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Amsterdam 14 Day Alaska

mickeyfitz

By mickeyfitz,
in Holland America Line

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mickeyfitz

mickeyfitz

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Just back from the 14 day Alaska. Previously did the one week Vancouver to Seward and also the back to back Vancouver to Seward to Vancouver, but this was nice because we did some ports we had never done before: Homer, Kodiak, Sitka and a full day and late night in Anchorage. The Amsterdam was in great shape, not "old and tired" as someone recently posted. The only two issues were: (1) a couple of windows in the Crow's Nest which needed replacement because the seals had failed and (2) the Atrium Clock was not working. The Atrium Clock ( I think that HAL actually calls it an Astrolobe? ) is really a mechanical marvel and I had looked forward to seeing it operate. However, these where just minor issues and the ship Gand crew were great.

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canadianbear

canadianbear

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Our son did the 2 week cruise a few years back and loved it. He keeps telling us we need to do it! Him and his wife especially liked seeing Kodiak on a float plane and up close to the bears.

 

Glad the ship is in great shape!

 

 

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Mtn2Sea

Mtn2Sea

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Just back from the 14 day Alaska. Previously did the one week Vancouver to Seward and also the back to back Vancouver to Seward to Vancouver, but this was nice because we did some ports we had never done before: Homer, Kodiak, Sitka and a full day and late night in Anchorage. The Amsterdam was in great shape, not "old and tired" as someone recently posted. The only two issues were: (1) a couple of windows in the Crow's Nest which needed replacement because the seals had failed and (2) the Atrium Clock was not working. The Atrium Clock ( I think that HAL actually calls it an Astrolobe? ) is really a mechanical marvel and I had looked forward to seeing it operate. However, these where just minor issues and the ship Gand crew were great.

 

Do you happen to remember when they had Gala nights and the Master Chefs' dinner? Did you do any ship's excursions that you particularly liked? We leave in four weeks for our first cruise on the Amsterdam.

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Overtime4me2

Overtime4me2

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Do you happen to remember when they had Gala nights and the Master Chefs' dinner? Did you do any ship's excursions that you particularly liked? We leave in four weeks for our first cruise on the Amsterdam.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. I too have the same question about which nights are the gala/formal nights? We leave in 2 wks :D

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  • 4 weeks later...
Erzengel

Erzengel

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We had a burst pipe that flooded our room and ruined my wife's expensive bag. We are in the process of making a claim with Holland America. (That was the only thing that couldn't be dried out.

 

Otherwise, I loved the 14 day itinerary.

 

My only two gripes were:

 

The activities seemed too few and far between. The highlights for my wife and I were the trivia. And it bothered me that they didn't do more than just the Team and Evening trivia, which were the same general knowledge. I was hoping for movies or tv trivia. After talking to one of the cruise directors, we were informed that there were complaints which is why we got the trivia we got.

 

I know we were on the younger side of the general population for this cruise but it was really geared for older people. No karaoke, not battle of the sexes, etc. I understand that you have to cater to more of the majority. But this felt like the oldest cruise I've been on.

 

The other gripe wasn't necessarily about HAL because we chose excursions outside the boat and they were pretty expensive and almost equaled the price of one ticket. Just something people should be wary about.

 

Again I enjoyed it and this will probably be one of my most memorable cruises.

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veryseasonedtraveler

veryseasonedtraveler

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Think the Amsterdam is one classy lady. My only complaint was the glass in the Crow's Nest and they were replacing panels while we were waiting to disembark.

 

Loved having 14 days in Alaska giving us longer port calls. One of our favorite days was renting a car in Anchorage and driving down the Turnagain Arm to see the Portage glaciers. If you go, be sure to visit the Information Center. We also drove to Whittier and drove through a tunnel that is used by both cars and the train. The chowder at the Inn in Whittier was the best ever. The Alaskan Wildlife Refuge was a great stop. Only wish we had taken the boat tour on the Ptarmigan. Those that went raved about the experience. We stopped to witness the Bore tide along with numerous others and it fizzled. Our Bore tide was aptly named. (If you rent from Thrifty or Dollar, they have a free shuttle from the drop off point in town). Would recommend renting your car in advance as a few agencies were sold out.

 

Know HAL has been nicknamed the "Gray Line", but someone posted we had 35 kids under twelve and about the same number of teens. It was nice seeing families together enjoying each other's company. Thought we had a great mix of generations.

 

I agree not much was offered that wasn't a money maker for the ship. Would have been nice to have an expert speak more about what we were seeing and doing. It was obvious the glacier commentary was scripted.

 

We sail a lot on HAL and I would rate the Amsterdam experience as one of the best. The food was a cut above, the ship was spotless and Captain Jonathan Mercer and his crew were the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Love the beach

Love the beach

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We sail a lot on HAL and I would rate the Amsterdam experience as one of the best. The food was a cut above, the ship was spotless and Captain Jonathan Mercer and his crew were the best.

 

Just off the July 17th sailing as well and I totally agree! Crew was outstanding, loved the cruise director Jorge, and Capt. Mercer as well!

 

 

 

 

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Those of you that sailed the Great Alaskan Explorer -- do you remember which were the Gala nights? and what if anything was special about the menu in the MDR those nights... trying to decide which nights to book specialty dinners.

 

We had 3 Gala Nights...first was the day we cruised Vancouver Island, the 2nd was the next sea day (right after Icy Strait Point) and the last was the next sea day (right after Sitka)

They had Surf & Turf on those nights...I don't remember what else but everything looked interesting.

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rkacruiser

rkacruiser

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Captain Eversen was at the helm on my July 3rd cruise; Captain Mercer came aboard when we returned to Seattle, I believe. Kudos to Captain Eversen and Hotel Director Bart: my cruise was one day being as good as or better than the previous day!

 

Jessica is the EXC On Location Guide and is new in her position. But, whether it is scripted or not, she provided much information during her commentaries and presentations. And, if I had conflicting information about what she had said, she was willing to obtain the correct information. (She is an asset to HAL.) As the EXC program evolves, I think we ought to see more "local experts" in cruises to come, if the video description of the EXC program with Mr. Ashford describing it, is fully implemented.

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Augie's mom

Augie's mom

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Do you happen to remember when they had Gala nights and the Master Chefs' dinner? Did you do any ship's excursions that you particularly liked? We leave in four weeks for our first cruise on the Amsterdam.

Just back on 14 day too. Our Gala nights were the second evening,,seventh evening,and,13th evening.

Hope that helps

Terri aka Augie's mom

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Erzengel

Erzengel

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My advice in terms of excursions for the 14 Day Trip is as follows:

 

1. If there is anything that you see that you think is a must do, reserve in advance. We missed out on a few of them. There were a lot that was sold out even at their prices. However, there are a lot of tours available through other non-cruise companies.

 

2. You can do a lot of repetitive tours. Seaplanes or boat scenic tours, city tours, whale/bear tour, glacier tours, hikes, fishing, snorkeling, eating tours, etc.

 

3. The rest if my advice for excursions based on what I saw during my cruise:

 

Juneau - There are a couple of tours that include seaplanes or helicopters on to the Mendenhall glacier for a walk. I did mine through an outside company where we kayaked for an hour and then had a few hours on top of the glacier. I'm assuming that the aforementioned ones would also "gear" you up. I saw people who worked on the ship who made it to the glacier (on the opposite side of the Visitor Center) through a somewhat steep hike. My main goal was to get to the "ice caves" which are a site to see. They were just in street clothes so they weren't walking on the glacier.

 

Ketchikan/Icy Straight Point/Sitka/Victoria - I did boat tours. In hindsight, I probably would have switched it up and tried to do something else, like I said repetitive.

 

Ketchikan - We did the Alaskan Lodge Adventure and get the best shots for Bald Eagles as the tour threw some fish into the water and I was able to get some great shots. We ended in the rain forest and then a seafood lunch. (It was good). Some deer were by the lodge and some of us fed them by hand. We also did the lumberjack show too when we got back.

 

Icy Straight Point - It rained that day, but we did a water and bear combination tour. Saw some humpback whales and saw a small bear in the wild. Had a bit of a scare because there was a mother bear and her cubs that were in the area of our bus. Our guides ran to do some distraction.

 

Sitka - Whale tour (Saw Humpbacks) followed by trips to the Raptor Center, where they care for injured birds of prey and Fortress of the Bears where they take in orphan bear cubs. After seeing whales at Icy Straight Point, I would say pass on that portion if you haven't seen any. But I do recommend the Raptor Center and Fortress of the Bear.

 

Victoria - We did yet another whale tour BUT it was suppose to be for Orcas, however I was told that they weren't seen for a while to do the decline of certain salmon in the area. I did hear a lot of good things for the Butchart Gardens. There is transport from the Towns but only like once an hour and a taxi would have taken about $50 Canadian one way. Even if we could have done both, this was the last port prior to the end of the cruise and still hand to pack. Unless you're not lazy packers like we were.

 

Anchorage - You get a lot of time here. We wanted to do the Glacier Discovery Grandview Train or the Spencer Glacier Rail and Train but were sold out. This would also eat up most of your day in Anchorage. If this is something you want to do, reserve it ahead of time. We had enough time to do the Alaska Zoo, we used Lyft to drop us off and the courtesy shuttle to bring us back. Be warned, that there could be a line for the shuttle and if you are unlucky have to wait 45 minutes to or from the zoo. (Note: They only have 2 shuttles) After that we were at the Visitor Center, and there is a hot dog stand that sells reindeer dogs. These were the best hot dogs, I ever ate. Must do. We then did PicTours and did a visit to Beluga Point and Bird Point for some great view of the mountains and then to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.

 

Homer - We did the interpretive hike which is a long 5 mile total hike to a glacier. After a boat ride that drops you off, you hike about 4 miles there where the tour guide explains parts of the area, eat at the glacier and walk another mile down and up terrain (much harder) than the first 4 miles to a different part of the park to be picked up by boat.

 

Avoid the hop on and hop off excursion. I'm told the first 2 stops were a joke.

 

Kodiak - Unfortunately, we missed out on Kodiak because of fog. I did try and schedule a tour with the US Coast Guard base there, but I was told that it took 15 days prior. I didn't see any excursions I was interested in but I would have like to see the ships from the Deadliest Catch.

 

I hope this helps some people. Like I said, if I had to do it again, I would have swapped out some tours that were a little repetitive.

Edited by Erzengel
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