The 1st 14-day voyage of the Amsterdam

[NMLady]

I posted this as a reply in an Alaska Amsterdam review on HAL board but I thought I'd also put it here. I was on the first of HAL's 14-day cruises on the Amsterdam, from May 17 to May 31. Believe it or not, most of the days were absolutely unbelievable sunshine. Here's my lengthy review:

 

 

The first sea day up the inside passage was beautiful. We'd accepted an upsell from our category E ocean view to a Category A verandah and were delighted with the view from the floor to ceiling windows as well as having a balcony. Since the entire two weeks was sunny, we were on the balcony a lot.

The Meet & Greet was a delight to see so many of our fellow CC members. Many thanks to Ev & Sybil for organizing it and to Gimer (Stan) for those lovely nametags, and for the bookmarks at the 2nd M&G. What souvenir treasures they are.

 

Ketchikan: although drizzly in the morning, it had cleared by the time we took our HAL tour to Saxman Village where we saw a film, the dancers, an explanation of the totems, and saw a totem carver at work. My husband walks with a cane and when the rest of us were walking up a gravel incline through the woods to the lodge, those with mobility problems were transported in a shuttle cart.

All of the explanations were well done and we really enjoyed the dancers and explanations of the dances. The dance show is evidently only available to those on organized tours.

 

Sitka: this was the only port which required a tender. Hubby Joe and I took the tender to the port. Because of his walking problems he was content to sit on a bench in the nearby park and people watch and talk to some of the passers by before he returned to the ship.

I'd been going to take the $10 hop-on\hop-off shuttle to the Nat'l Park at the end of Lincoln St to walk the totem trail but it wasn't running that day. I took a free shuttle from the port the 4 blocks or so into the heart of town, went to the Russian Bishop's house (interesting), but didn't walk any further. Instead I bought a few souvenirs and then returned to the ship.

 

Skagway: point of information -- HAL does not use the RR dock but one that is a little further away.

 

We'd booked Chilkoot tours to take the WP&Y RR to Fraser and then their van back to Skagway. The sun was shining and the ride was scenic, with a commentary many times. I loved every minute of it. So did Joe.

The snow-capped hills were stunning and there were lots of scenic vistas. I couldn't believe the snow packed so close to the rails in some of the places. Later we saw the rotary snow pusher attached to an engine that is used to clear the rails of snow.

On the return van ride the driver pulled over so we could watch a bear cub at the side of the road who was happily feasting on dandelions. I thought it was a full-size bear but the driver said it was probably a 1 1/2 year old cub.

The driver dropped off some people at the shops in town. Joe and I were going to stop at the Red Onion for a drink but it was so crowded, standing room only, that we simply returned to the ship.

 

Glacier Bay: another sunny day. What awesome scenery, so hard to describe. I spent part of the day on the very front bow that HAL opens to passengers on glacier days. I was warm enough with turtleneck and jacket but I also did have longjohns on under my slacks. No gloves, but a knit cap kept me warm. Complimentary hot chocolate was served but I bought mine in a souvenir mug.

The views were breathtaking, especially the calving we saw. And the naturalist did a good job of explaining. Joe alternated between our cabin with the tv turned to the ship's channel bow view and narration, and our balcony's view. Fantastic.

 

Anchorage: (after another sea day). No public is allowed in the port, so Port of Anchorage provided free shuttle buses to the Egan Center in town.

Before taking a shuttle to town, I took a HAL city tour that also went to Native Heritage Center. I could have spent all day there but we were meeting friends in the afternoon. On the return drive from the center we saw a mother moose and her 2 little calves -- ugly, but so cute.

Our friends have lived in Anchorage more than 10 years. They picked us up at Egan Center and took us not only to their home for a visit, but also had organized an awesome sightseeing tour for them to drive us. Since Joe has a private pilot's license, he is interested in small planes so we drove around both Merrill airport and also Lake Hood which is the largest seaplane base. We also drove out to see Potter's Marsh, a natural habitat, and some other areas too, including Hope building where my friend works. We ended our day with delicious seafood chowder at Uncle Chuck's, a small place with outstandingly food and friendly service.

 

Homer: Since only 5 school buses could be utilized for shuttles, the lines were long in the morning so we waited until afternoon. The "hop-on/hop-off" bus was $15 for the day. It had 5 stops. Besides stops in town (including the museum), it stopped at a group of shops on the spit and at the Sawlty Dog pub/saloon on the spit. The spit has 2 sections, with a marina separating them, and the only water deep enough for a cruise ship is at the section furthest from the shops. One walker said it was about a mile and a half around the marina from the ship to the other section of the spit.

[Joe's middle son was stationed in Homer in the mid-1970's after graduation from the Coast Guard Academy so we were interested in how much it's grown since his description of it then.]

 

Kodiak: We were there only part of a day but that was long enough since there wasn't too much to do. (Not a complaint, just an observation.) Joe and I took HAL's city tour. It seemed as if the shops were just a few blocks from the pier, but uphill the whole way. Our first stop was at the Russian Church. Then we drove through various sections with an excellent commentary by our driver who was also the usual driver of that school bus. Our final stop was to see the battlements on the hill above us, put up during WWII, to view the harbor (and our ship) from hillside above, and to see the 3 wind generators on the hillside above us. They were added just this year and already contribute 25% of the town's electricity.

 

Hubbard Glacier: another sunny day. This is a HUGE single glacier. We didn't even see all of it, since part of its 75 mile length is in an inlet that cruise ships don't sail. But we saw miles of it and saw lots of small bergs in the water. I felt as if we were in Antarctica. What awesome scenery.

 

Juneau: temperatures here were in the 70's (!!) and our ship was docked in the heart of town, right at the base of the tram. We'd pre-booked a tour with M&M tours (a small company, not the brokers), chosen primarily because besides going to Mendenhall glacier and also giving a tour of the town, it went out to the wooded area of St Therese shrine. This tour was excellent. There were only 6 of us in the van, so plenty of room and lots of opportunity to ask Mike, our driver/guide questions in addition to learning from his excellent explanations. He was great and really showed us some beautiful scenery. Having lived in the area for 26 years, his explanations were also very knowledgeable and he knew the places to stop for the best views, including a non-touristy view of the glacier and its lake. Quiet, beautiful, very scenic. And the woods around St Therese shrine were also very scenic. We spent time there walking around the beautiful area as well as seeing the little church.

 

When we returned, Joe went back to the ship but I rode the tram to the very top of Mt Roberts. What a fantastic view. At the top were nature trails, a nature center, a disabled eagle who can't be returned to the wild but is cared for there. There was also a building with a restaurant, a small theater with an interesting film about the Tlingit history in that area, and a gift shop that also had displays of sculptures and jewelry done by native Alaskans. It was interesting.

 

Then I took the tram back down, walked to the nearby library (I didn't stop at Tracy's crab shack) for some free internet time, then walked to the nearby Red Dog saloon. A real touristy place but I enjoyed it. I was seated at a table, purchased an Alaskan amber ale, and sang along with all the others singing with the piano player. While singing I eyed the esoteric collection of items, including Wyatt Earp's gun and an entire top wall of caps. Stuffed bears and other items also were interesting. If you don't want to stop for a beer, at least take a look inside. Interesting.

From there I walked past a variety of shops to return to the ship.

 

Our sea days on the way to Victoria were overcast and had seas a little choppy but not too bad. I did take a mesclizine (generic Bonine) as a precaution though. Our itinerary said 2pm-8pm for Victoria but it was actually 4:30pm-10:30pm. Joe and I had spent time in Victoria before (on our honeymoon 21 years ago) so we'd opted to stay aboard. A good choice since about an hour after docking, it started raining. We were nice and warm in the Canaletto having dinner. It was our 3rd meal there since we really liked the food. We had no complaints either about the food in the MDR and we did eat in the Pinnacle once. Delicious.

 

We had signed up for HAL's Luggage Direct program ($19 per person plus the airline's baggage fees), so when we put our suitcases outside our cabin door that night we didn't see them again until our destination airport in El Paso TX. That's an awesome service since we didn't have to go through check-in at the airport. HAL gave us our boarding passes with our airline baggage tags the night before.

We simply went straight to security lines. We'd pre-booked Already There town car service and really liked it. Besides a clean, comfortable car, the driver, Alex, was also a personable tour guide, making our drive to SeaTac an informative one. It was a nice way to end our cruise.

[retiring soon]

Hi!

Sounds like your had a great cruise with lovely weather. Lucky you seeing bear & moose! Thanks for sharing.

 

I'm considering doing this next year. I just came back from the Infinity that sailed on May 10 from San Francisco & really enjoyed Alaska so much I'd love to go back.

~Jo~ :)

[PennyAgain]

Wonderful write up. Thank you! I agree with you about Kodiak. I really wondered what people would find to do there if they couldn't climb up to the shops.

[PlanoDebbie]

We'll be on this cruise in 5 weeks. I'm so excited, as we've never been on a cruise this long!

 

Can you tell us what sort of daily ship-board activities there are on the Amsterdam? Do they have a daily listing of scheduled activities? If so, did you save any of yours? I'd love to see them.

 

Also, were there different shows every night of the cruise, or were there any duplicates?

 

What else can you tell us about the ship? Did they have the roof closed over the pool for the duration? Did many people go swimming? How dressed up did everyone get for the formal nights and other nights? We've sailed on Carnival and Princess before, and know what to expect from them. Would prefer not to take a ton of dressy clothes with for the 2 weeks if I don't need to.

[vbmom87]

Great review!!! How lucky you were to have such nice weather. You were on such a great itinerary to be able to see both Hubbard and Glacier. Sounds like things went quite smoothly!!! Wish I was on the cruise too. Maybe someday!!!

[NMLady]

We'll be on this cruise in 5 weeks. I'm so excited, as we've never been on a cruise this long!

 

Can you tell us what sort of daily ship-board activities there are on the Amsterdam? Do they have a daily listing of scheduled activities? If so, did you save any of yours? I'd love to see them.

 

Also, were there different shows every night of the cruise, or were there any duplicates?

 

What else can you tell us about the ship? Did they have the roof closed over the pool for the duration? Did many people go swimming? How dressed up did everyone get for the formal nights and other nights? We've sailed on Carnival and Princess before, and know what to expect from them. Would prefer not to take a ton of dressy clothes with for the 2 weeks if I don't need to.

 

Each night the Newsletter will be put in your cabin listing the activities for the next day. On the left side the activities are listed by topic, such as Fitness. On the extreme right side was a perforated schedule listing those same activities by time. That was really handy. My husband tore it off each day and carried it with him since he's more interested in activities than I am. I love to read when I'm aboard ship.

 

He usually took part in Team Trivia (passengers form teams to play; questions are asked by a member of the Cruise Director's group). THere was also sometimes additional trivia at another time such as travel trivia or culinary trivia. THere was sometimes Name that Tune.

 

I know that shuffleboard, basketball, yoga, walking was also offered.

There were several mixology sessions. Watching was free, but tasting samples was a $12.50 cost. There was a Premium wine tasting session offered ($35).

There were free cooking demonstrations as well as the classes for which there was a charge.

In the casino on sea days there were Blackjack and slot tournaments and there were a few Texas Hold Em tournaments.

 

I'll have to find a copy of one of our newsletters to give you an idea of other activities.

 

The entertainment every night was different. I only went the first night but I know from the newsletter that besides the Amsterdam singers/dancers there was a pianist, a comedian and some other entertainment.

 

There were also movies in the theater, a rotation of Avatar, Blindside,

It's Complicated, Sherlock Holmes, and I think there were some others too.

 

The theater is also the culinary center where demonstrations are give, and it was also where Mass was said every day at either 8am or 5pm, depending on the day's schedule.

 

The library is a huge open room with lots of wide windows, with recliners in front of some of them and table with computers on others. There were also other kiosk tables with computers and lots of other seating area. A magazine area, and some glasstopped tables with NY Times crossword puzzle under each for solving with a grease pen. The coffee bar (similar to Starbucks coffee) was also there.

 

There were plenty of lounges so lots of places to read or visit when not ashore in a port.

 

Because all our days were sunny, the roof above the pool was always at least partially open. I rarely saw anyone in the pool but the jacuzzi/hot tub was often used.

 

For formal nights (4 of them) most of the men wore dark suits although some did wear a tuxedo. But I also saw at least one man in a polo shirt in the MDR on a formal night. The ladies were mostly dressy: cocktail dresses or dressy pants/top.

[PlanoDebbie]

Thanks so much for all the info. My husband spent most of today looking at the shore excursion options and video tours of the ship. We're both very excited about being on this cruise next month.

 

How did most people dress during the day on the ship? Pretty casual? Jeans? Do the cabins have a hair-dryer in them?

 

Are there any "must do" activities in Anchorage, Sitka, Kodiak and Homer? These are the ports that will be new to us. With so many ports, we wanted to only do 2 or 3 nice excursions, and just explore the others on our own.

[Adri204]

Thanks so much for all the info. My husband spent most of today looking at the shore excursion options and video tours of the ship. We're both very excited about being on this cruise next month.

 

How did most people dress during the day on the ship? Pretty casual? Jeans? Do the cabins have a hair-dryer in them?

 

Are there any "must do" activities in Anchorage, Sitka, Kodiak and Homer? These are the ports that will be new to us. With so many ports, we wanted to only do 2 or 3 nice excursions, and just explore the others on our own.

 

 

I just thaught I would pipe in about must things to do in Anchorage and Homer.

 

For Anchorage if you can its worth seeing Lake Hood which is the largest float plane base in the world. Planes take off and land all the time and its rather fun. Also earthquake park is fun to see. As far as downtown Anchorage thier is lots to do. Thier is Phyliss's which is right downtown by the eagen centre where the buses drop you off. They have some great food and great Alaskan type food. Also the sunshine mall on 4th aveune is great.

 

4th avenue was split during the 1964 earthquake and this mall was built right on the split. Thier is a discovery theatre thier as well that talks about the earthquake and info as well. Thier is a full service post office in the bottom of the sunshine mall and its great to look around in and if you have any mail its very centrally located.

 

I dont know if you plan to rent a car or take cabs or just shore excursions.

 

Thier is also the Alaska wild berry park which has the worlds largest chocolate water fall. Also a small alaskan theme park. Also Sourdough Mining Company is great for a place to eat and has great Alaskan ambiance. Also right next to them is the peanut farm which is a sports bar and grill.

 

As far as Homer, I love the homer spit its a great place I love to wonder and see the shops and also check out the harbour. If time permits see about taking a sightseeing tour across the bay and checking out the area.

 

If you rent a car in Homer, drive out east end road towards the head of the bay its fantastic and a great drive. Its a lot of farms and peoples homes and is super beatiful.

 

The original Alaska Wild Berry Park is in downtown Homer just an interesting FYI.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Adri :)

 

P.s another thing you could do in Anchorage is rent a car and drive out here to the Mat-Su valley where I live. Thier is lots to see and do like the Musk Ox farm, raindeer farm, Iditarod sled dog trail headquarters, Fabulous ice cream in Houston, AK :).

[NMLady]

This is a great photo montage taken by one of the women who was on the same cruise we were on.

 

[PlanoDebbie]

Adri,

 

Thanks soooooo much for the long list of things to do in Anchorage. Now I'm wondering if we should rent a car for the day to see as much as possible, or what. So many decisions.... My former sister-in-law was up there for the big quake in 1964. She was just graduating from high school that year, so she remembers it vividly.

 

NMLady,

 

Thanks for sharing that youtube picture diary from this cruise. I am so very excited for this trip.

[NMLady]

Thanks so much for all the info. My husband spent most of today looking at the shore excursion options and video tours of the ship. We're both very excited about being on this cruise next month.

 

How did most people dress during the day on the ship? Pretty casual? Jeans? Do the cabins have a hair-dryer in them?

 

Are there any "must do" activities in Anchorage, Sitka, Kodiak and Homer? These are the ports that will be new to us. With so many ports, we wanted to only do 2 or 3 nice excursions, and just explore the others on our own.

 

Dress aboard ship is casual. Yes to jeans but not to dinner in the MDR although we did see some there. to lunch is okay.

There are four formal nights: first sea day, Glacier Bay, Homer, and [i already forget, but think it was Juneau]

 

Yes, the cabins have hair-dryers. In fact, our cabin had one in a drawer in the cabin as well as the one on the wall in the bathroom. I used the one in the bathroom and it worked fine.

 

I think excursions depend on your interests. Russian history? THen make sure you see the Russian Bishop's house in Sitka and the Orthodox church in Kodiak.

 

Totems? Then take the totem trail in Sitka's National Park at the end of Lincoln street. You can do it independently or led by a ranger.

 

Museums? There's one in the town of Homer but I think the best thing to do in Homer is explore the Spit (the other side of the marina from where the ship docks. But it's about a 2 mile walk, so either take a cab or the all day shuttle ($15).

 

There's LOTS to do in Anchorage so I'm glad to see some of it mentioned in this thread.

[alpal1993]

DH and I leave on Sunday for Seattle and the 3 cruise on Amsterdam,NMLADY and I have entirely different tours /So just to give you a heads up ogf all the wonderful things there are to do on this cruise.

1.Ketchikan am we are taking the furnicular up to the Totem Poles then walking over to Creek St,before heading back to the ship to Catch up with our Ships Tour of The Bering Sea Crab Fishermans Tour

2.Skagway Ships tour Dog Carting(dog sledding way out of our budget) great compromise.Lunch back on the ship.Self guided walking tour .With stops at Red Onion? and the a side trip to the falls.

3.Sitka 4 hour ecowildlife tour with Captain Davey. Walk around on our own and maybe take in the Raptor Center.

4.Anchorage:Grand Anchorage/Portage Glacier Tour.Includes a tour of Shipcreek Earthquake Park and Native Heritage Center,on to Alyeska for Tramride and lunch Then Portage Glacier Boat ride.Stops along Turnagain Arm like Potters Marsh. Dinner back in Anchorage @ Humpy's

5.Homer tour downtown take in a Museum then meet our Ship Sponsored Tour Taste of Homer Takes in Brewery,Winery and Meadry.

6.Kodiak: 2 hour tour with Bonnie of Fridays Taxi.She is very knowledgeable and seems excited to show us around her wonderful Island. Time to take in a museum and explore on our own.

7.Juneau: We were just planning on doing the Shuttle Bus to Mendenhall Glacier and Roberts Tramway.Although there is a Ships Tour that we are really interested in taking That goes to an underground Gold Mine.

8.Victoria: Ships Tour to Butchart Gardens.

Enjoy what ever you do

[CruisinMama7]

Which did you prefer...Hubbard or Glacier Bay?:confused: I know that it's probably a hard question to answer :rolleyes:, but I'm visiting both places in less than 30 days. I've previously seen the spectacular GB - just wondered how Hubbard was in comparison.

 

Thanks so much for your review. Originally I wanted to do this same 2 week cruise, but DH said it was too expensive. We made our first trip to Alaska just last June, so I feel truly lucky to be going back so soon.:) Your review and the Two Sisters video have really increased my already overwhelming anticipation for our upcoming cruise in July. Muchas gratias!:D

 

Cruisin'Mama

[Debbie&Chaz]

Which did you prefer...Hubbard or Glacier Bay?:confused: I know that it's probably a hard question to answer :rolleyes:' date=' but I'm visiting both places in less than 30 days. I've previously seen the spectacular GB - just wondered how Hubbard was in comparison.

We went to Glacier Bay in 09 and Hubbard in 09. Purely a personal pick - I liked Hubbard better because it is so HUGE, and lots of calving. Glacier Bay is more senic cruising, and so MANY glaciers.

 

Thanks so much for your review. Originally I wanted to do this same 2 week cruise, but DH said it was too expensive. We made our first trip to Alaska just last June, so I feel truly lucky to be going back so soon.:) Your review and the Two Sisters video have really increased my already overwhelming anticipation for our upcoming cruise in July. Muchas gratias!:D

I know what you mean. We went on the "once in a lifetime Alaska cruise" in 08 and this will be our 3rd time this summer!

 

Cruisin'Mama

 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[NMLady]

Which did you prefer...Hubbard or Glacier Bay?:confused: I know that it's probably a hard question to answer :rolleyes:' date=' but I'm visiting both places in less than 30 days. I've previously seen the spectacular GB - just wondered how Hubbard was in comparison.

 

Thanks so much for your review. Originally I wanted to do this same 2 week cruise, but DH said it was too expensive. We made our first trip to Alaska just last June, so I feel truly lucky to be going back so soon.:) Your review and the Two Sisters video have really increased my already overwhelming anticipation for our upcoming cruise in July. Muchas gratias!:D

 

[i']Cruisin'Mama[/i]

 

It's really hard to answer as to which I prefered: Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay. Both of them were awesome and very different from each other.

If I could only do one, I'd probably pick Glacier Bay since the ship is there much longer than at Hubbard Glacier and there are two glaciers to see rather than one, plus other icy views.

 

We usually do at least one cruise a year but we did not do any cruises last year so that we could save our money for an Alaska cruise. We had been going to do two 7-day back to back on different cruise lines for a different return itinerary but then HAL offered this one which met our wants perfectly, plus more.

[1char]

2.Skagway Ships tour Dog Carting(dog sledding way out of our budget) great compromise

 

What is Dog Carting? We are sailing on the Ryndam, July 11th.

[1char]

Hi NM Lady, I enjoyed reading your reviews. I hope our cruise in July on the Ryndam is just as nice. We have only taken 2 other cruises and neither of those was with HAL. Charliebeth

[1char]

I just thaught I would pipe in about must things to do in Anchorage

 

 

Thanks for the info. We are going to be in Anchorage in July for 1 day, staying at the Westmark.

 

Will we find places within walking distance of our hotel?

[alpal1993]

2.Skagway Ships tour Dog Carting(dog sledding way out of our budget) great compromise

 

What is Dog Carting? We are sailing on the Ryndam, July 11th.

 

The dogs pull a cart like a hay wagon on a path through the woods.We get to meet the dogs too and hug and pet them

[alpal1993]

I am so glad I stayed proactive and fought for the tour I wanted.The Grand Anchorage/Portage Glacier Tour was wonderful.I highly recommend it.We got off the ship very early around 7:30 am.We took the first Taxi(shared a ride with 2 others)Cost came to $4.25 for 2 plus tip.We got off at the Eagan Center.Walked across the street to The Westmark Hotel.We were directed to the lobby to wait for the tour.Several of us got on and we made another stop at The Hilton to pick up a few more.I was a little bit disappointed that we didn't make some stops at Ship Creek and Earthquake Park .We went straight to The Native Heritage Center and we had ample time to view the outside as well as partake in several shows.We had to go back and drop off several passengers that only booked this part of the tour.There were only 11 of us on the big bus.Our driver was a hoot.He quized us on really hard Alaska facts.Apparently I hadn't read up on the ones he asked.Our drive to Alyeska was long and as I was told Summer is Alaska's Construction Season.We had several delays as the traffic was held to let North Bound lane through.It was well worth it.I am thrilled to have had the experience of going up the tramway,and stand in the snow.Our first time on a ski slope.and it was sunny and warm up there.The scenery was spectacular.We spent enough time up on the mountain and we watched several people hang gliding.What a sight! On to Portage Glacier we had time to get a little snack of some very delicious clam chowder and home made fudge.We were amazed by the amount of icebergs still in the water.We watched one turn over.The cruise was nice and enjoyable although we didn't see any calving.The ride back seemed to go a lot quicker.but I can see why you would need to watch your time.We ended our stay sharing a Reindeer Susage on a bun,while we waited for the free shuttle to get back to the ship.It was a wonderfully memorable 12 hour stop in Anchorage.Yes we made it back in time for our late seating.