Alaska 2016 YouTube video we made

Hi All!

We just completed our second ever YouTube video about our May 24-June 6, 2016 Alaska cruise on Holland America's Maasdam. We had an amazing time and loved everything about this trip. It was ALL good.

Hope you enjoy it and it gets you excited for your own cruise :D

Excellent video, love the music. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you for sharing. August 29th can't come fast enough.

Great job on your video! Thanks for sharing. Brought back a lot of wonderful memories.

Thanks for sharing. I'm getting more and more excited about our cruise in two months on the Amsterdam. It's a different itinerary, but should be fun.

Loved it for more than you will ever know:)

Loved being able to see my Aleutian Ballad (Favorite Excursion and friends with owners.)

LOVED reliving the Eagles from the Aleutian Ballads' deck.

Loved seeing that Hubbard Glacier does not seem to have changed since our 1 and only time there in May 2008:)

OH Heck, I just loved seeing it through your eyes, or should I say your Go Pro's eyes:)

Joanie

Thank you for sharing your wonderful Alaskan cruise with us.

Enjoyed it very much.

Awesome!! This is the same itinerary I'll be on next May, so totally loved your "preview".

Great video!

Loved it for more than you will ever know:)

 

Loved being able to see my Aleutian Ballad (Favorite Excursion and friends with owners.)

 

LOVED reliving the Eagles from the Aleutian Ballads' deck.

 

Loved seeing that Hubbard Glacier does not seem to have changed since our 1 and only time there in May 2008:)

 

OH Heck, I just loved seeing it through your eyes, or should I say your Go Pro's eyes:)

 

Joanie

THANK YOU SO MUCH....WAS VERY NICE TO HEAR AND READ HOW MUCH YOU LIKED IT. Hoping others appreciate it too and it gives everyone that feel good feeling of going on a CRUISE !! Thanks again to all that commented and watched the video.

Glad you guys are enjoying the movie......

Great Video and thanks for posting.

How did you guys like the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour? We have that booked for our upcoming cruise on the Maasdam in August. I am really looking forward to seeing the feeding of the eagles.

Great video Charlene and the Maasdam looked wonderful!

I especially like the Eagles!

Nicely done. Can never get enough of being on a cruise.... anyone's cruise! :)

Great Video and thanks for posting.

 

How did you guys like the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour? We have that booked for our upcoming cruise on the Maasdam in August. I am really looking forward to seeing the feeding of the eagles.

It was great! The crew LOVE their job and love explaining how they do it. Was really cool seeing the eagles....so many of them. I had posted a review in another area of our vacation but think I will add it here.

Thanks again for enjoying it!

Just returned from our 14 day Alaska May 23-June 6th, 2016 cruise on the Maasdam.

Started out PERFECT with our pre-arranged transportation with AJ and SEATAC Towncar Services (206) 697-5577. We used him three times this trip and he was always on time and with a smile on his face in a great and safe vehicle. Highly recommend them. Be sure to tell them Charlene says HI !

LOVE LOVE LOVED the Maasdam and all it had to offer. We took along with us our well seasoned cruise travelers, brother and sister-in-law of MANY cruises and they were very impressed with the ship and all it had to offer as well.

Embarking was super easy from Seattle and because the ship is a smaller ship we never really encountered many lines or long wait times for anything. We arrived at the port around 10:45-11:00 and on the ship for lunch 11:30-11:45. Many people on the ship had mobility issues and used walkers etc and got around just fine. Navigating the ship was pretty easy as well. Deck 6-Promenade outdoor walk-around is a place you will be able to walk off some of the delicious food as far as exercise.

The shows were great, the food delicious and varied, everything was terrific! For this cruise they offer Alaskan Beers that are wonderful and average $6 a beer. Lots of wine options as well.

We met so many great crew members that after 14 days, a few, felt like they were family. They sincerely enjoyed their jobs and us, their guests. The food in the Lido deck is dished out by crew members helping speed up the process and also less chance of cooties from all of us. If you need help getting your food back to the table they will help you there also.

The weather was great and the seas calm for MOST of the time. We had a couple days of stormy seas. The weather in most ports was between 55-65 degrees but hit in the 80's in Victoria where it was actually HOT. We got rain in Kodiak all day and some in Anchorage so our water proof jackets and umbrellas came in handy. I DO recommend some type of hat or beanie and some gloves to have in your day pack as well.

Most all of our excursions were amazing but for some reason the couple we booked with HA were either a little late getting started or had some small issues. We highly enjoyed the Glacier Winds Charters for whale watching in Icy Strait but feel you would also do well in Juneau as well. We rented a standard SUV from Avis in Anchorage for $50 for the day and went on our own (4 of us) to Byron Glacier which we walked to in the rain, and loved it, went to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center for $12.50 adults or $9.00 senior and loved it. We also stopped at the Aleyski Ski Lodge in Girdwood and took the tram to the top that was beautiful!! It was a very easy and smooth ride up to the top. They offer a $32 lift/lunch ticket and get $20 food credit per person in the Bore Tide Deli in the top that had great sandwiches, basket of fries that feed four adults and drinks. Snow at the top. In Ketchikan we went on the Bering Sea Crab Excursion which is a bit pricey but really a great experience and put on by guys that love their profession....we enjoyed it a lot. I always like promoting in Sitka that it is an easy place to go around on your own and can get to the Fortress of the Bears for transportation for $10 pp and entry $10 pp for the non-profit. Sitka is now a pier port and they complimentary bus you downtown, 15 minutes away, to the old pier in town and the hub of all excursions. (I miss the old tender port) In Victoria we really enjoyed the Victoria Butterfly Gardens and Butchart Gardens that we took thru Hal. We used Memory Makers in Kodiak but it was a very rainy day and so we did not get to enjoy much of the pre-planned excursion. Rented bikes in Homer and tired my ass out :-) but stopped at a few pubs and enjoyed the Homer Brewing Company and their tasty brews.

On cruising the beautiful Fjords and glaciers they open the front bow of the ship for you to enjoy being outdoors for many photo ops. We saw quite a bit of calving as well. It was PERFECT.

Hope this helps the rest of you planning your cruise...It really is so beautiful. Feel free to ask me questions and I hope I see them :-)

:mad: Tried to add a photo....cant figure it out

Thanks for your review and sharing the link to your video?

I noted that you are wearing life jackets, was that for the passenger safety drill?

(We were instructed not to wear them to the safety briefing when we were on Noordam last year.)

Great video.

Thanks for sharing.

Glad you had a good cruise.

Thanks for your review and sharing the link to your video?

I noted that you are wearing life jackets, was that for the passenger safety drill?

(We were instructed not to wear them to the safety briefing when we were on Noordam last year.)

No...it was just for our own amusement. Every time we go somewhere we try to "stage" a funny picture and that happened to be the one for this past cruise. Had never heard of Emergency Beer.....so had to go around that theme. Enjoy your cruise and glad you liked the video :)

No...it was just for our own amusement. Every time we go somewhere we try to "stage" a funny picture and that happened to be the one for this past cruise. Had never heard of Emergency Beer.....so had to go around that theme. Enjoy your cruise and glad you liked the video :)

Thank you for your reply.

I thought maybe HAL had changed their policy.

Charlene I have a question about Anchorage. Where do we dock there and how do we get into town? Someone told me you have to take a train. Is that true? I saw that someone said they rented a car. How difficult is that? TIA

I have a question about Anchorage. Where do we dock there and how do we get into town?

On the 2-week cruise, where the ship actually goes all the way up to Anchorage, it docks on the outskirts of downtown, not far from the air base. There's a shuttle to take you into downtown---maybe a 10-minute ride? It used to drop people off at the Egan Center; last time I was there it dropped people off at the Visitors' Center, right around the corner.

You can rent a car in downtown, or head off on your feet to see some of the tourist attractions close by.

Great, thanks RuthC. My friends who have only gone one way apparently didn't get all the way into town.

Great, thanks RuthC. My friends who have only gone one way apparently didn't get all the way into town.

HAL one-way cruises disembark in Seward, several hours down on the end of the Kenai Peninsula. Other lines go to Whittier, also down the peninsula. The HAL 2-wkke round-trip goes all the way up Cook Inlet to the city.