Last Day on the Volendam

[NJcabanas]

:(:D Greetings Everyone! This is our last day on the Volendam. We are sitting in the Inside Passage and will off load in Vancouver in the AM. This has been a fantastic trip! I will have to write a more extensive review later, but I wanted to use up my last few internet minutes by thanking all of you who helped me in planning this trip. The participation on these boards provides so much great advice I can hardly express how much it helped in making this a fantastic vacation. More details and review will be posted in September. One quick note to all of you who will come in later this season, be prepared for rain and cold. Warm hats, gloves, and anything that is wind and water proof will be useful. All for now. MANY THANKS!!!

[happy cruzer]

I sure hope she gets a change in weather when she get to the Caribbean!

 

Glad you had a fantastic trip and love to see that trip report! I love to hear about the service, food, and wine!

 

Welcome back.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Can't wait to read your review.

[May4]

Here's hoping that you are now home, safe and sound. Throw all of the laundry into a big pile and ignore it for awhile. Then get out any HAL brochures that you may have, and plan your next cruise.:p

[NaplesCruiser]

Glad you enjoyed the Volendam. We are cruising on her in November, looking forward to your thoughts an the ship, service, food etc.

[ghisl]

I'll be anxiously waiting to read your review but please hurry ... I'm on the September 6th sailing.

[DFD1]

Thanks for your note. We're sailing on September 15 and your comment about the weather has me worried!

[earl_m]

That one bad thing about cruises :mad: It has to end!!

[NJcabanas]

I have limited access to e-mail/web. Just thought I'd pen a few quick notes for those of you leaving soon. Please excuse the lack of spell checking.:o

 

Vancouver is lovely at the moment. Blue sky and in the low 80s. So bring the shorts! However, SE Alaska still has forecasts for mid-50s with light rain and drizzel. All of the advice you've read on these boards about layers is accurate. If you want to be on deck in the fjord/glacier days, I'd advise a layer that blocks wind and/or rain over the long sleeve shirt and pants. (Yes, I did also wear long underwear and you might consider that as well.) If you don't have these items, then you might want to stick to viewing from the Crow's Nest or Lido areas, which are protected. (I saw whales, dolphins, and porpoises from both of these locations, so it isn't so bad. But it is difficult to take photos through the glass if it is fogged or rain-spotted.)

 

Be advised that the "Welcome to Vancouver" signs should be replaced by "Under Construction". Make sure that you allow sufficient time for getting around and to cruise port, air port, etc. If you have a before noon flight on disembarkation day, HAL was recommending that people take advantage of the express walk off. If you can handle your own bags, you can disembark around 7:30 AM. This worked great for us, as we cleared customs/immigration, got a taxi over to the float plane dock before downtown traffic was too heavy. The float plane from Vancouver Harbour to Victoria Harbour is incredible! An excursion on its own!

 

Formal night dressing? My husband ordered a tux that was delivered to the stateroom. This was great and saved some packing space for all the extra hats, gloves, rain jackets. The info is in the cruise document package from HAL. The level of dress was all over the map, but no jeans or equivalent were seen on formal night in the dining room. People made an effort, even if it wasn't traditional formal. (Blazer, plaid shirt and tie or a simple dress. I opted for the palazzo pant and a fancy top.) FYI the shops are really cutting prices, on board and also many in the towns. Formal dresses on board for $40!! You couldn't make them for that!

 

If you don't have a lot of money for excursions, don't worry about it. One of our best excursions costs $12 per person. Take the shuttle out to Mendenhall Glacier and walked the Salmon Creek trail, which you can enter at the parking lot or the Visitor's Center. Saw a black bear and cub fishing for salmon! (We were on the boardwalk and they were about a dozen feet below at the stream.) Mendenhall was spectacular. Also saw a lot of wild life the first sea day out of Vancouver. Lot's of humpbacks. If you was to see wildlife from the ship, some of the best times during our cruise was very early in AM; like 4AM! Attend the naturalist talks for the scoop on best times to view.

 

Did I mention the waterfalls? I wasn't expecting all the fantastic water falls in Tracy Arm! You really want to be up early, when the ship starts up Tracy Arm as there are waterfalls the entire way. We also got to see the Sawyers at a decent distance. Didn't get to see much on the way in to Glacier Bay due to fog. The fog lifted near Marjorie Glacier. Saw 6 calvings and two of these were huge. Saw large spires of ice crash into the bay. Zuiderdam left port a few hours ago; really wish I could have been on it.;)

 

Enough ranting for now. HAPPY SAILINGS TO ALL OF YOU ON THE WAY!!

[NJcabanas]

Another tip on packing for the men; wear the suit as you travel to the ship. Saw many guys doing this. My DH wore his blazer during travel and used it as a warm coat while on deck in addition to informal night attire.

 

There was laundry service available on the Volendam for $12 for a small bag full and takes up to 48 hours on the turn around. By the piece rates were also available. To do it yourself costs $2 a load to wash and $1 to dry. The drier was 45 minutes. I used the laundry on deck 6 - Veranda Deck.

[Tinknock50]

NJcabanas,

Thanks for the nice mini-report.:) Helped to build my excitement on my upcoming cruise.