| Our Trip | Pre-Cruise | Fri-Board | Sat-College Fjord | Sun-Glacier Bay | Mon-Sitka | Home |
| Tue-Juneau | Wed-Ketchikan | Thu-Inside Passage | Fri-Vancouver | Ship Tour | Panoramas | Back |
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My Portrait
Photography
My Nature Photography
This was the fifth cruise for me and my wife, the third for our daughters. The girls were eight and ten, prior cruises were on NCL and Disney. My wonderful wife is a registered nurse in an emergency room and I technology executive for a dot.com company. Both have to deal with high stress and chose this vacation to de-tox from the world. The girls grandmother also came with us which required us to have two cabins.
We selected this cruise based upon port times, weather (wanted to go someplace cool) and destination. After booking the cruise I spent the several months learning all that could be learned about the ship and excursions via various web sites and news groups. After all I am an internet nerd by trade.
We did book our air thru HAL, but did pay the $50 fee to choose the specific fights. Our first leg was from Phoenix to Seattle - departure at 7:30 AM, which meant getting up way to early. After a one hour lay over we were on are way. Departing Seattle at 11:50 AM and arriving in Anchorage at 2:30 PM which allowed time to sight see our first day. The views flying into both Seattle and Anchorage were very awe inspiring.
Just some quick ship lingo here for those how need it. Stern is the rear of the ship. Bow is the front. When facing the bow, port is the left (remember port and left have 4 letters). When facing the bow, starboard is right. Additionally when whale watching they will tell you to look at 9 o'clock. Imagine you are standing on a clock face, and 12 o'clock is the bow of the ship, then 9 o'clock will be directly to your left.
We chose to get our own hotel, as the HAL rate was many times the rate we could get. We lost our airport transfer, but the cab fair was not very much.
The photos on this site have been reduced to 40% of original size to allow them to fit on your monitor. I also used thumbnails where ever possible. The panorama files and about 2 to 4 meg in size. The deck plans are click-able for public areas.
Pre-Cruise – Historic Anchorage Hotel
In general we had a great trip. Good service, fun ports, good food and plenty to do. While the Kids program did not have any true facilities, the kids did enjoy the activities very much. There was one problem late in the cruise, but it was on the last night so it did not ruin anything.
Service for the most part was pleasant and prompt. Everyone seemed eager to provide assistance. Not once did we feel like we were being pressured or hustled to buy this or that. A perfect example of the service was in the Lido Buffet. Every time we ate there, staff were always there to carry the trays for my girls and help us find a table (most tables seat 4).
We requested a large table for dining so we could meet some other cruisers. The family we sat with ended up only dining with us one night.
Finding a deck chair was never a problem. However seating for shows was interesting as HAL had activities booked in the showroom immediately prior to the main shows.
Weather was more than perfect. Only a little rain while we were at sea and one day of sprinkles in port. We got very lucky as it does tend to rain much more. Temperatures were great, really enjoyed the 60's and low 70's.
If we were to do an Alaska cruise again, we would consider adding land or doing back to back cruises so we could spend more times seeing the wonders of Alaska. We would really like to see HAL offer a 14 day cruise that would stay 2 days in ports and maybe add another one or two. We did a lot, but Alaska has so much more to offer.
If you enjoyed this site and would like to support it, donations are welcome.
If you find a fact this is wrong, feel free to let me know, as I had multiple sources for a great deal of the information, and it often was conflicting. Most information is from my observations, and hence my perception of reality, which makes it my reality. Feel free to disagree, that is what the freedom of America is about. My great meal can be your worst dinner ever - that doesn't make either of us wrong, just different.
| Our Trip | Pre-Cruise | Fri-Board | Sat-College Fjord | Sun-Glacier Bay | Mon-Sitka | Home |
| Tue-Juneau | Wed-Ketchikan | Thu-Inside Passage | Fri-Vancouver | Ship Tour | Panoramas | Back |
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