Great Bear Rainforest cruise from Seattle 2025 and 2026 - Noordam

[Sea Hag]

21 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

Does anyone think it could be raining every day of this cruise? I was thinking of booking the trip for April 2026 but I want some sun!

When we go to Alaska, I just assume it's going to be raining every day. If it doesn't, then I'm pleasantly surprised. We've had good luck with that over the years.

[Deck Chair Queen]

Replying to follow. 

[Roz]

I'm going to be the Debbie Downer here.  Last year I took a 14-day Alaskan cruise on the Noordam.  It was the last cruise of the season, and visited some ports HAL usually doesn't have on their itineraries - Kodiak, Valdez, and Prince Rupert.  Of the 6 Alaskan cruises I've taken, it was my least favorite.

 

There were very few ship excursions offered in Kodiak, Valdez, and Prince Rupert, and no local or private operators the days we were there.  In Kodiak, the local merchants didn't even know there was going to be a ship in port that day until they saw us walking into town. The visitor's center was open and seemed glad to see us and had some information for those interested in hiking and other outdoor activities.  We were in Valdez before anything opened, except for the grocery store. Just walked around the cruise terminal in Prince Rupert and went to the library to use their internet service.  

 

Even in the usual suspect ports of Ketchikan, Skagway, and Sitka, a lot of businesses were already closed for the season. I love Sitka and know my way around, but there was literally horizontal, blinding rain that day, and I ended up returning to the ship so I could get out of my soaking wet clothing.  The highlight of the whole cruise for me was the tour I booked in Skagway thru HAL up to the White Pass Summit.  We rode in a bus with a retired geologist as our tour guide.  A very scenic and informative experience.  In Ketchikan there were still a couple of operators offering tours so I was able to do something besides shop and walk around town.

 

I guess what I'm saying is to keep expectations low.  One of the Great Bear Rainforest cruises being offered is at the very beginning of the season and the other is at the very end.  Be aware that there may be limited tourist infrastructure at the less frequently visited ports.  My cruise itinerary looked good on paper, but I wouldn't pay to do it again. 

Edited March 17 by Roz

[mgtravelsalot]

Im going for the scenery LOl and to be on  a dam ship.  Half the time I dont even get off ships any more,  Been everywhere a cruise ship goes already...  This one offers some  new scenery and I love Victoria.  Going on The Oct 2025 one, needed something to do anyway

 

[Loreto]

So glad I found these posts!  I have sailed to Alaska many times,( including 4 14 day cruises...best ever!) but Great Bear Rain Forest Cruise is  unique and I may book it onboard later this month.  Being from the desert, rain is always welcomed!

[Sea Hag]

4 minutes ago, mgtravelsalot said:

Im going for the scenery LOl and to be on  a dam ship.  Half the time I dont even get off ships any more,  Been everywhere a cruise ship goes already...  This one offers some  new scenery and I love Victoria.  Going on The Oct 2025 one, needed something to do anyway

 

I'm pondering booking this one, and the new scenery is the big reason. I think it sounds great!

[JeLy_Beanz]

On 3/15/2024 at 6:14 PM, oakridger said:

My last HAL cruise to Alaska did not have a naturalist on board as @Ken the cruiser referred to.  The CD presented some talks but there was no subject expert sadly.  I sure hope they start having a professional Alaska presenter!

 

Other than that, I have very much enjoyed my HAL Alaska cruises!

 

~Nancy

Not sure when you were there (and maybe there was a reason if the park ranger didn't show up), but we had a ranger on while coasting through Glacier Bay NP this past Sept. The ranger was up in the crow's nest and there were other naturalists out on the bow area where they let you eat pea soup and view Glacier Bay. 

[JeLy_Beanz]

On 3/15/2024 at 7:33 PM, Cruise Junky said:

This might be the first time ever I’ve seen someone excited about Prince Rupert and Nanaimo 😂😂

Is this not a good itinerary? Or maybe the excitement is just because it hasn't been done in decades? I'm contemplating booking it, but not sure it would be worth it. Besides the ports, would the views be worth it? 

[Cruise Junky]

9 minutes ago, JeLy_Beanz said:

Is this not a good itinerary? Or maybe the excitement is just because it hasn't been done in decades? I'm contemplating booking it, but not sure it would be worth it. Besides the ports, would the views be worth it? 

I don’t want to throw a wet towel on anyone’s excitement as I don’t know what HAL is planning in the way of excursions but we are on the 36 day transpacific previous to the April 2026 sailing.  Let’s put it this way…you’d have to pay me to stay on for the next seven days.  

[ChinaShrek]

2 hours ago, Roz said:

I'm going to be the Debbie Downer here.  Last year I took a 14-day Alaskan cruise on the Noordam.  It was the last cruise of the season, and visited some ports HAL usually doesn't have on their itineraries - Kodiak, Valdez, and Prince Rupert.  Of the 6 Alaskan cruises I've taken, it was my least favorite.

 

There were very few ship excursions offered in Kodiak, Valdez, and Prince Rupert, and no local or private operators the days we were there.  In Kodiak, the local merchants didn't even know there was going to be a ship in port that day until they saw us walking into town. The visitor's center was open and seemed glad to see us and had some information for those interested in hiking and other outdoor activities.  We were in Valdez before anything opened, except for the grocery store. Just walked around the cruise terminal in Prince Rupert and went to the library to use their internet service.  

 

Even in the usual suspect ports of Ketchikan, Skagway, and Sitka, a lot of businesses were already closed for the season. I love Sitka and know my way around, but there was literally horizontal, blinding rain that day, and I ended up returning to the ship so I could get out of my soaking wet clothing.  The highlight of the whole cruise for me was the tour I booked in Skagway thru HAL up to the White Pass Summit.  We rode in a bus with a retired geologist as our tour guide.  A very scenic and informative experience.  In Ketchikan there were still a couple of operators offering tours so I was able to do something besides shop and walk around town.

 

I guess what I'm saying is to keep expectations low.  One of the Great Bear Rainforest cruises being offered is at the very beginning of the season and the other is at the very end.  Be aware that there may be limited tourist infrastructure at the less frequently visited ports.  My cruise itinerary looked good on paper, but I wouldn't pay to do it again. 

 

Yeah, I'm out. Seriously, though, I really appreciate the information. I am not interested in sitting on the ship all of the time. I went to go on excursions, hiking, fishing, etc. If this isn't available or if it is raining most of the time, I would be disappointed. 

[JeLy_Beanz]

8 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

I don’t want to throw a wet towel on anyone’s excitement as I don’t know what HAL is planning in the way of excursions but we are on the 36 day transpacific previous to the April 2026 sailing.  Let’s put it this way…you’d have to pay me to stay on for the next seven days.  

Good to know. 

[oakridger]

45 minutes ago, JeLy_Beanz said:

Not sure when you were there (and maybe there was a reason if the park ranger didn't show up), but we had a ranger on while coasting through Glacier Bay NP this past Sept. The ranger was up in the crow's nest and there were other naturalists out on the bow area where they let you eat pea soup and view Glacier Bay. 

 

I wasn't clear when I said there was not a naturalist.  There definitely were park rangers on in Glacier Bay on all my cruises there!  They were very informative and offered entertaining presentations.  I meant that HAL didn't have any subject expert outside naturalist/lecturers on board for the cruise.  

 

~Nancy

[JeLy_Beanz]

8 minutes ago, oakridger said:

 

I wasn't clear when I said there was not a naturalist.  There definitely were park rangers on in Glacier Bay on all my cruises there!  They were very informative and offered entertaining presentations.  I meant that HAL didn't have any subject expert outside naturalist/lecturers on board for the cruise.  

 

~Nancy

Gotcha.👍Yeah, there weren't any subject experts on board otherwise. 

[Bimmer09]

49 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

I don’t want to throw a wet towel on anyone’s excitement as I don’t know what HAL is planning in the way of excursions but we are on the 36 day transpacific previous to the April 2026 sailing.  Let’s put it this way…you’d have to pay me to stay on for the next seven days.  

We're all different. We couldn't do 36 days on any ship going anywhere-because we have cats at home and to date our longest trip has been 16 days. If no cats then we could be more flexible- but one of us has a company to run.

 

We canceled 14 days on the Nieuw Statendam going to Turkey, Egypt and Greece, September  this year because we were excited to have a musical reason to go to Europe 6 weeks before that cruise and once to Europe is enough per year. Airfares are brutal. The Great Bear cruise couldn't hold a candle to that nor to our Iceland cruise or our Cuba cruise, nor any of our Med cruises . However it doesn't need us to fly to Europe. It gets us cruising in April which is a first, it gets us back to Seattle where we used to fly to the Opera and drive up Mt St. Helens and Rainier. It gets us on another HAL ship but only if we enjoy the first one this Christmas (Rotterdam.) We like Victoria for the gardens, enjoyed Ketchikan for Misty Fjords and the bears/eagles. We've liked the Inside Passage scenery from Ketchikan to Vancouver. We also have two friends we seldom see in B.C. who might come to Nanaimo or Victoria to see us.

 

My partner runs a company that writes financial reports on many businesses and Carnival is one such and it was she who found out about this new itinerary in a press release. My mail found out from HAL a couple of days after I had booked our sailing at her urging

. 

The weather won't factor much for us. We've done Norway, Iceland and have Nieuw Statendam to the Arctic Circle in June 2025.

 

Where do your 36 days begin and on which ship? I've enjoyed reading your reviews.

 

Norris

 

[Cruise Junky]

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

 

 

Where do your 36 days begin and on which ship? I've enjoyed reading your reviews.

 

Norris

 

Transpacific. Sydney to Seattle. Vanuatu, Samoa, Fiji, Cook Islands, Tahiti and Hawaii. Noordam. The cruise in question is the seven days after ours.  
 

we all have different wants in a vacation and if these ports float your boat then go for it. I was asked a question and I honestly answered.   

[scubacruiserx2]

On 3/15/2024 at 2:25 PM, Bimmer09 said:

I got an email this morning offering up some new Pacific Coast/Mexico HAL cruises and was instructed to book one pronto. Neither DeckChairQueen nor I have sailed HAL before and yet now I find we have 3 bookings. The cruises show on the HAL website so I didn't bother getting in touch with our PCC. Snagged an aft-wrap Neptune with HIA and booked online.

Ketchikan and Victoria are the only ports we are familiar with from our Princess sailings.

Anyone else get the email and book? We are on the 7 day Noordam April 19 2026. She also has a sailing in October 2025.

 

Norris

 

 

  @Bimmer09 on HAL how can this be  ? Congrats on your aft corner and your trips . May we suggest  you and Carole take a look at our last reviews as they may help . 

 

 

 

 And we defected from HAL for a half price cruise in January to Antarctica and Patagonia which blew Alaska out of the water with a suite that felt like home on NCL . 2 balconies , 2 baths , 2 dining areas at the HAL for the price of the aft corner on HAL .

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Joe (and Pam) thanks for the video links!

Looks like i'm going to be busy reading  today!

 

Cheers,

Norris

[Bimmer09]

26 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Joe (and Pam) thanks for the video links!

Looks like i'm going to be busy reading  today!

 

Cheers,

Norris

Oops- Joe and Pat!!

Norris

[scubacruiserx2]

7 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Oops- Joe and Pat!!

Norris

 

 No worries . 9 of our past cruises have been HAL and 1 Princess and 1 NCL all suites except the Neiuw Statendam . So if you have any HAL questions , fire away . PS got a new Canon to learn the D 90 . Good call on the aft corner suites , our favorite was on the Zuiderdam a sister to the Noordam . The largest covered balcony .

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 No worries . 9 of our past cruises have been HAL and 1 Princess and 1 NCL all suites except the Neiuw Statendam . So if you have any HAL questions , fire away . PS got a new Canon to learn the D 90 . Good call on the aft corner suites , our favorite was on the Zuiderdam a sister to the Noordam . The largest covered balcony .

 

 

 

Joe, I see that I already followed the Nieuw Amsterdam. I'm reading it again. I see they moved you from the deck 5 Neptune to 7132 on your second week. I booked the equivalent on Noordam which is 7142 and on this December's Rotterdam have 7130 Aft Wrap Neptune. The only non-Neptune I've booked is the Arctic Nieuw Statendam as we have a Vista instead- didn't think we'd spend much balcony time there.

Rudi Sodamin has been moved to Princess to help rescue their food-that's the reason we didn't book another Princess cruise after our past 2 Christmas sailings. 

It was the food vlogging videos that got me interested in trying HAL Pinnacle Class.

 

Did you buy the Canon D90 for the 4K video?

 

Norris

[Khlela]

I honestly think there will be a high chance of rain in April as well as October. HAL didn't even used to sail to Alaska then. I remember when I first went back in 2009 the earliest sailing was in May and the latest in September. In 2017 we went in April, it was the first time they had a sailing so early. The weather was TERRIBLE! We couldn't enjoy the balcony. Sitka was cancelled and we had to take the inside passage back. We found out later that it's common for April and October to have weather like that. I live in the PNW and it's not about the weather in Seattle, it's about how it is up in Alaska. So I would just go into it expecting rain everyday and then just be happy if there is sun. If you are wanting higher chances of sun I would look into mid to end of May beginning of June or August/Sept. 

They have a NP Ranger get on board along with nature experts for talks and discussions in Glacer Bay especially. 

 

HAL received a reward for best Alaskan cruises too.
https://www.hollandamerica.com/blog/whats-new/holland-america-line-receives-best-alaska-cruise-award/?fbclid=IwAR30xLuyPxCoqj9NiyXmwQ4B2uqpBx3C0-ozruixNW93sa8FAYcWvEMHNSY
 

[jeh10641]

While I was still employed (I retired in Feb. 2011 at age 70, after which "work" became a four-letter word I do not use in public!), I traveled to Alaska about 60 times from Nome/Fairbanks to Kodiak to Ketchikan (and many places in between). Each trip was a minimum of two weeks, usually late February (around the time of The Iditarod), early May and early September. My last stop was always Ketchikan. In those 60 trips, I encountered snow once in September and rain more frequently but not every trip by any means. I have not been to Alaska for more than a decade. Weather patterns may have changed as they have in the Seattle area. I would take rain gear.

Jim

Edited March 18 by jeh10641
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[scubacruiserx2]

3 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

Joe, I see that I already followed the Nieuw Amsterdam. I'm reading it again. I see they moved you from the deck 5 Neptune to 7132 on your second week. I booked the equivalent on Noordam which is 7142 and on this December's Rotterdam have 7130 Aft Wrap Neptune. The only non-Neptune I've booked is the Arctic Nieuw Statendam as we have a Vista instead- didn't think we'd spend much balcony time there.

Rudi Sodamin has been moved to Princess to help rescue their food-that's the reason we didn't book another Princess cruise after our past 2 Christmas sailings. 

It was the food vlogging videos that got me interested in trying HAL Pinnacle Class.

 

Did you buy the Canon D90 for the 4K video?

 

Norris

 

 There were several reasons for the purchase , 4 K is one but my pocket Sony has 4 K and a quieter zoom . The old 6 D is heavy and 9 years old + the mode dial cover and eye piece kept falling off . The mode dial piece I crazy glued but it got stuck in the auto function .

 The D 90 is lighter , touch screen , 32 .5 mp , shoots sports @ 10 fps , 45 point auto focus and has a joy stick and a better sensor .

 I know that you have seen our Nieuw Statendam review but you may want to review it again . We really liked the spa and had a Vista suite on that one too .

 

 

 

 Where and when is the Artic cruise to ? Our next HAL is a family cruise on Thanksgiving this year on the NA .

[Bimmer09]

2 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 There were several reasons for the purchase , 4 K is one but my pocket Sony has 4 K and a quieter zoom . The old 6 D is heavy and 9 years old + the mode dial cover and eye piece kept falling off . The mode dial piece I crazy glued but it got stuck in the auto function .

 The D 90 is lighter , touch screen , 32 .5 mp , shoots sports @ 10 fps , 45 point auto focus and has a joy stick and a better sensor .

 I know that you have seen our Nieuw Statendam review but you may want to review it again . We really liked the spa and had a Vista suite on that one too .

 

 

 

 Where and when is the Artic cruise to ? Our next HAL is a family cruise on Thanksgiving this year on the NA .

Joe, Arctic on the NS (deck 7 aft Vista) is June 15, 2025 from Rotterdam (14 day sail). We have Club Orange for that one and will get to spend 4 days in Amsterdam.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

1 hour ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 There were several reasons for the purchase , 4 K is one but my pocket Sony has 4 K and a quieter zoom . The old 6 D is heavy and 9 years old + the mode dial cover and eye piece kept falling off . The mode dial piece I crazy glued but it got stuck in the auto function .

 The D 90 is lighter , touch screen , 32 .5 mp , shoots sports @ 10 fps , 45 point auto focus and has a joy stick and a better sensor .

 I know that you have seen our Nieuw Statendam review but you may want to review it again . We really liked the spa and had a Vista suite on that one too .

 

 

 

 Where and when is the Artic cruise to ? Our next HAL is a family cruise on Thanksgiving this year on the NA .

Yes I see I have read that NS review. What a bout your AFT Vista on the previous NS? Do you have a link to that one?

Understood re the 6D MK1 issues. My 6D MKII is still in tip top shape after 7 years of heavy use.

I bought a separate camcorder SONY 53 for our Panama Canal cruise.

 

Norris

Edited March 18 by Bimmer09
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