First time cruise, HAL, Alaska, Book time vs Excursion Availability?

[RetiredTravelered]

We are first time Cruisers (have not yet gone on a cruise). We will provide a brief summary of hopeful cruise, and follow it with a few questions. (Our apologies ahead of time, if this question should have been posted in a different area of CruiseCritic. Please move the question if necessary.  

 

We hope to do an Alaska Cruise in June-Aug, 2025. We are leaning toward HAL, Inside Passage, depart from Vancouver, looking at D5C or D6C (includes Denali, 2 nights). Vancouver, Inside passage, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Double Denali, Anchorage/Fairbanks - depending upon D5 vs D6). . 

 

The quick questions (about Excursions).

 

We really hope to travel on the White Pass / Yukon Route TRAIN. (We love trains, and have traveled on many trains in Europe). The Train is located at the Skagway Port stop. 

 

(1) In the Holland America 35-page PDF - which describes ALL of the Cruises (D1-D9, Y1-Y6), it appears that the "White Pass & Yukon Route Train" does NOT have a checkmark next to the D1 through D9 Cruises.  Yet, the Itinerary does show a port stop at Skagway.  Does that mean that even though the Ship (for D5 or D6) stops in Skagway, we might not be able to reserve the "White Pass" Train?

 

(2) Second question is directly related to the White Pass Train, also. We have heard that Alaska Cruises are very popular, and therefore are booked months ahead of time. We have also heard that the Excursions can be reserved up to 8 months ahead of time.  So, our question is: If this is September, are the better Excursions already reserved for the June-August 2025 trips?

 

(3) Third question, also about Excursions:  Is there a way check Excursion availability BEFORE Booking a Cruise. We are guessing that the answer is easily no on this one.  

 

Thanks

[Alberta Quilter]

Welcome to CC!

 

My guess is that the “D” cruise tours don’t show the train because the train is not part of the land tour portion, like it is for the “Y” tours.  Those “Y” tours either embark or disembark in Skagway so the train ride is how they get to/from Skagway, eventually to/from Whitehorse.  But since you have a port day in Skagway, you should be able to book a shore excursion for the train.  A round trip takes about 3 hours, IIRC.  What is the length of time in port on the itinerary you are considering?

 

Book the tour as soon as you can.  The train is very popular and can sell out.  I can’t say if the excursions for next year are available or not yet.  They could be.  Have you checked with the roll call for the dates you are considering?  That’s where I would start.

 

As to your third question, I know of no way to check availability prior to booking, other than asking on the roll call to see if someone already booked for that sailing can check for you.

Edited September 22 by Alberta Quilter

[tupper10]

48 minutes ago, RetiredTravelered said:

We are first time Cruisers (have not yet gone on a cruise). We will provide a brief summary of hopeful cruise, and follow it with a few questions. (Our apologies ahead of time, if this question should have been posted in a different area of CruiseCritic. Please move the question if necessary.  

 

We hope to do an Alaska Cruise in June-Aug, 2025. We are leaning toward HAL, Inside Passage, depart from Vancouver, looking at D5C or D6C (includes Denali, 2 nights). Vancouver, Inside passage, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Double Denali, Anchorage/Fairbanks - depending upon D5 vs D6). . 

 

The quick questions (about Excursions).

 

We really hope to travel on the White Pass / Yukon Route TRAIN. (We love trains, and have traveled on many trains in Europe). The Train is located at the Skagway Port stop. 

 

(1) In the Holland America 35-page PDF - which describes ALL of the Cruises (D1-D9, Y1-Y6), it appears that the "White Pass & Yukon Route Train" does NOT have a checkmark next to the D1 through D9 Cruises.  Yet, the Itinerary does show a port stop at Skagway.  Does that mean that even though the Ship (for D5 or D6) stops in Skagway, we might not be able to reserve the "White Pass" Train?

 

(2) Second question is directly related to the White Pass Train, also. We have heard that Alaska Cruises are very popular, and therefore are booked months ahead of time. We have also heard that the Excursions can be reserved up to 8 months ahead of time.  So, our question is: If this is September, are the better Excursions already reserved for the June-August 2025 trips?

 

(3) Third question, also about Excursions:  Is there a way check Excursion availability BEFORE Booking a Cruise. We are guessing that the answer is easily no on this one.  

 

Thanks

My suggestion as a first time cruiser is to get yourself to an experienced travel agent who can go over not only your cruise selection but the excursions. For Skagway look at the times you are in port since the train takes time. Perhaps the port stop on the cruises you are looking at is too short to do the train??  Just so you know, if the ship offers the White Pass RR,  you can also book the train directly vs doing it as a ship excursion if for some reason the ship excursion is sold out.  

Edited September 22 by tupper10
correction

[RetiredTravelered]

Alberta,  We thank you for your reply.  We have not looked in the Roll Call yet (we are very new to this forum, and not sure of the different options). If we look in the Roll Call, what would we expect to see?  Possibly just to see what people are posting, what they have reserved?  We assume that those are people booked on this same cruise?  

[RetiredTravelered]

Tupper. Thank you for your reply. We will check the times. 

[Host Kat]

57 minutes ago, RetiredTravelered said:

We are first time Cruisers (have not yet gone on a cruise). We will provide a brief summary of hopeful cruise, and follow it with a few questions. (Our apologies ahead of time, if this question should have been posted in a different area of CruiseCritic. Please move the question if necessary.  

 

We hope to do an Alaska Cruise in June-Aug, 2025. We are leaning toward HAL, Inside Passage, depart from Vancouver, looking at D5C or D6C (includes Denali, 2 nights). Vancouver, Inside passage, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Double Denali, Anchorage/Fairbanks - depending upon D5 vs D6). . 

 

The quick questions (about Excursions).

 

We really hope to travel on the White Pass / Yukon Route TRAIN. (We love trains, and have traveled on many trains in Europe). The Train is located at the Skagway Port stop. 

 

(1) In the Holland America 35-page PDF - which describes ALL of the Cruises (D1-D9, Y1-Y6), it appears that the "White Pass & Yukon Route Train" does NOT have a checkmark next to the D1 through D9 Cruises.  Yet, the Itinerary does show a port stop at Skagway.  Does that mean that even though the Ship (for D5 or D6) stops in Skagway, we might not be able to reserve the "White Pass" Train?

 

(2) Second question is directly related to the White Pass Train, also. We have heard that Alaska Cruises are very popular, and therefore are booked months ahead of time. We have also heard that the Excursions can be reserved up to 8 months ahead of time.  So, our question is: If this is September, are the better Excursions already reserved for the June-August 2025 trips?

 

(3) Third question, also about Excursions:  Is there a way check Excursion availability BEFORE Booking a Cruise. We are guessing that the answer is easily no on this one.  

 

Thanks

 

8 minutes ago, RetiredTravelered said:

Alberta,  We thank you for your reply.  We have not looked in the Roll Call yet (we are very new to this forum, and not sure of the different options). If we look in the Roll Call, what would we expect to see?  Possibly just to see what people are posting, what they have reserved?  We assume that those are people booked on this same cruise?  

 

Hello @RetiredTravelered and welcome to the Cruise Critic website & message board! 

 

The Cruise Critic website and message boards are both great resources for new as well as experienced cruisers and we are so glad you found us! Please feel free to browse the Cruise Critic Community categories list of all the various discussion forums. I suggest you put the page link in your browser's Favorites for quick & easy access in the future. Please read a few threads in the different forums to get a feel for what each forum is about. Make sure you read any pinned threads (aka stickies) on the top of the first page of threads in most forums. You will find very important instructions or information there.

 

To research for other shore excursions, go to the Ports of Call - Alaska forum.

 

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[Crew News]

6 hours ago, RetiredTravelered said:

We are first time Cruisers (have not yet gone on a cruise). We will provide a brief summary of hopeful cruise, and follow it with a few questions. (Our apologies ahead of time, if this question should have been posted in a different area of CruiseCritic. Please move the question if necessary.  

 

We hope to do an Alaska Cruise in June-Aug, 2025. We are leaning toward HAL, Inside Passage, depart from Vancouver, looking at D5C or D6C (includes Denali, 2 nights). Vancouver, Inside passage, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Double Denali, Anchorage/Fairbanks - depending upon D5 vs D6). . 

 

The quick questions (about Excursions).

 

We really hope to travel on the White Pass / Yukon Route TRAIN. (We love trains, and have traveled on many trains in Europe). The Train is located at the Skagway Port stop. 

 

(1) In the Holland America 35-page PDF - which describes ALL of the Cruises (D1-D9, Y1-Y6), it appears that the "White Pass & Yukon Route Train" does NOT have a checkmark next to the D1 through D9 Cruises.  Yet, the Itinerary does show a port stop at Skagway.  Does that mean that even though the Ship (for D5 or D6) stops in Skagway, we might not be able to reserve the "White Pass" Train?

 

(2) Second question is directly related to the White Pass Train, also. We have heard that Alaska Cruises are very popular, and therefore are booked months ahead of time. We have also heard that the Excursions can be reserved up to 8 months ahead of time.  So, our question is: If this is September, are the better Excursions already reserved for the June-August 2025 trips?

 

(3) Third question, also about Excursions:  Is there a way check Excursion availability BEFORE Booking a Cruise. We are guessing that the answer is easily no on this one.  

 

Thanks

@RetiredTravelered Welcome to Cruise Critic.  Feel free to ask lots of questions to help in your Alaska planning.

 

I prefer land portions that begin/end end in Anchorage rather than Fairbanks because the number of flights back home are more plentiful and at more reasonable hours.  Note that transportation arrives in Denali in the late afternoon for your first night which means you will have only one day for the included Tundra Wilderness excursion.  Here is a link to the 2024 HAL Alaska cruisetour tips that will answer many questions:  Alaska Cruise Tour Tips - 2024.

 

1.  I have searched the HAL website for both the D5C and D6C cruises.  At the Skagway stop, the train is offered for excursions for both cruises.  As a many-time cruiser to Alaska,  I recommend the train to Lake Bennett that includes lunch and a private train car that has never been fully occupied.

2.  I booked my excursions for May 2025 Alaska just last month.  Excursion involving flights have limited seats so sell out first.

3.    Here is a link on the HAL website that shows what excursions are available each day for D6C:  D6C Excursions

 

Hope all this helps.

 

[RetiredTravelered]

Thank you. We appreciate the link and the details that you provided. We plan to research the other train that you mentioned. 

[wdw1972]

I booked my excursions for May 2025 in March of 2024 - at that time one was already sold out. I waitlisted, and I think they added a second tour because I cleared the waitlist & booked in late May 2024 and it's still not sold out.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[RetiredTravelered]

I have posted 3 replies (on 9/23) and none of them are showing up in this thread. Is there something that we are doing wrong. ?

[RetiredTravelered]

We will try again.  Frustrating to type out a long reply, click on "Submit reply", to then have it not be posted ,and not available to try again Never experienced this on other travel forums?

 

This is a response to wdw1972.  

 

We appreciate your post. Very helpful. 

 

We are a bit concerned, worried, that maybe we are considering a June-Aug 2025 Alaska Cruise, if the Excursions are already full. As you indicated, you reserved your excursions a year ahead of time. 

 

Cruising is new for us.  We have taken MANY trips, just not cruises. 

 

It is difficult for us to consider/imagine that we need to BOOK a Cruise BEFORE we will even know if an Excursion is available or closed (filled). 

 

When we have gone to Europe (UK, Italy, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Budapest, etc.), we have always been able to BOOK our Excursions before the Airfare and Lodging (the final commitment). It is hard to imagine paying for a trip to Florence, only to discover after we have booked and paid, that "The David" Michelangelo is not available, or the Uffizi Museum is unavailable. We would have never booked the lodging or airfare.  Same with the Borghese Museum in Rome, the Vatican Museum, Parliament in Budapest, Buckingham Palace in England. In fact, we changed our travel dates to Vienna, in order to see the Spanish Riding School.  Other venues have been available to Book, before paying for Airfare and Lodging. 

 

We are a bit surprised, when people have posted that cruisers need to be Flexible.  We can't imagine being OK with going to Florence, and "The David", or the "Uffizi" is not available. Or going to Rome, and the "Vatican" or the "Colosseum", or the "Borghese Museum" not being available. But being told that we still need to book the time to Florence and Rome anyway. 

 

We are realizing that we need to view a Cruise differently than non-cruise trips.

 

We are just trying to figure out how to adjust to the differences. 

 

Thank you all for the details. 

 

[oaktreerb]

Since the train travel is important to you I suggest that you look at D6L which is a Direct to Denali train ride with two nights in Denali. You need two nights in Denali to give you one full day in the park so that you can enjoy the Tundra Wilderness tour into the park.  D8 and D9 don’t give you the TWT (not enough time).  

 

Once you are booked you need to book your excursion for the White Pass train in Skagway.  You may have a choice of train round trip or bus and train combo.  You may also have a Lake Bennett addition which is a longer train ride and an amazingly beautiful experience.  You will need your passport to go into Canada.

 

If  this is your first cruise you should probably get an experienced Travel Advisor to help with the planning.  It doesn’t cost any more to use a TA.  Just insist on the HAL cruise tour that you have chosen.

 

Take as many days as you can for your trip so you can enjoy Alaska.  The train ride to Denali is narrated.  The train is very nice and has a dining car which has great food at reasonable prices.

 

 

[oaktreerb]

The reason you have to be flexible with a cruise is that conditions can change, landslides happened in and around Skagway this year.

 

 The captain of the ship is responsible for the safety of the passengers.  HAL Captains are very experienced in the Alaska waters.  Sometimes the ship could be delayed or rerouted by a medical emergency.  You may not be able to get into a glacier viewing area because Seals are pupping on the ice or there is danger of huge ice chunks in the water.   Glacier Bay is the most dependable glacier viewing area and is a national park.  

 

The odds are that your itinerary will happen as planned.  Book your excursions early.  You can always change your mind and cancel but once the excursion sells out you will be put on a waiting list and you will be hoping someone cancels so you can take their place!

 

 

[RetiredTravelered]

Hi all, We really appreciate all of the responses. At some point, per the admin, we realize that we need to take this to a more specific thread. (Alaska Excursions, HAL specific, etc.). If we might continue, since we have a few people listening and responding, we have an additional question.

 

We can follow the HAL Cruise (D5C, and D6C) up to the point of "Whittier" when the actual Cruise ends. After that, we are a bit lost, with the different possibilities.  

 

Up until Day-8, it seems so straight forward. We are either on a Cruise All-Day, or, we stop in a Port and have Excursion options.

 

Starting at Day-8, we leave the ship at Whittier. 

 

It is confusing. Do we go directly from Whittier to Denali?

Or, do we go from Whittier to Anchorage, then the Denali and back to Anchorage?  

 

There are Excursions at Whittier, but each of them have "Conditions", and we are not clear on all the nuances. Numbers "1" or  "2" may be of interest to us. 

 

If our D5 or D6 ends in Whittier, and if we will be going to Denali, are these available to us, or not available?  (It is probably crystal clear to those of you who cruise a lot, and know Alaska, but it is not clear to us).

 

(1) Portage Glacier Scenic Cruise & Drive 

Conditions: "This tour is available only to guests whose cruise ends in Whittier with an overnight stay in Anchorage or to guests transferring to the airport with flights departing after 4pm. Cruisetour guests who will spend the first night of their land package in Anchorage can participate in this tour. The tour ends at Anchorage Airport at 2pm and at the downtown hospitality center at 2:30pm. 

 

(2) 26 Glaciers Cruise - Intransit Guests

Conditions: "This tour is available only to guests whose cruise does not begin or end in Whittier. Northbound cruise ship routes include College Fjord, but this tour allows a closer view of the glaciers and wildlife. The boat may not be exclusive to Holland America Line guests.

 

(3) Turnagain Arm, Wildlife Conservation Center 

Conditions: "This tour is available only to guests whose cruise ends in Whittier with an overnight stay in Anchorage or to guests transferring to the airport with flights departing after 4:45pm. Cruisetour guests who will spend the first night of their land package in Anchorage can participate in this tour. The tour ends at the downtown hospitality center at 2:15pm and at Anchorage Airport at 2:45pm. If you have already purchased an airport transfer with your cruise booking, a refund for the transfer will be processed on board the ship, as this excursion automatically includes a transfer."

 

Assuming that we ARE able to go on ONE of the Excursions, we are assuming that we then board a bus (or a train) and go to Denali?  Or do we first go to Anchorage, and then to Denali?

 

Someone mentioned that they prefer to fly out of Fairbanks. How would that work within a HAL (ex: D5 or D6 Tour). 

 

Thanks

 

p.s. Looks like we need to get together with a Travel Advisor. My cousin has been one for over 35 years, so I may need to email or call her. LOL.

 

 

 

[oakridger]

1 minute ago, RetiredTravelered said:

Looks like we need to get together with a Travel Advisor.

 

You really would benefit from guidance from a good (hopefully your cousin is!) TA.  Their expertise will help and inform you so much!  

 

I am confident you will love Alaska and your cruise!

 

~Nancy

[Crew News]

Per the link in my previous post (D6C Excursions), your ship arrives at 1:00 AM.  The same day you will board the train for a 9-hour ride to Denali, departing probably by 9;00 AM, which means no excursions.  The train should arrive in Denali around supper time.  The next day will be the Tundra Wilderness Tour which lasts around 6-7 hours from my experience.  The next morning will be a 9-hour bus ride back to Anchorage that arrives at supper time.  No time for excursions.  Overnight accommodation at the Westmark hotel (owned by HAL) is included in the cruise price.  You can fly home the morning of the 25th or try one of the excursions and fly home later in the evening.  Lots of flight choices.

 

The train is nice with domed cars and a restaurant.  The bus stops every 90 minutes at rest stops and also for lunch.

 

Here is a link to my website (pre-COVID) McKinley Resort (menus, facilities, cabins, bus stops, etc) photos:  Mckinley Resort

 

Hope this clarifies the itinerary.

[Crew News]

For D5C Itinerary (D5C Itinerary), you will leave the ship around 8:00 AM for a bus ride to Anchorage, then on to Denali (reported to be around 9 hours) which means arrival around supper time.  The next day is the Tundra Wilderness Tour.

Overnight and then depart via train to Fairbanks (reported 12 hours).  Overnight or fly home around midnight.

 

HAL Train

 

MY RECOMMENDATION (I enjoyed this three times):  D2C (same as D5C with extra day in Denali (D2C).  Same bus ride to Denali (9 hours) and train ride back to Anchorage.

 

That extra day may be a flight excursion over Denali with a landing in the mountain snow.  Link to Fly Denali Photos

[RetiredTravelered]

Crew News,  Thank you for the additional information and links to DC6, DC5 and D2C. The extra day seems nice. Not sure about the small plane trips. I would do it, but not my spouse. My sister did two different small flight tours (helicopter and float plane - i think). They loved both of them. Your posts are definitely helping us with our planning. ( We need to go back through your posts, were you one that was in support of using non-cruise excursions (independent operators)?  In another thread, the majority of people support independent tours, and went so far as to say that they have never seen a passenger get left behind (due to the fault of the tour operator) and if someone is left behind - the operator would pay for cost of tour, cost to get the passenger to the next location, including lodging if needed, transportation, etc. ).  We are very familiar with booking our own tours in Europe (non cruise trips). But this is our FIRST Cruise. Lots to learn. 

[RetiredTravelered]

Two quick minor issue with this forum - that we are still trying to figure out. 

 

(1) Numerous times, we have typed out a response/reply and we hit the blue button, and it disappears - never to show up in the thread. We have started copying and pasting our text (into a document) so that we can copy back into the thread for when it goes away. 

 

(2) We frequently get "Before you can reply, you must verify your email address". 

When we see this message, we are completely unable to post anything.

 

We have done the "verified our email address" 2 - 3 times. And now, if we try again, when we are prompted, it does nothing. Does not send us an email, and, it does not let us post  

We end up exiting the webpage, and starting over again. (which sometimes leads to issue #1). 

 

We are very willing to go through the extra steps because receiving answers to questions, is far more important than the minor frustrations in the issues (#1, #2) above. 

 

Is there something that we need to do differently to avoid the issues?

 

Thanks. 

 

Edited Tuesday at 04:25 PM by RetiredTravelered

[RetiredTravelered]

Host Kat,

We thank you for the details, and the links regarding approved posting process. 

[Host Kat]

1 hour ago, RetiredTravelered said:

Two quick minor issue with this forum - that we are still trying to figure out. 

 

(1) Numerous times, we have typed out a response/reply and we hit the blue button, and it disappears - never to show up in the thread. We have started copying and pasting our text (into a document) so that we can copy back into the thread for when it goes away. 

 

(2) We frequently get "Before you can reply, you must verify your email address". 

When we see this message, we are completely unable to post anything.

 

We have done the "verified our email address" 2 - 3 times. And now, if we try again, when we are prompted, it does nothing. Does not send us an email, and, it does not let us post  

We end up exiting the webpage, and starting over again. (which sometimes leads to issue #1). 

 

We are very willing to go through the extra steps because receiving answers to questions, is far more important than the minor frustrations in the issues (#1, #2) above. 

 

Is there something that we need to do differently to avoid the issues?

 

Thanks. 

 

Hello again @RetiredTravelered

 

As I mentioned before, when having problems with the Cruise Critic software, click here Need Help Using the Forums? Check Here! to go to the correct forum.

 

To help you out, I used the Search feature on that forum for you & found a thread that should be helpful. Click here: already postin but still getting..... Before you can reply, you must verify your email address

And when sending your email as requested, be sure to include important information such as your type of device (PC, laptop, tablet, or iPhone etc.) and browser.

 

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Also, this one regarding cookies: Login & Navigating to Roll Call Issues? Clearing your Cruise Critic boards cookie should help!

 

I sincerely hope this will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, RetiredTravelered said:

Crew News,  Thank you for the additional information and links to DC6, DC5 and D2C. The extra day seems nice. Not sure about the small plane trips. I would do it, but not my spouse. My sister did two different small flight tours (helicopter and float plane - i think). They loved both of them. Your posts are definitely helping us with our planning. ( We need to go back through your posts, were you one that was in support of using non-cruise excursions (independent operators)?  In another thread, the majority of people support independent tours, and went so far as to say that they have never seen a passenger get left behind (due to the fault of the tour operator) and if someone is left behind - the operator would pay for cost of tour, cost to get the passenger to the next location, including lodging if needed, transportation, etc. ).  We are very familiar with booking our own tours in Europe (non cruise trips). But this is our FIRST Cruise. Lots to learn. 

The use of independent excursion operators is a personal choice so I can only address my experiences

 

Most of my excursions are with HAL.  Money spent on HAL excursions accumulate Mariner Society loyalty points that lead to onboard spending discounts.  In addition, I treat the few extra dollars as an insurance policy.

 

Pre-COVID, a fog rolled into Juneau and trapped 43 people on flight-related excursions.  Since Alaska tides dictate when a ship can leave most of the ports, ships had to leave without all of their passengers.  The 34 HAL-excursion passengers were flown to their next stop on a chartered plane or a chartered Allen Marine boat that met my ship in Glacier Bay.  Many of those passenger shared their story of how well HAL took care of them to include those who spent the night in an emergency shelter atop Mendenhall Glacier.  Nobody knew how the private operators supported the other nine stranded passengers.

 

At one of my Meet & Greets, I met a passenger who injured her back on a HAL excursion.  All of her medical expenses, as well as two years of rehabilitation, were covered by HAL without any paperwork hassles.

 

For your first cruise, treat it as a sampler to see what is available.  Gather as much knowledge as possible both before and during the cruise so you will be better prepared for booking another.

[RetiredTravelered]

Crew News,  We appreciate hearing both sides of the issues.  Food for thought. More data points to consider, before making a decision. 

 

We feel selfish, asking so many questions. But here's one more. 

 

As you know, this is our first cruise, and to Alaska. When looking at HAL cruises, and rooms, there are (obviously) choices. And the choices are (surely) personal preference.

 

Permit me to ask: On an Alaskan Cruise (and this may apply to all cruises, Europe, Hawaii, etc.). How important is it to get a Veranda/Balcony Room - vs- Sea View (if unobstructed).

 

 

When doing  a few Europe Trips (non-cruises), we rarely spent time in our room. We were out early in the morning, eating, walking, doing different activities, tours, etc.  With Alaska, there will be days in Port, where we will be off the ship. But there will be "Cruise Only" days.

 

We are trying to figure out how much we would appreciate having the Balcony, and how much we might miss it - if we did not have it.  (We almost did a Viking River Cruise, and if my memory is correct, you could get a FULL LENGTH window - without upgrading to a outdoor Balcony. It does not seem to be the case with HAL. So far, per our looking a photos and videos, either Full Length is a Veranda. Or, "Ocean View", it is a fairly SMALL window (not floor to ceiling). 

 

What are YOUR thoughts?

 

 

 

 

[Crew News]

3 minutes ago, RetiredTravelered said:

Crew News,  We appreciate hearing both sides of the issues.  Food for thought. More data points to consider, before making a decision. 

 

We feel selfish, asking so many questions. But here's one more. 

 

As you know, this is our first cruise, and to Alaska. When looking at HAL cruises, and rooms, there are (obviously) choices. And the choices are (surely) personal preference.

 

Permit me to ask: On an Alaskan Cruise (and this may apply to all cruises, Europe, Hawaii, etc.). How important is it to get a Veranda/Balcony Room - vs- Sea View (if unobstructed).

 

 

When doing  a few Europe Trips (non-cruises), we rarely spent time in our room. We were out early in the morning, eating, walking, doing different activities, tours, etc.  With Alaska, there will be days in Port, where we will be off the ship. But there will be "Cruise Only" days.

 

We are trying to figure out how much we would appreciate having the Balcony, and how much we might miss it - if we did not have it.  (We almost did a Viking River Cruise, and if my memory is correct, you could get a FULL LENGTH window - without upgrading to a outdoor Balcony. It does not seem to be the case with HAL. So far, per our looking a photos and videos, either Full Length is a Veranda. Or, "Ocean View", it is a fairly SMALL window (not floor to ceiling). 

 

What are YOUR thoughts?

 

As a hobby photographer, i do my best to book only aft-facing verandah staterooms, especially for Alaska.  With never-ending scenery, a verandah is a big plus and you can dash outside in your pajamas to get a photo.  From a verandah stateroom on the side of the ship, you can only see the scenery on one side which means you must get dressed and go to a public area to see what is on the other side of the ship. 

 

An aft-facing stateroom allows views of the scenery on both sides of the ship in your pajamas, no wind to keep you from enjoying your balcony while the ship is moving, a short elevator ride down to the dining room, a short elevator ride up to the buffet, and hot room service food since the kitchen is a short elevator ride up.

[Alberta Quilter]

@RetiredTravelered a verandah is not necessary in Alaska. You will want to go all over the ship to find different viewing points on sea days.  Having a verandah is lovely but if budget is a concern, go for an inside or outside view cabin and use it for sleeping and bathing.  And use the money saved on the cabin for excursions.