xlxo

Once the sun sets, nothing can be seen out the window anyway fyi... there's sunlight in Alaska past 9pm at this time of the year. That's later than the 9pm MDR service ending. Sunsets are very slow in Alaska where twilight can last over an hour.

Less visible on this shorten Alaskan sampler 5 day itinerary post, Holland America's strengths are: longest experience in sailing in Alaska => 75 years most itineraries that include Glacier Bay => two ships are allowed each day and Holland America offers the most visits. largest mid-sized ship fleet to visit ports that don't accept large ships easily => many large Seattle ships can't enter/exit Vancouver without low tide. Discovery and Majestic Princess cannot sail the South inside passage and must detour to the Graveyard of the Pacific. Large ships are abandoning Skagway this season until the large dock/rock is repaired. Not all ships can sail to Anchorage directly. weekend departures and prime docking locations. => look at this Juneau docking calendar. The AJ or AJD dock is considered the worst Juneau dock to be getting in and out of Juneau as it requires a shuttle to travel a mile. Can you find any Holland America ships assigned to that dock and how frequently? Denali experience with private resort and luxury rail cars that offers ship to Denali. Only Princess and Holland America has these resorts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLJEnUZFhRI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lO66ipz4JI Exclusive access to the Yukon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWpxpNIxaRA

Vancouver Embarkation would be a big yes to the workforce shortage. There's discussion that May 1st was not the only day with issues. In addition to staff at the end of the lines, they need to have staff at the beginning of the lines to ensure people are in the right lines. This was done at most lines, except for the elevator to P2 luggage drop. where was the longest wait? HAL check-in? My first thought it's HAL's fault for not putting enough staff at the check-in area. Was there empty space at that convention hall to make it bigger for more staff to process? Then I realize the biggest bottle-neck was US-customs not sending enough officers to Vancouver. It's a problem at border land crossings on busy weekends as most resources are diverted to Southern borders. In the old days, cruise ship check-in happens AFTER customs. Today, cruise lines does their check-in BEFORE customs to not be held up by customs. Many locals have Nexus/GE to use the priority lanes to speed the customs approval as a trusted traveler. With regards to the ship... The MDR line brought back why I hated sailing Princess pre-Covid on my Vancouver and California Pacific Coastals. The MDR lines formed 90 minutes before the MDR officially opens. If you are number 50 in line, by the time the door opens, it feels like you are number 250 in line as so many people were holding a spot for buddies and families who were not able (or willing) to wait in line. I was on the Sapphire Princess a month a month earlier and I have to say the Medallion Class has totally eliminated the MDR lines. I just needed to pick a 15 minute timeslot on when I'm arriving at the podium and there was hardly any wait to get a table. So much smoother, less chaotic with line cutters, and felt so much more Covid safe without the crowding. For those not familiar with Vancouverites, they have a very high tolerance for long lines compared to other cultures. Border crossings, Black-Friday door crasher in-person deals, traffic, weekend Dim Sum restaurants, food lines, licensing office, etc...

Thanks for including the "time context". 6:30pm is a great time to dine at the MDR if you don't have 7pm plans like catching the first nightly show. Most of the congestion are those interested in the first sitting close to 5pm. more time to enjoy the meal before the first show Holland America has an older demographic that often needs to dine earlier to allow the food to digest properly before going to bed.

One tip I'll share is to pay attention to restaurant operating hours on the daily newsletters. MDR lunch on sea days is noon to 1pm or one hour of service. In the old days I think MDR's operate for two hours. Lido Market buffet closed nightly at 8pm. Didn't they close at 9pm or 10pm pre-Covid? Dive-In Burgers and Dogs is open 11:30am to 6pm. I would think dogs would be open til 11pm New York Deli & Pizza is open 7:30am to 11:30pm Room service is open 24/7, but check for extra charges and you have a reduced menu selection. Buffet does operate at one stall at a reduced capacity at 10:30pm to 11:30pm for late night diners. Yes, a few hundred do show up for this feeding time and it can take 15 minutes or longer to inch along the food line up to the servers to scoop something amazing good onto your plate. Much better than the only other opened option (pizza?).

Primary reasons... preferred seating availability.... - window seats are high demand. - Some tables are more private than others. - Some people are travelling in large groups some dining rooms fill up super quick. Lunch was high demand for the MDR yesterday at noon and they were open for just one hour on the sea day. They opened early by about 10 minutes when they saw the line started seating people while taking their orders. With the MDR open til 1pm, I'm going to guess they were turning people away at 12:20pm when the place was full. I noticed they were not cleaning tables as people were completing their meal If the MDR has a long wait, are backup options preferred? - Not everyone can pay extra at specialty restaurants, especially if they are from a country with a depressed currency. - is the chaotic buffet really a great backup option when you want to relax? Not fun trying to find a clean empty table when you have a plate of food in your hands.

7am breakfast 8am walk-off 8:05 am short 3 cab wait 8:30am home to start laundry One of the best cruises I've been on. I think pivoting my dining, embarkation, and debarkation "before the main crowd": appears made a huge difference in the enjoyment.

OK... thanks for the immediate feedback. Good to hear the PDF's work.

Do the menu downloads work you? It's not working on my phone. Might have to do upload it again when I get home tomorrow.

On the Koningsdam now.... here's the lunch and dinner menu as a comparison. pinnacle_grill_lunch_menu_winter_2023_en_v2_-_de_lijn_-_navigator_3_.pdf pinnacle_grill_dinner_menu_winter_2023_en_v2_-_de_lijn_1_.pdf

Nope... The Nexus/GE priority lane was offered as part of embarkation. With our customs forms completed for entry to Prince Rupert, it will be a straight walk off. The only lengthy line I expect Saturday will be the 4 ship day taxi cab lines to the airport or hotels.

I think you mean Sunday's BMO marathon? Not Saturday's 4 ship day.

The Passenger Vessel Services Act requires the ship to sail to another country. I think they wanted an Alaskan sampler instead of going to Seattle or Port Angeles.

Yes there was. As soon as I entered the customs area, they guy saw my Nexus or Global entry, he sent me to the priority line to the right where they had 3 dedicated officers to process me. There was a one person to wait in the line and my customs was done in 3 minutes with the wait.

I just wanted to share my thoughts about Monday Koningsdam embarkation. Yep, I too am on it. additional tips. - if you can't afford the Neptune/Pinnacle suites, nor have 4 star mariner status.... serious research joining Club Orange. You get priority boarding access at the terminal. You get priority debarkation access. You also avoid some of the long lines at the MDR and Lido, without paying extra for specialty restaurants. - if you have troubles standing in long lines, seriously consider getting a wheelchair. Staff at the terminal and airport are trained to give such passengers priority access with their travel companions. - do you have Nexus or a member of Global Entry trusted traveler program, you get sent into a priority customs line - I've learned to avoid showing up at the cruise terminal during the "hotel dump" (ie noon) where passenger volumes are the highest. I have no interest in being stuck in that luggage drop off ramp. Embarkation for me was one hour and I was the first one to enter the Koningdam lobby to enjoy the lemonade for 20 minutes before boarding. I think I could have made it shorter to 45 minutes if someone directed me to the right line for P2 elevator luggage drop. Pre-covid, luggage drop was at cruise ship level, but they turned that it a taxi pickup area.

I too was in that Monday embarkation congestion... additional tips. - if you can't afford the Neptune/Pinnacle suites, nor have 4 star mariner status.... serious research joining Club Orange. You get priority boarding access at the terminal. You get priority debarkation access. You also avoid some of the long lines at the MDR and Lido, without paying for specialty restaurants. - if you have troubles standing in long lines, seriously consider getting a wheelchair. Staff at the terminal and airport are trained to give such passengers priority access. - do you have Nexus or a member of trusted traveler program, you get sent into a priority customs line - I've learned to avoid showing up at the cruise terminal during the "hotel dump" (ie noon) where passenger volumes are the highest. Embarkation for me was one hour and I was the first one to enter the Koningdam lobby to enjoy the lemonade for 20 minutes before boarding. I think I could have made it shorter to 45 minutes if someone directed me to the right line for P2 elevator luggage drop. Pre-covid, luggage drop was at cruise ship level, but they turned that it a taxi pickup area. Oh Saturday debarkation will not be a 3 ship day. It's scheduled to be a 4 ship day. - Koningsdam - Volundam - Grand Princess - Ocean Victory If taxi line is long, consider doing a luggage drag outside the terminal a few blocks away for pickup. Airport passengers may want to take the Canada Line (subway) to the airport. There is no $5 surcharge to use the Canada Line to the airport.

Traffic advisory... July 1st is a national holiday and there is a massive celebration that occurs around the cruise terminal. It's best to try and leave the cruise terminal area as early as possible as they put up road closures in the morning. With regards to hotels, it depends on your budget and there's lots downtown. Not sure at this time, but if you get a West facing room at the Pan Pacific above the cruise terminal, you might get prime viewing of the fireworks at 10pm.

Around Vancouver and Seattle... May and June is harvest season for spot prawn's. A bargain compared to dining elsewhere. go look for some locally harvested Geoduck. It looks like a big ****** if there's a group of 6 or 8 of you... check out Vancouver's premium Chinese Seafood restaurant where you can have King Crab Vancouver style. There's something about having an animal running across your table. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBZEm92-0Hw&t=772s. Do not go there asking for boil 'n butter.

I generally look for the biggest oceanview... balcony is great going under the Lion's Gate and Golden Gate I found 70% of my September Pacific Coastal times to be very stormy to use the balcony

Not a site/app... I walked up to a staff member looking for a rate sheet as in previous years. He suggested I take a picture of his console with the latest rates... I did that and shared it with you all. From the green sleeve (uniform?) taken in the picture... my guess it's Westcoast Sightseeing if you want to contact someone... https://westcoastsightseeing.com/

Oops... thank for letting me know of the typo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCF7Fn6W4L0

Capilano is my fav attraction to take visitors, go in the morning to avoid the afternoon crowds. Going an hour before they close is another option. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWm2vgMomrs Come back in the winter when they light the bridge up and it becomes bottomless. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmP7Rc81cTM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrMFbJvEMdA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDa1d00imTM

On a sidenote... my fav San Francisco hotel is the Parc 57 (part of the Hilton chain). While not located by Fisherman's Wharf... affordable rates I take the airport BART (subway) to the Powell station... no shuttle necessary Powell station across the street is a cable car terminus if I want to go to Fisherman's wharf. Lots of transportation options at that location. Chinatown is a short walk if I want some Dim Sum or fortune cookies I normally just taxi over to the cruise terminal the next morning.

One thing I forgot to mention is congestion.... if you are coming on a "three or more ship day" at the cruise terminal.... plan for extra congestion going into the luggage drop area. I remember being stuck on the ramp for like 20 minutes on a previous cruise many years ago and it was not fun watching the taxi meter creep. Easier to bus or taxi to a nearby hotel a block away and do a luggage drag into the luggage drop area.

Basically you drive down the ramp to the "cruise terminal level" following the taxi's. Just tell them you are doing a luggage drop. There's an unloading area to great you for your luggage. I'll let others comment on where best to find parking for a week long trip.