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It seemed like every way we turned we had a blowhole sighting, then patiently waited for the whale to surface. This was a big it for all of us and we thought it would be the highlight of the trip. Since the Seattle area is home for us, it’s easy to take it for granted.
This is Alaska! A Holland America Alaska Cruise Review
THE 25 BEST Cruises from Vancouver to Alaska (with Prices) on Cruise Critic - Cruise Critic
THE 25 BEST Cruises from Vancouver to Alaska (with Prices) on Cruise Critic.
Posted: Thu, 18 Apr 2024 23:18:30 GMT [source]
Finally passing the buoys that marked the entrance to the Fjord, and where glaciers used to reside until the 1800s, this is where the real fun began. This 7 hour tour would take us into Tracy Arm Fjord, which was about an hour and 45 minutes from Juneau. From there, it would be another 45 minutes down to the South Sawyer Glacier. We found seats relatively easily, and we both opted for some Asian inspired cuisine today.
You want amazing views from both land and sea.
When comparing an Alaska cruise from Seattle to a Vancouver departure, Seattle’s 7-day itineraries on the Eurodam and Westerdam are roundtrip. If you’re traveling to Vancouver for your cruise, you’ll likely arrive a day early and want to stay overnight. We stayed at the Pan Pacific Vancouver hotel which is at Canada Place and connected to the cruise port.
Eurodam
What's New for the 2024 Alaska Cruise Season - Cruise Critic
What's New for the 2024 Alaska Cruise Season.
Posted: Mon, 11 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
It’s a family owned and operated business, reliable, and pricing on par with everything else out there. The cruise started from Pier 91 in Seattle, just about an hour away from our home. Seattle has two cruise piers, so make sure you’re going to the right place. I didn’t realize that you could pay extra for certain items.
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. If you’re a foodie and love dining experiences, you’ll want to budget to add in a visit to some of the specialty restaurants onboard. Their chefs create meals that are tasty as well as spectacularly presented.

We’ve done a couple of whale-watching excursions in the past and my teen really wanted to do the jeep rental in Juneau. We found it easy to navigate with a nice flow and absolutely lovely decor. One of the most popular spots is the Crows Nest lounge on one of the top decks (deck 12), which features cozy seating along with a bar and coffee shop. Finally, we toured several of the exhibits in the Museum of Pop Culture. As luck would have it, one of the special exhibits was The Art of Disney Costumes.
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While we didn’t meet a lot of newlyweds, we would say that majority of the cruisers (like 70% +) are.. Most of them are pretty cool, but you can’t expect a cruise to be the same level and energy as Royal Caribbean in terms of entertainment. In summary, we mostly chose the Holland America cruise because it fit our dates and budget.
Ready for dinner early, we headed down to the restaurant for a pre-dinner drink. As the rest of the crew arrived, we were sat at the same tables as our previous visit to the venue. Back on the ship, we grabbed a quick snack at the Lido Market. While it was not open for “lunch”, there were select stations open for snacks.
As I understand is common on cruise ships, there are some extras, like internet and drinks, that you can opt to pay for as a package. The Quench package included espresso drinks, smoothies, and water cans. There are several options for the historic train, since it’s the most popular thing to do in town. Although my intention had been to go all the way, the trip was still beautiful, and probably long enough, considering we had my one-year-old in tow. I was worried the food might not be great or healthy onboard. I’d encountered a lot of chicken nuggets and subpar burgers in the past on my brief cruise experiences.

Choose a breakfast-only plan or a plan that also includes lunch and dinner. Triple Denali dining plans include a night at the Music of Denali dinner theatre at Gold Nugget Saloon. There was definitely a time in my life when I was all about taking small ships, cargo ferries, and local buses, and avoiding experiences like cruises.
The musicians ROCKED and often had crowds well after midnight. The six dancers that made up Step One performed beautifully. In the cooler ports, I had on a t-shirt, long sleeved medium-weight hoodie, my packable puffer jacket, and a thigh-length rain jacket (plus a scarf and gloves), plus sneakers. I wore a poncho (above) for our Whales & Trails tour and it served me well in the drizzle. This could be an entire post in and of itself, but here are a few quick tips for what to pack for an Alaska cruise in June. To sum up my thoughts on the food, well, I can’t praise the food enough.
Holland America even provides blankets to help you bundle up when doing your wildlife or glacier spotting. The restaurants are also beautifully decorated, while the casual dining options on the pool deck are laid back and perfect for families with young kids. The ship has the upscale glitz and glamor that you expect from cruise ships but also a few fun spots with a bit of flair.