Greetings from a cloudy Lynnwood, Washington:
I’m back in Seattle after many weeks of shuttling back and forth to San Diego and Fort Lauderdale every weekend! Last Friday, I flew to San Diego and met the group after their one-week Mexican Riviera cruise aboard the ms Oosterdam. I got most of the group loaded onto buses to the airport, but 68 members of the group extended their vacation with our two-night San Diego package. After I got the group to the airport on Monday, I flew to Fort Lauderdale, arriving late Monday night. Then, on Tuesday morning, the big group flew in for their Christmas and New Year Panama Canal cruise aboard the Emerald Princess. I was at the airport all day from noon to midnight, meeting our arriving groups. The next day, after our big buffet breakfast at the hotel, we started transferring everyone to Port Everglades, where they boarded the ship.
We have other groups still traveling all over the world. A few days ago, our group returned from their Holiday Markets river cruise from Cologne to Basel on Uniworld’s ss Antoinette. Then, two days later, our group returned from their Basel to Amsterdam river cruise aboard the Avalon Vista. Also, two days ago, our group returned from San Juan, Puerto Rico after their Caribbean cruise aboard the Seabourn Sojourn. No wonder we’ve been so busy!
ALASKA, ALASKA, ALASKA. Okay, here is the e-mail that dozens of you have been asking about for the last few weeks. Over the years, we have become famous for our Alaska cruise tours. We take the basic cruise tour that Holland America offers and add a ton of extras. Normally, on these cruise tours, you end up spending so much money on shore excursions, extra tours, and meals on the land portion. We have included many of these things from the beginning to get you an incredible value.
This is my favorite Alaska cruise/tour. In addition to the full seven-day cruise, you get 6 nights in some of the top interior destinations in Alaska. With this tour, you get some time in Seward, including an overnight in Seward, you get a tour of the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, an overnight stay in Anchorage, with a city tour, the rail journey on the McKinley Explorer Rail Cars, a two-night stay at the McKinley Chalet in Denali, the full-day tour in Denali National Park (last season we saw a record amount of wildlife including bears, moose, wolves, and much more), the trip to Fairbanks, the half-day Discovery River Cruise, the gold dredge tour and more……and all at a fairly leisurely pace.
This year’s tour includes everything that last year’s tours included……all of the shore excursions in each of the ports of call during the cruise, 8 meals on the land tour, and more. Also, last year we offered, as an option, the Kenai Fjords Glacier and Wildlife tour for the day in Seward. It was a huge hit. We got to see a glacier up-close and saw a lot of land and marine wildlife. This tour normally sells for $189 extra per person. This year, we have INCLUDED this tour as well, for everyone. This package is fantastic and is the best value you will find for an Alaska cruise tour.
Join one of our four groups…..in the PEAK SEASON…..either from
May 24
th
- June 6
th
, July 5
th
- July 18, August 2
nd
- August 15
th
or August 30
th
- September 12
th
,
for an adventure of a lifetime! All four of these departures are escorted and feature a special
Travel With Alan
cocktail party onboard.
Your tour will begin with a motor-coach transfer from the Seattle area to the Canada Place Pier in Vancouver. Upon your arrival at the pier, you will board Holland America Line’s ms Noordam. You will then begin your seven-day cruise up the Inside Passage. You will visit three ports of call during your cruise; Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway.
We have included a Travel With Alan shore excursion in each of these ports of call!
In Ketchikan, you will have a city tour and a visit to Potlach Park, a native totem park. In Juneau, you will have a city and Mendenhall Glacier tour, including a tour of Alaska’s capitol city, the sister city of Douglas, the Macauley Salmon Hatchery, and a visit to Mendenhall Glacier with admission to the Visitors’ Center. In Skagway, we have included a tour of the city, the Gold Rush Cemetery, and a scenic drive to the summit of White Pass. Your cruise will also include a day of scenic cruising in Glacier Bay National Park. On this day, you will remain on the ship and rangers from the U.S. Park Service will come aboard the ship to give commentary throughout the day.
Your cruise will end one week later in the town of Seward, Alaska. After leaving the ship, you will be transferred to your Kenai Fjords Glacier and Wildlife cruise. This could be one of the top highlights of your tour. You will have a one-night stay at a hotel in Seward with a big “Welcome Dinner”. The next day, after a buffet breakfast at the hotel, you will have a guided transfer from Seward into Anchorage, where you will also have a one-night hotel stay. Along the way, you will stop for a visit, including admission, at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (a Travel With Alan extra). When you arrive in Anchorage, you will have an Anchorage city tour before you check-in at your hotel. You will then have the rest of the day to explore Alaska’s largest city from your prime Downtown location.
The next morning, you will board your special McKinley Explorer Rail Car. These specially commissioned double-decker train cars will take you on an all-day journey from Anchorage to Denali National Park. All of the seating will be Vista Dome seating on the upper level. Each car will have its own conductor to provide narration throughout the journey. During the trip, our group will be treated to a white-linen lunch in the diner car. Upon your the best-run tourist attractions that I have seen anywhere in the world. In fact, they have been voted North America’s best tourist attraction! This three-hour journey will take you through the heart of Alaska. You will see a bush pilot taking off and landing right next to the boat, sled arrival at Denali National Park, you will be transferred to your hotel for a two-night stay. You will have one dinner included in Denali as well as the hotel’s breakfast buffet each day (a Travel With Alan exclusive, like all of the meals on the land program). The next day you will have the full-day Tundra Wilderness Tour inside the National Park. I have done this tour many times and each time it is COMPLETELY different…you never know what you will see and what wildlife, from bear to moose, are waiting to meet you! The next day, after a free morning to enjoy the park, you will transfer north to Fairbanks. You will have a two-night stay in Fairbanks. On your arrival night, dinner is included at the hotel. The next day, you will have a full-day tour in Fairbanks. You will have the complete tour through Gold Dredge #8, with a “Miner’s Lunch” included. Later, you will have a ride on a paddle-wheel river boat, The Riverboat Discovery. The adventure is one of the best-run tourist attractions that I have seen anywhere in the world. In fact, they have been voted North America’s best tourist attraction! This three-hour journey will take you through the heart of Alaska. You will see a bush pilot taking off and landing right next to the boat, sled dogs training, and even a visit to a Native Village. The next day, you will have some free time in Fairbanks before your transfer to the airport for your flight home.
As usual, the best part about this tour is the price…. just $2499 per person, based on double occupancy. Government taxes, fees, and port expenses of $317.93 per person are additional. This price includes the transfer from Seattle to Vancouver, the 7-night cruise aboard the Noordam, a shore excursion in each port of call, the six-night land program with first-class hotels, and all of the meals and tours that I mentioned.
On these Alaska cruise/tours, usually there is no air included.
However, for our tours, we have included air at the end of the tour, from Fairbanks to Seattle.
If you would like air to any other city, in the U.S. or Canada, we can also fly you there. Because of the length of the flight and the time zone changes, many “other city” flights will depart Fairbanks between 1:00 AM and 2:00 AM……meaning that your last night in Fairbanks will be a short night……but you will arrive home the same day. Some of the flights may be evening flights on the last day, meaning that you will arrive in your home city the morning or mid-day on the next day. The good news is that we have some really low add-ons to fly you to cities all across the U.S. and Canada. We will confirm your choice at the time of booking. Please remember that air to Seattle or Vancouver, at the beginning of the tour, is not included. If you fly into Seattle, you must book a flight that arrives the day before the tour begins, and we are negotiating a special rate at a hotel near the airport that has a shuttle that will pick you up, upon arrival. Our Travel With Alan buses will pick you up at that hotel the next morning and take you directly to the ship. You can also fly directly into Vancouver, on the day of departure, and make your own way to the pier. If you do this, we advise that you choose a flight that arrives by 12:00 noon.
We also have a great deal on the upgrades. You can upgrade to an obstructed ocean-view stateroom for $190 per person or to a full ocean-view stateroom with a private balcony for $450 per person. We also have some excellent upgrades to Signature Suites for $790 per person or all the way to a Neptune Suite for $1450 per person. This is an outstanding price for this cruise/tour but with all of the extra meals and tours, the price is unbelievable!
These tours always sell-out very quickly. A deposit of $975 per person is due at the time of booking with the final payment being due 95 days prior to departure. If you would like to go, please call us right away, to reserve your spot. It is a good idea to have a second or third date in mind, in case your first choice is sold-out.
1-855-885-9252
We are open now, until 5:30pm Pacific time. Tomorrow, for Christmas Eve, we are open from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM, and we will continue to take reservations until we are sold-out. If you are traveling with a group or family, and one person is making all of the reservations, please be sure that you have the FULL LEGAL NAME of each traveler (first, middle, and last), their date of birth, phone number, email address, and complete credit card information, so that we can complete the reservation to hold your space.
I hope you can join us for one of these very special departures.
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. From the whole team here, Carolyn, Michelle, Kendra, Maria, Joy, Naomi, Kaleigh, Debbie, Kristi, and Julie, thank you for traveling with us and best wishes for a fantastic 2020!
I’ll write to you again next week, before the new year, with even more!
Sincerely,
Alan Schiller
Group Coordinator
