Did that cruise really happen? Or was it a dream?

[AlohaPride]

Well, we are back from our 14 days on the Amsterdam exploring Alaska. It was a fantastic experience and I hope to share some insight in this post about what it's like traveling with HAL as a family with 3 small kids.

 

Here is our itinerary:

- 24 Aug., sail from Seattle

- 25 Aug, at sea

- 26 Aug, Ketchikan

- 27 Aug, Tracy Arm scenic cruising

- 28 Aug, Juneau

- 29 Aug, Icy Strait Point

- 30 Aug, at sea

- 31 Aug, Anchorage

- 1 Sep, Homer

- 2 Sep, Kodiak

- 3 Sep, Hubbard Glacier scenic cruising

- 4 Sep, Sitka

- 5 Sep, at sea

- 6 Sep, Victoria BC

- 7 Sep, Return to Seattle

 

Dave, RetiredMustang, did an amazing job with his "Live From" thread. I was so happy to receive so many "Hellos" from my CC friends! You were all missed and thought about over the 2 weeks on board.

 

I have most of my "diary" written, but it might take me some time between posts to format how I want it posted along with pictures. I've got almost 700 pictures and a few videos I'd like to share. So, please be patient as I prepare my posts over the next several days :)

[Avril]

I did an Alaska cruise back in 2003 and loved it!! :D I'd love to go again and can't wait to read about your adventures and see you pics.

[Copper10-8]

Welcome home! Did you get your answer from Captain Mercer as to the prank pulled on him after leaving Acapulco in 1997 to beat Hurricane Pauline? ;)

[PathfinderEss]

Welcome back. We did this cruise in 2012 and loved it. So glad you had a good time, can't wait for your review.

[AlohaPride]

Day 1 We Are On Our Way!

 

Our names are Mary and Keaka and our girls, Hannah (7), JJ (5), and Faye (3) joined us on this vacation.

 

 

We typically only vacation on the East Coast. We were excited to only have to fly 5.5 hours rather than our usual 9 or more plus layovers. I tried very hard to support our local airline company, Hawaiian Airlines, but they did not have a direct flight from Honolulu to Seattle. They wanted us to have a 2 hour layover in Lihue and another layover in LA. All of the Hawaiian flights I found would have taken us 11 hours to get to Seattle. We packed one hanging garment bag, five rolling carry-on bags, and a backpack per person, along with our car seats. The gate attendant offered to check anyone’s rolling carry-on bags free of charge in order to free up some overhead bins. We were glad to do so, because that meant we did not have to drag all our bags out of the plane when we arrived in Seattle.

 

 

The plane we were on was very comfortable. The seats felt bigger and I thought we had more than enough leg room. We were in the very back of the plane. The plane itself was very basic. There were no movie screens. There were only 3 bathrooms at the back of the plane and two mid-plane. Lines for the bathrooms mid-plane were not permitted, so it felt like everyone just came to the back.

 

 

WiFi does not work crossing the Pacific. I have not been on a plane where it does work between Hawaii and the West Coast. It was not a surprise to me. The flight attendant were constantly busy. First, they rolled a cart down the aisle offering “Entertainment Packs” for $10. This was a tablet like device that was loaded with movies, games, and TV shows. I was surprised they were charging so much to watch a movie or two. We did not purchase a tablet, so I cannot speak on how well they worked. After that the flight attendants rolled two more carts down the aisle. One was for drinks and the other was for food. They had your usual complimentary drinks and $6 or $7 alcohol. All of the food was also either $6, $7, or $8. If you chose not to buy something you were given a tasty pack of graham cracker sticks, dried pineapple, and macadamia nuts. We bought our girls each a fruit and cheese plate for $7. It had grapes, apple slices, three types of cheese, and four crackers. These food and drink carts were brought down the aisle another three times during our 5.5 hour flight. When there weren’t carts in the aisle, there was someone offering bottled water. The service was wonderful. It was obvious this team enjoyed their jobs.

 

I was so proud of our girls. They behaved so very well. We had packed blank notebooks for coloring, Old Maid, Crazy 8’s, our Samsung Tablet, and some books. The girls just went from one activity to another. Our youngest even took a nap without us forcing it!

 

We left Honolulu Airport just past 8 in the morning and we landed in Seattle around 4:30 p.m. We quickly found all of our luggage and made our way to the shuttle pick-up location at SeaTac. We were to stay at the Sleep-Inn at SeaTac for two nights before boarding our cruise. The shuttle was very fast and the driver was really helpful. After checking into the hotel, we dropped our bags in the room and walked about a mile to Dave’s Diner. It’s a Route 66 themed diner with really yummy burgers and reasonable prices. The Sleep-Inn shuttle will pick you up anywhere within 2 miles, so at the end of dinner we called to be picked up. I don’t think we waited longer than 5 minutes. It was a fantastic first day of vacation!

 

We like the Sleep-Inn SeaTac. The cost per night is reasonable, the shuttle is efficient, and the service is great. The rooms are very basic, though. The shampoo doesn't come with conditioner, the air conditioners are old, and the mattresses are pretty firm. There is also only a shower in the room. The free breakfast runs from 4 am - 9 am and is mostly waffles, pastries, cereal, bagels, etc. Those of us with gluten issues only have boiled eggs, sausage, and yogurt as an option. But, free is free and my girls loved the maple and brown sugar waffles.

[AlohaPride]

Welcome home! Did you get your answer from Captain Mercer as to the prank pulled on him after leaving Acapulco in 1997 to beat Hurricane Pauline? ;)

 

Thanks! No! I didn't get a chance to ask him. I only saw/met him at the cocktail reception :( Now you have to tell me!

[AlohaPride]

Day 2: Exploring the city of Seattle.

 

This was a first visit for both my husband and me. I had always heard about how wonderful Seattle was. We were both very excited to explore the city. We'd seen our first glimpse of snow (ever, in our lives) on the airplane. So, we were very excited to see more new things.

 

We hopped on the Sleep-Inn shuttle to the light rail. We purchased a day pass for $4.50 for adults and $2.50 for children 6 and older. Our two youngest rode free. SCORE! The light rail is really cool. You don’t have to swipe your pass at all. You just have to have it on you. If someone asks to see it you have to show them. If you are caught on the rail without a pass there is a $200 fine. SeaTac is the first stop on the light rail. The last stop will take you to downtown Seattle and the Monorail.

 

 

I had forgotten to load our umbrella stroller in the van before we left the house, so the first thing on the agenda was to find a store that sold umbrella strollers. We found one at the Target we happened to pass on our way to Pike’s Market. We did not spend a lot of time at the market. The sidewalks are not stroller friendly, we were approached for money every few minutes by homeless. And, lastly, the place and the street surrounding it reeked of urine. When I said this on facebook, a few friends of mine from Seattle said it was how they thought big cities smell. If I hadn’t been to New York, Boston, L.A., San Francisco, and Atlanta I might agree with them. However, I don’t ever remember ever entering an elevator in Boston to take the rail and finding a puddle of pee in the corner. That said, it is completely possible that the city was this way because the Seahawks had a game the night before. I'm not sure.

 

After a quick look around we headed back toward the monorail. On our way we discovered a small little playground and let the girls play. There was a Praise and Worship concert going on at the same time. It was a lot of fun listening to the music and watching the girls play. Once the girls started to complain about being hungry we headed toward the food court at the monorail station. I chose to eat at a place called “Mediterranean Avenue.” It was out of this world good. My husband had Cajun food and my girls had Mexican. After my husband and oldest two daughters grabbed some soft pretzels we hopped on the monorail. It was a very fast ride.

 

 

We let the girls change into bathing suits and made our way to the International Fountain. It is a public splash area for all ages, and Beetles music is played over the loud speakers. It was a lot of fun. We decided that we would spend the majority of our time the last two days of this trip at the Seattle Center visiting the museums and the fountain again.

 

 

 

After our visit to the fountain we made our way back to the pier to take a ride on the Ferris Wheel. It was $15 per adult and $10 for our two oldest children. My husband was a bit apprehensive about spending $50 to ride a Ferris Wheel, but it was a lot of fun. The ride goes around three times, but you really get a good view of the city while you’re waiting for your turn to get on/off. The ride lasted about 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

It had been a long day, so we trekked it back to the light rail, called the hotel shuttle, and headed back. We ate dinner at the IHOP next door. Our service was awful, but we were able to eat and go to bed at a decent hour. We were all very excited to board the Amsterdam!

[Copper10-8]

Awesome review and pics! Keep up the good work! :)

[AlohaPride]

Day 3: Embarkation Day!!!

 

After 15 months of planning, the day was finally here! We enjoyed the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, packed our bags, and boarded the shuttle to the pier. This shuttle was $12 per adult, $6 for our two oldest, and free for our youngest. It was called the Seattle Express. The driver was early to pick us up, very helpful with our huge amount of luggage, and exactly what we needed to get to the pier.

 

We had a lot of luggage to check, so we found a porter to help us with a cart. He was very friendly and eager to help. We entered door four of Pier 91, showed our passports and birth certificates to the employee at the escalator, then we showed them again to the employee at the entrance to the metal detectors, went through security, filled out our health forms, checked-in, and were on board in less than 30 min. after arriving at the pier. It was all very smooth and efficient.

 

 

 

The Amsterdam is a classy lady. Our room, 2671, was ready as soon as we boarded. We checked it out and headed toward the dining room for the Mariner’s Lunch. The line was very long. So we decided to check out the Lido. It, too, was extremely crowded. Just out of curiosity I decided to check to see if the Dive In was open. I had been looking forward to this new spot for months. It was open. There was absolutely NO line, and there were a TON of tables available. My husband, two oldest daughters and I had burgers. Our youngest had a plain hotdog. We had two orders of “naked” fries and two orders of fries with the Dive In sauce. They did not have my gluten free buns yet, so I had to just have the meat and toppings. My husband and girls all said the fries were yummy. I thought my burger was amazing, even without a bun. We activated our Signature Beverage Package at that time and started our vacation. My husband has been sampling the different Alaskan beers and I’ve been all over the place with drinks.

 

After lunch we took our girls to Club HAL and registered them with the staff there. Club HAL was not open for drop off until 7pm, so we had to drag the girls away after we were done with the paperwork. We headed back to our cabin to discover that the majority of our luggage had been delivered.

I was apprehensive about booking a large inside cabin. When I saw all of us in the room along with our luggage I didn’t think there would be a way to unpack everything. I was very overwhelmed. I put the girls in their bathing suits and sent them and my husband to the Lido Pool so I could get things figured out. After a deep breath, and a little more discovery, I found that our cabin had more than enough room for everything! We had Hannah booked in the same room as Ruth, but we ended up having Hannah just stay in our cabin with us.

 

 

 

 

Cabin 2671 is a J category on the starboard side of the ship. It has 7 drawers. They are not easy to open. It makes sense in the case of rough seas. They are not deep but they are very long. My husband and I each had two drawers on either side of our bed, and each girl had their own drawer. We also have 5 full closets. Our huge car seat fit in the bottom of one, and each of us had our own closet. We have room to spare! There is only one outlet in the entire cabin. This has proved difficult, because my husband forgot to pack outlet extenders (even though I reminded him countless times). The shower is a bit dated, and I have had to call maintenance to repair the shower head. As of day four they have not come yet. The hair dryer from the top drawer is really great. It makes me wonder why there is still an old wall hair dryer in the bathroom. The TV does not change channels unless you are really close to it with the remote, but we aren't here to watch TV, so it doesn’t bother us.

 

I was unpacked before the muster drill started. The drill is done in three parts now. The first alarm tells passengers to stay where they are. A few minutes later the alarm tells passengers to go to their cabins and wait for further instruction. Lastly, they blow the horns and tell you to go to the muster station. Once at your station the leader takes roll and the team shows you how to put on your life vests. It was very efficient and didn’t take longer than 20 minutes. It was obviously a new drill, because the crew on the lido deck told my husband he needed to rush to his station. He then said that the announcement said to stay where we are. So, there was a little confusion. Over all I think this is an excellent system for emergencies.

 

After our muster drill we made our way to the Seaview Pool. We had a few drinks, our girls danced to the music, and we cast off! FINALLY!!

 

 

At 5 p.m. we attended Mass, at 6 p.m. we got dressed for dinner, at 6:30 we fed our girls dinner at the Lido, and at 7 p.m. on the dot we dropped them off at Club HAL. They did not want to join us for dinner. We then met RuthC and a few other friends at the Ocean Bar for pre-dinner drinks and nuts. Our dining steward, Firman, seemed disappointed that the girls had not joined us. The area manager, Wishy Washy, is hilarious and so very attentive.

 

This first day it was hard to get anything gluten free. I sent in my GF request weeks ago and received confirmation that they had it on file. However, they really were not prepared for me anywhere on the ship. I ordered a salad and the NY Strip Steak for dinner sans the gravy. It was very good. I also had some Baileys in my decaf coffee for dessert along with the Lemon Sherbet and Balsamic Strawberries and Cream. We picked up our girls at 10 and made our way back to the cabin. It was a long, exciting day.

[AlohaPride]

I'm having uploading issues with Photobucket. Are there any suggestions for other sites that might be easier?

 

Also, I've uploaded a few facebook pictures. Are they working for everyone or just my facebook friends?

 

I'll try to post more tomorrow.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful review and great pictures.

We have done that itinerary 2 times and were scheduled to do it again this past June -- but life gets in the way sometimes.

I have not had any problems loading pictures onto Photobucket.

[1of4]

Fantastic. Thanks for taking the time to do this. As a mum I can relate to everything you have said and we too love the large inside rooms. Works great for us but we are about to try our first balcony as a family in April...DS is old enough I trust that he won't "climb". A fear of mine but after 3 cruises I am sure he is afraid himself! ;)

 

I use Shutterfly for pictures. Free and usually easy. You have to upload the pictures to them and then copy the URL into your post.

 

More please!

[kazu]

great review and marvelous pics. Your children look so happy:)

 

really enjoying this. And looking forward to more :)

[puppycanducruise]

Welcome home.

Your pictures are great. Looking forward to seeing more.

Beautiful family. Lucky you.

[DeeBee76]

really looking forward to the rest of the review especially all the kids stuff. 98 days till we leave :)

[Sam.Seattle]

Glad you enjoyed Seattle... You picked a summer like no other to visit as it has been the most consistent warm and dry summer I can ever remember. Looking forward to the rest of your review.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Sam.Seattle

[Sam.Seattle]

really looking forward to the rest of the review especially all the kids stuff. 98 days till we leave :)

Really? You leave in 98 days? Must not be Alaska, right?

[kittercat85]

Loving this very much! Love the narrative and all your wonderful pictures! I'm looking forward to reading more.

 

We very well crossed paths on your embarkation day. We got off the Amsterdam that day and were staying at the Sleep Inn in SeaTac. We did self-disembarkation and were off the ship super early. Took the Seattle Express shuttle to the Sleep Inn... we were the first shuttle of the day arriving back with passengers, I'm pretty positive. That was around 8:30-8:45 am. The lobby of the Sleep Inn had cruise passengers packed into it waiting for shuttles. Were you in the lobby then too?

 

I wrote a long review like yours with plenty of pics for our 7 day cruise. Feel free to check it out if you're feeling a bit of Alaska/Amsterdam withdrawal. These posts have been helping feed mine! :D

[Assateague Island Princes]

Welcome home Mary and Family! I'm loving your review and most anxious to hear how your day at the Alaska State Fair went. Your photos and commentary are excellent - brings me right back to our May 18th sailing. More please.....much, much more! :D

[ger_77]

Loving your review - your children are beautiful ! ! It was nice to see a picture of Ruth as you were boarding as well. Did you get formals taken of your family - I'll bet they were gorgeous. Looking forward to more installments.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[Lizzie68]

Excellent review, and I love the pictures.:) Your children are beautiful, too.

[Cruising-along]

I'm really enjoying your review and photos! Looking forward to more. :)

 

You picked a good hotel in Seattle. We always stay at the SeaTac Sleep Inn when we have an early flight out/late flight in to Seattle. Their shuttle drivers are great and you can't beat the prices.

 

So glad you had a nice time in Seattle, our weather has been amazing this summer. :D

[sail7seas]

Wonderful review and the photos are great. What a nice photo of Ruth with your girls! Thanks so much for sharing your great vacation with us. :)

[SeaWatch]

KitterKat, can you post a link to your review?

 

Thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[theloo]

Can I ask how you got a family of 5 into an inside? I have 3 kids and recently cruised without them, but would like to someday go on a family cruise without busting the bank ;)