cabland

UGH! This stinks. I just checked cruise mapper and all of the Koningsdam sailings (including the oneshow this route through the Summer. Agree 100% this was the primary reason we booked out of Vancouver. You got the "true" inside passage and avoided the open ocean and rougher seas...you paid for it with expensive flights, customs, etc. but it WAS worth it...now, not nearly as much. This map shows BOTH the Northbound AND Southbound legs are West of Vancouver island. Was the Southbound East of the island???

Hi all - we are flying into YVR (Vancouver airport) in June on a Tuesday for our cruise which leaves on Saturday. We are spending the first 2 nights in Victoria and are planning to rent a car upon arrival at YVR, drive to the Ferry terminal (Tsawwassen) and cross to Victoria (Swartz). We actually did this once before but it was almost 20 years ago so my memory is a bit foggy. Anyway, my question revolves around whether or not to buy a ticket in advance or at the port. The "challenge" of "in advance" is the flight arrival time, airport headaches, etc. Our flight is scheduled to arrive at Noon. I anticipate at least 90 minutes in the airport and then another 45 minutes to get to Tsawwassen. so BEST case that puts us there around 2:15pm. I THINK I have to be in line 30-60 minutes before the sailing, so the soonest sailing would be the 3:00 PM sailing. Should I go ahead and pre-book the 3:00 PM sailing and cross my fingers that I can make it? If I am late will they let me roll over to the 4:00PM slot, etc.? As we aren't traveling on a weekend, would there be a little less congestion? Per the link below, it appears there is LITTLE RISK in pre-paying a reserved slot as it indicates: $5 change fee. $5 cancellation fee four days or more before travel; $15 cancellation fee three days or less, up to one hour before departure. Unredeemed bookings will be refunded less a $15 fee. Arrived early or missed your sailing? If you book a Saver or Prepaid fare and arrive early or late, you can use your fare towards travel on a different sailing on the same route, on the same day, for travel in the direction originally booked. You will be boarded after reserved customers on the next available sailing, where space is available. At Terminal fare conditions apply if customers travel on a different sailing. Customer must pay price difference if original booking was a Saver fare. BCFerries Fare Info Thanks!

It is good to check not just how many ships are in port that day, BUT also WHICH ships they are. As an example, there are only two ships when we embark on the Koningsdam...but the other is the darn Majestic Princess with 3560 passengers...so that is still 6200+ people! As a comparison, if it had been the Grand Princess, that ship is comparatively tiny with only 1300 passengers. Heck, in May there were 4 ships in port one day, but they were the Grand Princess, Ocean Victory (a super yacht), Voldendam and Koningsdam...a little over 5000 passengers. The SHIP matters.

Hmmm, we are in cabin 7073 right next door for our upcoming June cruise...I considered moving further back...oops! NOT looking forward to the lines in Vancouver with my bum knees...doesn't seem like there is much to be done about that. Were you eating in MDR/LIDO/etc. or specialty dining?

Thanks all - much appreciated!

While I would not be inclined to do it, you obviously can. A few comments though: 1. Endicott Arm - I THINK your ship goes through Endicott Arm. This is, effectively, your glacier day as you will likely see Dawes glacier from the ship (albeit at a distance). The "Arm" itself should also offer good sightseeing (probably better than any number of excursions). 2. Low Effort Tours - So there are a number of decent "low effort" tours/activities you might consider like: a. Juneau - Whale watching tour or trip out to Mendenhall glacier b. Skagway - The train is the epitome of low effort. It is right there at the port. You get on, sit down, and ride it. Walking in town (which is tiny) is also low effort. c. Ketchikan - We really liked the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's tour. It is basically a crab boat converted to be a tour boat. You just sit , listen to the guys, look for whales and go to see an awesome Eagle site (they chum the water and DOZENS of Eagles are are swooping down). Boat leaves from right there at the dock. In short, you don't have to zipline, take a long walking tour, ride an expensive helicopter, etc. to get a bit of a taste of Alaska. Good luck.

So, I SHOULD know the answer to this since we took an Alaskan cruise out of Vancouver back in 2018, but we had some different logistics (with a larger family group, some of us went ahead while others returned a rental car, etc.), whereas this time it is just my wife and me. Anyway, my few questions: Embarkation Day Hotel to Port - We are staying at the Hyatt Regency downtown and are planning to take an Uber/Lyft from the hotel to Canada Place. Any concerns with that as a transport option (note: I have a bum knee so walking to CP is not an option with the luggage)? Parking/Drop-Off - I SEEM to recall when we traveled last time, our driver took us into the parking garage attached to Canada Place and dropped us off on one of the floors there. Does that sound correct (and the most expedient option)? Luggage - Do we drop off the luggage as soon as we get in the terminal (right where we enter from the parking garage) or do we lug it around through the terminal, etc? Priority Boarding - So this is really a Holland America specific question, but I think we'll get priority boarding as part of "club orange". I assume it isn't much different than "priority boarding" at an airport (i.e. a separate line perhaps, etc.) -is this correct? Disembarkation Transportation from Ship to Airport - Last time we did this trip, we were with family and booked our own private shuttle (well worth it). This time, I haven't decided if we should book transport through the cruise line or just grab an uber/lyft. I assume with either option, we'll be dealing with our luggage once we get it. as I have a bum knee, any option that had me wheeling our large bags around less, might be worth paying more for. Any recommendations? Thanks!

A few additional tidbits: The cruise ship, in the OP's example, doesn't really go "into" Tracy Arm...more like "near the opening" where it stops briefly and the folks that have paid for that excursion hop onto the smaller boat. The smaller boat heads into Tracy Arm while the cruise ship heads on to Juneau. While you are in Tracy arm on the smaller boat that boat will attempt to navigate to both the Northern and Southern arms of Sawyer glacier....but you may only end up seeing one (as ours did...they blamed our cruise ship for being "late"). Once the excursion is "done" they head back to Juneau. Along the way they may point out and even stop for whales if they come across them. When you get to Juneau, you actually disembark ONTO the cruise ship (not the dock)..not sure if they are making sure they have all the guests that got off or what. You can then head out for other excursions or whatever. It is still a long day (like 9:00 am to 3:00). If your cruise ship does not offer the "hop on the little boat when we pass Tracy Arm" option you can sometimes do the same excursion direct from Juneau. Unfortunately, it makes for an even longer trip as the little boat has to head BACK to Tracy Arm from Juneau. Obviously you need to have enough time in port to pull this off. As other have said, on some cruises the cruise ship itself heads into the Fjord (could be Tracy Arm or Endicott, etc.). In those cases, the ship gets as close as it can to the glacier, but that may be quite far off. In many cases, those ships too will offer an excursion where you get onto a smaller boat. I originally assumed those excursions all returned to the ship WHILE IT WAS STILL IN THE FJORD, but a recent YouTube video (for Endicott Arm and Dawes glacier) showed their small boat met up with the cruise ship back in Juneau too. I definitely recommend the excursion from the boat either way.

So my wife and I are headed back to Alaska for another cruise in June. I, unfortunately, am prone to motion sickness to some degree. During our last cruise we did the Tracy Arm small boar excursion and a helicopter ride to a glacier and I did OK (note: took Dramamine and wore wrist bands). This time around I was originally going to book the same tours, but now am considering one of the small plane flightseeing tours - potentially the 5 glacier/Taku lodge tour out of Juneau or the Misty Fjords flightseeing tour out of Ketchikan. The helicopter ride was crazy smooth, but I suspect the small float planes could be noticeably worse. Does anyone have any feedback on these from a motion sickness perspective? Thanks!

So we have an Alaskan cruise booked on Holland America for next June. As I look at the excursion times, I am seeing ONE time slot for many of them (typically one that coincides with the ship's arrival time in port). As an example, the helicopter rides are all for the same early slot with no other slots listed. When we did the a similar cruise a few years ago there were multiple time slots. I have a FEELING they may be letting the first slot book before opening a second, third, etc. especially this far out before the cruise. I've pinged my cruise consultant, but figured I would ask the board as well. Thanks!

I'm sure much more experienced folks will reply, but ever since my last HAL cruise back in 2018, I routinely get e-mailed offers of various kinds. SOME of those offers include the name and contact (phone and email) info of my PCC. I just found one of the recent ones and e-mailed him. He didn't get back to me for a few days so I sent a cordial reminder and then he called me back later that day. I do, of course, have a HAL online account.

Thanks, I know some folks would not have considered moving to a Signature Suite, but in this case both the Neptune full forward and the Signature had the exact same bathroom (toilet in main bathroom in the full forwards like a signature suite), and the room size still decent (albeit more chopped up). The trade-off for mid-ship and wide balcony was more than worth it for us at this price point.

Soooo.... I e-mailed my HAL personal cruise consultant and was able to "downgrade" to a signature suite and pick the cabin I wanted (mid-ship - deck 7) - and even got a small refund (note: our Neptune suite was very cheap). Honestly, I am VERY happy with this solution. The signature suite balconies are not as deep as "normal" Neptune suites, but are still considerably wider than regular verandah cabins and much better than the forward Neptune. The signature suite room space on the Pinnacle class ships are not laid out quite as well for "one couple" IMO as they are on the signature class ships, BUT there is still a lot more space than the regular verandah or vista cabins and you still get the double sink bathroom. The mid-ship location will be perfect. I really appreciate the feedback here as it helped to cement my position on why I would not have appreciated the full forward Neptune! DaveOKC - like you, I checked the deck plans, but missed the TWO Neptune suites that were full forward on the top deck. My fault! RuthC - In my booking the cabin just showed as "SC" (vs, the more nebulous "Guaranteed"). When I re-checked the deck plan, I finally found the only 2 "SC" cabins were full forward on Deck 11. While it is certainly POSSIBLE we could have gotten something else, I just didn't want to risk it (and dreading it - as I know I would have - for the next 8 months wasn't terribly appealing either...I know, I know...first world problems!). As an aside, my spouse is also a "Ruth". 🙂 Thanks again for all your feedback!

Cruise is to Alaska. We've done it before on the Nieuw Amsterdam in a mid-ship signature suite, and loved the big balcony (both wide and deep) for leisurely whale watching, breakfasts, etc...These forward cabins are nothing like that from a Balcony perspective. Heck, the full forward signature suites a couple decks down have more balcony (that doesn't address the motion issues of course).

So we just booked a cruise on the Koningsdam in a Guaranteed Neptune suite and I totally missed that there are full forward Neptune suites and sure enough, it looks like that's what we will get. I'm fairly bummed as these suites have much smaller balconies and I'm not crazy about being full forward on the highest deck from a motion perspective either. Has anyone had these cabins or even the similar signature suites a few decks lower? (Honestly, I would probably prefer even teh signature suite in this location as it is a lower deck and has more balcony)? Thanks!

Probably not unique to Hal, but the fixed price unlimited (nearly) laundry, Dive in Burger and aforementioned promenade deck and emphasis on "the sea" (a little less-so on the Pinnacle class ships).

Honestly, once I saw the debt loads the cruise lines were taking on during Covid, I just assumed "OK, these guys are ALL going to file for bankruptcy - it is just a hole too big to dig themselves out of". I still believe that 100%. Now, does that mean the cruise lines will "go away" - unlikely. Heck, the assets (those big ships) are primarily of use to, well, cruise lines! What will likely happen is some form of re-organization where they walk away from the massive debts and their creditors/shareholders get hosed...potentially along with anyone who has FCC, deposits, etc.

Any tours that get you out of the towns and into the wilderness are what, IMO, you really want. Heck, it's why you come to Alaska. Given that and the ports you will be in: Helicopter ride to a glacier - Juneau is the best option which we did, but Skagway MAY give you an option too. There are a few different choices typically. All are pricey. Tracy Arm Fjord Excursion - In some cases the boat will pass by the mouth of the Fjord on the way to Juneau and you hop off the ship onto the excursion boat (this is what we did). I don't think the Crown Princess does that, so you would have to take it from Juneau. It does make for a longer day as the excursion boat has to back-track to the Fjord, but very cool nonetheless. Ziplining in Skagway - does require a lot of walking and some climbing up hills Whale watching in Juneau or Icy Strait One of the biggest bummers about Alaska this year is the reports of canceled excursions. Given how many people will do Alaska ONCE, I feel bad for them.

Really great review - loved "experiencing" it through your eyes. Honestly, the only things I would have done differently would have nearly doubled your cost (i.e. helicopter to glacier, tracy arm fjord excursion, possible train ride, etc.)!

The Koningsdam (roundtrip from Vancouver) stops at the mouth of the Fjord to let passengers hop onto a smaller boat. This is only for those passengers that paid for that excursion. The ship then heads on to Juneau and the smaller boat heads into the Fjord and then returns to the Koningsdam later that afternoon and passengers get off the little boat directly onto the Koningsdam (reverse of what they did when they got on) - they set up a walkway between the two boats. If you were on board the Koningsdam and did not buy this excursion, I imagine there is a pretty good chance you would be completely unaware the ship had stopped and passengers disembarked onto the smaller boat. When we did it on the Nieuw Amsterdam we were up pretty early if I recall correctly and the loading process went pretty quick.

So back in 2018, we took an Alaskan cruise roundtrip from Vancouver and loved it. We were on the Nieuw Amsterdam and treated ourselves to a Signature suite. Flash forward to this Summer, and we are looking at doing the same exact cruise, but this time on the Koningsdam in a regular Verandah room. Having said that, I notice the Zuiderdam is sailing the exact same route and for just $300 or so more we could get a Signature suite (note: the signature and Pinnacle suites on the Koningsdam are thousands more). So, my dilemma is "Do I choose the MUCH newer Pinnacle class Koningsdam with a Verandah room and all of the amenities of the newer ships or go for the older Zuiderdam and get the signature suite?". Honestly, I am still leaning toward the Koningsdam as of now. It is obviously newer, has BB Kings and the Rolling Stone rock room, Dutch Cafe, etc and frankly, the most recent reviews are better than those I've read for the Zuiderdam. I almost get the impression HAL is prioritizing crew counts and staff expertise for the pricier Pinnacle class ships (which, I suppose, makes sense). Of course, we LOVED that darn signature suite on the Nieuw Amsterdam and I like the larger promenade deck on that ship too (in many ways the Nieuw Amsterdam has the best of both worlds). We did a ton of excursions on our last Alaskan cruise, but I am trying to prepare for possible cancelations this time around which might put us "on the ship" more than last time. Anyway, the lure of the Pinnacle is strong....but, well...thoughts? opinions? No wrong answers here! Thanks All

Hmmm...I WONDER if the excursion is on, BUT is not meeting the ship at the mouth of Tracy Arm, and instead you head to Juneau and take it BACK to Tracy Arm from there. The latter has generally been offered for all of the boats that dock in Juneau, but the former was nice as you didn't have to burn time backtracking to Tracy Arm. Will be VERY interested to hear what you guys all report back (and hope the excursion where the little boat meets you at the mouth is still on)!

Really great shots (and awesome weather really helped to ensure enough LIGHT!). Honestly, the latest camera phones are so darn good, you can get away with just those. I had a Samsung S9 for our trip in 2018 and was satisfied with it for wide scenic views, but wanted something for Telephoto (zoom) shots and picked up a Sony HX80 for that (note: I didn't want to lug our DSLR around). It was OK - not awesome as it suffers in lower lighting - bit I was definitely glad I had it. If I were headed there now, if I had a later phone with a stronger telephoto that MIGHT be good enough.

LOL - yep. That's the article that put us on onto buying the Celestrons (both pairs!).

We bought these: Celestron 8X42 They have definitely gone up in price since we got them in 2018, but I have to admit when we got them I was like "Oh, THIS is what binoculars are SUPPOSED to be like!" I realized I had never really looked through quality binoculars. We liked them so much we bought the smaller 8X32 model as well before our Alaskan cruise and my wife and I both enjoyed having our own pair as we scanned for whales. A luxury for sure (especially since they look to have increased about $60+ since we bought them). Still...no regrets.