Procedure for Alaska B2B cruises

[ehogan]

We are taking the Volendam August 24 14 day back to back cruise.

 

Could anyone with experience with HAL's B2B cruises to Alaska tell me what the procedure is?

 

1. Will you be able to keep your cabin (we are now in a guarantee outside) and leave your bags in the cabin?

 

2. I know you have to disembark with the other passengers and go

through customs, but can you disembark at any time or is their an assigned time ( we want to arrange for a tour to the Kenai Fjords

which will go from 9 AM to 6 PM)

 

3. Do you have to return to the ship at a earlier time than the 7:30 p.m. (for the 8 PM sailing)

 

I understand from HAL that we will only have to show our HAL passenger card to return.

 

Any other things we need to be aware of?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[RedmondCruiser]

We are doing the same thing on the Zaandam in July. We have taken several B to B cruises and the cruise lines handle them very well.

They will try to assign you to the same cabin but if you end up with two different cabins then they will assist you in transferring your belongings to the new cabin.

You will get new cabin keys on the return voyage ( even if you keep the same room )

I cannot answer your question about taking a tour but the ship offers these tours, but the ship sails late out of Seward so getting back at 6 should be no problem.

[CC Help Michell]

We are taking the Volendam August 24 14 day back to back cruise.

 

Could anyone with experience with HAL's B2B cruises to Alaska tell me what the procedure is?

 

1. Will you be able to keep your cabin (we are now in a guarantee outside) and leave your bags in the cabin?

 

2. I know you have to disembark with the other passengers and go

through customs, but can you disembark at any time or is their an assigned time ( we want to arrange for a tour to the Kenai Fjords

which will go from 9 AM to 6 PM)

 

3. Do you have to return to the ship at a earlier time than the 7:30 p.m. (for the 8 PM sailing)

 

I understand from HAL that we will only have to show our HAL passenger card to return.

 

Any other things we need to be aware of?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

On the Volendam June 1-15 we did NOT have to go through customs at Seward -- we were free to leave the ship whenever we wished once they began calling for disembarking passengers, as for us it was just a port of call. We took the Northwestern Glacier trip through Kenai Fjords Tours from 9 AM to 6:00 PM (actually it was closer to 6:30) with no difficulty at all. Our "all aboard" time was 7:15 PM, which is 15 minutes earlier than normal, probably because the muster drill is at 7:45 PM. The KFT van dropped us off at the pier about 6:40 PM.

 

You had to show your passenger card AND your passport/ID to reboard the ship at Seward. That was the only port where they checked the separate photo ID, and it was done by port security, not onboard the Volendam.

 

I can't answer your question about the guarantee cabin because we had booked a certain cabin and kept it for the entire cruise -- you may have the same thing once a cabin is assigned. I think it should work that way, as HAL sold these as 14 day cruises, not 2 separate back to back cruises (even though that's how we talk about them here) -- it was marketed as one 14 day trip, so hopefully you will be assigned one cabin for the entire length of your cruise.

 

Hope that helps. The information above is from our actual experience on this ship this month, which was consistent with the letter we received in our cabin confirming the details on the last day of the northbound leg.

[kirin]

We are taking the Volendam August 24 14 day back to back cruise.

 

Could anyone with experience with HAL's B2B cruises to Alaska tell me what the procedure is?

 

1. Will you be able to keep your cabin (we are now in a guarantee outside) and leave your bags in the cabin?

 

2. I know you have to disembark with the other passengers and go

through customs, but can you disembark at any time or is their an assigned time ( we want to arrange for a tour to the Kenai Fjords

which will go from 9 AM to 6 PM)

 

3. Do you have to return to the ship at a earlier time than the 7:30 p.m. (for the 8 PM sailing)

 

I understand from HAL that we will only have to show our HAL passenger card to return.

 

Any other things we need to be aware of?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

 

1. I believe how your booking was made is the key as to whether you can keep the same cabin. I booked two legs (7 days each) as a b2b, but received only one booking number. I did not have to worry about changing cabins (as I was on "one cruise"). If you have two separate booking numbers for the individual 7 day segments, the situation may be different. I am a novice, so more experienced posters, if I am wrong, please jump in.

 

2. I did not need to disembark nor deal with customs. For the northbound route, you are already in U.S. waters and stopping at U.S. ports (i.e. Alaska), so if you are a U.S. citizen (or if you are not, but have gone through U.S. immigration upon boarding in Vancouver), there should be no reason for disembarkation and customs at just "one more U.S. port."

 

3. I'm sorry, I don't remember what time we were told to re-board.

 

Re re-boarding with Hal card only; I disembarked thinking to take the shuttle into town, however, there was a large sign on the pier saying that if you passed that security point, you would need a photo ID to come back through security later and re-board. I do not have a driver's license and my passport was on board so I re-boarded the ship without going any further.

 

The Volendam is a wonderful ship and Captain Bos is very experienced in Alaska. During the day, he often came on the PA to alert us of wildlife sightings on the shore. Aft deck is a good place to go with your binoculars and camera. (And so close to the Lido, too.)

 

Alaska is beautiful. Haines was my favorite port. An unspoiled American town, with a lot of eccentrics, especially at the Fogcutter Bar. I'm no drinker, but an hour there gave me enough material for a novel. If you should go there, check out the old blk & wh photos on the wall. A lot of history........

 

Whatever you decide to do, hope it is a wonderful cruise....

 

Kate

[ehogan]

Thank you all - the members of the cruise critic boards are always so generous with their help.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done this back-to-back cruise several times. It is great.

 

Keep in mind that breakfast will be early in Seward as many passengers will be getting off the ship early to get the trains and buses for Anchorage.

 

You can get off the ship any time you want to for your tour.

 

You will not have to go through immigration.

 

We always had to show our ships's ID and a photo ID to security in the terminal before we could reboard the ship.

[Jemima]

We are taking the Volendam August 24 14 day back to back cruise.

 

Could anyone with experience with HAL's B2B cruises to Alaska tell me what the procedure i?

 

Veendam 14 day a couple weeks ago. These Alaskan 14 days are actually sold and booked as one cruise, but the Front Desk is occasionally confused on this. By August they should have it right

 

 

1. Will you be able to keep your cabin (we are now in a guarantee outside) and leave your bags in the cabin?

 

We did and so did others with guarantees. Someone on our roll call asked ahead and was told yes. I asked front desk and was given a different answer, so most likely they didn't know.

 

2. I know you have to disembark with the other passengers and go

through customs, but can you disembark at any time or is their an assigned time ( we want to arrange for a tour to the Kenai Fjords

which will go from 9 AM to 6 PM)

 

Nope, you don't have to disembark and you don't have to go through customs. Yes, you can get leave and return to the ship as desired in Seward. When you return follow the correct sign(s) in the terminal to avoid new passenger lines.

 

3. Do you have to return to the ship at a earlier time than the 7:30 p.m. (for the 8 PM sailing)

 

All aboard is the same for all. It was 7:30 for us in Seward

 

I understand from HAL that we will only have to show our HAL passenger card to return.

 

Yes and you keep the same card all 14 days. As in any port, you could also be asked for "goernment issued photo ID".

 

Any other things we need to be aware of?

 

There is a shuttle in Seward that runs from the ship to 2 or 3 stops in town every 30 minutes.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

xxxxxxxxxx

[CruiseLiz]

eHogan - I am on your cruise!! :)

 

We have a roll call going, so come and join us here http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=780298

[mains_dream]

Hi, we are on the same cruise, same category. It will be interesting to see the rooms we end up with:rolleyes: . As CruiseLiz suggested, please join our roll call. We should all have a get together on board! This seems to be the cruise to celebrate anniversaries on.

 

By the way, thanks for asking all those questions. I was wondering about things too.

[cruznon]

We did B2B on the Ryndam last summer. The night before we reached Seward(while everyone else was packing) we recieved our new cards for the new week. When we got off in Seward, we were to check out with the old card and then use the new ones when we reboarded. Very simple and efficient. (The cards for the new week had a blue seal on them so we would not use the wrong card.)

A B2B is wonderful. (You get to do the "I Don't Have to Pack" dance the night before Seward!!!:D ) ENJOY!

[LML]

Please enjoy all that Seward has to offer! We love the B2B's here, and welcome you to our town.