Which HAL ship from Seattle for Alaska?

[fcorey]

As we just returned from our O'dam trip we are trying to settle on a date for the next cruise which will be to Alaska. I am probably going to have 5 rooms of family on this one though. While we loved Oosterdam in spite of the azipod troubles we are wondering whether to take her, Noordam, or Amsterdam on our next cruise. I was wondering if anyone had some opinions about this that they'd like to share? I am leaning towards Amsterdam, thanks

[jtl513]

The Amsterdam would take less time to tender people in/out than the Vistas in Sitka, if you stop there, and any other ports where you don't get a dock.

 

My first HAL cruise was on the Amsterdam to Alaska and liked it very much except for a couple of poor entrees. My most recent cruise was the Noordam which I liked for the newness. I think for Alaska again I'd choose the A'dam.

[bepsf]

As much as I enjoyed Amsterdam, I preferred Oosterdam for Alaska - tho given the choice, I'd choose Noordam over Oosterdam until the Big-O gets her updates.

 

IMO, the Explorations Cafe, Pinnacle Wine Bar and the revised layout of the Ocean Bar make a big difference in how Noordam lives over Oosterdam's older layout.

[Atomica]

If I was leaving from Seattle, I'd probably go for the Noordam, simply because it's the newest, and there's no guarantee that HAL will deploy it to Alaska again in 2008, so it's worth a look. For example, the Westerdam, which did Alaska this year, will be over in Europe next summer.

[garydm]

You might want to consider a Vancouver departure as those from Seattle (to the best of my recollection) are not "inside passage" cruises. You will have alot more non scenic sea days and the potential for rougher seas leaving from Seattle. But, without a doubt, Seattle is more convenient.

 

Gary

[fcorey]

You might want to consider a Vancouver departure as those from Seattle (to the best of my recollection) are not "inside passage" cruises. You will have alot more non scenic sea days and the potential for rougher seas leaving from Seattle. But, without a doubt, Seattle is more convenient.

 

Gary

 

Gary, thanks I had heard about that. We have lots of family in Seattle, a couple of which may be going if I can successfully twist their arms :D If you were to recommend a ship leaving from Vancouver which would you say would best and why?

 

Brian, oosterdam appeared to have lots of maintenance done. There were new wall panels and flooring material everywhere, and then there were those nice new LCD televisions :)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Frank and Michelle, you can join Tom and I:) We will be cruising on the Noordam June 17th leaving out of Seattle for Alaska this next year. Our first Alaska cruise was on the Oosterdam and it was great, because we really want to cruise on the new Noordam we thought this was the best opportunity to have her here on the west coast we better go for it. Also for those booked a S or SS suite on the Oosterdam or Noordam HAL is offering a free nights (Pre or Post) nights stay at the Fairmont. We are staying the Saturday night before.

[hammybee]

My personal preference would be The Amsterdam for its size and distinctive beauty.

[dakrewser]

I haven't sailed on the Amsterdam yet, but we did Alaska on the Nieuw Amsterdam some years ago and I would choose her namesake for our next visit to America's frontier...

[wrp96]

Can't recommend a ship but definitely compare itineraries as well. Holland America has some of the best Alaska itineraries because some of their ships are going to both Glacier Bay and Tracy Arm, instead of just one glacier visit. Out of Vancouver look at Zuiderdam and Zaandam. None of the Seattle sailings make these two stops and they each go to different places so remember to compare that as well.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Actually the Noordam out of Seattle will be going to Glacier Bay.

 

Alaska-Inside Passage 7 Days • Holland America Lines • MS NoordamDayDatePortArriveDepart1

Sun, Jun 3

Seattle [/url] 4:00 P2

Mon, Jun 4

At Sea 3

Tue, Jun 5

Glacier Bay 10:00 A7:00 P4

Wed, Jun 6

Juneau 7:00 A8:00 P5

Thu, Jun 7

Sitka 8:00 A5:00 P6

Fri, Jun 8

Ketchikan 7:00 A1:00 P7

Sat, Jun 9

Victoria 6:00 P11:00 P8

Sun, Jun 10

Seattle 7:00 A

[wrp96]

Actually the Noordam out of Seattle will be going to Glacier Bay.

 

 

I know but it's not also doing Tracy Arm which is a 2nd glacier viewing like the 2 ships out of Vancouver. To me it would be worth it to go up to Vancouver for the 2nd glacier viewing time.

[cruznon]

After hearing so many wonderful things about the Noordam, that would be my choice. I would also select Seattle over Vancouver--I've heard that porters/luggage system at Canada Place can be chaotic.

[Tinknock50]

After hearing so many wonderful things about the Noordam, that would be my choice. I would also select Seattle over Vancouver--I've heard that porters/luggage system at Canada Place can be chaotic.

 

Personally, I have found it easier getting out of Canada Place than I have from Seattle. But then I think in terms of the handicap situation, there were many vans equipt to roll wheelchairs onto in Vancouver and that made it easier. You have to order one in Seattle before you leave home.

[raadsel]

There are advantages to leaving from Vancouver. As mentioned previously, you sail Tracy Arm if you leave from Vancouver and don't if you sail out of Seattle. There are a few other differences if you compare the iteniraries of the Amsterdam and the Zaandam (I'm using them because they are both R-class ships, there are not Vista ships sailing from Vancouver).

 

Another major difference is that if you depart from Seattle, the ships route goes to the west of Vancouver Island and into the Pacific Ocean, you are out of sight of land for your first sea day and for the day you visit Victoria. By contrast, the ships leaving Vancouver sail to the east of Vancouver Island and never really leave the Inside Passage, where you pass some beautiful scenery on your sea days.

 

With the Amsterdam you spend about 3 extra hours in Juneau (arriving at 11; on the Zaandam you spend the morning in Tracy Arm and don't arrive into Juneau until 2:30 p.m.). Both ships leave Juneau at 10:30 p.m.

 

Typically if you leave from Seattle you go to Sitka (the Amsterdam is there 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), while the ships departing from Vancouver instead dock in Skagway (the Zaandam is there from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.). In this case the Vancouver ships spends an extra 4 hours in port.

 

In Ketchikan, again, you have an extra couple of hours if you leave from Vancouver; the Amsterdam is there from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. while the Zaandam is there from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

The last difference is that the Vancouver ships do not visit Victoria (the Amsterdam is there from 6 p.m. - midnight, to fulfill the requirement for stopping in a foreign port. While Victoria is a beautiful city, visiting for only a few hours in the evening make it difficult to really see things.

 

While Seattle does have some advantages; I prefer the Vancouver sailings where you sail the Inside Passage, get to view Tracy Arm, and spend extra time in Ketchikan.

[OldCodger73]

fcorey, if you're doing an Alaska roundtrip I would seriously consider leaving from Vancouver rather than Seattle. We live in the Seattle area, yet when we did our Alaska cruise this summer we chose Vancouver for the better itinerary. raadsel's post gives a good overview of the advantages of sailing out of Vancouver. You also might want to do a search on the Alaska board for Vancouver vs Seattle sailings.

 

cruznon mentioned porter problems in Vancouver. This wasn't our experience this year on two cruises out of Vancouver and one return. In fact on one of the departures there were a total of four ships at Canada Place. We arrived by taxi, the cab was directed to go to the luggage drop off area for our ship, and there were porters there who took our luggage. I was really impressed on how well organized everything was.

 

As to which ship to take, that's a matter of personal preference. Since you've sailed on a Vista class ship you might want to try one of the smaller R or S class to see what that is like.

[fcorey]

Everyone thank you for taking the time to post your opinions and advice I really appreciate it. Been travelling for work so this was first time I got to read through all of them. Guess I now need to have family "meeting" to decide which ship.

 

Lisa thats pretty close to the time frame we are looking at, now if Mr. Deering was to be the hotel manager for Noordam then, I think that would seal it :)

 

If we do a cruise on a vista it will likely be on Noordam, she looks like a beautiful ship, but on the other hand a smaller ship might be nice too :)

[betonic]

We just got off the Noordam and loved the ship! We enjoyed it so much that we cancelled the Alaska cruise we had booked with Princess to change to the Noordam for May 2007.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[barriesdad]

There are advantages to leaving from Vancouver. As mentioned previously, you sail Tracy Arm if you leave from Vancouver and don't if you sail out of Seattle. There are a few other differences if you compare the iteniraries of the Amsterdam and the Zaandam (I'm using them because they are both R-class ships, there are not Vista ships sailing from Vancouver).

 

The Zuiderdam sails from Vancouver on the Inside Passage return trip with the same itinerary as the Zaandam but leaves on a Saturday rather than a Wednesday.