HAL Alaskan Cruisetours

[martylup]

We are booked for a HAL Cruisetour #10 for July 30 2007 on the Zuiderdam. This begins with a 8 night HAL land tour (1 night Anchorage, 2 nights Denali, 2nights Fairbanks, 1 night Beaver Creek, 2 nights Whitehorse) followed by a 4 night Inside Passage cruise & Glaicer Bay National Park.

 

Has anyone had any experiences with this cruisetour?

 

How will it work in terms of a formal night for dinner? Will there be one?

 

How about any recommendations on excursions either on the land portion or the cruise portion(Ketchikan)? When should I book these excursions? Must I do it in advance or can we wait for the cruise itself?

 

It's our first exp with HAL & Alaska and only our second cruise (Celebrity from NYC to Bermuda).

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Marty

[jtl513]

Welcome to HAL and the HAL board! :D

 

How will it work in terms of a formal night for dinner? Will there be one?

I haven't done a Cruise Tour yet either (ours is in Sep) but since you are joining the Zuiderdam at the midpoint of a r/t cruise I suspect that you wil catch the second formal night.

When should I book these excursions? Must I do it in advance or can we wait for the cruise itself?

I usually look over the offerings, and if there are any that I really want that are marked "limited capacity" I book those ASAP. For the others I will often wait until I am on the ship. In your case it would be particularly expedient to book the "must do"s in advance, since most of your shipmates will have had a 3 day head start to book them on board.

[agabbymama]

I'm going the opposite direction in August on Yukon Wilderness cruisetour #1. We board in Vancouver and have 3 days on the ship and 8 days on land. I wanted to book excursions right away, so you don't have to worry about getting what you want to do, or standing in the long line that may be on the ship. Plus they are already paid for and you don't have to worry about having money for them on the ship.

 

On our New England/Canada cruise, the line went out the door of the excursion office and wound it's way around the lobby. I was sure glad I hadn't waited until on-board to book the excursions I wanted.

 

I agree for a 4 day cruise, probably only 1 formal night.

 

You will love HAL and Alaska! Have a great cruise.

[mariella225]

I am going on the Zuiderdam cruise tour #10 in August with my daughter.

I have booked all our shore excursions by going onto the Internet.

I would recommend booking the ones you want now so you aren't disappointed.

Remember Alaska is very popular and the excursions could fill up before you board the ship!

Just my opinion after many cruises!

Enjoy your cruise and post all about it.

[plantlady095]

We are booked on Cruisetour #6 (Zaandam southbound after the land) beginning May 30 in Anchorage. We return home about June 14. I should be able to give you some info after the trip. We booked our excursions back in February. We figured that we could always cancel or change them if we had a change of heart. We are still thrilled with our choices, so I doubt that there will be any changes. Plus, the credit card bill has already been paid! Hurray! Stay in touch for more info after our trip!