1 Nights Pacific Northwest Cruise

Another Good Alaska Cruise with Holland America

We sailed the MS Westerdam, for a 7-day Alaska Explorer cruise, our sixth cruise to Alaska and fourth with HAL. Westerdam is the smallest of the Holland America ships we have sailed on thus far, but it had all the amenities we have come to expect on other, larger ships. Embarkation at Seattle’s Pier 91 was a breeze and our checked bags arrived at our cabin an hour after we got onboard. Once onboard, we easily found our way around the ship, having the same basic layout and venues as other HAL ships. The only thing lacking was the dedicated Tamarind Asian fusion specialty restaurant and bar, though, for fans of oriental offerings, Westerdam did feature a Morimoto At-Sea Japanese pop-up on one night and the Lido buffet has nightly Asian foods. We had booked a Neptune suite and, if budget allows, that option comes highly recommended, since, the priority boarding/disembarkation, free daily laundry service, large balcony/room, and access to the Neptune Lounge makes the higher cost worth it (at least for us). The Neptune Lounge, with its dedicated concierge, small plate buffet and cozy “ship within a ship” atmosphere were definite pluses, as well. All members of the staff, from the ship’s officers to the room stewards, were friendly and attentive in all venues, going out of their way to assist whenever and wherever necessary. We ate most of our meals in the MDR and the food there was good, with a fair number of choices. Since this cruise seemed to have a greater-than-average number of families with children onboard, the MDR never felt crowded (after all, most kids would not enjoy a 90 minute sit-down in a semi-formal setting), but Lido Buffet was always super-busy. Eating there was more of a competitive event than something to be enjoyed. A dining highlight, as with all HAL ships, was the poolside Dive Inn, with one of the best burger and fries combo at sea. Disembarkation was an easy process, with our checked luggage delivered for dockside pickup, giving us plenty of time to catch our homebound transportation. The pluses for this cruise were the room, the staff and, depending on the venue, the food and drink. The less-than-great aspect was definitely the weather, over which HAL had no control. It was windy, cold and rainy for the entire voyage, making sea days rough to the point there were a number of reports of seasickness. In fact, the winds were so strong in Ketchikan, the ship snapped its mooring lines, dropping the gangway into the water and pushing the ship into the the harbor. Thanks to the quick reactions of the crew, nobody was injured, but it took two tugs, the ships own power plant and an hour of having >600 passengers stranded ashore to get the ship back safety to the dock. Kudos to the Captain for providing those of us onboard with updates as time allowed. All told, another good Alaska cruise with Holland America.

Alaskan adventure that hits the highlights

After our Canada/New England cruise last year, we Southerners decided to try another Northern adventure, this time to Alaska. We chose Holland America again. HAL provides a great value and experience. The things that were lacking in this cruise could have been remedied by us choosing a longer, more expensive and upscale cruise, but we were trying to keep costs down. We had a wonderful time, with some unforgettable experiences. We visited Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria B.C. The weather was not great, but we came prepared with our head-to-toe rain and cold weather gear. The best parts of this cruise were the shore excursions. We went on a small group whale-watching excursion in Juneau. The humpback whales were extremely active, and the small boat was able to move easily to the active sites. Then we took a short hike to view the Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls. The whales and the scenery were breathtaking. I thought this would be the most memorable part of the trip, until we went on the ocean raft excursion in Sitka. Six of us passengers donned full floatation suits and were taken exploring along the volcano coast. We saw humpback whales, gray whales, otters, seals, colorful sea stars, and more bald eagles than we could count. This is probably the most adventurous thing I have ever done, and was equally as thrilling as the whale-watching excursion. We went on a photo safari in Ketchikan. Although the weather was truly awful, our determined tour guide took us to see totems at Potlatch Park and other locations. We didn't see the sites we'd hoped to see, but she truly made the best of a bad weather day. We had an inside cabin on the Navigation deck. Not the best location for motion sickness, especially when the weather was bad, but the cabin was nice enough. We didn’t miss having a window or a balcony with the bad weather we had. With all the time changes and long daylight hours, I actually slept well in the inside cabin. Westerdam had many inside and outside public areas where we could sit and view the scenery. A smaller ship is going to have more motion in bad weather than a larger ship, but we prefer a smaller ship despite this. Westerdam still has the amenities and entertainment you would expect, although on a smaller scale. Entertainment was not an issue at all on last year's Canada cruise, because we stopped at a port almost every day and spent very little time on the ship. Amenities and entertainment make a difference when you spend more time at sea. The biggest complaint I had with this cruise would be that we spent so little time at the ports, not even a full day. Because we booked shore excursions, we had no time to do anything else while we were at a port. The food was fine in both the Lido Market and main dining room. I would have skipped the specialty dining, but we had a credit with our cruise package. I have a seafood allergy, so I didn't have a lot of variety. Service was excellent in the main dining room for dinner. Service was painfully slow at Pinnacle Grill, and the food was not any better than the main dining room. We had the "Have it all" package. I don't think we really needed all that, but it was a good value. At the time of purchase, this included crew appreciation, shore excursion credit, specialty dining credit, onboard credit, premium internet, and the highest drink package. We did not need the drink package, but it was nice to get what we wanted without keeping track. Premium internet was a luxury that we fully utilized. So many things were included in this package that we had a hard time spending our onboard credit. We got a lot of extra perks with onboard credit that we wouldn't have considered otherwise. On this cruise we were offered port valet service. At the end of the cruise, they took our luggage from our cabin straight to the airport and checked it in for us. We just picked it up at baggage claim after our flight home. The airline’s checked bag charge was even paid by our onboard credit. I am a fan of this service. We booked our flights and pre-cruise hotel stay through Holland America. I thought this would be easier. I am not so sure it was, but I think the trip was going to be exhausting no matter how we got there. We had some hiccups getting to Seattle, and communication was not the clearest. I'm not sure I would have picked this particular flight or hotel, but it all worked out. I'd like to give shout-outs to a particular Delta agent for getting us to Seattle, an SMS Transportation Services representative (contracted by HAL) for getting us out of the airport and on our way to the hotel, and our daughter for tracking down our luggage and getting it to the hotel. This is a great cruise to get a taste of Alaska. It was everything we’d hoped it would be.

5 Stars for Service and Crew

Westerdam is not the biggest, newest or most spectacular ship but it may be among the best run. Friendliness and Cleanliness were tops. Every crew member, every venue and every interaction was exemplary. Services for our wheelchair traveler were seamless. Hollander American gets good reviews on this subject and they were well justified. The ship does not feel too crowded; even though fully booked we could always find a quiet space or San open elevator (except when luggage is being boarded. Our Neptune Suite, the Lounge and Concierge services were outstanding.. Room for improvement: a genuine piano bar and lower amplification levels, all music was painfully loud. Most useful tip: board a bit later, not in the first rush and avoid Lido Market dining and elevators until luggage has boarded and elevators cleared. Have a good breakfast before boarding, go straight to your cabin or suite and get a snack later. Learn how to greet crew members in their own languages and you will enjoy their response and friendliness for the duration.