Table Of Content
Dining on the cruise ship is included, as always, but you can also pre-purchase a dining package on land with these trips. 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. Eventually making our way down to deck 2, we had captured almost all of the public venues in just a few hours. With more fellow cruisers now onboard the ship, it was time to test out the food.
Holland America’s Alaska 2024 Cruises
You can use the computers to read New York Times articles (Peter did, almost daily) or you can also check the ship’s activities in advance. You can borrow a book and take it to your stateroom or you can read in the lounge. Also, a good friend of mine lives in Juneau, so we definitely had options and activities. Also saw a humpback whale near the ship, so that was a plus.
Excursions
You don't have to wait until retirement to tick off a bucket list cruise to Alaska - 9Honey Travel
You don't have to wait until retirement to tick off a bucket list cruise to Alaska.
Posted: Tue, 13 Jun 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Required muster drills have been replaced with a quick check in and safety video viewed by guests in their cabin. Traditional paper menus are available, but tabletop QR codes are the preferred method for viewing drink and dining menus. Personally, I prefer the food in Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship. It feels as if the Lido deck is the same as the sit down dinner in Holland America. Like, there’s nothing that will make us want to go have a sit down dinner. Not many ships actually include Glacier Bay National Park on their routes.
Catching Up Onboard
We did enjoy the choices in the Lido – there were tacos, Asian food, and steak… lots and lots of steak choices everyday. A difference though – you have to wait in a queue for someone to serve you your dinner portions. You can’t just get the food on your own (except maybe for the dessert table).
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There were several electrical outlets in the cabin to charge your devices right next to the bed and by the desk. They all had USB outlets so you can plug your chargers directly into the USB ports. We found the space to be very comfortable with plenty of room and adequate storage both under the bed and in the closets.
With 14 people eating at the signature specialty restaurant, we knew this was going to be a tight schedule. Unfortunately, we were only able to fit in 2 out of 3 courses during the two hour stretch. Presented by the Step One Dance company, it was the cruise line’s version of a production show. Done with his talk before 4 pm, we had some time to browse the shops and snag a t-shirt as well as one of the last ship ornaments left on the shelves. The 35 minute presentation abutted the 3 pm talk being given by the naturalist, Russ. So, a quick hop up to deck 11 for more coffee, and we were back in similar seats to listen to his talk on the Alaskan Wilderness.
Onboard Activities:
Back at sea level, we browsed the gift shop then returned to the ship. Unlike our previous day in Glacier Bay, we would be making a short stop at Icy Strait Point tonight from 6 to 10 pm. Again, the MDR delivered a well executed and prepared meal.
Holland America Line Alaska Cruise Review
June really is the best time to go to Alaska — not quite peak season and not as much rain as later in the summer. First, I’ll start with the most important meal of the day! Since it’s our favorite meal of the day, we went big and tried almost everything on the menu. Standouts for me were pancakes, French toast, Belgian waffles, omelets, and the sausage patties (you can’t get them in France!). Something I appreciated that really helped us to see everything was how the captain stopped several times and slowly turned the ship 360 degrees. Everyone on board was able to see Glacier Bay in all its glory no matter what side their cabin was on.
We were able to pay with a credit card and it was $25, kids & teens (not from Alaska) under 16 don’t have to have a license. We were put into a group of six, assigned a guide, and boarded our open-air skiff boat. We disembarked in the afternoon in Juneau and checked in with an excursion rep after exiting the ship. They directed us to the jeep check-in spot which was just a short walk away from the pier. Here you’ll find some of your classic Italian favorites like lasagne and risotto, but there are also daily specials and many seafood-inspired dishes.
Having cruised to Alaska multiple times, I wanted to try another cruise line. While itineraries are similar, I wanted to try the cruise line with the longest relationship with Alaska, so a Holland America Alaska cruise made sense. However, if choosing to sail from Vancouver, you can cruise a one-way itinerary on the Noordam or Nieuw Amsterdam vessels. One-way cruises allow guests to add a land tour to Denali National Park. I highly recommend staying here for cruisers as its location can’t be beaten. The parking garage is also the same garage used for cruise passengers, so again, extremely convenient for cruisers.
Seems like there’s plenty more to do in Skagway than in Haines itself. Good thing I managed to find a local Haines company to book a tour with. And we were in our own group when we went to see the bald eagles up close (not to mention we didn’t pay the exorbitant amount the cruise ships were asking for). For dinner, we ate in the main dining room every night except for the first night where we had booked a table ahead of time at the Pinnacle Grill. Our first port was Juneau and we had a whale watching/glacier excursion booked.
For an unforgettable journey through a frozen wonderland, an Alaska cruise with Holland America Line in 2024 should top your wish list. We used the free room service option for a couple of early mornings. It always arrived on time, although the quality was not as good as food in the restaurants, probably because it had to be carried across the ship to us. Before I go into detail about various aspects of the cruise, I need to say that I found my perfect cruise vibe on this ship! Fellow passengers were adults and families with young adults from all over the globe, with a smaller number of younger children on board than I'd seen on other cruises. The young children we did see on board were enjoying time with their families and well behaved.
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.
I’ll mention that whale-watching is a very popular activity for Juneau and is worth doing if you haven’t seen whales before. We’ve done a couple of whale-watching excursions in the past and my teen really wanted to do the jeep rental in Juneau. Another complimentary restaurant near the pool is the New York Deli & Pizza restaurant, where you can order a custom or chef-designed personal 9″ thin-crust pizza. If you love fries and sitting poolside, you’re going to love ordering from Dive-In. It’s your typical pool dining spot that serves famous Nathan hot dogs, burgers, as well as french fries. This is a popular spot for kids and families, so you’ll want to order in advance with the HAL Navigator app.
Onboard experienceAlthough Westerdam carried 1,923 guests and 800 crew, there were no long lines—and we never felt crowded. That’s because management strategically schedules meals and activities to avoid congestion. A festive ambiance greeted us during our Friday evening port call. After sunset, 3,300 lights lit up Parliament buildings, sidewalk musicians played lively tunes and attractions stayed open late. We toured the Royal BC Museum and strolled flower bedecked Inner Harbor walkways.
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