaktreerb]

@defnjeb We flew Vancouver to Whitehorse on Air Canada snd Dawson City to Fairbanks.   As I recall the dirt runway in Dawson City was the issue plus it was a charter for just our combined group.  You will find that you don’t need a lot.  Wear your heaviest shoes and jeans.  You will be layering your clothes and nobody will notice if you wear the same thing as long as they look reasonably clean and smell ok.  Mix and match.  Don’t forget the rain gear (we travel with rain pants and jacket). The rain pants are also an extra warmth layer.

 

I think there are laundry facilities in Dawson City but who wants to do laundry while on vacation.  Have your laundry done on the ship before or after your tour.  

 

We had our cruise clothes in one suitcase and expected that bag to travel separately to the ship but we had it with us all the way since we had to usher it through customs at the Canadian/US border.  Other than that your luggage will be handled by staff.  

 

There will be a line at the Skagway post office with people sending items home to lower their baggage weight and to avoid customs.  Fortunately one couple shared their packing tape with us.  If it fits it ships boxes are available.

 

@eggemonYou might ask someone at HAL or have your TA contact HAL about sending baggage ahead to Anchorage if you know which hotel you will be in.  HAL and Princess have a huge land travel business in Alaska.

[defnjeb]

We are traveling from Anchorage (4 days on our own and then 10 days HAL Land tour) before reaching the ship in Skagway.  Our flight from Fairbanks is Day 9 for us.  I am planning to do laundry in Fairbanks and then again when we reach the ship in Skagway. My understanding from HAL is we will be traveling with our cruise and land tour luggage once we reach Fairbanks and that is my issue.  I can stay under 50 lbs for the Land tour but it will be much more of a challenge when I include my second bag for the cruise.  I may need to rethink how much I am taking and add more laundry stops before Fairbanks. @oaktreerb Thanks!...  I do like the idea of wearing my hiking boots and heavier clothes when boarding our flight to Dawson City.  That will definitely help some.

[eggemon]

3 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

You might ask someone at HAL or have your TA contact HAL about sending baggage ahead to Anchorage if you know which hotel you will be in.  HAL and Princess have a huge land travel business in Alaska.

Sounds like a good idea... But since we start our HAL journey in Vancouver, it would require our luggage to go from Canada to the US without us. Probably easier to ship it from home (Florida) to Anchorage. We have asked our TA for help on this, maybe she will come up with something...

[Miss Vickie]

4 hours ago, eggemon said:

Right there with the OP… different tour, but the same problem…

 

I’d love for the 50 pounds to be wrong, but I am pretty sure it is correct (small planes, short runways, etc.).

 

We are doing Y1L in July, and definitely have concerns about luggage. We can probably keep within the 50 pounds (plus ONE 13 pound carry on) for the land portion – not that it will be easy (CPAP machines, etc.) – but we will definitely want more clothes, etc. for the cruise (and our continuing vacation after the cruise).

 

As I understand the material from HAL, we cannot use the “Join Me Onboard” program due to customs regulations.

 

I have wondered if, before we head off on our trip, we could ship some luggage to our hotel in Anchorage and meet up with it there… has anyone here tried that? Any other thoughts about how we can connect with more luggage after we complete the restrictive part of our land tour? 

We took the flight from Dawson City to Fairbanks, they used a 747. It was several years ago, and I don’t remember the weight limit.

[Trapper44]

5 hours ago, eggemon said:

Right there with the OP… different tour, but the same problem…

 

I’d love for the 50 pounds to be wrong, but I am pretty sure it is correct (small planes, short runways, etc.).

 

We are doing Y1L in July, and definitely have concerns about luggage. We can probably keep within the 50 pounds (plus ONE 13 pound carry on) for the land portion – not that it will be easy (CPAP machines, etc.) – but we will definitely want more clothes, etc. for the cruise (and our continuing vacation after the cruise).

 

As I understand the material from HAL, we cannot use the “Join Me Onboard” program due to customs regulations.

 

I have wondered if, before we head off on our trip, we could ship some luggage to our hotel in Anchorage and meet up with it there… has anyone here tried that? Any other thoughts about how we can connect with more luggage after we complete the restrictive part of our land tour? 

CPAP should not count toward your weight or carry-on items. Classified as medical equipment. At least that is the rule in the United States.

[kochleffel]

2 hours ago, Miss Vickie said:

We took the flight from Dawson City to Fairbanks, they used a 747.

 

Did you mean a 737? The runway at Dawson City is 5,003 feet long. Most versions of the 747 require at least twice that.

 

Dawson City can accept 737 charters. The runway is short for a 737 and that would lead to a weight limit. The cruise charters are run by Air North, which flies only 737 and ATR-42 aircraft.

 

[tundra1]

Our plan is one suitcase each and a laundry day in either Fairbanks or Dawson City.  The 13 lb weight limit for our carry on will be a challenge.  My laptop is heavy, and I will need it for access to my work. Just my laptop, power cords, camera, binoculars, and papers will add up to over 13 lbs!

 

Is there a rule about liquids?  We were planning on traveling with full size liquids and bug spray which we were going to purchase in Anchorage on arrival and keep in our carry on, along with a bottle of wine.  If we have to follow airline rules for liquids, that will change our plans.

 

Thanks for bringing this up!

[Miss Vickie]

21 hours ago, kochleffel said:

 

Did you mean a 737? The runway at Dawson City is 5,003 feet long. Most versions of the 747 require at least twice that.

 

Dawson City can accept 737 charters. The runway is short for a 737 and that would lead to a weight limit. The cruise charters are run by Air North, which flies only 737 and ATR-42 aircraft.

 

You’re right, it was a 737 charter.

[Crew News]

A ScotteVest truly saves a lot of that 13-pound carry-on issue and is a favorite of Europeans with their limited carry-on weight.  A whole laptop computer system can be "worn".

 

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by Crew News