Holland America Line cruise ships depart northbound from Canada Place located at the foot of Burrard Street in Vancouver, B.C., at 5:00 pm so all passengers must be on board by 4:00pm. From Seattle they depart from Pier #30. All passengers leaving from Seattle must be on board by 4:00pm for the 5:00pm sailing.
All Princess passengers will depart from Whittier, AK are asked to be on board by 8:00pm for the 9:00pm departure time.
A "no cash" policy is used on board all Holland America Line and Princess ships. You will be asked to sign for all purchases and services provided. At the end of your cruise, you will receive an itemized bill which you may settle with the purser's office. You may use cash, personal check, traveler's checks, American Express, Discover Card, Visa or Mastercard. Currency used aboard all ships is U.S. funds. While on land ATM's are available and credit cards are readily accepted.
Sweaters, lightweight jackets, slacks and sport shirts are fine for day wear. Comfortable walking shoes are a must (closed-toes for ladies). You might want to bring along an umbrella, light raincoat and rain hat, too. Each evening, the program for the following day will be delivered to your room, announcing that evening's suggested dress. Elegantly Casual: comfortable, but please, no T-shirts, jeans or shorts in the dining room. Informal: for ladies, dresses or blouses and slacks are suggested. For men, jackets required, ties optional. Formal: cocktail dresses or gowns for ladies and tuxedos or business suits suggested for men (jackets and ties required). We respectfully ask that our guests complement their fellow passengers by observing the dress code throughout the evening.
You may request first or second sitting, and tables for two, four, six or eight. We'll do everything we can to honor your request based on date of booking. Both Holland America Line and Princess Cruises offer anytime dining as well. If you wish to have anytime dining you will have an assigned table and may show up to dinner at anytime during the dinner service. Dining room reservations will be confirmed by the maitre d'hotel, and you'll find a confirmation card in your stateroom. Normal meal hours in the dining room are:
Breakfast: Open Seating 8:00 am
Lunch: Open Seating 12:15 pm
Dinner: First Seating 5:30 pm,
Second Seating 7:45 pm
Anytime dining: 5:30pm until 9:00 pm
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Breakfast and lunch times may vary depending on port times and activities.
Salt-free or any other special dietary meals must be requested at the time of booking. Please reconfirm when you board the ship. Holland America Line offers a special menu for children if preferred.
The Dining Room is totally smoke-free at all times.
Dry cleaning, pressing and shoe-shine services are available on board Holland America Line ships. Washers and dryers for your personal use are also available, both on land and sea. (not available on ms Oosterdam)
Cruise Ship: A gratuity of $11.00 per guest per day for dining and stateroom services will be automatically added to your stateroom account on a daily basis. We are confident that you will find the service on board exemplary and, should you wish to make adjustments, you may do so at the end of your cruise by contacting the front office. A 15% service charge will be automatically added to your bar charges and dining room wine account.
We suggest $10.00 per person for your "John Hall's Alaska" ship escort.
Motorcoach: Your tour driver and/or escort will take care of all included features of the tour. Tips for meals on your own or any other services are at your discretion. Customary tips for your tour driver and/or escort should be on a voluntary individual basis.
The best available hotels are used throughout each tour. John Hall’s Alaska reserves the right to substitute hotels of similar category. Triple rooms, when available, may contain either two beds and a rollaway, or two double beds.
Final Payment must reach John Hall's Alaska 75 days prior to tour departure date. If payment is not received on time, space may be released; re-booking will be subject to availability. Mastercard, Visa, Discover, American Express, and personal checks are acceptable forms of payment.
We offer low cost comprehensive insurance to cover trip cancellation/interruption, medical emergency services, baggage loss or delay or medical assistance while on your Alaska Cruise/Land tour.
If a cancellation is made in writing at least 75 days prior to departure, a full refund will be made. For cancellations made less than 75 days prior to departure, the following per person charges apply: 75-46 days - $450 per person, 45-16 days - 50% of fare; 15 days prior to departure, 100% of fare. In the event of interruption or cancellation of your tour after its commencement, there will be no refunds.
Tour documents, including detailed itinerary with hotel names and phone numbers, luggage tags, airline tickets, and passenger lists will be mailed approximately 14-21days prior to departure. This may be delayed if final payment is not received on time.
In consideration of all tour members, seat rotation will be practiced daily and a no-smoking policy will be enforced on the motorcoach. Frequent stops will be made every two to three hours to accommodate travelers.
When departing the U.S. for Canada , proof of citizenship is mandatory and must be carried with you. Citizenship proof now includes a passport, certified (original) birth certificate, certificate of naturalization, or certificate of citizenship. To prove identity, a traveler should have a valid driver’s license or government I.D. card if they contain a physical description and photo. A valid pass-port is still the best documentation. A passport will be required after December 31, 2006.
We suggest that you take two suitcases per person on your Cruise-Tour; one for your better dress clothing on the cruise portion, and the other for clothing on the land portion of your tour. The suitcase for the cruise portion will be left on the motorcoach until you reach your ship. We will deliver, and pick up from your room, one suitcase per person throughout the entire land portion of your tour.
Be sure to bring your camera and/or video camera as there are many great photo opportunities. We suggest you bring plenty of film and video tape with you, it may not be readily available while on tour. John Hall's Alaska motorcoaches are equipped with CD burners for those passengers who wish to burn their digital photographs onto CDs thus freeing up their camera memory for more photos! Remember your battery charger for your video camera and you may want to bring an extra battery. Binoculars are a good idea for wild life viewing.
We suggest you use a credit card for all your spending while on tour. Your CruiseTour package includes everything except gratuities for your Land and Cruise Tour Manager. Tipping is done completely at the guests discretion but a suggested tip would be $5 per person per week for the Cruise Manager and $5-$10 per day per person for your Land Tour Manager.
Other costs could come from shopping that you do or shore excursions you might want to participate in on the cruise portion of your trip.
We advise you to book activities in advance, they are all limited in space. You will receive a detailed selection of activities and shore excursions which may be booked in advance through our office.
Please contact our office for suggestions on what shore excursions will be worth the price. You can also check out our recommendations here under the shore excursions column.
With more than 500 different food items on a typical 7-day cruise you will enjoy modern Continental cuisine, regional specialties appropriate to each cruise and traditional favorites. In addition to breakfast, lunch and five course dinner meals you can enjoy afternoon tea, a stir-fry or pasta buffet, an ice cream bar, hot hor'dourves, or late night snacks at the Terrace Grill featuring hamburgers, hot dogs and a taco bar.
Breakfast lunch and dinner are included for every day of your land tour. All the meals on the ship are included. In most cases, the meals are provided in the form of a voucher enabling you to pick items from the entire menu instead of being limited to a few pre-chosen items.
Alaska is a big state and weather can vary greatly by region and season. June and July typically have highs between 60 and 70 degrees with August and September cooling down with highs from the mid 50's to mid 60's. To view weather by region click on the links in the left column under the title "Weather."
Please discuss any special needs with our staff at the time of your booking. Depending on your needs, our staff will be able to accommodate you or assist you in making arrangements.
The cruise ship is well equipped to handle most medical conditions that may arise. On the land portion of your tour there are hospitals in the major cities and medical stations in most other cities.
You will receive a full refund of your payments if you cancel your tour prior to 76 days before departure. At 76 days you will receive everything except $450.00 per person. At 45 days you will receive 50% of the tour price you have paid. If you cancel within 15 days of your tour departure you will not receive a refund.
