ALASKA!

August 30th-September 7th

Hello everyone! Here is another report about another great trip! Cruising Alaska!
It was so beautiful and lots of fun. I've never cruised before so this was definitely a new experience. I will warn you now that this is a picture heavy post. I won't be including all my pictures but I will add a link so you can view a slideshow via another site.

This trip was a couple of years in the making and planning was quite difficult considering the many cruise lines, itineraries and excursion options. I decided on using Holland America since they cater to the low-key non party crowd and their ships are smaller than the mega ones like Princess. When cruising to Alaska there are two cities to choose from in regards to doing a round trip which is Vancouver and Seattle. We decided on Vancouver since the ship sails through the Inside Passage which is more scenic. As for excursions, we did one at each port we visited. Well Juneau we didn't really go anywhere but I'll get to that later.

Onward to Alaska!

Friday  - Arrival Day
To make certain we did not miss the boat, we decided to fly into Vancouver the night before. I selected the Pan Pacific hotel which is actually connected to the cruise terminal and reserved the cruise package which included breakfast/wi-fi/and luggage transfers from our room to the cruise ship which was a good thing considering my suitcase weighed nearly 45 pounds. About 1/3 of my clothes I didn't even end up wearing :(

 Our hotel room. Spacious and luxurious...

 

 View outside the 3 large windows...

 

 After checking in, concierge suggested a place along the water to go for dinner so Mom and I took a nice walk walk over there and had a table with a view of the marina and Stanley Park. On our way back to the hotel, we spotted one of HA's ships leaving. 

I don't know the name of this ship but it is smaller than ours... 

 

View of the conference center (grassy roof) and our hotel behind it. We were on the 15th floor...

  

Saturday - Embarkation Day

After repacking and having a nice buffet breakfast at the hotel, I called Bell Services to come pick up our luggage. After doing so, we headed out and took pictures outside of our hotel of the cruise terminal, the Princess ship docked on the other side and our ship, the Zuiderdam! 

 

These pictures were taken out on a large terrace at our hotel. That is how close we were to the ship...

Embarkation process was slow going but very well organized. We joined a long line of other passengers that were going on the Zuiderdam and the Star Princess. Security screening and then customs and finally we separated and went to the Zuiderdam check in desk where our pictures were taken and we were handed a small envelope that held our key cards and a map of the ship. After a quick obligatory picture, we walked up the gangway and were immediately directed to our cabin to drop off our carry on luggage and then told to go have lunch at the Lido buffet.

Long hallway to our room...

Our Verandah cabin...small but efficient.

 

The Verandah...

 

 After a quick lunch we decided to explore the ship.

The Promenade deck...

Observation Deck...

 

Aft Pool...

 

Vista Lounge (all major shows performed here)...

 

Elevators... 

  

Crow's Nest and the Explorations Cafe (which are in the same area)...

 

 Random hallways and stairwells...

 

 Casino

 

Various Lounges/Bars...

 

The Art Gallery (they did a few auctions here)....

 A "techspert" held various classes here every day such as how to download your pictures from your camera onto your computer and how to create a slideshow. The classes were definitely catered to beginners which was actually kind of cool since most of the passengers were retired and probably not very familiar with the programs...

 

 This is the hydropool which is part of the spa. I took this picture behind glass since it is separated from the public. Sometimes blinds are drawn so you can't see inside...

 

The Lido Buffet...

 Taco Bar at the Lido Pool. The pizza/pasta station, the grill (hamburgers/hot dogs) and the taco bar were always opened...

Top of the Atrium...

 

The Lido pool with retractable roof. The windows line up on each side of the deck so you get plenty of light and an awesome view. The last picture was taken while we were in Ketchikan...

  

So after lunch and tour we headed back to our stateroom to unpack and meet our room stewards for the week who were amazing by the way. We hung out on the balcony waiting for the muster drill which was announced many times that it was mandatory. When the alarm went off we quickly headed off to our assigned station. These guys don't joke around! It was very organized but also somewhat militarized in getting everyone in line and in order and checking off each stateroom until everyone was present. 

Then we got ready for our special dinner in the Pinnacle Grill. This is a specialty restaurant which serves higher quality food so there is an added charge. We had some on-board credit to burn so we booked this dinner when we first got on the ship. After dressing up we sat in a cushy booth and were waited on by 2 wonderful servers. I ordered crab cakes and filet mignon and mom ordered shrimp cocktail and a beef skewer. Yum! For dessert it was creme brulee and a vanilla souffle.

After dinner we went on to the Welcome Show in the Vista Lounge. There Cruise Director Ross introduced the captain and his senior officers. Champagne was passed around to everyone and so I guzzled that down...nah I had soda. :) Then after the toast, the show began with singers and dancers and confetti and balloons falling from the ceiling. The musical numbers were very much something I'd see at Casino Arizona but overall very entertaining.

We then returned to our cabin to be greeted by this...

 We received a towel animal every night except for 2 but that was because we were in the cabin when they came to do turn-down service so we declined. But we did receive chocolates, a schedule of the next day's events and a breakfast menu.  For breakfast you would just check off what you wanted and what time you wanted it delivered the next morning and then hang it outside your door before you go to bed. Very convenient when you just want to hang out in your bathrobe and sip hot chocolate and munch on a croissant.

Sunday - Sea Day

I woke up very early this morning to the ship's foghorn going off so of course that meant only one thing. Lots of fog! I was also not feeling well from the rocking of the ship. I took some motion sickness medicine and went back to sleep for a couple of hours but was still not 100% when I got up. Oh well. Mom and I decided to go to the Main Dining Room for breakfast where I ate most of my blueberry pancakes. Then we toured around the ship some more. I had my kindle with me so I chose a nice cushy lounge chair in the Crow's Nest to read but after about 10 minutes I started falling asleep. The medicine I take helps with motion sickness but gets you very drowsy so I walked around some more to stay awake. The fog had cleared up in the morning but started to get foggy again by the afternoon. 

We decided to have lunch at the MDR and met 2 other couples from the UK at our table. I started talking to them about Downtown Abbey and we had a nice conversation about BBC shows. 

Afterwards, Mom and I went to a nature lecture about various animals in the Alaskan area. Unfortunately, I began to fall asleep again and left early to go take a nap but Mom stayed for the rest of the lecture and then went to a class on how to make tissue paper flowers. 

Later we dressed up for the first formal night of the week and sat with a Canadian couple and another couple from the UK. Everyone was very nice and we enjoyed steak and shrimp. Then we went to go see the show in the Vista Lounge with the singing and dancing with a very Vegas feel to it but still entertaining. 

When we returned from the show, we had another towel animal and a small tote bag...

Monday - Juneau

After a quick breakfast of hot chocolate and croissants, my mom and I got ready for our Tracy Arm Fjord excursion. Some Alaska itineraries include cruising inside the Tracy Arm Fjord but ours did not so what the ship does is stop outside of the fjord and those who want to see it pay for an added excursion by an independent tour company. The catamaran came up next to the ship and a gangway was set up for us to get on. After everyone was on, we headed inside the fjord and the Zuiderdam sailed on to Juneau. 

This was about a 5 hour tour and the catamaran had inside and outside viewing along with a brochure explaining the animals and etc and a set of binoculars to use. This was an amazing tour! It was not cheap by any means but worth every penny! Besides seeing massive cliffs and floating bits of ice and waterfalls, we were able to get up and close and personal with two glaciers, Sawyer Glacier and South Sawyer Glacier. We were able to see some calving. I have many many pictures from this excursion and will add a link for a slideshow containing all of them but for now, here are some of my favorites...

We passed a few ships coming out of the fjord...

Glacier coming into view...

 

This clip shows some calving near the end...

Heading out of Tracy Arm Fjord we made our way to Juneau and enjoyed some more beautiful views along the way...

Coming into Juneau...

I will admit that Juneau was my least favorite port. We decided to just stay in town and shop but the massive amount of jewelry stores and touristy shops was a letdown. I realized that if someone wants to experience the "real" Juneau they needed to get out of the city. After buying a few souvenirs we got back onboard and went to dinner and seated with a nice couple from Oklahoma and a couple of women from Vancouver. Again we had a nice talking to them. Dinner was halibut (just okay) but the best was the walnut ice cream for dessert (yum).
Then we went to go see the stand-up comedian in the show lounge. At first I was not really feeling it but then he became very funny and overall I had a great time. Later we watched the Indonesian Crew Show. They had their own band and they sang some traditional songs as well did some skits that were pretty fun.

Towel animal for tonight...

 

Tuesday - Skagway 

This is where we did my 2nd favorite excursion. We did the usual hot chocolate and croissants for breakfast and then headed off ship to meet our tour guide who loaded us in a shuttle then drove us to the other side of the dock where we joined Princess passengers on the same excursion. After we settled in the shuttle and met our driver/tour guide Kevin we did a small city tour and then drove onto the main highway towards the Yukon. Kevin explained the history of the city, geographic information and even some interesting stories from the Gold Rush. We made several scenic stops along the way...

In this second picture you can see the White Horse & Yukon RR. We took this train down back to Skagway...

 

We did a quick bathroom break and walked around this small town of Carcross. We also got our passport stamped showing we visited the Yukon. 

 Then we we drove another few minutes to a small touristy area that served us lunch which was included in the tour. We had BBQ chicken, coleslaw, baked potato, rolls and apple cider donuts. It was obviously set up to feed a lot of people coming off the buses but the food was good and it was very well organized.

I just saw this sign while going in the dining area and thought it was funny...

 

After our filling lunch we had some time to explore with a gift shop, small wildlife museum, ice-cream shop, gold panning, petting zoo and a mushers camp. Kevin warned us before dropping us off for lunch that the mushers camp is very real and the woman that runs the camp does the Iditarod every year so they were "working" dogs.For a little extra money you could actually sit in a wagon/trailer sort of thing and have the dogs pull you around. We didn't do this but it was hilarious to see when the people returned and the dogs who were waiting their turn to pull the "sled" went bezerk! They were all "Pick Me! Pick Me!" It was like listening to a hundred Gingers barking. 

Husky Puppies sleeping...

 All the shuttles/buses that brought in the tourists...

 We boarded our shuttle and took a short drive over to Emerald Lake...

 

Then Kevin took us to one of his favorite spots...

 Picturesque Alaska...

 

We then drove to White Horse Pass where we said goodbye to Kevin and boarded the train. This took us back down the mountains to the center of town. Unlike the pictures from Tracy Arm Fjord where I braved the freezing wind out on the deck, I took these pictures behind glass. Sorry...:(

Can you believe we actually rode on this bridge????.....Nah! It's been out of service since the 1980's.

 

A couple of hours later we got into Skagway and did some light shopping before going back on board our ship...

The train...

 

Because we were tired from the excursion and didn't feel like getting ready for dinner we decided to order room service where I had a hamburger and apple pie and my mom had pasta and chocolate cake. No towel animal tonight since we declined turn-down service. :(

We also went to bed early so missed the sing/dance show in the lounge.

Wednesday - Glacier Bay

I was VERY much looking forward to this day as I've heard and read so many things about how beautiful Glacier Bay is...unfortunately the weather wasn't helping and it was foggy the entire time! 

Our day started with eating in the Lido Buffet for a change where I had some pancakes and greasy bacon while my mom settled with oatmeal. The Park Rangers had already been picked up at the entrance of the bay around 7am so they were in the Crow's Nest. One was at a table with various park information while the other gave a narration that could be heard in many areas in the ship including from the TV in our cabin. There was also a woman from some national geographic society and a Tlingit culture interpreter who answered questions about his tribe who are native to Glacier Bay and surrounding areas. I got my National Parks Passport book stamped and we set outside to view some glaciers. It was a little tough getting pictures from the public observation decks since it was crowded but when we came up to the most popular glacier (Marjorie) we went back to our room and had a nice view for about 20 minutes before the captain turned the ship around so the other side could view it also. 

 

Marjorie Glacier with foghorn...

As we began our way out of Glacier Bay we stopped in the lounge to hear the park rangers lecture about the glaciers. Then the Tlingit Interpreter came on and gave a short lecture about his people. Then it was time for them to go and their ride from the ranger station came to get them.

 

The boat actually had to make 2 attempts to pick them all up. The cruise ship does not stop so the group had to climb down a rope ladder to board their boat as it cruised beside us.

Bye Rangers! Hope to see you again next year!

By this time we sailed out of the calm waters of Glacier Bay we continued south in open seas. The ship began rocking more than usual and I started not feeling well. I was not exactly nauseous but I had a horrible pressure headache so I was unable to attend the last formal night of the cruise. :( My mom did get dressed up and go and enjoyed meeting new people while I watched old episodes of the Mentalist. I was hungry so I ordered room service again and had a club sandwich and chocolate cake which I ate every bite. :)
Mom went to the show at the lounge which was a magician. She said he was very good and incorporated birds and little dogs in his act.
Because I was stuck in the cabin, I declined turn-down service so no towel animal again this night. :(

Thursday - Ketchikan
Ketchikan was my favorite port! It had the usual jewelry stores and tourist shops but the town looked Alaskan! There seem to be a more small-town feel here and it is definitely unique. My mom and I had no plans for this day other than to get in our last minute shopping in but when we got off the ship there were many people selling various tours so I convinced my mom for us to go on a 2 hour city tour. We boarded a shuttle and our driver/guide gave some brief narrations of the history of the city. The day started with a drizzle and fog but by the afternoon the it was sunny and warm.

 This shows a great view of where our room was. If you count there are 5 decks with balcony cabins. We are the 2nd row from the bottom and about 5 balconies left of the angled one that is facing the lifeboats...

Our guide took us here for a good chance to see bears but we didn't see any. Although the creek did have tons of (dying) salmon and there were about 3 seals swimming around enjoying breakfast...

Then we went to Saxman Village which sat along the edge of the rainforest and had various totem poles...

 

Then it was to the famous Creek Street where we got off the shuttle to explore on our own...

 

We took a funicular to the top of the mountain to a lodge and then we went down back down via a wooden boardwalk/staircase..

 A nice walk back to our ship...

 This is pretty much what you first see when you disembark...

These pictures were taken from the Lido Deck...

Okay, so this is where I stopped taking notes so for the next couple of days may not exactly coincide in correct order. :/
I do know that we headed to the MDR for dinner that night and I believe we were sat with a couple from Ontario who were very nice. I also remember ordering the Pad Thai on the menu and the server warned me that it was spicy....right. It was spicy like a jar of Pace Picante sauce. I guess they have to cover their bases since most people on the ship were above a certain age.
Mom and I also went to the last show of the singers/dancers. They did a mix of music and a wide-range of costumes and each set of songs had a sort of theme or came from a certain time era. The best was the ending when they did a 70's mix. The costumes were dazzling and the lights and dancing very high-energy. It definitely ended with a bang.

 After the show we took a nightly stroll around the ship...

 

Then we decided to watch a movie in the Screening Room. This is the ship's movie theater but the seats were large and cushioned like the ones you see at an in-home theater inside a fancy house. The movie was called The Sapphires which was a foreign film from Australia. It was a good movie! I highly recommend it. Every day there was a different movie played at several different times. I know they showed Mud, The Internship, Now You See Me and on Glacier Bay day they showed White Fang.

Towel animal! 

 

Friday - Sea Day (Inside Passage)

I remember waking up late on this morning mostly because we were late going to bed from watching the movie. So as few days before we were left a card inviting us to a luncheon with the captain on this day. So we got ready and headed to the MDR and joined the many others that were also invited. We took a quick picture with the captain and the hotel director and then placed at a table with a couple of women from Vancouver and another couple also from Canada. Champagne was already on the table and the captain did a little toast and then we ordered our food. I ordered the broccoli/cheese quiche which was fine but the best was the soup which was an apple-pear gazpacho with fruit sorbet. So delicious! As we walked out we were handed tiles with the picture of the cruise ship.

After lunch I think we departed ways for a little while with me taking picture of the Inside Passage and Mom going to the Explorer's Lounge to read. This is also the time where my mom saw a ton of dolphins swimming next to the ship.

The magician I missed earlier in the cruise did another show in the afternoon which really gave him an excuse to sell his magic trick package. He performed all the tricks in the package and a couple of others. I was sad he didn't have the doggies out. :(
Then we got dressed up for our last dinner on board in the Pinnacle Grill. As we sat eating our steak the dolphins showed up again and I got to see a few of them outside of the window. Dinner and a show!
Then we headed to the lounge to see the last performance which was a comedian/juggler who was hilarious!
Then we went back to our room where we packed up our bags and set them outside our door ready to be picked up early the next morning.

Best towel animal of the week...

Saturday - Disembarkation :(
We woke up to see that the ship was already docked in Vancouver right where we boarded her just last Saturday. We ate a quick breakfast and waited for our group to be called to disembark. We headed out and waved goodbye to some of the crew standing just inside the terminal to see us off. Jumped in a taxi going to the airport.

Final Thoughts...excellent trip! The only disappointment I had was the fact that I was not feeling well enough to enjoy everything but other than that I had a wonderful time. I definitely want to cruise again and thinking about even doing Alaska again next year and focus more on the wildlife instead of the glaciers. I want to see bears!

Overall the time and money spent was well worth it.

Happy Travels!