alaska ?

[tcj]

my husband and i have been given a gift of a 7 day hal cruise. we want to go to alaska-after reading feedback on this site the statendam sounds like the right ship but i am confused about doing a roundtrip or one way and which places to see. we are doing sea only and coming fron the albany ny area. any thoughts from your experience would be greatly appreciated.

thank you,tcj

ps we are fit and active

[CrusinCouple]

I don't have any advise about what cruise you are taking....but we are planning a May 06 Alaskan cruise on the Osterdam...and mostly I wanted to say we're neighbors. I live in Rotterdam NY!

[Sage]

I think that you will dearly love Alaska. We did the inside passage on our first cruise to Alaska in May on the Volendam. We loved it so much that we are cruising there again next year in May on the Volendam. The water is not rough at all, and you pretty much have Skagway to yoursleves, as we were the only ship in port that day.

[crisp1]

I see you're already hard at work. Good luck. Me

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done Alaskan cruises several times - love the place. In fact we will be doing back-to-back cruises on the Statendam in Alaska in June 2006. We chose that ship because of her itineraries. The Ryndam goes to Haines - we have been there a couple of times - not much there.

In Sitka and Juneau we always do the whale watching.

The new port for us will be Icy Straight - and we plan on doing a whale watching tour there as well.

The difference between the Statendam and Ryndam itineraries is the Statendam goes to Hubbard Glacier while the Ryndam goes to Glacier National Park.

[Debi Girl]

Lucky you!

You will have the time of your life - that's one cruise I would do over and over again!!!!:)

[terrascape]

You asked about a choice of one way or round trip. You have probably noticed that the Statendam (and Ryndam & Veendam) make seven day one-way trips between Vancouver and Seward (Anchorage). If you do the seven day trip only then you will have to fly to Anchorage to start the trip, or fly home from Anchorage depending if you chose the Northbound or Southbound leg. To make the round trip on either of these ships would require you to make reservations for an additional seven days for a total of a fourteen day round trip from Vancouver.

If you want a seven day round trip from Vancouver you need to choose either the Volendam, or Zuiderdam. There are also three ships sailing seven day round trips out of Seattle this coming year - The Oosterdam, Westerdam & Zaandam. The sailings out of Seattle do spend more time in offshore waters enroute to Southeast Alaska.

Good luck in your decision making.

[RuthC]

This was a gift? Wow. :)

One piece of advice I'll give you is to fly out at least one day early. This will give you an opportunity to adjust to any jet lag, and has the added bonus of giving your luggage a chance to catch up if it has gone astray. On my first Alaska cruise I flew the day of sailing and spend most of the next day napping---missed a lot of great scenery.

Returning to the east coast is one looonnnnnnggggggggg day. Coming back from Vancouver is shorter than returning from Anchorage, so a south-bound may be a better choice than north-bound. (I've done both.)

The Statendam---or any S-class ship---is an excellent choice. These ships are smaller so get in closer to the scenery. Hubbard Glacier is my personal favorite. The sail up Yakutat Bay has to one of the world's most beautiful rides.

[Tricia724]

tcj....go back to the main message boards and scroll down to the "Ports of Call" heading...then click on "Alaska." This is a board devoted entirely to cruising Alaska and is filled with discussions which should cover just about anything you might want to ask. If you take a little time to peruse the posts, I think you'll find a lot of useful information. There are lots of discussions there including (1) what type of cruise to take (northbound, southbound, round-trip Vancouver, round-trip Seattle); (2) which month is best for which activities; (3) which cities/attractions to see on inland tours; (4) which excursions to take in which ports; (5) what type of clothing to wear....etc. Some people post cruise reviews there, too which may give you some insight into activities other cruisers have enjoyed.

 

Once you get an idea of what is available in Alaska and what you think you'd like to see, you can check out the HAL cruises and see which of them will most closely meet your interests. Alaska is a great cruise with some spectacular scenery, and I know you will enjoy it.

[garydm]

We have done Alaska about 5 times and been on Statendam 3 times (but never to Alaska). Statendam is our favorite HAL ship with, in our view, better food and service than any other HAL ship. It seems to take the seas well also.

 

Suggest staying with your plans for a Vancouver departure or return as the Seattle trips are out to sea a bunch.

 

Gary

[Live2vacation]

We did the 7-night Inside Passage cruise this past Sept on the Zaandam. It was the last Alaska cruise for this year. Seeing Glacier Bay National Park was like nothing I could have ever imagined, it was spectacular and breath taking. We saw several glaciers and got to see and hear them calving. A high point in my life, and I'd love to take this cruise again some day. We were extremely lucky that the weather in Glacier Bay was beautiful. I wish I could say the same for the whale watching in Juneau.

 

Sage mentioned that the water wasn't rough at all, and I imagine that is true for most days of the year that ships sail to Alaska. However, be advised the sea can get mean in that area if it has a mind to. Our first full day at sea began with the ship gently rocking. As the day progressed, the waves grew bigger and bigger and bigger. Just before dinner started we got into the weather system that had the sea so churned up. After that things began to get even worse. During the first dinner seating (which I was at) they had to take the ice sculpture away because it was trying its best to fall over. At the late dinner seating chairs began to turn over (with guests sitting in them). One table simply collapsed, and one table turned over, pushing a lady and her chair over too. They had to close the show for that evening, standing up and walking around was a real chore. Sea sickness was the mood of the evening for most people on board (including the staff). At 9:00 pm the Captain announced over the PA that we were going to have rough seas until at least 2:00 am (he told the truth). I didn't know that a ship could be bounced around, and moan and groan as much as it did, and stay in one piece. At about midnight I was literally praying that we would get through this storm. The next morning I heard a staff member say that we had experienced 20 foot swells, the worst they had ever had, and I believe every word of it. While it was going on I wasn't too happy to be there, but looking back on it now it was a very interesting experience. I now have a real understanding of what it could be like to be "at sea." I really don't want to scare anyone away from this Alaska cruise, just be advised that things can get rough. I have a feeling that a different time of year would have offered much smoother sailing. Actually, that one day and night was the only bad one.

 

We flew from Baltimore to Vancouver on the day we sailed. I wouldn't fly to Seattle because I wouldn't want the additional 4 hour ride on a bus to get to the ship. Indeed, the day was long enough as it was.

 

The good news is that even if I knew I was going to encounter the same conditions, I would take this cruise again. The ship was beautiful, the staff was so friendly and helpful, the entertainment was very good, and I had a wonderful trip. I would go on the Zaandam again in a heart beat.

[Budget Queen]

As already mentioned, do get over to the Alaska board.

 

I never recommend one way cruises without at least some more time for interior Alaska travel, at the VERY least spend a day in Seward, not to be missed. :) The Volendam itinerary is just one of the best in my opinion (also by another ship too?) since it sails out of Vancouver and has 2 glacier sailings with the top choice of Glacier Bay. Do your homework, the more you know the better your choice will be for your priority of seeing Alaska.

 

AND for clairfication, never expect "smooth as glass" sailings, can run into rough, so if prone to motion sickness, take precautions.

 

If you care to look, here are some photos of my last trip http://community.webshots.com/user/budgetqueen

 

Come and join me on an official group cruise Volendam 8-23 http://cruisecritic.com/interests/groups.cfm?ID=87

[BJane]

We will be taking our 13th Alaskan cruise this June. We have done the seven day round trip from Vancouver, as well as the northbound and the southbound. We have enjoyed all of them and if you choose to do a one way trip and don't have the time for any interior traveling, don't worry about it. The cruise itself will be wonderful. Because of time constraints we have never done anything except the seven cruising days and I certainly don't feel cheated. The two trips that stand out in my memory happen to both have been northbound; one on the Statendam and one on RCI's Legend of the Seas. Having seen both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier several times I have to say that I find Hubbard to be the more spectacular experience.

[tcj]

thank you all so much for your info-it was soooo helpful. it took me so long to get back because i could not find it again(weak techno skills). so far we are booked on a roundtrip vancouver leaving on may 7th-the ship is the ryndam. has anyone been on that one? again thanks for your help.

tcj

pd hello to our upstate neighbor!

[jhannah]

Alaska was our very first cruise. It hooked us! Absolutely breathtaking scenery. You'll love it.

[formercruisestaff]

If you choose a ship running out of Vancouver, might I suggest you fly out of Toronto or fly to Seattle and take a HAL shuttle to Vancouver (it cost $30 pp 2 years ago)

 

This might save a bit of money on flights....

[kruzkeen]

If it is possible, fly into Vancouver 2 days or more before your cruise. Vancouver and Seattle are wonderful cities to visit, very beautful in Spring.

 

If you are new to CC and not aware of some of the features go to the top to SEARCH THIS FORUM and search on VANCOUVER SIGHTSEEING or VANCOUVER HOTELS. There are lots of threads from the past that give good advice on Vancouver.

 

I use the search facility and lots of my questions are answered.

[tcj]

just a note to say thanks for all of the input-it is so helpful and i will search the site. i have also gone to the alaska board. what a nice community.

best,

tcj