Holland American Alaskan Cruise?

[Toby]

Has anyone done this particular cruise using their DVC points? How was the experience? Were the cabins comparable to the Disney Cruise Line? Would you recommend it? Also, is it a cruise of mainly adults - I have two kids - late teens and early 20's - would they be bored out of their minds on this trip??

Any answers would be appreciated!! Thanks!!

 

[CarolMN]

We took the Alaskan Cruise on Holland America in the summer of 1995. Paid cash and since I haven't cruised on the DCL, can't compare cabins. HA service/food was excellent on that cruise!

Just wanted to say that this was the trip of a lifetime for us and I'd do it again in a heartbeat! Got to experience the "land of the midnight sun". Bright sunlight at 11 p.m. is unbelievable!

We stopped at a different port almost every day. The off- ship activities are awesome. My at the time 70+ parents actually took a helicopter ride and walked on a glacier. My DD and I paddled a kayak in Sitka and saw literally thousands of bald eagles in the trees as well as a mama grizzly bear and her cubs. The icons in the Russian Orthodix Church in Sitka were something to see as well. We took a cruise in Juneau and saw dolphins and other aquatic creatures. We panned for gold. We visited a museum about the Alaskan earthquake and stood on a platform that simulated the actual earthquake - forget the Richter number. We visited an Innuit school and saw a cute play about their history and culture. Ate fresh salmon. There were also lots on on-ship activities/entertainment. Probably forgot lots more. Guess it's time to look at the pictures again. When things get too boring whee I am, I take a little vacation in my mind and "re-visit" Alaska in my mind. It makes the time go by faster, LOL!

The only port I didn't think too much of was Valdez - way too many nasty flies and biting mosquitoes and not all the much of a town.

My favorite memory is standing on the deck with my father while the ship was anchored in Glacier Bay. We watched the icebergs "calve" while eagles soared above us and the seals dived off the pieces of ice floating in the bay. It was the first time I really understood what "God's Country" truly meant.

IMHO, you and your older children will have a great time!

 

[Minybear]

I asked the same question about the HAL cruise through DVC and I thought you may want to read this also:

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

 

[Sue's Mum]

We did the Inside Passage cruise last September (paid cash). I think this is the one where DVC points can be used. We left Vancouver and sailed all the following day. We visited Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan ("Salmon Capital of the World"). Although the weather was not the best, the cruise was just perfect, (especially as I won the jackpot at bingo!). Never been on a Disney ship so am unable to compare. The stateroom we had was inside but one grade up from the lowest. There was a large (by British standards) bed, a two-seater sofa and coffee table, ample room out of the way for suitcases and the usual bathroom, not huge but adequate. We were extremely comfortable in there and it was much larger than a RCI standard stateroom for two. Our ship (Volendam) had all the usual leisure amenities and plenty of small, intimate bars and rest areas, and an internet room. The large swimming pool was both indoor and outdoor in that the ship had a retractable roof (glass effect). The evening of the day we were in Ketchikan there was a salmon-bake on board - served in the pool area, although people could take the food inside and sit in the restaurant/cafe just inside from the pool.

There is a wonderful selection of trips to suit all budgets. I would think that young people would enjoy the cruise, particularly as much of the sailing is done at night - apart from the first and last day (to and from Vancouver/Alsaka).

Lots of info on HAL ships can be obtained from their website.

Hope this helps.

Jan.

 

[WDWguru]

I already posted EXTENSIVELY on the other thread that minybear posted (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=330252), so won't add to it here except to say that we're very excited!! Just two months to go!!

 

[wdw1972]

I cruised HAL's Amsterdam to Alaska last June with my son who was 15 yrs old at that time. It was the cruise of a lifetime! Alaska is gorgeous, and HAL is our favorite line. My son has cruised Disney once, and requested all of his future cruises be back on HAL - we're doing #4 in a couple of weeks.

I did not use dvc points - notice the fine print - you'll not only tie up points you still have to pay the $75 fee PLUS port charges up to $200/person! I rented slightly more than 1/2 the points I'd need for this next HAL cruise, and had the cash to pay for it all including port charges. Last year I didn't think about dvc points - I just paid cash.

HAL ships are gorgeous, and more elegant than Disney. Without up to 1000 kids on board, HAL doesn't have to worry about kids running wild, climbing on furniture, and generally being rough on things, so they're able to have nicer things. The art is gorgeous! Service is terrific, and it's a very refined, yet not stuffy atmosphere. HAL has a kid's program - Club HAL - my son enjoyed it as a kid, as a tween, and as a teen. The big difference is there are far fewer kids, so they all get to actually know each other and aren't merely one of a huge pack of kids.

I highly recommend Alaska, and HAL is really my top choice for a cruise line regardless of destination. I wouldn't use my dvc points, though - but I would rent some to raise the cash needed to pay for the cruise. I'm sure that would take less points than booking thru member services!

 

[Minybear]

WDWguru

I still cannot wait to book HAL cruise for 2004, but DVC still hasn't released the points YET!!!!! We are considering booking for August/04 depending on the points for this. I hope they don't go up tooo much.

 

[CWD]

We are interested in an Alaskan Adventure but if we go all that way, we want to do a Land Trip also. So my question is...

Does anyone know if it is possible to use DVC points to book the cruise portion of a Holland America Land/Sea vacation?

I have looked at all of the brochures that HA offers and one of the cruises (Seward to Vancouver) is a cruise that is available as part of a Land/Sea trip, and supposedly it is possible to book this cruise with DVC points. Would HA sell you the Land/Sea trip and deduct whatever credit they give for DVC points and you pay the rest in cash? Any information on this is greatly appreciated?

CWD

 

[WDWguru]

Hey miny... glad to see you're still considering it! You definitely won't regret it. Can't wait for our July 24th sailing!! If it's any consolation, I believe points only went up slightly this year. Of course, that's no guarantee.

As for booking the land/cruise option with partial points and cash, I doubt it unless HAL offers just the land portion for purchase on its own. If not, it would be part of one big reservation on their end, one you couldn't pay for partially with a trade-out. The trade works essentially by you giving Disney your points (which they in turn convert into a cash reservation to the public) which they use to "pay" HAL for your cruise. If HAL offers the land part separately, you could then add that on directly from them, but I wouldn't bet that they do this.

You may be better off just renting your points out yourself and using the cash to book the entire package direct from HAL. We could have done this, but for the hassle it wasn't worth it for us. Being high season, we weren't going to get a major deal on the cruise anyway, and we bought enough points to be able to use them like this... so we went for it. More expensive? Maybe... but a lot easier. Or, you could do some research and book your own land tour to wind up at the port you need at the right time. There are lots of tour companies in Alaska that could help you out, no doubt.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by CWD
Does anyone know if it is possible to use DVC points to book the cruise portion of a Holland America Land/Sea vacation?

I asked this question of DVC and HAL a few years ago and the answer was no. You can book the land and sea parts separately but you cannot link them for luggage or transportation purposes. That also takes away any savings for the "package". I investigated the trip extensively but in the end it wasn't doeable for us at the time. We still have plans to do it but it will likely be 2006 or after unless our family group cruise for 2005 falls through then we'll likely go then.

At the time it was obvious that Premier and HAL were the top choices both for the land and sea portions. Premier actually seemed to edge out HAL overall for a family. I think RCCL has caught up a lot though, especially for the land portions.