Table Of Content
- Complimentary / Included Restaurants
- ms Westerdam – The Ship
- Cruise Review: Holland America Returns to Alaska on Nieuw Amsterdam
- Why A Holland America Alaska Cruise
- Discover Alaska: And Find Out Why Holland America Line is #1 In Alaska for More Reasons Than One
- Revealed! Queen Mary 2 Exclusive Behind the Scenes Tour
The food, the atmosphere, and the service are all equally outstanding. Additionally, when you want to watch the sunset from your patio, you can have your dinners delivered from the main dining room. The Explorations Cafe is located in the Crow’s Nest, an extensive area in the front of the ship used for games, puzzles, wildlife watching, and exploring. The main dining room is for you if you want to be pampered and served.
Complimentary / Included Restaurants
It’s a must-do if you’re looking for higher-end pasta, meatballs, seafood dishes, and desserts. I also found each person we interacted with to be accommodating and patient, even when guests weren’t particularly warm with them. I know from working in hospitality in the past that it’s not an easy job, and they all did it especially well. Those in the dining room made a particularly great impression, remembering my son and always saying hi to him and bringing his fruit right away. Considering how many people they were seeing on a daily basis, I was impressed.
ms Westerdam – The Ship
Holland America Zaandam Cruise: Expert Review (2023) - Cruise Critic
Holland America Zaandam Cruise: Expert Review ( .
Posted: Wed, 12 Jul 2023 15:38:27 GMT [source]
I soon realized, thankfully, that those passengers were not waiting for our ship. Having never cruised before, I had no idea what to expect on the cruise, including what it would be like to board the ship. As our taxi dropped us off at the Seattle cruise terminal, I saw what seemed like hundreds of people waiting in a line in the rain.
Cruise Review: Holland America Returns to Alaska on Nieuw Amsterdam
A few in our group enjoyed participating in the ballroom dancing offered before dinner on formal nights. Holden Frith travelled as a guest of Holland America Line. In fact, an Alaskan cruise involves whole days seeing no sign of human settlement along the shore, just an endless scroll of ocean, forest, mountains and mist.
Why A Holland America Alaska Cruise
Holland America Noordam Cruise: Expert Review (2023) - Cruise Critic
Holland America Noordam Cruise: Expert Review ( .
Posted: Wed, 12 Jul 2023 15:38:28 GMT [source]
This is a dining experience, so allow up to two hours to enjoy the food and your dining companions. I’m delighted to say that Holland America still INCLUDES room service as a main (included) dining option. The menu is limited somewhat, but it was SO delightful having breakfast delivered every morning. I was even able to order a coffee service in advance to get my caffeine fix while my teen daughter slept in. And their room service is open 24 hours, just with two different menus depending on the time of day.
Room Service
Officially, the Explorations Café is one of the bars on the ship. So, we upgraded our normal drink orders to espresso martinis. While soaking up some final rays, we were treated to perhaps the best send off of the cruise. There was a pod of orcas probably a half mile from the ship with some impressive breaching action.
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Once inside the fjord, the jagged granite mountainsides, carved by centuries of glacial activity, glowed in the basking sunlight. We also had some wildlife sightings, from sea lions soaking up rays to mountain goats darting the hillside. Now that we had to grab food before the tour, we stopped in around noon to the Lido Market. Pre-cruise, we had decided on a rather leisurely day in downtown. We had booked a lunch at Tracy’s Crab Shack and the Mount Roberts Tramway through the cruise line.
Discover Alaska: And Find Out Why Holland America Line is #1 In Alaska for More Reasons Than One
The downtown area is right on the water so you can walk around and take in the beautiful scenery while shopping or grabbing a bite to eat. Later that day after hitting the casino a bit and trying our hand at pickleball, we pulled into Icy Strait Point around 6 p.m. And promptly hopped off the ship to head out to our kayaking excursion. Despite the fact that neither my dad nor I have kayaked much in the past decade, we figured it would be fun. We also went to the Seattle Art Museum and the Space Needle before the cruise left and had a lot of fun discovering Seattle.
It has two twin beds that can be pushed together or kept separate, a couch that can be pulled out to a third bed, desk area, and a bathroom that had a bathtub (not just a shower). There’s also a pickleball court on the top decks along with a basketball hoop, walking track, ping pong, pools, and hot tubs. When reviewing my Holland America Volendam cruise to Alaska, here are the highlights and areas that needed improvement. Bear in mind that these are my opinion, and everyone’s preferences are different.
Almost on cue, a bear appeared onshore as we began a day of cruising Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. It was moments like these that reminded us all even though planning a vacation has never been more complicated, cruising in Alaska comes with countless rewards. As the ship made its way farther north along the Inside Passage, sightings of humpbacks, dolphins and porpoises became increasingly more frequent. A Mola mola (ocean sunfish) even turned up to welcome us back. It was the fifth of 10 planned seven-day sailings to Alaska for the 2021 season.
In fact, to preserve the site, the National Park Service limits only two cruises per day in the park. Most other ships include the Hubbard Glacier if they can’t get to Glacier Bay, so if you find a cruise that actually suits your schedule AND stops by Glacier Bay, it’s a shoe in. Having cruised on mostly mid-sized ships, the Volendam’s capacity of just over 1400 was also a test of whether I’d like the more intimate feel. To date, it’s the smallest cruise ship I’ve sailed, with just ten decks. Next to the Pinnacle Grill, Rudi’s Sel de Mar is the most premium specialty dining experience you can experience on board. The restaurant is small and intimate and features a seafood-focused menu.
Of note, a second tram is being built that will actually take travelers from the NCL pier directly up to this area in 7 minutes. Of course, additional restaurants and shopping are planned for this mountain spot as well. The new tram from the NCL dock was running, taking cruisers back and forth to that landing area.
Most ships have a theme, and with its abundance of floral arrangements and posy artworks, its garden theme adds color to the interior spaces. Our guide took us out on the water and headed towards a known fishing spot for rockfish. He helped each of us get our reels set and within seconds all of us had bites!
You can also read more about our first impressions of Alaska. The cruise that we chose was a 7 Day Southbound from Seward, Alaska and disembarks in Vancouver, British Columbia. I silently complained to Peter – “Why do we have to disembark in Vancouver?
We had another long day tomorrow, so we needed some sleep anyway. Either way, with our signature drinks in hand, it was a excellent way to finish up a very long day on our Holland America Line Alaska cruise. What was really on the Princess’ agenda was the planned comedy show at 9 pm. She was adamant that we were going to get to the show tonight, as this would be the only time we could catch the comedians with the nighttime entertainment lineup. Passing waterfalls and other scenic landscapes, it was a good three hours into the trip when we got our first glimpse of the South Sawyer Glacier face.
After leaving Mendenhall Glacier on one of the shuttle buses, I had time to do some shopping therapy in Juneau. A must-visit, I stopped for a drink at the famous Red Dog Saloon to enjoy its cheerful atmosphere. Since I didn’t have much time, I took a fast stroll toward the glacier to see Nugget Falls. Unfortunately, I had to return before reaching the falls because I didn’t want to miss the returning shuttle bus. So, the most anticipated day of this cruise turned out to be the biggest disappointment for me.
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