Alaska Land Tour

[Electra 7]

Hi can anyone tell me when we will get more info on our land part of the cruise 

eg is it bus or train

approximate journey times and departure and arrival times 

Whitter to Anchorage

Anchorage to Denali

Denali to Fairbanks 

Fairbanks to Dawson 

Dawson to Vancouver

If anyone who has done this cruise could supply info I would be most grateful

thanks in advance for your replies

 

 

[oakridger]

When is your cruise?  What dates and ship?  This information may be helpful to those who have experience.  The itinerary you posted helps though.

 

~Nancy

[Mary229]

As Nancy said, there are different versions of the trip.  The type of transportation you use is described in the itinerary description.  Most mornings are an early start. 

[Crew News]

10 hours ago, Electra 7 said:

Hi can anyone tell me when we will get more info on our land part of the cruise 

eg is it bus or train

approximate journey times and departure and arrival times 

Whitter to Anchorage

Anchorage to Denali

Denali to Fairbanks 

Fairbanks to Dawson 

Dawson to Vancouver

If anyone who has done this cruise could supply info I would be most grateful

thanks in advance for your replies

 

You can see the mode of transportation on the HAL website if you look under cruise planning and then your cruise page.

 

Here is a link to HAL's Alaska planning document: 

 

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

[Electra 7]

10 hours ago, oakridger said:

When is your cruise?  What dates and ship?  This information may be helpful to those who have experience.  The itinerary you posted helps though.

 

~Nancy

Nieuw Amsterdam June 4th till 18th 

[Mary229]

14 minutes ago, Electra 7 said:

Nieuw Amsterdam June 4th till 18th 

That shows a train to Denali and a bus to Fairbanks.  If my memory is correct (I went in 2022) the train arrives in Denalis early afternoon.  You board a motor coach for a short ride to the train station early in the morning, board a private rail car with a private hostess and guide. You will eat lunch aboard the train in a dining car. Once you arrive in Denali  you will again be taken from the station by motor coach for a short ride to your lodge.    The ride to Fairbanks is a few hours.   We arrived around lunch time  as I remember we ate at a very good Thai restaurant.  After lunch we were again on the motor coach for a mine tour.  

[oaktreerb]

You are on a Yukon land tour.  Do you have your tour#, like Y1C, Y1L, Y2C, Y2L??  Y is Yukon, #of tour, C is cruise first.  I have taken these tours in the past but there have been changes recently.  Have you looked up your specific booking #?  The Yukon trips have a “journey host” who you will meet at your Anchorage hotel.  The train will leave Anchorage early and you will arrive at Denali mid-day.  You will probably have your TWT tour into the park on the second day.  mid-day Bus to Fairbanks next day, overnight, fly to Dawson City, probably fly to Whitehorse and fly back to Vancouver.  Generally your transportation will leave early in the day, except for Denali to Fairbanks.  Your journey host will have a packet of information about the land tour.   These tours are very well coordinated by Holland America staff.

 

Edited April 25, 2023 by oaktreerb

[Electra 7]

9 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

You are on a Yukon land tour.  Do you have your tour#, like Y1C, Y1L, Y2C, Y2L??  Y is Yukon, #of tour, C is cruise first.  I have taken these tours in the past but there have been changes recently.  Have you looked up your specific booking #?  The Yukon trips have a “journey host” who you will meet at your Anchorage hotel.  The train will leave Anchorage early and you will arrive at Denali mid-day.  You will probably have your TWT tour into the park on the second day.  mid-day Bus to Fairbanks next day, overnight, fly to Dawson City, probably fly to Whitehorse and fly back to Vancouver.  Generally your transportation will leave early in the day, except for Denali to Fairbanks.  Your journey host will have a packet of information about the land tour.   These tours are very well coordinated by Holland America staff.

 

We are on Y2C thanks for your info  yeah I have looked up my booking not much info there about timings etc I know it will be very organised when we get there I was just looking for info from people who have done this trip thanks again

[Electra 7]

11 hours ago, Mary229 said:

That shows a train to Denali and a bus to Fairbanks.  If my memory is correct (I went in 2022) the train arrives in Denalis early afternoon.  You board a motor coach for a short ride to the train station early in the morning, board a private rail car with a private hostess and guide. You will eat lunch aboard the train in a dining car. Once you arrive in Denali  you will again be taken from the station by motor coach for a short ride to your lodge.    The ride to Fairbanks is a few hours.   We arrived around lunch time  as I remember we ate at a very good Thai restaurant.  After lunch we were again on the motor coach for a mine tour.  

thank you very much for your info

[PHXscuba]

Before booking my land tour I called the HAL line and asked lots of questions. The agents I spoke to (twice) had much more info than the website -- hotel names, transportation, even estimated time of arrival for each leg.

 

PHXscuba

[Electra 7]

14 hours ago, PHXscuba said:

Before booking my land tour I called the HAL line and asked lots of questions. The agents I spoke to (twice) had much more info than the website -- hotel names, transportation, even estimated time of arrival for each leg.

 

PHXscuba

Thanks great idea will give them a call thanks for the info

[SausPud]

I got my TA to enquire and got a three-page document listing everything. So much detail, no questions left to ask. I'm doing my cruise land tour in July/August.

[Reagan0712]

Do the Top of the Dome excursion in Dawson City. Skip the $20 Diamond Gertie’s excursion and just walk up to Gertie’s on your own. There are three shows each evening and each is more bawdy. There is also a casino to play before the shows and food/drink is available. There is a CIBC branch on Second St with an ATM, just up from the Downtown Hotel, to get some Canadian money.

[johbeaker]

Does anyone know if they are doing the full train route Carcross Yukon to Skagway Alaska (or vice versa) when travelling between Whitehorse and Skagway in 2024 (or this year)?  Or does the bus from Whitehorse take you to Fraser to board the train to Skagway?

[Mary229]

6 hours ago, johbeaker said:

Does anyone know if they are doing the full train route Carcross Yukon to Skagway Alaska (or vice versa) when travelling between Whitehorse and Skagway in 2024 (or this year)?  Or does the bus from Whitehorse take you to Fraser to board the train to Skagway?

You will likely need to call HAL on that.  Last year the Covid restrictions prevented travel from Canada to the US by train.  Instead you were taken to Skagway for the round trip run that the day visitors do.  Hopefully it is changed now. 

[Alphen]

We did Y1L last year (so land first), you may get some useful info on our live report from last year, although there may well be subtle differences in your land/cruise tour, as there are many different ones, each with their own specific itinerary. 

 

Find the thread here;

 

[renee00]

On 5/2/2023 at 10:12 PM, johbeaker said:

Does anyone know if they are doing the full train route Carcross Yukon to Skagway Alaska (or vice versa) when travelling between Whitehorse and Skagway in 2024 (or this year)?  Or does the bus from Whitehorse take you to Fraser to board the train to Skagway?

 

We're doing a cruisetour in a couple of weeks and just got an update from HAL last week that the full train route itinerary had to change due to an issue with US immigration (they won't allow passengers to be separated from their luggage when crossing into the US). So now we'll be taking the bus from Whitehorse to Skagway and boarding the train there for a roundtrip excursion. We don't have the times yet, but I'm guessing this will make for a much longer day.

[Mary229]

15 minutes ago, renee00 said:

 

We're doing a cruisetour in a couple of weeks and just got an update from HAL last week that the full train route itinerary had to change due to an issue with US immigration (they won't allow passengers to be separated from their luggage when crossing into the US). So now we'll be taking the bus from Whitehorse to Skagway and boarding the train there for a roundtrip excursion. We don't have the times yet, but I'm guessing this will make for a much longer day.

That’s how we did it last year.  We got to Skagway at lunchtime and met for the train ride around 1:30-2.  We were on the ship by 5. 

[renee00]

9 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

That’s how we did it last year.  We got to Skagway at lunchtime and met for the train ride around 1:30-2.  We were on the ship by 5. 

 

Oh, it's good to hear this change won't run us too late. We're staying that night in Skagway and boarding the ship in the morning. We wanted to sample some of the brewpubs in town for dinner after the train.