Newbie Cruise Report - Amsterdam to Alaska, 8/22-8/29

[bandlady74]

Dear All,

 

 

Since I’ve enjoyed reading so many trip reports on this board, I thought I would write one of my own from a newbie’s perspective. A little background: my husband and I are in our mid-50s. We are both teachers and have traveled extensively, but this is our first cruise. I'll try to stay as up-to-date as I can!

 

 

Embarkation Day – Saturday, 8/22/09 Seattle, WA

 

We arrived at the pier by taxi at about 12:15 and immediately got in line to hand over our luggage. My husband and I were a bit nervous, this being our first cruise and all.:( However, the staff was so very friendly and helpful.:) All of the lines moved quickly, and our group was called to board at about 1PM. Everyone was directed to the Lido. We were amazed – with everything so crowded we found a nice window table pretty much right away.

 

The food was quite good, and the lines were not a problem. Sure, there are no trays, but it was really no big deal to get up and find what we needed. At about 1:45 we were told the rooms were ready, but we avoided the mad rush and just enjoyed our dessert and coffee.

 

We were extremely impressed with our stateroom! The size is quite generous, especially the bathroom. We had expected a queen bed, but got a king! Fantastic! I am amazed at the amount of storage space we have, as well as the overall cleanliness.

 

After muster we finished unpacking and did a lot of exploring, setting up our internet account and making Pinnacle reservations along the way. By the time 4PM rolled around, we were up on the deck. However, there was a problem. Apparently a medical issue with a passenger had arisen, so we were delayed in departing, and didn’t leave until 5:30. As we left Seattle we enjoyed a glorious view of Mt. Rainier from the Sky Deck.

 

I must have read hundreds of posts on this board over the past 2 months, so it’s great to see things for myself now. First, the cleanliness of the ship is wonderful, and everything is in very good repair. Second, the quality of the food in the Lido is quite good. Third, the crew is extremely friendly and accommodating. Unfortunately, I am disappointed to report that I’ve already witnessed two different incidents when pax were rude to crew members. I’m sorry, but there’s just no excuse for making a server in the Lido feel badly when he forgets to put gravy on your meat, or yelling that “we need more plates down here”. It’s obvious that the crew is working their butts off – why can’t people understand that and show general courtesy?

 

We enjoyed a quiet drink in the Crow’s Nest, and then headed down to the dining room for open seating at about 6:30. There was absolutely no problem getting a table! My husband had the salmon and I had rockfish, and we were very pleased, both with the food and the service.

 

By the way, after agonizing about what to wear, we are finding ourselves overdressed, in chinos and polo shirts! There were many in jeans in the main dining room, but it certainly did not detract from our experience there. After dinner we spent some quiet time in our cabin and retired early, truly content after our first day at sea.

 

 

Amy:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

What cabin were you in?

[RuthC]

Like so many others, I love a "Live from ..." thread. Thank you for taking time from your first cruise to send back reports.

On the dress the first night---that's under the heading of "baggage claim casual". It's kind of hard to be overdressed on a cruise; you do see some who are underdressed, however.

Have a great time!

[TiggerG]

Tell us more about the rest of the trip. 13 days and counting till we take our first cruise on the Amsterdam.

 

By the way, I am always embarrassed by Rude , demanding people, they seem to be everywhere. I always think " The Ugly American" when I know they are from the US. But many other cultures seem to have the rude attitude just naturally.

Thanks,

[Kween Karen]

Very nice first day report......anxiously waiting to hear about day #2.

 

I totally agree about rude people......I just feel embarrassed whenever that happens.

[farkle]

I will be closely following your posts because we'll be boarding the Amsterdam on Saturday as you'll be leaving. Thank you for taking the time to fill us in. Can't wait to hear all about it. What cabin are you in? And be sure to mention the weather, please. Looks like it's raining and more rain expected next week for us too. That's OK w/me, I'm happy with a ship and Alaska.:)

[Kween Karen]

I will be closely following your posts because we'll be boarding the Amsterdam on Saturday as you'll be leaving. .:)

 

I have some friends who will be boarding with you on the 29th. They are going to try to leave me a note somewhere.

[Himself]

I am glad to hear it has been a postive experience for you. The Amsterdam and the Volendam are my two favorite ships.

[farkle]

Karen, maybe they could leave the note taped to the bottom of a certain chair in a certain area like the Queens Lounge since those seats are not moveable.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your "live from" report. I will be cruising out of Seattle on Westerdam Sept. 6. It's nice to hear that the check-in line moves quickly.

 

What did you bring to wear for formal night?

 

Have a great cruise!

[bandlady74]

Day 2 at Sea – 8/23/09

 

As a person who has had seasickness in the past, today was the day I’d been worried about.:( Our cabin is E1869, which we specifically had our TA reserve for us, as it is low, outside, and midship. I’m now really glad we did! Last night we just felt some light vibrations, but at about 4:30 this morning there was a little more movement. I was surprised that I felt well enough to go to breakfast in the Lido. The mango pancakes were fantastic!

 

During the small church service I definitely began to notice some more movement of the ship, so I went back to the cabin, where things felt more stable. Apparently these were just moderate swells, but I heard that there were others who were seasick. I finally gave in and took a Dramamine, and had a light lunch with some ginger ale, which helped a lot. I also figured out that if I could look out at the water my stomach would stop doing somersaults! By 2PM we were closer to the coast and the ride was much smoother.

 

This morning I spotted a very large pod of dolphins on the starboard side, a pod much larger than any I had seen during my trip to Sanibel Island, FL in July. Being a real animal lover, I could have sat all day scanning the water for wildlife.:)

 

Because of the Dramamine “fuzz” I spent a lot of the day reading, napping, hanging out in the Crow’s Nest, and wandering around the ship. The sun was shining so I took a nice stroll on the wrap-around deck. My husband is much more active than I, so he also got in some work in the gym.

 

Dinner tonight was formal. I wore a cocktail dress with patent leather heels and a shawl. First Eric and I went back up to the Crow’s Nest for drinks and to listen to the HALCats. It’s just great to look out over the bow of the ship while sipping a cocktail and hearing live music! Then, at about 6:15, we headed down for open seating, and were seated with 6 other couples.

 

This was the first time we noticed a shortage of service on the ship, even though the waiters were working quite hard. A family of 4, with 2 school-age boys very handsomely dressed, were turned away from open dining and told there would be a 30-45 minute wait. They were, understandably, quite angry, since the literature we had received on board told us we could walk in any time between 5:15 and 9 for dinner, and the boys were hungry. In fact, there were at least 3 huge empty tables at that time in the dining room right near where we were sitting, which indicated to us that there was not enough wait staff available. Also, service at our own table was slow, although we very much enjoyed our table mates.

 

Today’s weather over the ocean was partly cloudy, but the rest of the week promises to be overcast and possibly rainy in AK. I’ll let you know in my next post.

 

 

 

Amy

[Juneteach]

We are really enjoying your live review. My husband and I will be sailing on the Amsterdam next May to Alaska. Would love any tips to make our 40th special. We do have a Deluxe Veranda.

RuthC, we think we remember you-St.Paul's School? Hendricken canteens?

[aliaschief]

Thank you for taking the time and doing this live review. Looking forward to the rest of the story!

[pipedreams62]

Unfortunately, I am disappointed to report that I’ve already witnessed two different incidents when pax were rude to crew members. I’m sorry, but there’s just no excuse for making a server in the Lido feel badly when he forgets to put gravy on your meat, or yelling that “we need more plates down here”. It’s obvious that the crew is working their butts off – why can’t people understand that and show general courtesy?

 

 

 

Amy:)

 

 

You "Wear" gravy

 

[RuthC]

RuthC, we think we remember you-St.Paul's School? Hendricken canteens?

I was in both places, so you may very well remember me. But, you have the advantage. Want to give me a hint who you are???

 

I think you posted this once before, but must not have seen my reply. I hope you do this time---I hate not knowing!

[catl331]

Our first HAL cruise was on the Amsterdam (my favorite HAL ship) to Alaska. We had the same rocking and rolling with a little bumping into walls in the halls. It gets better as you sail along. I'll keep reading your posts. Thanks alot! Say hello from me to "Octavia", a bust on the lower promenade deck near the midship stairs. She helped me find my room often on our Panama Canal cruise:D

[user8]

Amy, thanks for taking the time to tell us about how you are liking your cruise. And it is obvious from your account of things, that you are enjoying it.

We'll be on the Amsterdam next June and and your reviews are making it just like a kid waiting for Christmas.

I hope you and DH continue to enjoy yourselves and that neither of you get sea sick.

Lee

[Travelrd]

Thanks for posting "live" from the Amsterdam. I'm going to Alaska next month on the Westerdam, but I still like reading your posts. You write very expressively and you tell it like it is.

 

 

Thanks again for taking the time to do this.

[Juneteach]

So glad that you can answer some questions.The Amsterdam seems fabulous. We are going on the same ship in the Spring. Is the Crows Nest indoors?Will you try the Italian place?

Ruth, my husband went to St.Paul's and I met him at Hendricken . i remember you from there and maybe RIC ? I just retired from 40 years of teaching. My M-O -L taught Grade 1 at Holliman in the early 70's. Frances was a great lady.

[suse]

Enjoying your review. I know what you mean about rude people, though. It makes me want to crawl under a table when I see it. I can't stand it when people yell at the waitstaff since they speak a different language and probably don't understand English unless you yell at them.

Jeepers creepers.

[Susie51]

Thank you for your updates. In Dec. on Oosterdam we had good service and enjoyed our meals. We didn't notice empty tables around us. I'm sorry to hear the service has been slow for you.

[RuthC]

Ruth, my husband went to St.Paul's and I met him at Hendricken . i remember you from there and maybe RIC ? I just retired from 40 years of teaching. My M-O -L taught Grade 1 at Holliman in the early 70's. Frances was a great lady.

Are you spying on me??? :D Yes to St. Paul's, Hendricken canteens, and I graduated from RIC. And I live pretty much around the corner from Holliman.

I taught for 2 years. After one year I decided I didn't like teaching. After two years, I decided I was right the first time. I went and found honest work, which I retired from four years ago.

 

I see your question wasn't answered. The Crows Nest is indoors. It's on every ship as a room high and forward. There's about a 270 degree view.

[Himself]

Bandlady74: Thanks for your review. I am enjoying it. Sorry for your problem with swells.

Thanks for taking time to fill us in.

 

PipeDreams62. Your pictures are something else. Everytime you post one, I chuckle!

[bandlady74]

Day 3 – Juneau – 8/24/09

 

Well, I was right. As we docked in Juneau it was overcast, lightly showering, and temps in the mid 50’s.:( Eric and I put our fleeces and raincoats on, and got ready for what ended up being one of the most memorable days of our lives!:)

 

After walking around Juneau and peeking into a few stores, we headed down the waterfront to the Wings Airways building and got ready to take our floatplane flight out to Taku Glacier Lodge. We were afraid this trip was going to be cancelled, but there was no actual fog, just a lot of clouds, so they were flying. This excursion is one of HAL’s most expensive, I believe, at $299pp, but it was worth twice that. We flew in a 6-passenger floatplane over mountains and glaciers about 30 miles inland from Juneau. Our pilot was extremely professional and experienced, and there were headphones for each of us so that we could hear what he had to say about the area.

 

We landed on the Taku River, right across from Hole-in-the-Wall glacier. There is an old lodge here, and we enjoyed a feast of alderwood-grilled salmon with all the fixings. We also hiked to a nearby waterfall.

 

I cannot tell you how amazing it is to fly over the glaciers. You can really get a feel for their size and how they shape the landscape. Also, our experience at the lodge was wonderful because you are literally out in the middle of nowhere, so it is quiet and peaceful. Another cool thing about this trip is how smoothly the floatplane can land, compared to “regular” planes. Both of us felt this was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had.

 

We got back to Juneau about 4:00 and headed over to the Alaska State Museum. I would definitely recommend this place if you want to learn about the native Americans who live here, as well as some of the wildlife.

 

The museum closed at about 5:30, and my husband headed up the Mt. Roberts Tramway while I poked into a few more stores and then headed back to the ship. All in all the weather wasn’t too bad because it didn’t rain steadily. In fact, we had a couple of breaks of sunshine. Mostly it was light drizzle. I would definitely recommend dressing in layers and bringing a good rain parka.

 

We got to the Lido at about 8 and were lucky enough to grab some venison stew and seafood pie. I am really amazed at how consistently good the food is there, considering it is buffet style.

 

We also got to know our room stewards a little better. They are extremely accommodating and work very hard. After an exciting day we were tired and turned in early.

[Kween Karen]

Wonderful report and I am so glad your day was beyond expectation. It is so fun to read about people have a fantastic time!!