A Fabulous trip on land and sea!

HAL cruises are just my speed - laid back, refined…no belly flop contests or drunk college students in the hallway! The food is delicious, the customer service is great and they have a nice variety of things to do onboard. The pace is a little slower than the mega-ships, and I like it that way. We started out in Vancouver, then flew to Whitehorse, and on to Dawson City. We loved DC and wished we had another day there. The BEST part though was having the hotel wake us when the Northern Lights showed up at 3:00am, both nights! You can request this and running outside to see this was a memory we'll hold dear forever. After 2 nights we had an easy flight to Denali where we had a great experience at the Lodge (tip – sit on the left side of the plane if you can). Our room was beautiful, the food delicious and we saw ALL the wildlife on our wilderness tour – 7 grizzlies, 5 caribou, a moose and her baby and assorted sheep, birds, squirrels, etc. We then rode the McKinley explorer which was a comfortable train ride where we saw Mt. Denali from top to bottom all day! Next on to Anchorage for 2 nights, then a train to the boat in Whittier. Our tour guide, Bridget, was an invaluable source of information and fun. We were so happy to have her leading us around the Yukon, and made some dear new friends amongst our little group of travelers there. The cruise was great. We mostly ate in the MDR where every meal (except the veal) was delicious. Gluten-free options were available at every step of this trip which I greatly appreciated. All the staff onboard were friendly and attentive – how do those people remember all of our names, even when they run into you in the hallway?! The scenery on this route cannot be beat and we were lucky to have mostly clear and sunny weather. The Nieuw Amsterdam could use a little cosmetic tlc here and there, but nothing that spoiled our vacation. We had an accessible cabin which was interesting, and once we navigated how to take a shower without flooding the whole space, we were very comfortable. There’s also a little incline leading out to the balcony that you should be aware of as not to trip. We went to one show in the main theatre and it was not our cup of tea. I did hear a little of the Movie Musical revue and the singers sounded great. Our favorite entertainment onboard though was the “solo guitarist” Paige who was absolutely incredible. We made sure to attend her performances every night! Overall, this was a great trip and I would highly recommend the Y2L cruisetour. I do think doing the land portion first was wise as it’s a little hectic and we welcomed the chance to sit on our ship balcony and gaze at the views for a few days. Both embarkation and disembarkation were very smooth and easy. We shared a taxi back to the airport, and from the time we stepped off the ship to entering the airport was one hour. The cost for a cab was $42, which was slightly cheaper than Uber that day. I’d be happy to answer questions from anyone who wants more details, and may post a longer trip report on the HAL forum. Happy Cruising!

Details, Land Tour, Fully Accessible Cabin

If you are thinking about adding a land tour to your cruise, I recommend that you book a southbound cruise from Whittier, AK to Vancouver, Canada; with the land tour before your cruise. The land tour can be a bit exhausting with all the early mornings (our earliest report time was 5:25AM), but since almost everyone is coming from east of Alaska, the time difference between Alaska and your home time zone makes up for some of those early morning hours at the beginning of your trip. You will be asked to recognize (by name) Holland America staff members on both the land and cruise portions of your trip in a survey that is e-mailed to you a few days after your trip. It was implied that based on your feedback, Holland America recognizes/compensates their employees. This is your opportunity to recognize employees in areas that traditionally do not get monetary tips from guests. 11 Day Signature Denali D5L The Holland America desk is in the baggage claim area of the Fairbanks airport. Even though our flight was an hour late, they were ready for us with our first information packet. Your information packet includes your room keys, schedule up to the next leg of your journey and luggage tags. This first time we were given three sets of luggage tags: one for our next hotel, one for the luggage we wish to keep with us for the land tour and one for any baggage that we wanted forwarded directly to the ship. Had I known that we could send a bag directly to the ship, I might have packed differently. Luggage handling for the entire journey was excellent. Our luggage was in our room by the time we got to our room or arrived shortly thereafter. My Air Tags tell me that for most of our bus or train trips, our luggage was traveling separate from us via another carrier. Pre-pay for your luggage for your return flight before you board the cruise ship. Although you can use the ship’s WiFi to access your e-mail and airline website, since there are no cellphone towers in the ocean, you will not be able to receive a two-factor authentication text message while in the ocean if your credit card chooses to require one. Tips: Tips for the Land portion of your cruise (as well as excursions once on the ship) are not covered by the Have It All package. If you are a tipper, plan for $5 per couple for bus drivers and $10 per guest for your tour guide per day. As well as $5 - $20 for housekeeping at the hotels. Meal Plan: We did not purchase the H. A. Meal Plan for our Land Tour. I believe it was about $450 per person and provided some meals in the hotels as well as lunch on the McKinley Explorer train. We just don’t eat 3 full meals a day and the meal plan wasn't right for us. Snacks: We did however bring some snacks with us and mostly ate them as a small breakfast and on the trains. Backpack: Bring a backpack as 4 times on the trip, you will have to put your luggage outside your room for early morning pick and need to carry around your PJ’s and morning toiletries until you meet up with your luggage again in the evening. Entertainment: There is no WiFi on the buses or trains. You might want to download some movies or music before your journey and definitely bring binoculars. There is a lot to see in Alaska but much of it is far away. If you forget your binoculars, you can buy some on the ship. Westmark Fairbanks July 17 75 degrees This hotel was full of cruise passengers; and not just Holland America passengers. The rooms are a little small but you aren’t there very long. It never really gets dark in Fairbanks in July but the hotel does have black out shades. The hotel also has a restaurant which closes at 10PM and serves a breakfast buffet starting at 6:00AM. I did not note the price. There is also a place to buy coffee, tea or hot chocolate ($4 – $7.25) in the gift shop. We had to have our luggage outside our room by 6:30AM and we were to be in the lobby by 7:40AM. We were taken by bus to the Riverboat Discovery. There is a rest room on the coach and you can leave items on the bus. The paddle boat has both indoor and outdoor seating and rest rooms. You are given free coffee, tea and donuts once on board. There is a demonstration of a sea plane taking off and landing (right side), a dog sled training demonstration (left side) and time spent in a reproduction native Alaskan village. At the end of your voyage, you are treated to a family style lunch consisting of water/ice tea, salad, Miner’s Beef Stew, roasted vegetables, rolls and a brownie. Everything was all you can eat except for the stew. After lunch there is some time for shopping in their large gift shop. You reboard your bus for a 2 – 3 hour (depending on road conditions) ride to the Mckinley Chalet Resort. Denali July 17 & 18 45 – 63 degrees We were at the McKinley Chalet Resort for 2 nights. The resort consists of multiple smaller buildings on two levels with a 4 story staircase between the two levels. There is a shuttle bus that runs around the large property. On the upper level is the main lodge, gift shop, Canyon Ridge Grill, and coffee vendor. This is also where the National Park buses pick-up and drop-off. On the lower is Denali Square with Karstens Public House (steak house), Karstens Expresso, a place to buy snacks, gift shops, a dinner theater and fire pits. There were long lines for coffee in the morning. Room upgrades were offered for $200 (for 2 nights) or $400 (for 2 nights.) We did not upgrade our room and were happy with that decision. Their standard room consists of a sitting room with sofa, desk/chair, rocking chair, ice bucket, coffee/tea maker and plenty of hooks for your coats and backpacks; a bathroom with shower and toilet; and bedroom with a sink in it, 2 chests, armoire, TV, a double bed and a single bed. There is no refrigerator, WiFi or A/C in the standard rooms. WiFi is available in the main lodge. We were unable to get any clear reception on the TV. The bathroom fan is very noisy. In fact, we could hear the fan from other rooms. There are black out curtains in the bedroom but the light comes in at the very bottom of the curtains which is right above the beds. If you’re sensitive to light, bring a sleep mask. We were in building K in the upper portion of the resort. Our room appeared to have been renovated at some point and was very comfortable. The ice machine for this section is between buildings B and C. There are a couple of places were guests can do laundry (Canyon Lodge, Ridge View and in Building I near the Main Lodge). A load is $4 to wash and dryers are free; you pay with your phone. But they weren’t selling laundry soap at the one we visited, so bring your own if you plan to do laundry. We arrived at the Chalet in plenty of time for dinner. Across the street from the Main Lodge is a strip mall like set-up with restaurants, Black Bear Coffee, gift stores and a small grocery store. The Princess Lodge is also a short walk from MCR. Since we heard that the restaurants at the MCR and Princess were expensive and had long lines, we elected to eat across the street both nights. We arrived at Prospector Pizza at 4:50PM and were seated right away. A 16’ pizza, salad two alcoholic drinks and tip came to $78. When we left around 6:00PM, there was an hour wait for a table. However, if you have mobility issues, you may prefer to stay on the MCR property. The parking lot for the strip mall is unpaved with a rough gravel surface and the boardwalks are uneven. Our 5.5 hour Tundra Wilderness Tour left at 5:40AM the next morning. That meant we had to be at the Main Lodge by 5:25AM. When I surveyed other guests, tours seem to leave between 5AM and 9:30AM. It was chilly when we boarded the bus, around 45 degrees, and I was glad I had brought my big jacket. We were served water in aluminum bottles on the bus. You might want to hold on to this bottle and refill it as one-time use plastic bottles have to be thrown away before you board the cruise ship. We were each given a snack box which consisted of Cheese Curls, Kind Energy Bar, Trail Mix, a Turkey Stick and Brownie Brittle. When I added up the calories in our snack, it came to more than 600, so this was lunch for us. (You can also purchase a box lunch from the Chalet to take on the bus.) The bus stops about every 90 minutes for bathroom breaks. Because we left so early, the sky was clear and we were able to see Denali Mountain (aka Mt. McKinley) in full sun. On our tour both the mountain and all the wildlife we saw were out the left side of the bus for out outbound trip. Although the bus turns around and the mountain is then on the right for the return trip, the bus doesn’t’ really make stops on the return trip. The mountain which had been clear for the first part of the journey was starting to cloud up on the return and was fully clouded over when we last saw it. Tip: Press your camera right up against the glass to take a picture free of reflections. Bring binoculars as all the large wildlife we saw (bears and Dall Sheep) were very far away. We returned to MCR at 11:30AM Since the Tundra Wilderness Tour does not include the Visitor’s Center, we took the free National Park bus that takes you to the Visitor’s Center and the Horseshoe Lake Trail head. The bus stops at the Main Lodge every half hour between 6AM and 6:45PM. The Visitor’s Center is open from 8:30AM until 6PM in the summer. We again choose to eat across the street from the main lodge. This time at Tako Alaskan Cantina which is accessed by a 3 – 4 story trail-like dirt staircase. For your efforts, you are rewarded with a lovely view, good tacos and excellent margaritas. Two margaritas, 3 tacos, chips & queso came to $54 before tip. We entered at 5PM and the place wasn’t crowded. When we left after 6PM, it still wasn’t crowded. McKinley Explorer July 19 51 – 67 degrees cloudy We had to have our bags out by 7AM the next morning and be in the main lodge by 8:15AM for a short bus ride back into the National Park and transfer to the Mckinely Explorer train. We were fortunate enough to be seated in the last car (caboose). If you’re not in the caboose, you can walk to the caboose from other cars for a view out the back of the train. The train has double-decker cars with guest seating on the upper level under a domed roof; and a dining room, rest rooms and outside observation platform on the first floor. There was a wheelchair lift to help any disabled passengers to the second floor. There was abundant leg room on the train compared to the buses we’d been on. Each seat has access to both a 110 US electrical outlet and a USB port. There is no WiFi on the train and we were on the train for over 8 hours. I am very sun sensitive and despite the dome glass being tinted, I got sunburned. The air-conditioning on the train was cold and everyone was wearing jackets. Even if you are not on the H. A. Meal Plan, you can purchase breakfast or lunch in the dining room. (Alaskan themed entrees: $26-28, sandwiches, burgers $19-25, soups & salads: $8-15, desserts: $10-13). In addition, you can purchase drinks (soda $3.50, beer $8.50 and other spirits $8 - $13), snacks ($6 - $11), and desserts ($10 - $16) served right at your seat under the 2nd story dome. They also sell train memorabilia. Before then end of the train trip, they offer you the opportunity to purchase a one hour trolly tour of Anchorage either for that evening 7:30PM or 8:30PM or the next morning 9AM or later. We needed to be in the hotel lobby by 11:45AM for our next bus trip and it’s a 15 – 20 minute walk to the trolly station. The people we talked to that did the tour, liked it. Our train got into the Anchorage depot at 6:00PM. Anchorage July 19 & 20 67 degrees We were taken from the train depot to the Anchorage Sheraton. It was a very short bus ride approx. 10 minutes and we were in our room by 6:20PM. Our room was a nice standard hotel room with a refrigerator. There was also a place for guests to do laundry on our floor (Third). This is the leg of your journey where you have to attach the Nieuw Amsterdam luggage tags that you printed out at home before you started your trip to your suitcases. If you didn’t bring a stapler or tape to attach your tags, the representatives at the H. A. desk in the lobby can help you. There is a Mexican restaurant, La Cabana, a 5 minute walk from the hotel. Although it was a Saturday night, we had no problem getting a table there and most of the patrons seemed to be from the hotel. The food was traditional Mexican food. Two entrees, two margaritas and tip came to $89. Other restaurants and a mall are a 15 minute walk from the hotel. They were more crowded on a Saturday night. The next morning, we had to have our bags out by 8:00AM; with a 11:00AM check-out time and bus pick up at 12:00PM. Being that it was Sunday morning, most attractions and some restaurants weren’t open in time for us to enjoy them. The Anchorage Museum is a 10 min walk away ($25) and opens at 10AM. The mall is a 15 min walk and opens at 11AM. We opted to walk 30 min to get to the free Costal Trail and walked the first mile of it, so we could be back in time for check-out. It was another short 10 minute bus ride back to the train depot to board the Cruisetrain. Crusietrain Sunday, 7-20 62 – 68 degrees The Cruisetrain has domed single story rail cars. All passengers sit at dining tables in groups of four with half the passengers facing backwards. These tables are tight and there’s not much room for your backpacks or other carry-ons on the floor under the table. The train does have a selection of coffee/tea ($2.5), Coke products ($3.5), beer ($9), wine ($10) breakfast ($11 - $18), lunch ($13 - $19), dessert ($10) offerings if you’re hungry or thirsty. Our tablemates had a sandwich and it looked good. Nieuw Amsterdam On a North to South voyage, a PORT side balcony is the best way to view the coastline for spectacular views of Ports of Call and Sunsets. Have It All: Since I obtained hot tea every morning from the Lido Market in the travel mug I brough from home so I could take some back to my room, I only averaged 3-4 drinks per day covered by Have It All. My cabin mate obtained cans of water and Coke from the Crow’s Nest in addition to dinner drinks so had like 6-7 covered drinks per day. Carefully follow the instruction on the sheet in your room documents to connect to the internet by going to internet.hollandamerica.com Three to six weeks before our sailing, we and our traveling companions staying in their own room were both offered room upgrades from the Full Oceanview cabins we had booked to a Signature Suite or a Verandah room at a substantial savings over the initial cost of these accommodations. They took the Signature Suite and we took a Verandah room. I have no proof, but I suspect that we were offered upgrades because we booked nine months ahead of time directly with Holland America. Anything you purchase on the ship (drinks, laundry, photos, gift shop items) will be charged an extra 18% tip/service charge. We arrived at the Nieuw Amsterdam at 3:15PM and thanks to having our pictures taken and passports scanned on the train, embarkation was fairly fast. Again, you have to throw out any one-time use plastic bottles before you board the ship. They x-ray your carry-ons and your checked luggage. We were in our room by 3:45PM. Your key-cards are outside your stateroom waiting for you. Our luggage arrived within 45 minutes. If you’re hungry, the Lido Market, Dive-In Burgers and the New York Deli & Pizza are open. On other days the Lido Market is generally open 7:30 – 10:30AM (earlier on port days), 11:30 – 2:00PM, 5:30 – 8:00PM and 10:30 – 11:30PM. The Tamarind Bar is a nice place to have a drink with a great view out the front of the ship 5:00 – 9:30PM. Veranda Rooms: Rooms have either 2 single beds or 2 beds pushed together to make a queen. There is a large storage drawer under the bed at the foot of each bed. The cabin stewards will use one of them to store throw pillows and the foot runner at night. The storage height under the bed is 13 inches tall and there is 45 inches of space between the underbed drawer and the top of the bed. However, some of the space maybe obstructed by the 2 nightstand which extend 20 inches from the wall. There was enough space for our medium and large suitcases under the bed. The nightstands measure 20 inches deep by 14.4 inches wide. They have one open shelf and two drawers. The drawers are 11” wide by 14.5” deep by 3” high. There is an adjustable height coffee table which measures 16” by 28”. A room service tray will fit on this table. There is a desk with triangle shaped cabinet, glasses hairdryer, make-up mirror and minifridge. There is a comfortable desk chair. Each room has 2 deck blankets, 2 pool towels, 2 robes and 1 umbrella in the closet. There is a standard hotel room safe: 11 inches deep with a 12.5 by 6 inch door opening. We were able to place an object 13 x 10 x 1 inch in the safe, but I don’t think a standard laptop will fit. There are ample outlets (110 volt US, two pronged round European and USB) throughout the room. There is a combination US/European outlet by the sink in the bathroom but it is non-polarized (both holes are the same size) so you can plug in a shaver or nightlight but not a blow dryer. The bathroom light is turned on from outside the bathroom. To increase the water temperature in the shower, press in on the button on the temperature dial. TV is available with a limited number of channels: BBC News, Fox News, MSNBC, HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, Prime One, Prime Favorites, CNN & a sports channel. There is a wide selection of in-room movies to choose from. There is also information programs on your ports of call available on your TV. There is no self-service laundry facility on the ship, but H. A. does have a laundry service. You can have a single items or a small bag (20 inches x 14 inches) of clothes cleaned. A single bag is $35 for wash and fold or $40 for wash and press (+18%). Or you can purchase laundry service for the whole week ($84 + 18%). You can order room service breakfast via a menu you place outside your door the night before. Room service is free for most food items. There is a charge for alcoholic drinks even if you are on the have It All package. The easiest way we found to obtain a can of water ($5.00) or soda ($2.95) was from the Crow’s Nest. There is a water bottle fill station in the gym on Deck 9 behind the spa. Gym access is included in your fare. Fully Accessible rooms Despite not being disabled, we were upgraded into Fully Accessible room. These rooms are larger than a standard verandah room and have both a verandah on the side of the room and a window with a view of the front of the ship. But there is one major consideration when booking these rooms. On cruise days 2, 3 and 7, when the captain opens the front of the ship for more public viewing space, there are people on the deck right outside your window. Due to the tinting on the window they can’t, however, see into your room unless they press their face up against the glass. But they can block your view. Another unique feature of this room: since this room is at the front of the ship, you have to keep your curtains closed after dark for navigation purposes. Fortunately dark was around 10PM. Unlike other rooms, these rooms do not require you to place a keycard in a reader near the door to turn on the electricity. Also, they do not have a sofa like other rooms. Instead they have sort-of an entry space with a pillar in it. Despite the pillar, there is enough room to store a couple of wheelchairs or scooters in this space. The room has two closets for hanging clothes with one of the bar down low. The floor to ceiling closets are 17” wide and 17.5” deep. And there is third closet with 6 shelves (17” x 17.5”) but some of them are occupied by 2 robes, 2 lifejackets, 2 deck blankets, 2 pool towels, pillows, umbrella, and the room safe. There is a nice size desk with chair and a built in make-up mirror with lights which opens up from the top of the desk. Minifridge, glasses, hairdryer and additional make-up mirror are in the desk cabinets. There are ample outlets (110 volt US, two pronged round European and USB) throughout the room. There is no overhead storage in these room. The curtains are opened and closed by switches above the desk. The balcony door opens outward and I don’t think you can get a wheelchair out on the small balcony and close the door. The room was configured as a queen bed with 2 nightstands but only one side had enough room to get a wheelchair up against the bed. There are four hooks outside the bathroom (2 high and 2 low). The bathroom is large by cruise standards with grab bars and a roll-in shower. The shower head can be positioned either high or low and there is a drop down bench on the left to sit on while bathing. There are grab bars on the back wall and on the right. A shampoo, conditioner and body wash dispenser is mounted to the shower wall. The toilet has grab bars behind and to the left. The sink accommodates wheelchair access. There are two storage shelves beside the sink. There is a US/European outlet by the sink but it is non-polarized (both holes are the same size) so you can plug in a shaver or nightlight but not a blow dryer. The bathroom light is turned on from the outside the bathroom. The bathroom door is opened by pushing a button outside the bathroom. The door stays open for a minute then closes by itself. There is a switch near the ceiling to change the door to be either always open or open/close manually. We preferred manual operation. I was fortunate enough to have brought a nightlight, so I didn’t need to turn on the very bright bathroom light (and wake my partner) in the middle of the night. Hubbard Galcier Monday, 7/21 55 degrees Dressy Night We were at Hubbard Glacier from approx. 3PM to 6PM. The best views of Hubbard Glacier were on the starboard side of the ship. By the time we decided that we wanted to take the small boat tour of the glacier, it was sold out. Royal Dutch Tea was served in the dinning room at 3PM this day. You’ll be given the option to expedite disembarkation and clear Canadian Customs if you meet certain criteria (US citizen with passport, pre-paid for HA bus transfer, going to Vancouver or Seattle Airport for a flight at Noon or later and you do NOT have a wheelchair, scooter, cane or walker.) Fill out the Canadian Customs Deceleration and return it to Guest Services by 9AM tomorrow. (Watch those dates as they are in European format.) You’ll have to have your luggage out by Midnight the night before disembarkation. We did this and it worked well. Glacier Bay Tuesday, 7/22 57 degrees Taste Alaska in the dining room tonight They serve split pea soup out on deck 5 today. English tea is served in the main dining room at 3PM today. If you have a National Parks Passport, you can have it stamped in the Crow’s Nest today 10:30AM – 2:20PM. The port side of the ship had a longer view of Marjorie Glacier. Skagway Wednesday, 7/23 62 degrees & windy We were in port from 5:30AM to 8:30PM There are specials at the Spa while the ship is in port. There were 4 cruise ships in port at Skagway. The town was visible from the bow of the ship. Skagway is 4 blocks long and 2 blocks wide. Most people from all the cruise ships seemed to take the White Pass Scenic Railway as soon as they got off their ships. So, the town was less crowded before noon. There are plenty of shops, restaurants and public rest rooms in Skagway. We took the bridge across the channel and started to walk the trail out to Yakutania Point but within a quarter mile the trail became difficult with slippery rocks and roots growing across the trail. You would not be able to walk this trail with a wheelchair or scooter. We turned around and instead followed the sign pointing to the Pet Cemetery. This was an easy flat trail to walk. Pack an orange shirt or outfit for the Orange Party at 9:30PM. They serve orange appetizers and desserts and have orange colored cocktails for sale to celebrate their Dutch heritage. Juneau Thursday, 7/24 55 degrees & cloudy Dressy night We were in port from 8:00AM to 4:00PM. It always rains in Juneau. Juneau is the capital of Alaska and has a population of 30K. The city was visible from the port side and ship aft. There were 4 or 5 ships in port and the town seemed very crowded especially in the shops closest to the ships. There were quite a few guests getting around in wheelchairs in the city. We choose to do the Whale Watching and Wildlife quest excursion through H. A. We boarded a bus for a 30 minute trip to another harbor. There were 3 bus loads of us for this excursion and the boat was 60% full. The boat portion of the excursion lasted 2 hours and we saw many whales. There were many other smaller boats and even kayakers looking at the whales in the same area. The lower deck of the boat is completely closed and the upper deck is half closed, half open-air seating. The boat has 3 rest rooms on board. We were given free hot chocolate or coffee to drink and you can also purchase drinks (soda $3, beer $8, wine $10, cocktails $12) and snacks (chips $2, chocolate $2) on board. After our excursion, we had about an hour left to walk around Juneau’s shops and restaurants. Ketchikan Friday, 7/25 63 degrees, cloudy We were in port from 11:00AM to 6:30PM. Ketchikan gets 200 inches of rain per year. The town was visible from the port side of the ship. The town seemed less crowded than Skagway or Juneau even though thee were other ships in port. We took the Lighthouses, Totems and Eagles boat tour. The owner/captain is a 4th generation Alaskan. The tour was 3 hours long: ½ hour each way on a bus and a 2 hour boat tour. There are 2 rest rooms on the boat. The first deck is enclosed and the second deck has both an open space and a closed space. On the first deck, you sit at tables so half the passengers are riding backwards. I would guess the boat holds 35 – 50 passengers. There was more to see off the right side of the boat facing forward. They give you free hot chocolate when you board and a pair of binoculars to use while on board. In the middle of the trip they offer you free soda and a snack plate of local products: smoked salmon, salmon dip, pickles, crackers & chocolate. We saw a whale, 2 eagles’ nests and 6 Bald Eagles on our tour. We passed Totem Bright Park and went out to a lighthouse before the boat turned around. We wish we had more time in Ketchikan. The town looks charming but we barely had time to walk up Creek Street to the salmon ladder which is at the end of Creek Street. In late July the Pink Salmon were just starting their run. The salmon ladder via Creek Street is not wheelchair accessible as the last 200 yards are a series of stairs. Inside Passage Saturday, 7/26 63 degrees at noon 58 at 3PM The ship time changed by moving the clocks ahead one hour last night. Alaskan Brunch is served in the dining room starting at 10AM. Later they had a dessert buffet in the Lido Market. There are luggage scales provided for use by each of the midship elevator. If you’re using H. A. transportation to the airport, you need to have your luggage outside your room by midnight. We were on the Have It All plan (pre-paid crew tips). We were not provided with tip envelopes, so we individually handed additional tip money to our favorite crew members. Vancouver Sunday, 7/27 57 degrees at 7AM Breakfast was served in the Lido Market from 6:00 – 9:00AM (Dining Room: 6:30 – 8:30AM). You can view your room charges on your room TV or through the navigator app. We did not have any errors in our bill. We choose the expedited disembarkation plan. All passengers on this plan had to report to the World Stage in groups. The first group reported at 8:10AM and the last was at 8:45AM. We were in the first group and were on a bus at 8:25AM for a 45 minute trip to the Vancouver Airport. We cleared U. S. Customs in the Vancouver Airport and were at our gate by 9:45AM.

Another wonderful trip on HAL

The staff were awesome; couldn't do enough for you. The cabin attendants were never far away if you needed them. Had a wonderful time, especially on the excursion, Good Time Girls in Skagway. Molly (our Madam) took us along and had us all (men and women alike) in stitches most of the time with her stories. The specialty restaurants are amazing with the array of foods and the attentiveness of their staff. Even though it costs a little more, I feel it's worth it. Being a senior, Holland America is a great cruise lines to sit back and relax or if you want, enjoy any of the activities that are going on at all times on the ship in a 'quieter' atmosphere than on some of the larger cruiselines. Unfortunately disembarkation was not the best as they were having troubles removing the luggage from the ship to the shore. But heh' I didn't want to leave anyway.