Bostonjetset

Day 6: Glacier Bay National Park [8/30/2023, 11.44pm] Glacier Bay is always a highlight of an Alaskan cruise and today was no different. There was no calving of any glaciers unfortunately but it was still beautiful as ever. There was a medical emergency on the way out of Glacier Bay so we had to anchor off the ranger station so the passenger could be tendered ashore for her med flight. Whilst we were anchored we spotted some whales and sea otters though. Tonight's show was Step One's "Humanity" which I've now seen 4 times. It's the best of any of HAL's current shows though, IMO.

Yes I LOVE the Dutch pea soup! We got it out on the bow during Glacier Bay day as well 🙂

This was a slot tournament through the casino that certain passengers were invited to through the casino hosts. I assume it is based on my mother’s gambling patterns on past trips. She got invited but I did not. She also got the cruise through a casino offer and I tagged along as my dad doesn’t love to travel. We did pay extra for an ocean view and then balcony as originally the offer was only for an inside and she dislikes inside cabins. The casino hosts also sent some macrons to our stateroom one day. She is not really a high roller or anything but I guess she spends enough to be invited for stuff.

Thanks for reading. I’m glad you enjoy the review.

Day 5 Continued: Photos and Video of the Train Ride. IMG_0625.MOV

Day 5: Skagway, Alaska & Carcross, Yukon Territory [8/29/2023, 11.21pm] Today was a long but wonderful day exploring Skagway and the Yukon. Our tour started on a bus up to Carcross in the Yukon Territory of Canada. There was plenty of lovely scenery along the way and several photo stops were made. Once at the Caribou Crossing luncheon facility we got a plate of BBQ chicken, coleslaw, and half of a grilled/roasted potato. Dessert was a homemade doughnut [or three]. All were pretty mediocre but it did the trick of keeping us from being hungry. We then spent about 30 minutes exploring the "downtown" of Carcross before heading down to Fraser, BC to board the White Pass & Yukon Railroad back to Skagway. The train trip was AMAZING!! The views and the sudden drop-offs right next to the track were surreal. So far, Skagway takes the cake for best Alaskan cruise port that I've been to. The small town of Skagway itself is also quite charming; we spent about an hour exploring after the excursion. Honestly, U'd be happy with an itinerary that included both Sitka and Skagway in lieu of Juneau. Once back on board, mom went to round 2 of the slot tournament she qualified for. She then made it to the final and ended in fourth place so won $1,000 in cash. That was exciting since her entry to the tournament was free. Tomorrow is Glacier Bay National Park; a highlight on any Alaskan cruise.

Day 4: Juneau, Alaska [8/28/2023, 10.08pm] We arrived in Juneau at 1pm so had the whole morning to relax. We ate breakfast in the dining room with a delightful Australian couple and an older lady from Canada who was traveling solo. The food was good but the service was terribly slow, as it has been throughout the trip so far. They still seem to be rather understaffed. We had booked an excursion for an Alaskan salmon bake at 1.30pm which was quite good. The salmon was truly delicious and so fresh tasting. The baked beans with reindeer sausage were terrific as well. The cornbread, coleslaw, and salt were mediocre but one really goes for the salmon anyway. There is a short trail with a lovely waterfall behind the site which was a nice addition to the day. Once back in downtown Juneau we just browsed some of the shops. A lot of tourist tat and cruise port jewelry stores that didn't interest us but I did get a Christmas ornament and some postcards to send to friends.

Day 3: Sea Day [8/27/2023, 10.50pm] Just back from dinner and some casino time. Since it's mom's 70th birthday today, the dining room waiters sang the Indonesian birthday song and brought her a piece of cake. We have open seating on this trip and they sat us at a wonderful window seat today. We saw loads of whales outside from our table and other guests were coming over to have a look. It was quite cool to see so many all at once. The rest of the day was fairly calm. I went for a swim and soak in the hot tub around 9.30am, before the area got crowded. We also went to the ship's library and I borrowed an Agatha Christie book of Miss Marple short stories. After tea was INSANELY busy! By the time we got seated, they ran out of all the tea sandwiches and most of the pastries. We ended up with 3 tiers of mini French macarons and one strawberry tart with nothing else.

Agreed. The biggest issue is the shoes, especially for men. Shoes that one wears with a tuxedo cannot really be worn with anything else. So you’d need formal shoes, sneakers, and sandals at a minimum. And one could easily justify either another pair of sneakers or more casual shoes. It’s almost impossible without checking luggage. I have a tux but bought it for Cunard cruises and will still use it if I travel with them again. For HAL, I’m fine with a nice shirt and trousers, maybe with a cardigan or a silk scarf. Just off the Koningsdam to Alaska and only saw two guys (young ones too) in tuxedos. They looked great but it’s easy to look great in one’s twenties haha.

Yes it’s truly a beautiful city. Outside of Chinatown it was great.

Enjoy Koningsdam! I love the Pinnacle class. They are really pretty and the Grand Dutch Cafe is fabulous.

Thank you all for reading.

Thanks for reading! Yes I was shocked at Air Canada. I though US airlines were bad but at least they give you a cookie or a bag of chips lol. Funny you mention that because she said it was a recent change. Either way it was an ordeal and they didn’t tell me ahead of time so caused a hiccup. Thanks for reading! I’m back at work today but will post some more this afternoon.

Day 2: Vancouver and Boarding Koningsdam [8/262023, 10.44pm] Woke at 4.30am this morning due to a combo of jet lag and an early bedtime last night. Since we didn't have to head over to the sip until around 11am, we took a Lyft to Stanley Park for a quick visit. What a lovely space for the citizens of Vancouver. The rose harden was beautiful as were the views of downtown across the water. The port experience was a bit of an ordeal between check-in, security, US Customs, and then waiting to board. Once we were on the ship from start to finish was about an hour and 15 minutes but I've heard stories of over 2 hours! We upgraded last minute from an oceanview to a balcony for a special price of $49/pp. We got stateroom 5126 which in on the corner of the bump out of the ship and thus has a larger balcony by about 50%. It is a triangle shape with lots of extra space. A real treat! Dinner was somewhat of an ordeal tonight though. I had booked [and paid for] Canaletto months ago. When we got there we were told that they no longer open on embarkation night and my reservation was moved to tomorrow. As we like to eat in the MDR for formal/dressy nights, I had to move it to our last night on the ship, Friday. I was not pleased at the disorganization but the issue seems to be fixed now at least. Due to this, we ended up eating in the buffet tonight. They did have a wonderful Indonesian beef rendang. Also, the BBQ pork ribs and popovers were terrific as well.

Day 1: Boston to Vancouver [8/25/2023, 9.30pm] An early start today as our flight was scheduled to depart at 7.45am. We arrived at 6 and breezed through security so had time for breakfast in the beautiful Chase Sapphire Reserve Lounge. They had a delicious shakshouka that was made to order. We boarded on time but then sat on the plane for almost 90 minutes before taking off!! Luckily we had the preferred coach seats with extra legroom but it was still unpleasant to add 90 mixture to an already 6 hour flight. Also, Air Canada has to be the cheapest "legacy" airline there is!! They didn't even serve snacks like cookies or chips unless you paid for them. All that was free were soft drinks, water, and coffee/tea. ON A 6 HOUR FLIGHT! Once we arrived in Vancouver we took a Lyft to our hotel, the Century Plaza. I booked a studio but we ended up with a huge one-bedroom suite. The decor was a bit dated but we had lots of space and a private balcony which had great views as we were on the 23rd floor. We went for lunch as a restaurant called Joey that is just down the street from the hotel and then we walked over to the Gastown neighborhood to browse the ships and see the stream clock. It's a really cute area but Chinatown was awful. It was borderline scary with homeless people everywhere and some people even smoking crack on the street in broad daylight! IMG_0516.MOV

Hi fellow cruisers. I just returned from the Koningsdam's 7-night sailing to Alaska and wanted to share my thoughts. The trip left from Vancouver via the Inside Passage and visited Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan, I usually post reviews in a diary style format so you can read my thoughts as I wrote them during the trip. BACKGROUND: I sailed on this trip with my mother as a celebration for her 70th birthday; I am 40 for those who like to track demographics. Koningsdam was a new ship for the both of us. I had sailed on her sister ship, Rotterdam, twice with DH but mom had never sailed on a Pinnacle-class ship before. This was my sixth HAL cruise and her fourth. I had been to Alaska back in 2016 with DH on the Westerdam but it was mom's first trip to Alaska. On my prior trip, we left from Seattle and called at Sitka so Skagway and Vancouver were both new ports for me.

We are just back from Amsterdam and loved the canal cruise. We chose an open top one so we’d have a better view and are glad we did. Unless it’s pouring out, the open top boats are great.

I wonder how many of these issues Hank is having are ship specific. Or perhaps the fact that little things added up over a month on one ship start to eat at a person in a way a similar thing wouldn’t bother one on a week long cruise. A long, port intensive cruise around Japan might also attract an older clientele due to cost and length and many of that demographic may be fine without staying up past 11. Again, there will be outliers but businesses generally cater to the majority. The one thing I am really bothered by is the accounting issues he is having. There really is no excuse for that to happen repeatedly and they need to get it together on that front. I am just off the Rotterdam and it was wonderful. The short staffing was noticeable a little in the MDR but that’s really it. Stateroom steward was great even without an assistant. We got our Delft tiles as well. Entertainment until at least 11.30-midnight each night with the casino and its associated bar open at least that late. I didn’t stay up later than that but I don’t think the majority care of there is a bar open at 2am (there may be a few people who do of course). Step One performed both nights they were scheduled (it was a five night cruise so only twice) though one of the male dancers must’ve been sick since there were only two men and three women. And this was in the North Sea which is not the calmest of waters.

It’s not just “newbies” taking 7 night cruises but rather the vast majority of people still in the workforce. I get a fairly generous 5.5 weeks PTO each year and have never taken more than a 12 night cruise. I’d rather take 3 trips each year than use up most of my days on a month-long cruise all at once. And many people get far less vacation time.

Thanks for reading. Im glad you enjoyed. Two of our travel companions went to a couple of the BB King sets and loved it. It was a little too loud for me. I think it is just the acoustics of that room and how it amplifies the music. We went to Billboard nightly though. Thanks for reading! We loved the Billboard sets as well. We also listened to Rolling Stones Rock Room from the Billboard side as we liked that seating area haha.

Wow. It’s amazing how many new ways humans can find to scam each other lol. The PIN seems to protect both driver and passenger as you can see the driver enter it and get a confirmation. It’s reassuring for both parties. I’m surprised it isn’t universal with Uber. It doesn’t really take up any extra time.

Thanks for reading. I’m glad you enjoyed the review. We did have a good time. I really love the Rotterdam.

We used it numerous times in Amsterdam and felt safe. We’ve also used it in Mexico and in India and never had an issue. Actually it felt the safest in India as they send a PIN number that that driver asks for to confirm it’s you.

It was an inside room and there was no sofa, just a vanity seat that’s like a cube thing. This was one of the sideways insides and it was the first time I’d been in one. I’m sure sqft is the same as the long ones but it was cool to have the bathroom and closets in a separate area rather than after opening the door. This one opened right into the sleeping area.

I’m not 100% sure of the time but I think self-debark could start leaving around 6.30/7. There is indeed a sidewalk and mostly smooth except for the section right outside the terminal which is brick. Still easy enough to roll a suitcase over though; it’s just a little noisy haha.