Questions for those who have taken 2022 AK land first tour

[barefoot_girl]

How many days before boarding the ship were you tested by HAL?     Trying to prepare for the worst and wondering where we might get stranded if one of us tests positive

 

For those who have tested positive and could not board the ship: 

How many days are you required to quarantine?  We would be returning to the U.S.

Does HAL pay for the hotel stay ?   

[cabinluvn]

Deleted post. Realized you wanted traveling land first. Sorry

Edited July 11, 2022 by cabinluvn
Deleted post

[Gray Lady]

We tested positive on our land tour, but it was before HAL did their pre-cruise testing. The “trip interruption specialist” told us that everyone is tested in Anchorage. DH tested positive in Denali. We informed them of this, and they bussed us and Princess passengers to Anchorage. We stayed at a hotel that Beacon Health Services had arranged. They had three hotels they were utilizing when we were there. The cost is $550 to $650 per night. It is reimbursable through your travel insurance (if they don’t pay, then HAL will). You also have to pay for your meals and they will be reimbursed. You cannot leave your hotel room for anything. It is difficult to find a hotel on your own that will allow COVID patients to quarantine. The first day of positivity is day 0. You then have to quarantine for 5 days; after that you are cleared to travel home if you are fever free. Of course, I caught it being isolated in a room with hubby. Our symptoms were very mild. My advice is to be VERY careful and bring a credit card with enough cap space in case you are unfortunate. We wore masks the entire time starting at the airport. Hardly anyone else wore a mask either while traveling or on our land tour. There are a lot of people packed into restaurants, hotels, and tours. If you have any other questions, I will be happy to answer them.

[oaktreerb]

40 minutes ago, Gray Lady said:

We tested positive on our land tour, but it was before HAL did their pre-cruise testing. The “trip interruption specialist” told us that everyone is tested in Anchorage. DH tested positive in Denali. We informed them of this, and they bussed us and Princess passengers to Anchorage. We stayed at a hotel that Beacon Health Services had arranged. They had three hotels they were utilizing when we were there. The cost is $550 to $650 per night. It is reimbursable through your travel insurance (if they don’t pay, then HAL will). You also have to pay for your meals and they will be reimbursed. You cannot leave your hotel room for anything. It is difficult to find a hotel on your own that will allow COVID patients to quarantine. The first day of positivity is day 0. You then have to quarantine for 5 days; after that you are cleared to travel home if you are fever free. Of course, I caught it being isolated in a room with hubby. Our symptoms were very mild. My advice is to be VERY careful and bring a credit card with enough cap space in case you are unfortunate. We wore masks the entire time starting at the airport. Hardly anyone else wore a mask either while traveling or on our land tour. There are a lot of people packed into restaurants, hotels, and tours. If you have any other questions, I will be happy to answer them.

Which hotel did you quarantine in?  Do you know the names of the  other two hotels that accepted HAL quarantine travelers?  Could you choose your quarantine hotel or did they just assign you to a hotel?

[barefoot_girl]

51 minutes ago, Gray Lady said:

We tested positive on our land tour, but it was before HAL did their pre-cruise testing. The “trip interruption specialist” told us that everyone is tested in Anchorage. DH tested positive in Denali. We informed them of this, and they bussed us and Princess passengers to Anchorage. We stayed at a hotel that Beacon Health Services had arranged. They had three hotels they were utilizing when we were there. The cost is $550 to $650 per night. It is reimbursable through your travel insurance (if they don’t pay, then HAL will). You also have to pay for your meals and they will be reimbursed. You cannot leave your hotel room for anything. It is difficult to find a hotel on your own that will allow COVID patients to quarantine. The first day of positivity is day 0. You then have to quarantine for 5 days; after that you are cleared to travel home if you are fever free. Of course, I caught it being isolated in a room with hubby. Our symptoms were very mild. My advice is to be VERY careful and bring a credit card with enough cap space in case you are unfortunate. We wore masks the entire time starting at the airport. Hardly anyone else wore a mask either while traveling or on our land tour. There are a lot of people packed into restaurants, hotels, and tours. If you have any other questions, I will be happy to answer them.

Our land tour starts in anchorage and goes to Denali, Fairbanks and the Yukon.    I'm guessing we'll get tested 1 or 2 days before we board the ship in Skagway. 

 

Thanks for sharing your story.   I'm trying to prepare.  I feel like we have a 50/50 chance of being able to board the ship, maybe less.

[Gray Lady]

Be very careful in Denali and Fairbanks. Because people test negative before leaving home, many seem to think they aren’t going to contract or spread the virus. I assume you are bringing some home test kits. If you think you have any allergy symptoms at all, it could be COVID. My symptoms were no different than the usual season allergies. This may be one reason it is spreading so easily. Also, I would urge you to pack a “COVID kit” with things you may need just in case. I was so grateful that we did and didn’t have to buy any meds through DoorDash. Think things such as Mucinex, DayQuil and NyQuil caps, cough drops, Vicks, and some Robitussin. They are things you need at home anyway for cold season. Chamomile tea bags are also good to have. Please let me know how it goes with you and if many are still testing positive. 

[LJProk]

We did land first with Denali only. We got there on a Thursday, were leaving Sunday for the ship. They provided a QR code and you logged in to set up a time for your test. They were testing in the main lodge. You could go Thursday, Friday or Saturday. They will send you an email with your test results, be on the lookout in your spam email folder, quite a few of us had it go to spam.

[barefoot_girl]

1 hour ago, LJProk said:

We did land first with Denali only. We got there on a Thursday, were leaving Sunday for the ship. They provided a QR code and you logged in to set up a time for your test. They were testing in the main lodge. You could go Thursday, Friday or Saturday. They will send you an email with your test results, be on the lookout in your spam email folder, quite a few of us had it go to spam.

Thank you!

[Lalof]

We just returned from our land first. We started in Fairbanks. We had tested within 2 days of arrival. No one asked for our results. I had to volunteer them to the cruise desk at the Westmark. We tested for the cruise on our 2nd day at Denali. They had the testing set up right in the resort. Our results were emailed within 2 hours. We wore masks the whole time and while we weren’t the only ones, we were a minority. We were scheduled for a table of 8 at the dining room. 2 of the couples didn’t make the ship. We met a person who said 26 out of his Denali group of 40 didn’t make the ship due to testing positive.

[Gray Lady]

56 minutes ago, Lalof said:

We just returned from our land first. We started in Fairbanks. We had tested within 2 days of arrival. No one asked for our results. I had to volunteer them to the cruise desk at the Westmark. We tested for the cruise on our 2nd day at Denali. They had the testing set up right in the resort. Our results were emailed within 2 hours. We wore masks the whole time and while we weren’t the only ones, we were a minority. We were scheduled for a table of 8 at the dining room. 2 of the couples didn’t make the ship. We met a person who said 26 out of his Denali group of 40 didn’t make the ship due to testing positive.

I am so glad that you were able to make your entire trip. Hope you had a wonderful time with good weather! 🎉