cabland

Day 5 - Glacier Bay I loved Glacier Bay in 2018, but it was cloudy and drizzly much of the day. This time, we were blessed with partly sunny/cloudy and no rain. What can I say...it's beautiful. I'll let the pics TRY to speak for themselves. Dinner in Tamarind - Had a nice dinner in Tamarind, pretty view of sunset for sure. I probably enjoyed my meal more than my wife (note: she said she wished she had just had more sushi from Nami). I liked the Satay sample and coconut curry chicken (made to their "spiciest" offering). The Mango dessert I tried was also a winner. RSRR - More rolling stone rock room did NOT disappoint! IMG_0678.HEIC

On to Day 4... Day 4 - Skagway 4 ships in port - Skagway is TINY, so I was a bit surprised when I woke and we were already in port with 3 other ships! The Grand Princess was docked right next to us (and we were both disembarking right on the dock). The Royal Princess and Celebrity Eclipse were also there parked just past the "landslide" spot that has affected the dock area. The Royal Process was tendering all day (yuck), but the Eclipse appeared to be putting people on big Greyhound style buses and driving them down the dock past the landslide area (I guess if you drive fast enough...) Rent a Car (an EV No Less) - SO last time we were in Skagway, we took the train to the Summit and back and then did ziplining in the afternoon. Needless to say, the latter was out for me this time, but several months back I stumbled upon a YouTube video where some folks rented an electric car and drove to Emerald lake and back. As a "car guy" and EV enthusiast I loved this idea and found Klondike EVs (awesome place!) and rented a Hyundai Ioniq 5 and we made the 70 mile drive to Emerald Lake and back. This....was....awesome. The views along the way were just so breathtaking and changed as the drive progressed. There are also a ton of turnouts on the way up so plenty of opportunities to stop and take pics. We further stopped at the Yuokon suspension bridge for a few pics (and bathroom...note: paying customers only) and then ate Fish N Chips at the bistro in CarCross. The latter were surprisingly good. Finally, we saw Emerald Lake which changed as the sun came out with the green increasing in intensity. So, so glad we did this drive....really helped to take the sting out of missing Tracy Arm and was beautiful in its own right. Did I mention, THIS is why we are back in Alaska?! p.s. FINALLY SAW A BEAR! Gelato A-Go-Go - Once back on board we had a gelato snack...let's just say this wasn't going to be our only time to eat gelato - a win! Dinner at the Pinnacle Grill - While there was nothing really "wrong" with this meal, the whole thing just fell flat for my wife and I . Maybe it was the table in the corner by the serving equipment (so much for "requesting a window") or that afternoon gelato, but given it was our priciest specialty restaurant, we just wanted to be "wowed" a bit more. My pork chop was a little tough and my wife's filet was really no better than the one she'd had in the MDR on gala night. The bread was, well, flavorless...the Lido bread was better. C'mon Pinnacle, you can do better. IMG_0427.HEIC IMG_0434.HEIC IMG_0497.HEIC

Man, this blog is boring...will try to spice it up and shorten it and bit! Day 3 - Juneau The canceled excursion - I mentioned we had to cancel an excursion due to my knee, and sadly this is the day that took the hit. We were supposed to do the Tracy Arm excursion, but (having done it in 2018) I knew my knee wouldn't be able to handle it so we made the tough decision to cancel it. When I say tough, I mean it. One of the reasons I chose this ship/route was specifically because it stops at the mouth of Tracy Arm to offload passengers for this excursion (but still gets back in time to do another one. SO...a moment of silence for missing it.... However, it was the right decision, and as sort of a nice guilty pleasure that $580 ended up in our Onboard Cash and we were able to spend freely w/o thinking about it too much (since we had "pre-paid" back in December). MDR Lunch - All was not lost however...we were able to take it easy and grabbed the special "Fish N Chips" lunch in the MDR. Not the best we've ever had, but pretty decent and not greasy. Another win for the MDR. The NOT Canceled Excursion - So while we canceled Tracy Arm, we KEPT our Pilot's Choice helicopter excursion. For this excursion, the pilot flies you to a glacier, stops, you get out and spend some time walking around there, and then re-board the copter and he flies you to a second stop and you get out there before re-boarding and flying back to Juneau. I've heard others say it, but it bears repeating: seeing Alaska from the air really is special. The scenery takes on new depths and you just see stuff you otherwise would not. Walking on the glaciers continues to feel surreal and it can feel like you are on an alien landscape. You just wish you could capture the moments and really relive them...sadly, all the pics in the world just aren't the same. Oh and the copter just cresting a cliff before hitting a valley provides for some breathtaking slow-mo rollercoaster moments. Highly recommended. MDR Dinner - This one was a little more inconsistent. I had a beef and pasta dish that was fine, but my wife had the Salmon. She had 3 bites and picked bones out of every bite. At that point, she bailed and opted to have the beef/pasta dish that I got. The rest of the meal was uneventful and tasty enough. The couple seated at the table next to us has also been on our helicopter ride so we got to reminisce about that (from just a few hours earlier!). I am pretty sure HAL had planned it that way. They obviously know who has signed up for what and probably know "shared experiences" make for a more fun trip....planning seating is an easy use of that data. Comedienne and Rock - Post dinner we caught the second set of the comic (in BB Kings) and then headed over to the Rock room. The latter was good as noted before, but I felt the comic was meh. My wife liked him OK, but she is "an easy laugher" (much to my delight). I think what hurt him was apparently a lot of folks had stayed for his second set from the first so he felt obligated to adlib on the fly and it just wasn't that polished from my perspective. I may have enjoyed him more in the first set. Call it a draw. IMG_0393.HEIC

Ack! My wife says I am quick, but careless! Day 6 should, of course, have been Ketchikan, followed by the Sea day and then disembarkation in Vancouver! Thanks for the catch!

OK, the rest of the days should go a bit quicker! Day 2 - Sea Day, Neptune Suite, Room Service, Laundry, Tea, MDR Dinner (Gala Night), Move Show and RNR Starting with a sea day was nice in this "adventure of the bad knee" and we took it easy. The highlights: Room Service Breakfast - We started with room service breakfast because #Vacation! - Try as we might, WE NEVER DID BREAKFAST ANYWHERE ELSE BUT OUR ROOM. We really MEANT to hit up club orange at least once, but the sheer convenience of it was overwhelming, We had the "American breakfast" (eggs, bacon, sausage and hash browns) and the continental (pastries), plus fresh squeezed OJ and coffee. We did a variation of this each day. It was delivered within few minutes of the selected time and was hot EVERY DAY. We even ordered "on the fly" one morning and it was delivered quickly. For a couple that never even eats breakfast in our "real lives" this was great. Neptune Lounge and Concierge - So prior to the cruise I assumed we likely wouldn't use the lounge much and had no intention of leveraging the concierge...after all I never require a concierge on a land-based hotel, I was wrong on both counts. The lounge became my wife's go to for lattes throughout the day - and the occasional chocolate croissant. Who needs a specialty beverage package for coffee, when you have the lounge!? The big surprise though was the concierge. Due to my "knee" situation, we hit her up first thing asking about our options for canceling excursions. She was able to assist and we canceled one of our two upcoming excursions on Monday. Later that same day she assisted us with Internet access showing us how to efficiently share a single device login. There seemed to be no area she was unfamiliar with or able to assist us with. When calls to room service or other areas rang a few too many times, they rolled over to her and she assisted effortlessly. I did confirm this is her full-time gig on the ship and it shows. I now miss having a full time concierge in my regular life...who knew? Laundry - So I mentioned above that we had arrived in Vancouver on Tuesday (before our Saturday departure) so we needed laundry almost immediately. We LOVED the laundry service on our first HAL cruise and it was free with the Neptune suite. We leveraged it 4 separate times (including embarkation day). Even if it hadn't been free, we would have paid for it in a heartbeat. All clothes were available next day. High Tea - So, on Sea Days, HAL offers high tea in the Main Dining Room on mid-afternoons. We took advantage of this and it was fast, fun, and free. The treats were nothing special, BUT I will say this. Prior to the cruise, we made our way to Victoria and had tea at The Empress hotel. It was $240 Canadian with tip and one of the most overrated dining experiences relative to the price that we've ever had. I mean it was "OK", but very assembly line and didn't really wow us at all...and for that price I should feel at least a little wowed! So, while the Empress was better...I'll take the free tea in the MDR any day! Whale Watching - So, while the weather was OK, whales were ELUSIVE for US this trip. However, only part of that was really the whales. Our last trip was about a month later (in July) and notably warmer. The little bit of extra warmth last time meant I was willing to glue myself to the rail of the ship for hours looking through our binoculars - whether it be on our balcony or at the back of the ship. This time it was chilly and the wind was just biting enough we would quickly move inside. It also brought up a good/ad about the Koningsdam vs. the Nieuw Amsterdam. The aft Lido deck area on the Koningsdam has more covered areas so you can be outside, but stay at least somewhat out of the elements and warmer, which is good. Conversely , that whole area feels and looks crowded and cluttered with the side seating, pool, hot tubs, and equipment as compared to the more open aft of the Nieuw Amsterdam. It was simply a less inviting place to "hang out" and watch the ocean. yes, you could go up to deck 10, but that was very open and windier. I suspected I would miss the layout from the NA and was right. Was it a huge deal? Not really, just something to note. Honestly, though, it was cool enough (temp-wise) I'm not sure I would have spent a ton of time out there anyway (even on the NA)...especially given my stupid knee and inability to stand. MDR Dining / Gala Night - So, we weren't really that impressed with the MDR on the NA back in 2018 so we had low expectations here. I was happy to be surprised when our food and service were both good. My wife had a filet and I had the lamb shanks - the latter were quite good. I was just generally pleased all the way around with no service gaffs, etc. A win! World Stage - Immediately after dinner, we caught a show on the main stage. I think it was called "Move" or something like that. I had low expectations for this as the shows on our last cruise were campy. It was basically dance numbers done to pre-recorded songs. After the first 2 songs/dances I thought "maybe we can leave now". However, it then seemed to turnaround and I'll be darned if we didn't legitimately enjoy ourselves! While hardly Broadway, we liked it enough to recommend it and I sort of wished we had attended at least one more show. Another win. Rolling Stone Rock Room - So coming out of the world stage we listened to the last 3 songs from the RSRR band....really, really good. I had high hopes for this venue, but was trying to temper my expectations. My knee was done for the night otherwise we would have hung out elsewhere and then done the next set with these guys...for the record we saw them 3 more times before the cruise was over. Big thumbs up! IMG_0253.HEIC IMG_0264.HEIC

This will likely be a bit repetitive to other reviews, but I always appreciate reading them, so I figure, why not! First, unlike so many here on the board, we are newbie cruisers as this was only our SECOND cruise. Ironically, our first cruise was in 2018 on the Nieuw Amsterdam on this same route in Alaska! Here goes: The Route Day 1 - Vancouver Embarkation Day 2 - Sea Day Day 3 - Juneau Day 4 - Skagway Day 5 - Glacier Bay Day 6 - Sea Day Day 7 - Vancouver Disembarkation Our Cabin Our initial booking was for a "Guaranteed" cabin Neptune suite. We snagged a great deal on it and I THOUGHT I had scanned the deck plan to make sure I would be OK with ANY of the locations. Unfortunately, I missed the darn SQ cabins at the very front with the microscopic "juliet" balconies. Sure enough, that's what we were immediately assigned. Anyway, I contacted my HALL PCC and they were flexible enough to "downgrade" me to a Signature suite midship (note: this was still a stellar deal) for slightly less coin. Then, as so often discussed here on the board, about 3 or 4 weeks from embarkation, I got a Neptune suite upgrade offer, called HAL, and they let me pick my Neptune Suite location. Perfect, across from Neptune lounge - Suite 7073 - and still a fabulous deal overall. The "Knee" Challenge Disclaimer So, I've been battling a stupid knee issue for almost 2 years now. Two meniscus surgeries last year didn't seem to do the trick. Long story short, we purchased the cruise last November, but my knee has been very iffy. So much so I got a steroid shot a week before departure to try to salvage the trip. While it seemed to help, the morning before we were to leave for Vancouver (note: 4 days before the cruise) , I woke up and my knee was killing me. I will spare you the details of our travels right up to embarkation, and skip to that point...it did limit our activities on and off the ship....stupid knee! Day 1 - Embarkation (Boarding, Dive-In Lunch, Grand Dutch Snack, Sail Away with REAL Inside Passage, and Nami Sushi Dinner) Boarding - As others have noted, I was VERY concerned about lines at Canada Place with my knee so we left early (around 9:30ish) and took a cab to the parking garage from our hotel (Hyatt Regency Vancouver - pretty close to CP). Cab takes you right to bag drop inside parking garage - easy as pie and fast. We then headed up to HAL check-in. Our priority boarding (Neptune Suite) allowed for near instant check-in, but honestly, the lines were small as it was early so it didn't make that much difference. We then headed to security. I was limping with my cane at this point and got in a smaller line as a result, The regular line wasn't bad, but I definitely appreciated any assistance I could get at this point. Post security it was on to U.S. customs. We were through customs in about 5 minutes, but this was largely because the lines were small since we were there early. We then ended up in a waiting area to board. This area had seats. We were then moved to a second waiting area (also seated) while we waited to be allowed to board. I would guess we waited at least 30 or 40 minutes total...but we were SEATED so no big deal. All told, this went about as easy and quick as could be. Dive-In Lunch and Grand Dutch Snack - We got to board (Priority guests firsts) and as our rooms were not quite ready, we headed directly to the Dive-In for a hamburger and fries - one of the surprise highlights from our Nieuw Amsterdam trip. Unfortunately, the burger itself was pretty bland and surprisingly not that hot since they were being cooked to order. I had heard the Dive-In might have taken a step down and that was our experience...bummer. The fries were still delicious, however (note: that changed later in the week!). We then headed to the Grand Dutch Cafe. I got a Bocce Ball (giant creme puff) dessert and my wife got a latte. The coffee was god, but honestly, the pastry was just OK. It seemed to be a "left over" from prior cruise (i.e. like 2-3 day old pastry). Environment was pretty and we had a great seat by window. Service here and and the Dive-in was efficient, but somewhat cool. Not quite the awesome start we hoped for. Sail Away - Weather on Friday and Saturday had been cool and wet. Fortunately, by the time sail away rolled around it was clearing a bit (at least no rain) and we sailed off into the bay and through the "true" inside passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Now, you may wonder why I am noting that. In recent weeks the Koningsdam apparently did a couple of passages where it went out AROUND Vancouver island and thus there were some concerns this could. So far, it appears those two voyages were anomalies. Even with the low cloud cover it was pretty and serene....finally, we were back on an Alaskan cruise! Dinner (Nami Sushi) - I knew we wanted to try the sushi and figured it would not be any fresher during the trip than on day one so we booked Nami accordingly. Nami is located in the Tamarind restaurant. Although technically there is a sushi bar, we just sat at one of the Tamarind tables and only ordered Sushi (note: Nami, unlike the other specialty restaurants) is ala carte pricing. Our waitress was great and honestly, we loved it! Given how pricey sushi is back home, it was even a good deal...really, really enjoyed it! Honestly, we could have returned for another night, but wanted to try more places. Entertainment (BB Kings, Billboard on Board) - So at this point my knee was "done" for the day and I headed to the suite for some icing (note: this was a recurring theme for the whole trip). My wife headed down to listen to the band in BB King's and the pianists in Billboard on Board. She reported back that she enjoyed BB Kings, and the female pianist in Billboard. The former was standing room only...a recurring challenge as it would turn out. OK...that's MORE than enough for the first day! Will move more quickly through the remaining days in subsequent posts on this thread.

We were on the Koningsdam from the 10th-17th this month. One of the pleasant surprise excursions this time was us renting a car in Skagway and driving the 70 miles from Skagway on the Yukon highway to Emerald Lake and back. It was 70 miles of awesome scenery. So, so much better than the White Pass Summit train ride we did in 2018 (which was mostly a view of trees on one side and a rock face on the other for the majority of that trip...I THINK the longer train ride is likely better, but I have not done it). The car rental was PERFECT for us. There are a ton of pullouts for you to stop and enjoy the scenery, take pics, etc. at our pace and the drive is easy - it's basically one road there and back. We stopped in Carcross had a surprisingly god fish n chips lunch at the Bistro there, etc. Heck, we even came upon two bears munching on dandelions on the side of the road! Regardless, the scenery was just really, really great. As an aside, we rented an electric vehicle (Hyundai Ioniq 5) from Klondike EVs (who also have a bunch of electric bikes) - HIGHLY recommended....but you can, of course, rent from Avis as well. Either way - BOOK AHEAD! Totally worth it!

We were in Skagway on the 13th of this month on the Holland America Koningsdam. There were FOUR ships in port per the attached Panorama pic. Our ship and the Grand Princess directly next to us were just disembarking directly to the docks. The Royal Princess (closest tp the landslide area) was tendering (all day). The Celebrity Solstice behind it actually appeared to be "bussing" people in long Greyhound style buses along the pier (past the landslide area) - I actually did NOT see it tendering.

For Tracy Arm, it was pretty straightforward and my 89 year old "unsteady" Dad was able to walk the "ramp" they had from the ship to boat and vise versa upon return (note: you re-board the ship in Juneau as they have to swipe you out in in the ship.

The one thing you didn't mention was money. The BEST options are pricey and can eclipse the cost of the cruise itself. We did several of the recommendations from others back in 2018 and would do it again. These include: Juneau Day - Tracy Arm small boat excursion (as the cruise ship passes the mouth of the Tracy Arm Fjord you hop onto a smaller 150 person boat that takes you into the Fjord and to Sawyer glacier...it then meets back up with the ship in Juneau) - 2023 price: $559 for 2 people - Helicopter to Glacier - there are multiple versions of this (i.e. short flights and walks; Longer treks on glacier; Dog sledding on glacier; longer flights with 2 separate landings, etc,) 2023 price: $800-$1100 for 2 people - Other - you can do whale watching from here as well Skagway Day - Train - multiple versions (i.e. Summit and back; on to lake with kayaking, etc.) - 2023 Prices - not sure, but probably $250-$500 a couple (as an aside, we did the roundtrip to the Summit and back and would not likely do it again...not a lot of scenery until you are close to the top) - Other - can do ziplining or helicopter rides here too Ketchikan Day - Bering Sea Crab Tour - $420 a couple - Flightseeing over Misty Fjords - $650 to $700 a couple (note: we haven't done this yet, but want to

LOL - feel free to post any additional speed tests as your cruise progresses!

We have the Pinnacle Grill booked on the Koningsdam for dinner one night, but am thinking about changing to Rudi's based on some just "OK" reviews of the Pinnacle as of late.. Of course a lot less folks do Rudi's so maybe not as many reviews. We also have Tamarind and Nami Sushi booked on a couple other nights so I might open to a second night at one of those or even Canaletto. Anyway, open to suggestions, comments, etc. Thanks!

Thanks for the update Dreamer. We are doing this excursion on the 12th. Hoping there will be a bit less ice and we will get closer as it is 3 weeks later, but doesn't sound too promising if there was that much ice. Ironically, I booked this cruise in early June to try to see a bit more snow and ice on mountains - hah! We did make it to see South face back in July 2018, but because our ship was delayed, we never even went to the North face. We'll see how it works out this time.

Great info. I had to lookup "Graveyard of the Pacific"... I can see why cruise lines don't list that as a "highlight of your Alaska cruise itinerary"!

I can't help but wonder if there was some reason SPECIFIC to the two earlier cruises in May that may have "forced" the Koningsdam to go West of Vancouver Island when traveling Northbound. Maybe it was a scheduling issue (late departure, etc.)? Perhaps it was a "traffic" issue going through the narrow passage to the East of the island, etc. Obviously, ships do it for a reason. I ASSUME the Majestic Princess (who left right before the Koningsdam from Vancouver and traveled West of the island) does it for a reason...I ASSUME that ship is, perhaps, too large to comfortably traverse that inside passage at night??? Are there restrictions on traffic through there? Obviously, I'll be doing this same dance (watching the maps) again this coming weekend!

While not 100% definitive it appears the Koningsdam, which departed Vancouver a while ago is headed North BETWEEN Vancouver island and the mainland. Conversely, the Majestic Princess left right before the Koningsdam and turned to Port and is headed around Vancouver Island (to the West of the Island). Stoked the Koningsdam looks to have returned to its original route...at least for this week!

Looking at cruise mapper it APPEARS the Koningsdam is headed North BETWEEN the mainland and Vancouver Island...the Majestic Princess, conversely, has made the turn to Port and is heading South toward the West of Vancouver Island. Will watch the map for another hour or so...

That's pretty darn good. Will be interested to hear how it goes over the next few days. I see you guys just departed Vancouver. It isn't clear how good Starlink coverage is the further North you go.

And looks like a 3 ship day no less...including the Majestic princess which, I think, holds about 3600 passengers. Now the only question for the Koningsdam is...will she take the true inside passage going North (or skirt around Vancouver island like the last 2 cruises). We should know in another 90 minutes or less!

How was the speed now that the Konindgsdam has Starlink? Did you happen to do a speed test?

Yep, looks like it will enter the area between Vancouver Island and the mainland in about 30-60 mins (between 2:00 and 2:30 PST). Fingers crossed for tomorrow night...at least we should know shortly after they leave the port - here's praying they don't take a sharp turn to port!

EXCELLENT and thanks for the links. Like @nw gardener I will be watching this like a hawk this weekend and next before our June cruise!

It shows multiple ships...if you filter for the Koningsdam, it appears to show it traveled BETWEEN Vancouver Island and the mainland.

Ironically, neither the CruiseMapper or HAL maps appear to be correct since it appears Northbound is outside the island, and Southbound is inside. If one direction has to be given up, that may have been the lesser of two evils, but still...bummer for sure.

Thanks for the heads-up! We are in Victoria for 2 nights and then return to Vancouver for 2 nights before the cruise (did that to explicitly avoid any challenges on cruise day)! Also thanks for the tips to book both ways.