Alaskan Cruise

[Raysplus1]

My wife was talking to a DVC rep at Disney Studios this past week and she informed us about DVC having a plan with Holland Cruise Lines for an Alaskan Cruise.

We were not aware of this and I like to know if anyone on these boards has any information on this. I plan on calling MS and finding out if this is true and what the points would be for this.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[trishy]

It's part of the Adventurer Collection.

Holland America (2003 points)
Alaska Cruises (incl. 7 night Alaska Explorer Cruise; 7 night Glacier Bay Inside passage cruise; 7 night Glacier Discovery Cruise)

Outside Stateroom - 211 points 1st/2nd pass.
70 points 3rd/4th pass.
40 points child 2-18,
25 points child 1 and under

 

[RobDoc]

DVC offers Holland American cruises through the Adventurer Collection. There is a Glacier Bay Inside Passage Cruise and a Glacier Discovery Cruise via Glacier Bay offered. Both are 7 day cruises. I think the point cost is 211 for the 1st two in the stateroom (based on double occupancy).

More information is available on the Member's site and in the Member's Guidebook.

Enjoy!

 

[goofyfamily41]

We have a family of four. Is it possible to pay 1 adult and one child with points and one adult and one child with cash?

 

[trishy]

This topic was discussed recently. It may help you to get other points of view and experiences. Not sure if Holland America is different in any way regarding using points vs. cash - don't see why they would be.

Points/Cash for Cruise Thread

For our upcoming cruise aboard the Magic we paid for 2 adults points and cash for kids. Also, there is a $75 nonrefundable transaction fee.

 

[Dean]

You must pay one adult by points then the contract price for the rest. It may be cheaper to pay all cash with discounts, I'd check. All points must be in one contract.

 

[Mary Ellen]

We've sailed on HAL to Alaska 4 times now. Can you guess that we're VERY happy with them? We always pay cash, not points. Check with your TA as discounts are available.

 

[WDWguru]

We traded points and are going next month - our second time to Alaska on HAL, but first time through DVC. I answered several questions in a thread not too long ago that might help:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=330252

 

[BVC4us]

WDWGuru, we are sailing on Holland America in July on the inside passage. It will be our first time to alaska and first cruise. What ship did you cruise on? Was it nice?

 

[WDWguru]

Our last cruise was about six years ago on the Ryndam and loved it! I actually won the trip through a donation program at my office, so we didn't get to pick out anything specifically. It wasn't ideal (we had a lower cabin and rough seas the first few days, and were on the last cruise of the season in late September) but we just loved Alaska, and hey - it was free! HAL is nice, a bit upscale but not too stuffy. It is a bit of an older crowd, but we didn't mind that at all.

This trip we're on the Maasdam leaving on July 24th out of Vancouver. We used points, then paid extra to upgrade to a veranda cabin and hope to see more wildlife this time of year. Can't wait!

 

[DisnutDave]

DW and I went on an Alaskan cruise last year, late summer. Went on Celebrity Cruise lines, not Holland. Had a fabulous time, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking. Service and food were top notch, and we hear HAL is close to it.

One thing though- I am 41 years old, DW is 38. On Celebrity, we were among the younger crowd there. Not the youngest; there were some younger couples, singles and families. But the majority of the crowd was older than this- in may cases much older. We shared some ports with HAL, and to us it appeared that their crowd was even older. I'm talking large groups of walkers and wheelchairs. I'm not trying to be an "age-ist" here, but that's what we observed.

We've always enjoyed the company of older people (DW worked in the retirement industry for a while) so for us this is not a problem. But for an Alaskan cruise, be prepared to see far fewer young people and kids than you would on a Caribbean cruise. At least until DCL decides to launch something up there!

 

[Mary Ellen]

Originally posted by DisnutDave
DW and I went on an Alaskan cruise last year, late summer.
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We shared some ports with HAL, and to us it appeared that their crowd was even older. I'm talking large groups of walkers and wheelchairs.
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But for an Alaskan cruise, be prepared to see far fewer young people and kids than you would on a Caribbean cruise. At least until DCL decides to launch something up there!

Yes, in late summer on any line, when schools start (some parts of the county areas start early as early/mid August) and the prices go down - the ages of the passengers go UP.

Yes, as HAL does tend to draw and older group, but we've been on HAL will more strollers than wheelchairs/ walkers. It all depends on the luck of the draw. It also depends on the HAL ship, some have more handicap cabins than others.

Alaskan cruises are very popular among families, but face it, NO one is going to draw young families like DCL.

We've been sailing on HAL for over 20 years, since I was 26. We've never had a 'problem' with the ages of the other passengers.


For BVC4us, and anyone else considering using their points on an Alaskan cruise:
Of HAL's current ships, we've been on the Maasdam, Veendam, Amsterdam and Zaandam. They are all similar and very nice. The Amsterdam, Veendam and Zaandam do have a very slight edge over the other - at least to us (we like the addition of the center elevators/stairs on the Zaandam and our best food was on the Veendam), but I would sail on any of them in a heartbeat (except the Noordam, but she's in the Caribbean anyway).