Alaska 2013 sailings

[arewethereyet]

My apologies if this has already been posted.

Holland America Line To Increase Departures, Guest Capacity In Alaska For 2013

4:08p ET July 25, 2012 (PR NewsWire) For the 2013 Alaska cruise season, Holland America Line is increasing its presence in the region with more departures and more guests than in previous years.

 

Although the number of Holland America ships deployed in Alaska will remain at seven -- the same as 2012 -- ms Amsterdam will double its departures on new seven-day roundtrip sailings from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As a result, Alaska-season departures will increase 8.5 percent and guest capacity will increase 6 percent over 2012.

 

Plus, Early Advantage savings feature complimentary upgrades and free and reduced fares for third or fourth guests who share the same stateroom on select sailings. By planning ahead, a family of four can take advantage of fares on select departure dates starting at $699 per person for the first and second guest in a stateroom, and the third and fourth sailing free. Taxes are additional.

 

"Increasing our capacity in Alaska means that Holland America Line will offer nearly 1.6 million passenger days in the 2013 season," said Richard Meadows, executive vice president, marketing, sales and guest programs. "These itineraries have always been among our most popular, and Amsterdam's new seven day departures will allow us to bring more guests to Alaska and show off the natural beauty of this part of the world. We also encourage travelers to book early and enjoy greater benefits with Early Advantage savings."

 

When the 1,380-guest Amsterdam begins its Alaska season May 24, the ship will sail a series of 17 seven-day Inside Passage voyages. The Vancouver sailings feature port calls at Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, Alaska, as well as scenic cruising throughout Glacier Bay National Park or Tracy Arm Fjord/Twin Sawyer glaciers.

 

For the 2013 Alaska cruise season, Holland America Line also will feature ms Zaandam and ms Statendam each sailing on 18 Gulf of Alaska departures from Vancouver. Statendam and Zaandam also will sail four total Inside Passage routes, along with Amsterdam (17), ms Volendam (21) and ms Zuiderdam (20). In addition, ms Oosterdam and ms Westerdam are slated to sail 21 and 20, respectively, seven-night voyages from Seattle, Wash.

Seven-day Alaskan Explorer Voyages Sail Roundtrip from Seattle Starting May 5 and 11, respectively, the 1,916-guest Oosterdam (Sunday departures) and 1,916-guest Westerdam (Saturday departures) will sail 21 and 20 seven-day Alaskan Explorer voyages departing roundtrip from Seattle. The itinerary features port calls at Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan, Alaska; Victoria, British Columbia; and a scenic cruising experience at Tracy Arm Fjord/Twin Sawyer glaciers or Glacier Bay National Park.

 

Seven-day Inside Passage Voyages Sail Roundtrip from Vancouver Five Holland America Line ships - Amsterdam, Statendam, Volendam, Zaandam and Zuiderdam - will sail roundtrip from Vancouver on a series of seven-day Inside Passage voyages. The 1,432-guest Volendam (Wednesday departures) and 1,916-guest Zuiderdam (Saturday departures) sail a total of 41 voyages from May 1 to September 21. During those voyages guests will visit Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay National Park and make a shore excursion call at Tracy Arm Fjord.

 

Four additional Inside Passage cruises sail aboard Statendam and Zaandam. Statendam departs Vancouver May 5 and 12, and September 22. Zaandam departs May 5.

 

During embarkation for the Seattle voyages, a ranger from the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park will be available to talk to guests about the Klondike parks and other national parks located throughout the Inside Passage. On all Glacier Bay sailings, a park ranger and native interpreters from the Huna people board the ships to explain the origins of their tribe and cultural traditions.

 

Seven-Day Glacier Discovery Voyages Sail from Vancouver to Seward (or reverse) The 1,260-guest Statendam and 1,432-guest Zaandam once again will provide the only mid-sized cruise ship experience available in the Gulf of Alaska. Glacier Discovery cruises sail between Vancouver and Seward (Anchorage) with Sunday departures May 13 through September 16. The itinerary features port calls at Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, a day at sea in the Gulf of Alaska and scenic cruising through the Inside Passage. Each ship will sail 18 voyages and include a visit to Glacier Bay.

 

CruiseTours and Exclusive Shore Adventures Provide More Discovery of Alaska Added capacity and departures also will send more guests on the line's CruiseTours, which combine a three-, four- or seven-day Inside Passage cruise with in-depth overland tours to the Yukon and Alaska's interior. Offering up to three days at Denali National Park for wildlife viewing and spectacular scenery, CruiseTours are designed to highlight the best of Alaska's wilderness, wildlife, native culture and history.

 

Holland America Line offers more than 250 optional shore excursions in conjunction with its Alaska cruises. While in port, guests can optimize their Alaskan experience with excursions that involve everything from adventure and wildlife watching to history, art and cuisine. Exclusive Cruise with Purpose shore excursions turn vacation time into an exciting give-and-take opportunity -- combining traditional tour content with a chance to make a difference to society, the environment, animal welfare or economic growth.

Guests also can enjoy active excursions such as sea kayaking, fly or sport fishing, dog sledding and viewing eagles, sea otters and whales. Other exciting excursions feature such attractions as the White Pass Summit Scenic Railway from Skagway, Russian heritage in Sitka, a photography tour in Haines and a five-course tasting meal featuring Alaska seafood prepared by a local chef in Ketchikan.

 

Popular seven-day Alaska Inside Passage cruises from Seattle, Wash., or Vancouver, British Columbia, start at $699 for inside staterooms or $999 for verandahs, with free upgrades and free or reduced third/fourth fares on select departures available during Holland America Line's Early Advantage savings promotion.

 

SOURCE Holland America Line

 

 

 

[RuthC]

The Amsterdam managed to double its departures by halving it's itineraries. HAL has dropped some of the best ports on the best itinerary by offering more stops at the same ol'/same ol'. :(

[Assateague Island Princes]

Totally agree w/you Ruth - HUGE disappointment that they dropped the 14 day itinerary with the best ports that are almost never visited by a cruise ship. Grateful I got to sail on the 14 day itinerary twice, but sure wish I had a third time to look forward to in the future....:(

[rajkr74]

I'll just add my disappointment here with HAL dropping their 14 day Amsterdam cruise that we took last year. I would think about taking this cruise again in 2013 or 2014. It was a great cruise and interneary.

 

It will be interesting to see how many cabins go empty with them adding the Amsterdam with 7 day crusies instead of the 14 day cruise. Maybe they know what they are doing better than I.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks Arewethereyet, that was pretty interesting. I know alot of people are upset about the Amsterdam (Hal) dropping the 14 day cruise.

[JDinWA]

I just wonder how they're getting those figures. Doubling their departures by halving each of the 14-day cruises to two 7-day cruises still comes out to the same number of passengers. How does guest capacity get increased??

 

Only reason we didn't do a 14-day this year was because they dropped Skagway. We were hoping that it might be added back in 2013...instead, all of the 14-day went away. And after the previous 14-day Alaska cruises, 7 days just doesn't seem long enough, y'know? But doing a 7-day northbound and 7-day southbound back-to-back with all the same ports isn't too appealing either.

 

Hmpf.

[arewethereyet]

The Amsterdam managed to double its departures by halving it's itineraries. HAL has dropped some of the best ports on the best itinerary by offering more stops at the same ol'/same ol'. :(

True. The meaning of mass cruiseing comes into focus when you wake up in a port with 4 other cruise ships. I believe a tour guide in Ketchikan said their population was about 14,000. Sometimes they have as many as 16,000 cruise ship passengers in town.

 

That's not special.

[arewethereyet]

I just wonder how they're getting those figures. Doubling their departures by halving each of the 14-day cruises to two 7-day cruises still comes out to the same number of passengers. How does guest capacity get increased??

 

Only reason we didn't do a 14-day this year was because they dropped Skagway. We were hoping that it might be added back in 2013...instead, all of the 14-day went away. And after the previous 14-day Alaska cruises, 7 days just doesn't seem long enough, y'know? But doing a 7-day northbound and 7-day southbound back-to-back with all the same ports isn't too appealing either.

 

Hmpf.

I noticed that as well. The only thing I can think of is some fuzzy math. Maybe when they say passengers, they mean newly embarking. That would double the number of passengers counted on Amsterdam, although the passenger sailing days remains the same.

 

That's just a guess.

[RuthC]

I noticed that as well. The only thing I can think of is some fuzzy math. Maybe when they say passengers, they mean newly embarking. That would double the number of passengers counted on Amsterdam, although the passenger sailing days remains the same.

 

That's just a guess.

A really, really, really good guess.

That's it exactly. The Amsterdam will have twice as many passengers every two weeks if it's doing one-week runs.

[Linda&Vern]

The Amsterdam managed to double its departures by halving it's itineraries. HAL has dropped some of the best ports on the best itinerary by offering more stops at the same ol'/same ol'. :(

Totally agree w/you Ruth - HUGE disappointment that they dropped the 14 day itinerary with the best ports that are almost never visited by a cruise ship. Grateful I got to sail on the 14 day itinerary twice, but sure wish I had a third time to look forward to in the future....:(

 

DH and I agree with you both 100%. We don't understand how "touring Alaska" can only include 3 ports in 7 days. We are so thankful we took the 14-day cruise on the Amsterdam in 2011. We will never forget those "little" ports others will never experience (Icy Straight Point, etc.). HAL must have had a reason to cut this itinerary :confused: - but we are glad we made the decision that if we were going to "see" Alaska from a cruise ship, we were going to "see" the most we could!

[arewethereyet]

 

 

DH and I agree with you both 100%. We don't understand how "touring Alaska" can only include 3 ports in 7 days. We are so thankful we took the 14-day cruise on the Amsterdam in 2011. We will never forget those "little" ports others will never experience (Icy Straight Point, etc.). HAL must have had a reason to cut this itinerary :confused: - but we are glad we made the decision that if we were going to "see" Alaska from a cruise ship, we were going to "see" the most we could!

Alaska still has relatively high port taxes. It was $50 per head a couple of years ago. But I think it's around $39 now. Even so, that's pretty high. Maybe high enough for HAL to limit Alaskan ports to 3 on a 7 day trip. The 14 day cruise had 7 Alaskan ports, so maybe that was a consideration in discontinuing that itinerary (and that's a shame).

[trophy_23]

I just wonder how they're getting those figures. Doubling their departures by halving each of the 14-day cruises to two 7-day cruises still comes out to the same number of passengers. How does guest capacity get increased??

 

Only reason we didn't do a 14-day this year was because they dropped Skagway. We were hoping that it might be added back in 2013...instead, all of the 14-day went away. And after the previous 14-day Alaska cruises, 7 days just doesn't seem long enough, y'know? But doing a 7-day northbound and 7-day southbound back-to-back with all the same ports isn't too appealing either.

 

Hmpf.

 

I agree, having just got back from the 14 day itinerary I was thinking about whether the 7day would be boring now :D. I decided that it is still Alaska and still a vacation so I would probably love it, but I am disappointed the 14day is now cancelled, it was amazing!

[Hope to Cruise]

I too loved the 14 day trip on the Amsterdam that I sailed on last year. But I see that they are now selling the August trip this year for $999 inside or ocean view. That seems to indicate that the cruise is not selling out, an essential ingredient for HAL to continue any itinerary.

 

Too bad, it was a great trip. Great price now for those who can do a last minute trip.

[jaguarstyper]

I can think of a couple possible reasons moving from a single 14 day itinerary to two 7 day itineraries would generate more revenue. Both of these are total speculation on my part, though.

 

1) I never really compared so maybe this isn't even valid, but is the per passenger fare for the 14 day cruise double what the per passenger fare is for a 7 day cruise. I'm kind of thinking its not. So, a $1900 14 day fare potentially becomes 2 separate $1000 fares. That's a potential increase of $100 in revenue, for every passenger in a 2 week period. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems plausible to me.

 

2) I would think the 14 day cruise is harder to sell out than two 7 day cruises. As much as I would love to go on a 14 day cruise, I don't see it in my immediate future due to time constraints. And I bet I'm not the only one. Not all cruisers are retired. So, there is a potential increase in marketing cost and a greater potential for an undersold ship with the 14 day runs.

 

Just thinking out loud...

[Krazy Kruizers]

We just did our 2nd 14 day cruise on the Amsterdam. We loved the new ports.

One thing I noticed -- people were not spending in the bars / lounges.

Also the prices of the 14 day cruises this year are higher than last year. This turned off some people from booking an expensive cruise.

Our cruise was not sold out. Thus HAL lost money on it.

[jaguarstyper]

Our cruise was not sold out. Thus HAL lost money on it.

Well, then I doubt we need to search much further to find the reason they are switching to 7 day cruises, now do we?

[K2Cruises]

We also loved the 14 day cruise on the Amsterdam when we took it two years ago. It was wonderful to visit ports that we had not been able to see on our previous 7 day Alaskan cruises. We really enjoyed Homer and Kodiak. Perhaps Holland America could run a 7 day roundtrip cruise out of Seward, visiting Kodiak, Homer and perhaps Haines to offer a variety to those people that have been to Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway numerous times and would like somewhere else to go.

[lazey1]

 

. And after the previous 14-day Alaska cruises, 7 days just doesn't seem long enough, y'know? But doing a 7-day northbound and 7-day southbound back-to-back with all the same ports isn't too appealing either.

 

Hmpf.

 

Totally agree. We wanted to wait until 2013 to do the 14 day Alaska on our 55 anniversary and brother&sister in law's 20th anniv. Please HAL, bring back the 14 day Alaska itinerary.

[arewethereyet]

Oh, I think they will bring it back after a couple of years. I'm looking for them to do a Caribbean out of Pt. Canaveral (they used to).

[TiogaCruiser]

We also loved the 14 day cruise on the Amsterdam when we took it two years ago. It was wonderful to visit ports that we had not been able to see on our previous 7 day Alaskan cruises. We really enjoyed Homer and Kodiak. Perhaps Holland America could run a 7 day roundtrip cruise out of Seward, visiting Kodiak, Homer and perhaps Haines to offer a variety to those people that have been to Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway numerous times and would like somewhere else to go.

 

Add College Fiords to that for scenic cruising and maybe Hubbard glacier or Sitka. Got a winner.

[carri cruiser]

We just did our 2nd 14 day cruise on the Amsterdam. We loved the new ports.

 

One thing I noticed -- people were not spending in the bars / lounges.

 

Also the prices of the 14 day cruises this year are higher than last year. This turned off some people from booking an expensive cruise.

 

Our cruise was not sold out. Thus HAL lost money on it.

I got an email the other day, and.... if you can leave on the spur of the mement, you can get a 14 day RT on Amsterdam same catagory, same deck, as our June 1st cruise .. for $1200.00 pp cheaper!!! I should go back now!!!:eek:

[carri cruiser]

I can think of a couple possible reasons moving from a single 14 day itinerary to two 7 day itineraries would generate more revenue. Both of these are total speculation on my part, though.

 

1) I never really compared so maybe this isn't even valid, but is the per passenger fare for the 14 day cruise double what the per passenger fare is for a 7 day cruise. I'm kind of thinking its not. So, a $1900 14 day fare potentially becomes 2 separate $1000 fares. That's a potential increase of $100 in revenue, for every passenger in a 2 week period. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems plausible to me.

 

2) I would think the 14 day cruise is harder to sell out than two 7 day cruises. As much as I would love to go on a 14 day cruise, I don't see it in my immediate future due to time constraints. And I bet I'm not the only one. Not all cruisers are retired. So, there is a potential increase in marketing cost and a greater potential for an undersold ship with the 14 day runs.

 

Just thinking out loud...

Our 14 DAY was $2399.00 pp. I am wondering how those little towns will do if the ships don't come in. there didn't seem to be much in ISP or Hoonah, but I guess they were there before HAL, they will make it.

HAL would have more revenue if they would lower some of their tour prices. Some of them are quite expensive compared to private tours!!

[dheianevans]

Awful news. The missus and I did the 14 days with the moms and they wanted to do it again. (Missus and her mom have done the Alaska cruise about 4 times.)

 

Who's still doing 14 days?

[solocanadian]

We just did our 2nd 14 day cruise on the Amsterdam. We loved the new ports.

 

One thing I noticed -- people were not spending in the bars / lounges.

 

Also the prices of the 14 day cruises this year are higher than last year. This turned off some people from booking an expensive cruise.

 

Our cruise was not sold out. Thus HAL lost money on it.

I spent 14 days on Zaandam in Alaska. Bars were not busy there either, especially the first week for the Vancouver/Seward cruise. Happy hour was busy perhaps 2 days out of 7 on the southbound portion of cruise from Seward to Vancouver. I'm referring to the Ocean Bar.

[JDinWA]

I noticed that as well. The only thing I can think of is some fuzzy math. Maybe when they say passengers, they mean newly embarking. That would double the number of passengers counted on Amsterdam, although the passenger sailing days remains the same.

 

That's just a guess.

 

As a guess, it sounds fairly plausible. I suppose I would look at the numbers that way if I were writing the press release.