Just off the Nieuw Amsterdam Alaska/Denali tour May 15 2022 - any questions?

[Tracey/Thom]

1 hour ago, MrsKMB said:

I'm SO happy you posted about your trip! I'm hoping to take this same cruise in 2024 and am impatiently waiting for the schedules to open. 

Thank you for all the information! 

You are very welcome! I've been the recipient of SO much helpful information on these boards, I was anxious to be helpful and going on the first few cruises of the post-pandemic season seemed like a good time to give back. We loved, the itinerary, out of Vancouver. (We loved Vancouver too!) It seemed like it just kept getting better and better. The Inside Passage was lovely, mountains on both sides, we could sometimes see (with binoculars) people on the beach. Ketchikan was a small, basic, nice town. Juneau was a larger place, with much more activity. The whale watching tour was phenomenal, the Mendenhall glacier up close was so interesting and very picturesque. Skagway, the train up the mountain was breathtaking (and cold!) and then Glacier Bay National Park, those glaciers were magnificent, mesmerizing and we couldn't take enough pictures (we've since deleted a lot as we took so many!). I'm glad we went south to North rather than the other way around, as it really did keep getting better and better!  If you're booking directly with HAL, our rep Shandra Goben was very efficient and very helpful. They're short staffed and she often took a day or two to get back with me, but she did get back with me and was experienced enough to be helpful the first time around.  You'll have a ball!

[jlynchtx]

2 hours ago, Tracey/Thom said:

You are very welcome! I've been the recipient of SO much helpful information on these boards, I was anxious to be helpful and going on the first few cruises of the post-pandemic season seemed like a good time to give back. We loved, the itinerary, out of Vancouver. (We loved Vancouver too!) It seemed like it just kept getting better and better. The Inside Passage was lovely, mountains on both sides, we could sometimes see (with binoculars) people on the beach. Ketchikan was a small, basic, nice town. Juneau was a larger place, with much more activity. The whale watching tour was phenomenal, the Mendenhall glacier up close was so interesting and very picturesque. Skagway, the train up the mountain was breathtaking (and cold!) and then Glacier Bay National Park, those glaciers were magnificent, mesmerizing and we couldn't take enough pictures (we've since deleted a lot as we took so many!). I'm glad we went south to North rather than the other way around, as it really did keep getting better and better!  If you're booking directly with HAL, our rep Shandra Goben was very efficient and very helpful. They're short staffed and she often took a day or two to get back with me, but she did get back with me and was experienced enough to be helpful the first time around.  You'll have a ball!

I have never cruised the inside passage before (or Alaska for that matter)… Are there ever any portion where all you see is ocean, like in the Caribbean? Or, is land always visible? Also, how is the Ocean in terms of being calm or rough in this particular path? 

[Tracey/Thom]

14 hours ago, jlynchtx said:

I have never cruised the inside passage before (or Alaska for that matter)… Are there ever any portion where all you see is ocean, like in the Caribbean? Or, is land always visible? Also, how is the Ocean in terms of being calm or rough in this particular path? 

Then you definitely need to get yourself to Alaska! We've cruised the Caribbean (6 times!) and Alaska (a bucket list trip) was absolutely spectacular! Land is always visible on the inside passage. We chose a small ship (2,100 passengers) that could get there, some of the bigger ships don't go there.  But once you're out of the passage, all you see is the Pacific ocean. It's so serene, in fact I was annoyed that there was another cruise ship on "my" horizon, ruining my perfect wake view from the aft for a while! LOL.  There was only one day, one morning really, where it was a little bumpy for me, no-one else seemed to have a problem though. We cruised in early Spring (May 8-15), so it was still cold and crisp.  A bigger ship is better at handling rough waters, though I wouldn't describe our experience as rough at all. Hope that helps!

[2Long2NxtCrz]

Thank you so much for all of the information! I've booked our first HAL cruise on the same ship/itinerary for 2023 for hubby's 60th, but in late August. I didn't book a land package with HAL and I was wondering if that was a good idea. Thanks for letting me know that my instincts were good!

 

I've done Alaska before, with my elderly parents and I did let the cruise line handle everything, including the pre-cruise land tour. It was great for us at the time because I was certain they would be looked after. But for hubby and I, I want to do it myself. Just trying to figure out how to get everything in that I want to do!

[Tracey/Thom]

28 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

Thank you so much for all of the information! I've booked our first HAL cruise on the same ship/itinerary for 2023 for hubby's 60th, but in late August. I didn't book a land package with HAL and I was wondering if that was a good idea. Thanks for letting me know that my instincts were good!

 

I've done Alaska before, with my elderly parents and I did let the cruise line handle everything, including the pre-cruise land tour. It was great for us at the time because I was certain they would be looked after. But for hubby and I, I want to do it myself. Just trying to figure out how to get everything in that I want to do!

I imagine that by August 2023 (over a year away), they'll have sorted out their staffing issues. We were there just a couple of weeks after they opened the McKinley Resort for business, having been closed for 2 years because of Covid. I was mad, disappointed, really, at the time because our cruise was so top knotch in every way that we expected the same for the 2 nights on our land tour. Now that we're home, and back to work (staff shortages all over the place here!), I've got some perspective that they did the best they could, but it was an impossible situation. The straw that broke the camel's back on that first day was when we went for a walk (to find other resources, and there were none!) and came back to find our room magnetic keys "suddenly" didn't work. LOL   We took lots of "deep breaths".  The next morning, someone slipped a $25 voucher under our door. We used it for lunch - and begrudgingly felt it wasn't enough given that this trip cost thousands, and it was a bucket list trip. But, again, perspective is everything. We decided not to go the route of many guests/passengers and holler and have a hissy fit at people who were obviously trying their best to make things right.

 

There was no one on the boards to ask, because we were one of the "firsts" to get there after Covid. I think by the time your cruise comes along, there'll be time, and also, plenty of CC folks on this board to ask about how it's going. Holland America has a good brand, I think they'll fix it. 

[Lalof]

On 5/28/2022 at 3:46 PM, Tracey/Thom said:

It's almost 2 weeks later and we're still on a high from a fabulous Alaska cruise - our first on Holland America, and it was fabulous! There were some hiccups as the season in Alaska has only just started (late April, I think), and of course, Alaska cruising has been cancelled for 2 years. I know this because this cruise was supposed to happen May 2020 - we're thankful it finally  happened!

 

We flew across country to land in Vancouver, BC and spent 2 nights at the lovely Blue Horizon hotel. Just 10 blocks from Canada Place cruiseport, but we took a 5 minute cab ride because we had luggage. It was SO efficient! The driver took us down into the car park specifically for Holland America, our cases came out of his trunk, given to HAL, barely time to find cash to tip him, and he was off and away, and we were on the elevator into the terminalship! This has never, in all our cruising (out of Florida) happened so fast, it was amazing.  We walked through the terminal, all roped off for big lines, but there were NO lines, and lots of staff. We'd done online check in before we left home, and had a QR code, Verifly and Canada Immigration all in the iphone.  We literally walked through, flashing our QR card at each request and landed on the ship - barely time to sit down for 5 minutes.  It was the best embarkation day ever!

 

We had a lovely lunch in the main dining room. We arrived a few minutes HAL told us to arrive for check in, and the MDR was open.  One thing that was very different - we couldn't order wine without our room card. On every other cruise, we were told not to go to our room until later in the day to give staff time to clean it. On this occasion, we were supposed to go to our room (no one told us) to retrieve our card from the door box. We did this and enjoyed a sumptuous lunch in the MDR.  It was a good start to a great cruise. (Debarkation was also just as fast efficient, no lines, no hassle, in Whittier) More to follow, just wanted to get started, and see if any one had any specific questions, seeing as we're among the first to get to cruise to Alaska in 2022!

Can you tell me what type of dress code people followed for the dining room?

[Tracey/Thom]

57 minutes ago, Lalof said:

Can you tell me what type of dress code people followed for the dining room?

Dress code for the dining room was casual smart.  Even on Dress Up Night, I only saw a couple of sequinned dresses and jacket/tie.  In Alaska, most of us (myself included) were concerned about staying warm so the suitcase was already full of layers, thermals and sweaters. No room for fancy clothes!   I will say the inside of the ship was always warm. I could wear a long sleeved shirt with nothing over it and feel fine. Of course, a sweater/jacket was necessary to step out onto deck. Even in the buffet, there weren't too many people in shorts and Tshirts. Well shorts, maybe, but the buffet is too close to the exterior, so most had long sleeved shirts on! I expected Holland America to be a lot more dressed up (it  was our first HAL cruise), compared to the other cruise lines we've taken. Perhaps it was more casual (as opposed to formal) because it was Alaska,in May, I don't know.  The clientele was  "older" (over 60). No students in bikinis and ripped cut offs (like all our Caribbean cruises!). No baseball hats in the dining room. There were no children at all (that we saw), perhaps because in May, school was still in session.  Hope that helps! Enjoy your cruise!