gambee

Aloha! We're glued to your posts. Really terrific! My husband and I will be on the MS Amsterdam for the Alaska Seattle round trip in a couple days. It will be our first cruise. We've found your pics and perspectives not just entertaining, but also so helpful to get us prepared. Thank you. (My husband, the photog, especially appreciated that you shared what photography equipment you're using on the cruise. I think he even edited what he'll be taking along after seeing your posts.) Safe travels!

I hope you have a wonderful cruise! It will spoil you, we absolutely love Alaska! Glad your husband took benefit from the info that I shared so far, that is why I include so much information on all my reviews. Just trying to help fellow cruisers :)

I wanted to do that excursion 3 years ago but the weather was bad and the trip was cancelled. I was crushed. We took a whale watching trip from a vendor on the pier which was ok. Looking forward to trying again, hopefully next summer. Thank you so much for sharing your adventures with us.

The weather must of been awful for them to cancel. What a shame it was a magnificent excursion for us. Hopefully all goes well on your next cruise.

What an amazing day! And I love the last pic of your Mom all wrapped up and covered up in the lounge chair. She's a trooper!

 

 

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She looked like a burrito, that sight of her was quite common. Actually at one point a few asked If she was seasick, and if that is why she had to be aside all wrapped up. :');p:p

Thanks for another fabulous review, Gambee! I did this trip in 2016 on the HAL Westerdam [slightly larger ship than the Amsterdam but still less than 2,000 people]. I agree that HAL is the perfect size for Alaska. They are a wonderful line all around; even though we are not loyal to one single line, HAL remains my favorite. I can't wait to hear what you thought of Sitka; that was my favorite port of the trip.

I had no idea that the Westerdam stopped in Sitka, interesting. Yeah, the Westerdam is definitely a larger ship, but still small when compared to newer ships. Like you I am not loyal, I really don't see the point of being loyal a cruise, well aside from your status going up and getting more perks. But I enjoy trying all the lines, and seeing what they have to offer. The next one should be Princess, but they don't have smaller ships, and I want to do Alaska again.

Thanks for all the time you have spent typing and documenting your tour to Alaska. Your review is awesome. We are looking forward to another trip to Alaska, but just can't decide on an itinerary and ship. We are looking for a smaller ship than the Celebrity ones we've been on. The Amsterdam seems like a great size. I'm going to check out when it will be in Ak. and where. Thanks again

X also takes their smaller millennium class ships to Alaska, but they are around 90k tons, much larger to the 60k from the Amsterdam. Maybe as the review continues, it will give you a better idea if this is the cruise and itinerary for you. Thanks for following along.

Love, love, loving the blog. Especially the pic's on the promenade deck, we booked a Lanai cabin for our cruise and I've been a bit concerned about it, but after seeing the pic's I'm quite excited.

 

Great fluke picture! I compared it to the Juneau catalog (they track the whales in the area with it) and didn't see it. Which means it may be a new whale in the area and you can submit your picture to them. When they update the catalog if they include your picture they will include your name as the photographer. The pictures are in order of the amount of white on the fluke, which makes it easier to tell if its a new whale. You can see them at https://www.juneauflukes.org/juneau-catalog.html The picture I submitted a few years back is number 221. :D

You're going to love that Lanai room, I would say they are arguably among the best cabins about the ship! I think I remember our guide saying that those whales were common on the area, ill check on that again. Thank for the info.

Your pictures are fantastic. We went on that photo excursion a few years ago and really enjoyed it. We didn't see any bears, but we did get a photo of this little guy on the walk to the Mendenhall Glacier:

 

 

Loving your review! I can't wait for the next episode.

That's so cool! Our guide mentioned them, and he said all that was missing from our tour where porcupines. Too cute!

Juneau Alaska, and the BEST shore excursion we have ever taken!!!

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/holland-america-amsterdam-juneau-alaska-chapter-9/

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Just found this wonderful review. Your photos and amazing as always Gambee. Congratulations on your marriage. So happy for you!!! Happy that you so enjoyed Alaska. I live in Vancouver so it is a wonderful and easy cruise for us. No air!!! I have been many times and think HAL is the best for the same reasons you gave, size of ship and wonderful promenade deck. Also the friendly crew. Alaska has a way of drawing you back. This won’t be your last I am sure.LOL loving your photos.

Thank you. Yeah, I completely agree with you Alaska has a way of sucking you in and wanting more! It is a just a majestic place to be at!

2 more chapters with gorgeous views, impeccable weather and more importantly, TONS OF WHALES!!!

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/holland-america-amsterdam-alaska-chapter-7/

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Gambee:

My wife and I are taking our 14 year old granddaughter on the 2 week Alaska cruise on Amsterdam next July. We will be in a 3 person C cabin on main deck. It is one of the remodeled cabins. Will this be big enough for us all? Also, did you notice some teenagers on your cruise that she would be able to interact with? Thanks for your review. It is great. The pictures are very informative.

The C cabin seems to be the same size as my cabin, I think there is good space for 3 people there. I actually think it is larger than some balcony cabins aboard larger ships. It really depends what you consider large space, but I think its good for 3. There were some teenagers, but not many. Like I said, maybe 50-60 children total in the ship, and most of them were a little younger than 14. Maybe 10 or so teenagers?

thanks so much for the great review and photos.

 

So glad you shared the link :)

Very welcome, thank you for reading it =)

Gambee, so good to see you again - it's been awhile. Please give my best to your mom. Looking forward to your review and photos.

Will do. I know been busy with studies, I was way overdue for another cruise =)

Hi all!

 

gambee- so glad to see your

review is underway. I've been looking forward to it & seeing how you liked Alaska & HAL.

 

Jo

 

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Well hello there Jo, nice to see you here following =)

gambee,

Thank you for the link to your review, and sharing your super photos.

You're welcome, glad you're enjoying so far.

Day 2, our only real full day at sea! Hope everyone continues to enjoy the Review!

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/holland-america-amsterdam-alaska-chapter-5/

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Gambee - thanks for the update on the category/room # - I had wanted to book DA2561 for Mum and I because of the location near the forward stairs/atrium/gangway, etc, but was uncertain if it had the updated bath, so had us in a Cat C more mid-ship,to try and make sure - knowing this I'm moving back to my original room choice!!!!!!!! Hopefully we will get lucky :) :) :)

Glad to help. Yeah, absolutely loved that room, it was right next to the elevators and right below our favorite deck. Hope you get lucky.

Please, I want to encourage as many questions as possible. That triggers memories and I can go edit the review. Thank you @cruisingrob21, I just went in and added that info to the review. And Thank you @lax19, Picture changed. As well as additional info, I am new to HAL and it is all welcomed, thank you @Krazy Kruizers.

By the size of the room/fixtures/furnishings it has to be Main or Dolphin decks. Definitely not Lower Promenade. My guess is that they were in a category C room on Main as those were the ones rumored to have gotten the full bathroom refresh with glass shower replacing the tub. I think the only other non-suite rooms to get any bathroom updates were the category D rooms on Lower Promenade that were converted to Lanais.

Close call, DA Main deck.

In case you aren't familiar with his work, Gambee is huge on the NCL CC board. We found his reports to be chock full of information during our pre-cruise research last year.

Thank you, you flatter me lol :)

Great review...you may want to fix the first picture...it shows you sailing from Vancouver...

Oh Dear :eek::o, thank you. I will go in and fix it right now :)

Thank you for following

So the Oasis area for kids is basically abandoned? Seems strange they didn't either fix or refurb it during the drydock.

 

Gambee, can I ask what category/number room you had? Seems like you had the upgraded bathroom which some rooms got and some didn't - but there doesn't seem to be much consistency. At first it was mentioned that it was just on the upper decks with suites but it looks like you were on either Main, Dolphin or Lower Prom deck. I'm wondering if they are slowly remodeling all bathrooms, cabin by cabin.

Yeah, that was my thought. They really should had repurposed that area.

We were on the Main Deck, category DA, room number 2557. yeah, I remember mom telling me that some rooms got remodeled and some did not. I guess we got lucky. We loved the room and the location.

Love your pictures & write up.

Thank you, hope you keep enjoying it =)

Enjoying this! If you don't mind me asking, what hotel did you stay at in Seattle?

Marriot Waterfront. It is really much more than I was willing to spend, but my husband covered it for us. Nice hotel, good location. Thank you for following :)

Great reporting with wonderful pictures.

That mystery area was originally the Oasis for the children -- and there was a waterfall there. I see that they still have some children's chairs there and added some of the adult lounge chairs.

Well that explains the children chairs, and the lack of view, in addition to being right on top of the kids club. I really wonder why they did not change it during the remodel of the ship. Thanks for the info.

Two more Chapters, including our stateroom and Seattle's Sailaway!!!

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/holland-america-amsterdam-alaska-chapter-3/

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Gambee - you had posted a while back on another thread that you were going on this cruise and I have been waiting for you to post one of your awesome Trip Reports!!!!!! Thanks as always for providing us a chance to view cruising from your viewpoint - it's always a pleasure to "travel" with you :)

Lol, I remember that post =). Glad to know that you're enjoying the review.

I was on this cruise! It was glorious! Lovely reading your review!!

It was something very special, we had a great time =)

Hi Gambee, so glad to see this. I've missed reading your reviews and it's good to hear from you again. Also happy to hear things are going well with you and your mom.

Thank you, yeah I have to say that we missed cruising was well.

Can't wait to read the rest of your review, I always look forward to them so many great photos and always fun to read. We loved our Alaska cruise, hoping to get back there again one day.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with all of us!

Yeah, we would love to go back at some point in time. It is very different from the Caribbean cruises. You're welcome, I hope you continue to enjoy =)

Great start.

Enjoyed your first 2 chapters and pictures.

Thank you, hope you continue to enjoy :)

Wonderful review with lovely photographs that brought back so many of my memories of the cruise DH & I took on Amsterdam in July 2014 with a similar itinerary. (DH died in August 2017, but we took 7 more cruises, all with HA, his favorite cruise line, before he died. Your pictures brought tears to my eyes as well as a smile to my heart. Thank you.)

 

We had that balcony off the spa all to ourselves every time there was scenic cruising, which was fabulous. We weren't sure why no one else discovered it, but it was heavenly. When we got chilly, we'd go back inside and sit on the heated loungers, where we could still see some of the views. Best of both worlds!

I am sorry to hear about your husband, but sounds like you have really good memories with him. I am glad the pictures brought out those memories again.

Great start! Happy you finally got to take an Alaskan cruise! We love Alaska and really love the Amsterdam!

 

Cheers, Denise

Thank you Denise. Agree, yeah this was one cruise that finally happened. Something always seemed to destroy our previous plans.

Enjoying your review and pictures!! Thanks for sharing:)

You're welcome =)

Enjoying your review and great photos! Thanks for posting.

Very welcome, glad you're enjoying it

Thanks!

Welcome =)

Below is the link of our cruise to Alaska a month ago. I will post two chapters per day. I hope everyone enjoys :):)

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/holland-america-amsterdam-alaska-chapter-1/

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