Which itinerary is accurate?

[mandapanda13]

I have my first cruise with Holland America in two weeks on board the Zuiderdam.  Last week, the private company for my excursion in Ketchikan informed me that they received notice that my ship would be arriving in Ketchikan at 11:00am instead of 10:00am.  This seemed odd since HAL didn't inform me of an itinerary change, but I checked the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska's schedule and confirmed our ship will be arriving at 11:00.  Today I received notification that the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer excursion has been removed from my sailing due to operational considerations.

 

These two changes caused me to double check my itinerary and I realized that the itinerary on the Navigator app is different than what is on the website/in the documents with my boarding pass.  So which itinerary is correct?

 

Here's what is on the website/in the documents with my boarding pass:

 

June 1  Vancouver  Depart 4:30pm

June 2  Inside Passage

June 3  Tracy Arm Inlet  Arrive 9:00am  Depart 9:30am

June 3  Juneau  Arrive 1:00pm  Depart 10:00pm

June 4  Skagway  Arrive 7:00am  Depart 9:00pm

June 5  Glacier Bay Arrive 7:00am  Depart 4:00pm

June 6  Ketchikan  Arrive 10:00am  Depart 6:00pm

June 7  Inside Passage

June 8  Vancouver Arrive 7:00am

 

Here's what is on the Navigator app:

 

June 1  Vancouver  All Aboard 3:30pm

June 2  Inside Passage

June 3  NO TRACY ARM INLET

June 3  Juneau  Arrive 3:00pm  All Aboard 9:30pm

June 4  Skagway  Arrive 7:00am  All Aboard 8:30pm

June 5  Glacier Bay

June 6  Ketchikan  Arrive 11:00am  All Aboard 6:30pm

June 7  Inside Passage

June 8  Vancouver  Arrive 7:00am

 

I have highlighted what appear to be differences between the itineraries.  My biggest concern is the 2-hour difference in arrival time to Juneau since many of the excursions through HAL start before 3:00pm.  If we truly aren't arriving until 3:00pm, I want to avoid picking an earlier excursion to replace the Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer that will just end up having to be rescheduled.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

[Homosassa]

Changes in itinerary (order of ports, arrival and departure times) are a fact of life in cruising.

 

Think of the itinerary (ports and times) as a placeholder for what conditions may actually exist for the cruise. You will not be notified of minor changes in itinerary.

 

If your excursions are booked through the cruise line, they will be changed to reflect the port arrival times and departures .

 

If you are booking private tours, you are on your own, although as you have found the tour companies will be tracking the ship's schedule to make their own adjustments.

 

Be aware, that changes can be made up to the point of docking (captain decides that the ship can not be safely docked) and may be changed while in port. Tour operators of the ship's excursions will be notified of changes in the ship's departure schedule.

 

Rule for cruising: If there is a port that is an absolute must see, don't cruise. Book a land vacation.

[steve4031]

43 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

 

 

Rule for cruising: If there is a port that is an absolute must see, don't cruise. Book a land vacation.

That's kind of hard to do for an Alaskan Cruise.  I do understand the that you are letting the OP know that cruise schedules are not written in stone and that it is best to be flexible.  

[Fouremco]

There are numerous websites, ranging from that of the local port authority to those like cruisemapper.com or cruisetimetables.com, that can provide information, very possibly more accurate than HAL's. On our last HAL cruise to Norway, for many weeks before the cruise the port authorities for Bergen and Trondheim showed us arriving at different terminals than shown on HAL's itinerary. In both cases, the terminal indicated by HAL were quite a distance from the one indicated by the port authority, necessitating a plan "A" and plan "B" for our days ashore in both cities. As it turned out, HAL's itinerary was wrong and the port authorities' information was correct. 

[Homosassa]

39 minutes ago, steve4031 said:

That's kind of hard to do for an Alaskan Cruise.  I do understand the that you are letting the OP know that cruise schedules are not written in stone and that it is best to be flexible.  

There are other options for Alaska.

 

One can use the Alaska Marine Highway System (ferries), follow one's own itinerary and arrange lodgings in ports.

 

Yes, it requires more effort, but one has more control over the itinerary.

 

 

[NCTribeFan]

Interesting.  My Navigator app shows Tracy Arm Inlet 11 am depart 11:30 am; Juneau 3 pm, depart 10 pm.

 

I'm on a B2B and I have an independent whale watching/glacier excursion booked for 2:30 in Juneau.

 

😡

 

Ketichan arrive at 11:00; depart 7:00 pm

[ScoutDiver]

The Navigator App is not showing Tracy Arm Inlet for the Koningsdam departing May 21.  

The website still shows it,  The boarding pass has it.

[mandapanda13]

I understand changes in itinerary are always a possibility for cruises.  However, I don’t think it is unreasonable for me or other cruisers to feel confused or frustrated when there are inconsistencies in itineraries being published by the cruise line on their website and app.  Perhaps I should have phrased my question differently.  Historically, is the app or what’s on the boarding pass more accurate?  Does one tend to be updated before the other?

 

Given the inconsistencies, I’m going to err on the side of caution and assume we will be arriving at the later time for Juneau and will therefore select a new excursion after 3:00.

[baltic17]

Yesterday I received a notice that said my Tracy Arm excursion for 27 May was canceled for 'operational reasons.'  No reschedule.

Today I received an updated itinerary for Tracy Arm/Juneau that altered time in Tracy Arm from 9am to 11am, and arrival in Juneau from 1pm to 3pm.  It indicated that the shore excursion was moved to 11am.  I can't book it on the HAL website.

When my DH and I sailed on 4 May, when we arrived in the cabin, there was a brochure for the Tracy Arm excursion.  We had already booked something else so didn't do it.  I'm hoping that the same brochure is available when my DS and I arrive on 25 May.

Just have to flow with the changes.....

 

[NCTribeFan]

Note:  my Juneau whale-watching excursion is on the 2nd leg.  Hopefully, there will be no changes to that leg.  Or, if there are, the independent vendor will be able to alter their schedule.  Also would be really nice to know before I board for the first leg in case the wi-fi is so bad I can't get in touch with the vendor.

 

Yes, I'm pretty sure we're all aware that changes happen.  The advice to not book a cruise because a port time might change isn't terribly helpful.  We HAVE booked cruises and the late changes (that only show up in some places but not all of them thanks to HAL's sad IT) is the main concern.

[mandapanda13]

Late last night I received an email about the itinerary change.  Arrival in Tracy Arm has been changed from 9:00am to 11:00am, arrival in Juneau has changed from 1:00pm to 3:00pm, and arrival in Ketchikan has been changed from 10:00am to 11:00am.  The itinerary on the website has been corrected; the itinerary on the app does not show Tracy Arm at all.  All of the excursions in Juneau before 3:00pm have been removed, leaving us with 19 options instead of 41.  There is no shore excursion listed on the website or app for Tracy Arm.

 

Since the itinerary list Tracy Arm as "Service Call Shore Excursion Guests Only," I called the shore excursion line this morning to see if there would be an 11:00 Tracy Arm Fjord & Glacier Explorer excursion to replace my cancelled 9:00 one.  At this time, they do not have a Tracy Arm excursion available, but they suggested I keep checking the website in case one pops up.  We can book excursions on the website up until 4 days before embarkation, so I'll keep checking.  I'll likely book an excursion in Juneau as a backup now, as I'm concerned they will sell out before the cruise given the limited options.

 

Hope this information helps others in a similar situation.

[kentuckycruiser]

We are doing the Koningsdam on May 28. The Tracy Arm inlet excursion we booked is still showing up on the app and on the website. Now I am concerned it will be dropped since other cruises seem to be having that issue.