We're Going On Our First Cruise......

[ekuhlman]

Thanks SO MUCH to all the wonderful people here on the Cruise Critic forum. There has been a wealth of good information, tips, and great stories that have helped us with our plans.

 

My wife and I live in Maryland... north of Baltimore and just south of the Pennsylvania state line. We, and another couple, have decided to "take the plunge" and see Alaska (at least as much as you can see in 14 days).

 

The details were left to me, so before even talking with a TA, I decided to do some internet research... and lo and behold... all of you angels appeared. Without this forum, I would have been completely blown away with the possibilities, the choices, etc. This forum helped me to make decisions that should allow us to make the trip a very enjoyable experience for all of us.

When I presented the other (3) of our foursome with the itinerary, they couldn't get over how I had come up with so much information for my decisions or all of the detail that I had documented. Little did they know that I had the expert advise of so many here on these boards.

Once we agreed on everything, we got with a TA and made the plans. We did all of this in July of 2007, and by now, everything is pretty firmed up.

 

Our trip consists of:

14 day CruiseTour from Fairbanks to Vancouver (CT #18 in HAL's book.)

We are opting to get into Fairbanks a day early before the start of our June 2nd Cruisetour.

We have booked the following excursions:

1. The McKinley flight seeing tour on our 1st Denali afternoon.

2. The White Pass Excursion at Skagway when we get to Haines.

3. The Whale watch / Mendenhall glacier / salmon bake tour at Juneau,

with enough time left to grab a beer at the Red Dog Saloon.

4. The Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer tour in Ketchikan.

 

We chose the Volendam for it's Floral theme and medium size. We are all recently retired, and don't need the glitzy atmosphere anymore.

We are booked in adjoining rooms AA-6156 & 6158, port side of the ship and in the approximate middle. I hope that being over a portion of the casino doesn't keep us up all night. The deck above us had the Lido deck over it, & I was more concerned with the noise from the Lido than the one we chose.

 

I also booked the "Vow Renewal Ceremony" for my wife and I for the second day at sea.

 

We have requested table #20 for (4) on the Upper level of the restaurant (although we know that HAL doesn't guarantee the table)

 

Thanks to all of you, I believe we are as prepared as we can be... from the finicky weather to all the sights and sounds that are open to us on this magnificent journey.

 

I have never posted here before now. I've been so busy reading all of your wonderful remarks, advice, and interesting stories that I've not had a need to. I can't think of anything that I could ask that has not been talked about here.

 

Thanks again.

Ed

[kakalina]

Congratulations and welcome to the HAL boards. You certainly sound more prepared than any first time cruiser I've ever known.

 

You have made an excellent choice for a cruiseline, ship and itinerary. Enjoy your cruise and do come back and tell us all about it when it is over.

[Seago2]

What a great vacation you have planned! Especially the vow renewal. You are going to have a wonderful time.

 

Welcome to CC.

[sassyredhat]

Wow Ed ! You have certainly done your research. Your cruise will be great. We have been to Alaska, but did not do your tours.

I want to stowaway with you. :D

 

Enjoy everything, and welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

Pat

[jhannah]

Good for you, Ed. Now the hard part ... waiting! :)

[ekuhlman]

Hi Jim,

 

Your are right, waiting is tough....

but, for me, the "Hard part" is... paying for it ! :)

 

Ed

[Cruising-along]

You will have a wonderful time, be prepared to be hooked! :D

We'd like to do an Alaska cruise tour some day too. I'll be looking forward to your impressions of your first cruise. :)

[cruzerstan]

Great job planning your trip Ed. My wife and I just returned from a So. Caribbean/Panama Canal cruise on the Volendam. We were very pleased with the ship. I don't think you will hear too much of the casino action. I was impressed with the sound insulation throughout the ship.

 

In 2005, we went on a 7 day Alaska cruise on the Westerdam during the first week of June. Weather turned out to be great- the locals were even surprised. I don't think you can go wrong by making Alaska your first cruise experience.

 

Stan

[pipedreams62]

Wow what a great job you have done ED. The perfect place and a gorgeous ship. You are going to have an incredible time on the Volendam.

 

All the best

 

J.M.

[cdkempton]

Good job! Have a wonderful cruise and congratulations on your upcoming renewal. You'll love Alaska as it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Cheers!

[MercedMike]

That is going to be a great trip. You have clearly done your research. I hope you checked out our Volendam review

http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/volendam.html

already.

 

The only suggestion I might make is that renting a car from Avis in Skagway and driving over the Pass yourself might be a viable option your group could enjoy.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[BigBearLady]

Thanks SO MUCH to all the wonderful people here on the Cruise Critic forum. There has been a wealth of good information, tips, and great stories that have helped us with our plans.

 

My wife and I live in Maryland... north of Baltimore and just south of the Pennsylvania state line. We, and another couple, have decided to "take the plunge" and see Alaska (at least as much as you can see in 14 days).

 

The details were left to me, so before even talking with a TA, I decided to do some internet research... and lo and behold... all of you angels appeared. Without this forum, I would have been completely blown away with the possibilities, the choices, etc. This forum helped me to make decisions that should allow us to make the trip a very enjoyable experience for all of us.

When I presented the other (3) of our foursome with the itinerary, they couldn't get over how I had come up with so much information for my decisions or all of the detail that I had documented. Little did they know that I had the expert advise of so many here on these boards.

Once we agreed on everything, we got with a TA and made the plans. We did all of this in July of 2007, and by now, everything is pretty firmed up.

 

Our trip consists of:

14 day CruiseTour from Fairbanks to Vancouver (CT #18 in HAL's book.)

We are opting to get into Fairbanks a day early before the start of our June 2nd Cruisetour.

We have booked the following excursions:

1. The McKinley flight seeing tour on our 1st Denali afternoon.

2. The White Pass Excursion at Skagway when we get to Haines.

3. The Whale watch / Mendenhall glacier / salmon bake tour at Juneau,

with enough time left to grab a beer at the Red Dog Saloon.

4. The Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer tour in Ketchikan.

 

We chose the Volendam for it's Floral theme and medium size. We are all recently retired, and don't need the glitzy atmosphere anymore.

We are booked in adjoining rooms AA-6156 & 6158, port side of the ship and in the approximate middle. I hope that being over a portion of the casino doesn't keep us up all night. The deck above us had the Lido deck over it, & I was more concerned with the noise from the Lido than the one we chose.

 

I also booked the "Vow Renewal Ceremony" for my wife and I for the second day at sea.

 

We have requested table #20 for (4) on the Upper level of the restaurant (although we know that HAL doesn't guarantee the table)

 

Thanks to all of you, I believe we are as prepared as we can be... from the finicky weather to all the sights and sounds that are open to us on this magnificent journey.

 

I have never posted here before now. I've been so busy reading all of your wonderful remarks, advice, and interesting stories that I've not had a need to. I can't think of anything that I could ask that has not been talked about here.

 

Thanks again.

Ed

Ed, I don't know if you will have any extra time in Ketchikan, but if you do, I would suggest taking a Duck Tour. I booked this through HAL last summer while on the Ryndam. I am going again this next Spring, again on the Ryndam. They didn't have it listed on their excurshions this time, but I found a web site for them: http://www.akduck.com/ I was able to book it directly through the tour operated. It was great. You start out on what looks like a funny bus, driving around town. Then you drive directly into the water! It's a blast! If you haven't booked ahead, but find yourself with a bit of extra time, they have a kiosk right at the pier and you can sign up at the last minute.

Have a great trip. You appear really organized (just the way I like it).:)

[RuthC]

Wow, Ed. Reading through your plans I have to say you've done very well! :) I hope the weather cooperates when you fly up Denali---it's a memory I treasure.

Please, do stick around the boards until your trip, then come back and tell all. :D

[ekuhlman]

BigBearLady,

 

Thanks so much for the information about the Duck tour.

You are correct that HAL does not list it as one of their offerred excursions.

I linked to their site and watched their video. The vehicle they use is certainly very interesting. This is definitely something that we would consider incorporating into our trip. Only problem is HAL's schedule doesn't put us in to Ketchikan until around 2 pm, and leaves at 8 pm. That only gives us enough time to do the Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer excursion... with very little time to spare.

 

There are just so many things to see and do... it has been extremely difficult choosing those things that will give us the best/most memories, as well as "the best bang for the buck".

Additionally, I've had to be careful not to over-do it. Too many activities and we will all suffer from exhaustion. We will have (3) full days on the cruise ship to just relax and enjoy the ship. But we are pretty much on the go for the rest of the 14-day trip. The "saving grace" is that none of the activities we have planned are of a strenuous nature. We have not elected for any skiing, climbing, hiking, or rafting activities. I guess we're just pretty lazy adventurers. :o

 

Ed

[Jade13]

Thanks SO MUCH to all the wonderful people here on the Cruise Critic forum. There has been a wealth of good information, tips, and great stories that have helped us with our plans.

 

My wife and I live in Maryland... north of Baltimore and just south of the Pennsylvania state line. We, and another couple, have decided to "take the plunge" and see Alaska (at least as much as you can see in 14 days).

 

The details were left to me, so before even talking with a TA, I decided to do some internet research... and lo and behold... all of you angels appeared. Without this forum, I would have been completely blown away with the possibilities, the choices, etc. This forum helped me to make decisions that should allow us to make the trip a very enjoyable experience for all of us.

When I presented the other (3) of our foursome with the itinerary, they couldn't get over how I had come up with so much information for my decisions or all of the detail that I had documented. Little did they know that I had the expert advise of so many here on these boards.

Once we agreed on everything, we got with a TA and made the plans. We did all of this in July of 2007, and by now, everything is pretty firmed up.

 

Our trip consists of:

14 day CruiseTour from Fairbanks to Vancouver (CT #18 in HAL's book.)

We are opting to get into Fairbanks a day early before the start of our June 2nd Cruisetour.

We have booked the following excursions:

1. The McKinley flight seeing tour on our 1st Denali afternoon.

2. The White Pass Excursion at Skagway when we get to Haines.

3. The Whale watch / Mendenhall glacier / salmon bake tour at Juneau,

with enough time left to grab a beer at the Red Dog Saloon.

4. The Misty Fjords & Wilderness Explorer tour in Ketchikan.

 

We chose the Volendam for it's Floral theme and medium size. We are all recently retired, and don't need the glitzy atmosphere anymore.

We are booked in adjoining rooms AA-6156 & 6158, port side of the ship and in the approximate middle. I hope that being over a portion of the casino doesn't keep us up all night. The deck above us had the Lido deck over it, & I was more concerned with the noise from the Lido than the one we chose.

 

I also booked the "Vow Renewal Ceremony" for my wife and I for the second day at sea.

 

We have requested table #20 for (4) on the Upper level of the restaurant (although we know that HAL doesn't guarantee the table)

 

Thanks to all of you, I believe we are as prepared as we can be... from the finicky weather to all the sights and sounds that are open to us on this magnificent journey.

 

I have never posted here before now. I've been so busy reading all of your wonderful remarks, advice, and interesting stories that I've not had a need to. I can't think of anything that I could ask that has not been talked about here.

 

Thanks again.

Ed

 

Great work Ed. You are really organized. When we docked in Haines we did the Eagle Float and then had the tour guide drop us off at the ferry to go to Skagway where we had lunch and then took the late train at 3:30pm. We took the 8:00pm ferry back as we knew everyone on the HAL tour was on the same ferry. Hal could not coordinate both so we did this on our own. Let me know if you want more info? We had several hours in Skagway before the train for lunch and stop into the Red Dog.

[RuthC]

We had several hours in Skagway before the train for lunch and stop into the Red Dog.

The Red Dog Saloon is in Juneau. There is a popular saloon in Skagway, but the name escapes me at the moment.

Funny, I can picture it. I could head straight for it! :rolleyes: But I can't remember the name.

[ekuhlman]

Thanks for all the great responses.

 

To Sassyredhat... I'd love to have you as our stowaway, but I doubt that my DW would think kindly of it.;)

 

To Cruzerstan... thanks for making me feel better about the noise levels. I wish that we will have weather as good as you did on your trip... but we aren't counting on it.

 

To MercedMike... thank you for the link to your great review. We'll have to consider your suggestion about the rental at Skagway.

 

I have opted to stick primarily with HAL sponsored excursions since I know that if something happens, we probably stand a better chance of getting assistance to get back to the ship. Also, the better "canned" tours are probably our best bet the first time out. If we ever have the luxury of taking a second trip like this one, I'm sure we will become more adventurous and go off on our own more.

 

Thanks again for all the wonderful wishes... and I promise a full trip report when we get back.

 

Gee... just 167 more days. :D

Ed

[ekuhlman]

Jade13,

Great work Ed. You are really organized. When we docked in Haines we did the Eagle Float and then had the tour guide drop us off at the ferry to go to Skagway where we had lunch and then took the late train at 3:30pm. We took the 8:00pm ferry back as we knew everyone on the HAL tour was on the same ferry. Hal could not coordinate both so we did this on our own. Let me know if you want more info? We had several hours in Skagway before the train for lunch and stop into the Red Dog.

 

Yes... we are doing pretty much the same thing. The tour includes the ferry ride from Haines to Skagway, the train ride, and the ferry ride back.

The ferry leaves Haines at 11 am and returns to the ship by 4:30 pm. The tour includes a "lunch" (on the train, I think). The ship then leaves the port of Haines at 9 pm.

We plan to get back on board the ship by 5:30 to eat and relax, and maybe catch a show.

 

RuthC,

The Red Dog Saloon is in Juneau. There is a popular saloon in Skagway, but the name escapes me at the moment.

Funny, I can picture it. I could head straight for it! But I can't remember the name.

 

 

You are correct, Ruth.

I believe the famous saloon in Skagway is called the "Red Onion Saloon".

Gee... wonder why everything in Alaska is "red"? :)

 

Ed

[Gsel]

Sounds like you have planned a wonderful way to experience Alaska. We went the first time thinking we could "do" it once and be satisfied. Now we have been three times and are considering going back. Your choice of a flight to McKinley is an excellent one. It is a very memorable experience. Be sure you have plenty of cameras on hand. Those pictures are some of our most treasured ones because that is something I will never get my DH to do again! He is not a good flyer, was totally fascinated by the scenery, but won't do it again. Our weather turned very bad while we were up and we had to turn back before we got all the way to the mountain. McKinley makes it's own weather, never completely predictable. The pilots that do these trips are wonderful and they will tell you this before they take off. They will not take any chances and will turn back if the weather takes a turn for the worse. I will be very interested in your impressions of the trip. Congratulations, you will love Alaska!

[Ichiban Nekko]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. You may be aware of this already, but it can become somewhat addictive.;)

 

It looks as though you have planned an amazing voyage. So many of the people here on CC are so incredibly generous with their knowledge and experience. We certainly wish we had known/had access to such a resource when we went on our first cruise.

 

As others of warned you, be prepared ... to be hooked on cruising! Our first cruise was to Alaska and, to say the least, we were smitten. Five years ago, we returned to do a 14-day CT (very similar to yours) and fell head over heels in love with Alaska. Next May, we are getting with The Program and have booked our first HAL cruise. Destination? Alaska, of course!

 

The renewal of vows you have booked sounds so incredibly romantic and the excursions you have chosen fabulous. What a wonderful way to start your retirement.:cool:

 

We look very forward to reading all about your trip. Bon voyage and best wishes! :D

[MercedMike]

...I have opted to stick primarily with HAL sponsored excursions since I know that if something happens, we probably stand a better chance of getting assistance to get back to the ship. Also, the better "canned" tours are probably our best bet the first time out. If we ever have the luxury of taking a second trip like this one, I'm sure we will become more adventurous and go off on our own more....

 

Extremely valid point! This is the experience many of us have had, that as time goes along we tend to look for the more independent excursions. Many of us have also had the experience of racing down the pier 15 minutes before the gangway is raised, due to our independent driver cutting it too close! The ship's excursions are all excellent and I know they will be great for your cruise.

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[grannynurse]

Welcome to the HAL board.

You certainly have done a great job of planning. I would suggest that you try not to micromanage too much from here on.

Much of the cruise fun is being part of an adventure so allow yourself the freedom to go with the flow.

When it gets closer to travel time though, do notify your credit card company and let them know your itinerary and that you'll be on a HAL ship. This will also help if you want to use an ATM card in port, and as you probably know by now, HAL does not have ATMs on board.

Please stay with us until cruise time, you make a welcome addition to this board.

GN

[ekuhlman]

Welcome to the HAL board.

You certainly have done a great job of planning. I would suggest that you try not to micromanage too much from here on.

Much of the cruise fun is being part of an adventure so allow yourself the freedom to go with the flow.

When it gets closer to travel time though, do notify your credit card company and let them know your itinerary and that you'll be on a HAL ship. This will also help if you want to use an ATM card in port, and as you probably know by now, HAL does not have ATMs on board.

Please stay with us until cruise time, you make a welcome addition to this board.

GN

 

Hi GN,

 

Thanks for the great advise!

One of the things our foursome has discussed is leaving enough "open" time to do whatever we feel like doing at the moment. Hopefully, we've done that. We have decided not to add any additional committments to this trip and let the rest fall where it may.

As for the credit card notification... you bet... it's already on my "before cruise" checklist!

 

Thank you for your kind words... and yes, I'll stick around for awhile.

There's still a lot to be learned.

 

Ed

[RuthC]

You are correct, Ruth.

I believe the famous saloon in Skagway is called the "Red Onion Saloon".

Gee... wonder why everything in Alaska is "red"? :)

Not all of the Alaska watering holes are "Red". There is (or was; don't know if it's still there) a little place in Homer called The Salty Dog. It's way out at the end of the sandy spit and has a gorgeous view. If you ever get a chance to get over there it's worth the side trip.

[Susannah111]

Congrats on your upcoming vow renewal. Did you see the one on Holland America's Westerdam? It looks tasteful and as if it was very meaningful to the couple.