Tracey/Thom

The McKinley Explorer is lovely! We were on it a couple/3 weeks ago. Glass roof and windows, we were able to see bald eagles flying over us and spectacular views of Denali. Each carriage has it's own dining carriage, good food, we had eggs and reindeermeat for breakfast, it's own bar, and restrooms.

So sorry for you! It's about more than just the money (although FCC at 100% plus a full refund helps!), it's about the planning, and the time off work and everything else. We just got off the Nieuw Amsterdam 5/15/22, with a double Denali tour. They are obviously having major staffing shortages to cancel an entire cruise, but it would be better than going on the cruise and having an awful time because of the staffing issues. Our time on the ship was fantastic, but it was only half full, and the staff were working as hard and as fast as they could to keep up. Some passengers were rather unpleasant to them, which was difficult to watch. I wouldn't be surprised if many staff quit as a result. Our Land tour (2 nights in Denali) was not fun (due to staff shortages). We had a 9 hour bus boring bus ride without a running water restroom on board from Whittier to Denali. We got there 1.5 hours after the 3 pm check in and NO ROOMS were ready. There were, literally, mountains of used sheets/towels piled in the public hallways. We didn't fuss, just went to find an early dinner. But they were short staffed too, and both nights there were long, long lines for a table. When you're halfway up a mountain, there are no other choices available. There was a Subway outside the McKinley Chalet Resort, which was not open for business. When we finally got to our room, the bed was made, but there was half-eaten food in the fridge. The bathroom/toilet had obviously not been cleaned. Luckily, we travel with sanitizing wipes and a bottle of Peroxide too. In the 2 nights that we were there, no one came to replenish the coffee supplies, the towels or empty the trash. We didn't scream and holler about it. It was obvious they were doing their best with who they had, but they just didn't have enough. But when you've paid a lot of money, and you're staying at a "resort" not a budget motel, your expectations do tend to be a bit higher. Particularly as the cruise was so wonderful. We've decided we're not cruising for the rest of the year, as it may take a while to get all these things "back" to normal and even then, new staff tend to need training time. The ships are woefully understaffed because the State Department doesn't have enough staff to process all the visas needed for foreign workers. While I really commiserate with your trip being cancelled, with such short notice, I do think they made the right choice, because otherwise your cruise would be miserable when you're expecting a truly wonderful Holland America experience.

You are very welcome! I've been the recipient of SO much helpful information on these boards, I was anxious to be helpful and going on the first few cruises of the post-pandemic season seemed like a good time to give back. We loved, the itinerary, out of Vancouver. (We loved Vancouver too!) It seemed like it just kept getting better and better. The Inside Passage was lovely, mountains on both sides, we could sometimes see (with binoculars) people on the beach. Ketchikan was a small, basic, nice town. Juneau was a larger place, with much more activity. The whale watching tour was phenomenal, the Mendenhall glacier up close was so interesting and very picturesque. Skagway, the train up the mountain was breathtaking (and cold!) and then Glacier Bay National Park, those glaciers were magnificent, mesmerizing and we couldn't take enough pictures (we've since deleted a lot as we took so many!). I'm glad we went south to North rather than the other way around, as it really did keep getting better and better! If you're booking directly with HAL, our rep Shandra Goben was very efficient and very helpful. They're short staffed and she often took a day or two to get back with me, but she did get back with me and was experienced enough to be helpful the first time around. You'll have a ball!

We went to 5:30 dinner in the MDR and the show started at 7:30, so there was time for a leisurely dinner and a stroll to the theatre. The later dinner was the same, it's all well timed so you can get to it. We went to the whale watching presentation / class in the theatre the day before we went to Juneau in the theatre, that was at 2 pm. There's not a gigantic choice, so we never felt rushed or that we had to make a choice between 2 things we really wanted to see. There was also a movie "Call of the Wild" one afternoon in the theater. Another afternoon, there was a native american man, and a park ranger on board, in the theatre. Their talk was informative, but not lively, they were obviously not used to public speaking. Have a great cruise! We loved every piece of our cruising, the ports, the scenery, the staff on the ship. We were not pleased with the land tour portion, but the cruise itself was great!

I wasn't that impressed with the service in Anchorage. To be honest, the land tour part of our 10 day Denali tour was substandard, compared to the cruise part, which was absolutely brilliant. They put us at the Westmark, downtown Anchorage. There was only 1 elevator, and about 400 people that arrived at one time. (They gave us our room keycard on the bus). The room was very clean and had a little balcony. Downtown doesn't have any abundance of restaurants, the first 2 we went to had a long wait, we ended up at an Italian restaurant (Italian is not our favorite!), just because there was a short wait, and we knew there'd be an awful lot of people arriving right behind us as soon as they'd found their room and got back out of the hotel! The luggage didn't arrive in our room until after we returned from dinner. We were told to leave our luggage outside our room by 3 am. The next morning, we left our room at 3:30am to catch the motorcoach to the airport and the luggage was still there. They brought the luggage to the lobby (where we were waiting at 3:35) and we had to take our own luggage to the sidewalk where the motorcoach was. Even little old ladies and disabled men. Thankfully, a staff person loaded the cases into the trunk. Dropped off at the airport and we lugged our cases to the terminal, checked them and in and saw them again when we arrived in Seattle (for our personal 2 night mini-vacation). I didn't see any luggage storage at the airport, but I"m sure if you check the airline website, or the airport website, they'll inform you if they have it available. Alternatively, if you're renting a car for the day, you could always just store your luggage in the trunk and that way you'll be sure it's not going to get left behind on an Anchorage runway!

Love this list, and I agree with you!

We tried to do as much as possible online before we left home, that was a Godsend! Our cruise (just returned 5/15/22) didn't have any particularly long lines at guest services, but the ship did appear to be sailing at 50% capacity. We didn't really have a problem with the language barrier, as the staff we dealt with seemed to speak cruise English well enough. But all the staff were wearing masks (we were too, but most passengers were not), so that made them a little hard to hear. Challenges abound, we were just ecstatic to be cruising again!

Agree, the customer service on the phone has taken forever and a day, and the folks I talked to, prior to our cruise in May, were trying their hardest, but there is just not enough staff - methinks this is a general problem that will go on for at least another year. Staff shortages, shrinking wages, it's just a thing right now.

The staff work so incredibly hard, all day and all night - and our ship was immaculately clean on our last cruise (and every one before that). They absolutely deserve every penny of that gratuity. We also take small bills and tip our cabin steward, and the waiter/servers in the MDR and anyone else we come in to contact with. They appreciate it greatly and we appreciate that we are able to cruise again!!

We booked everything online before we got on board. Prices go up once you get on the ship!

We were just on the Nieuw Amsterdam 5/15. There were USB ports at the desk, on the lamp, and on the beside table. We were in 7141 aft, I believer that's VB. We used the USB ports, so didn't notice the electrical outlets as much, but I know there was one at the desk. We did not purchase/use the WIFI - although we got messages from the HAL app on our phone every day. HAL assigned boarding times, which changed a couple of times (within 30 minute window) before departure day. We checked the boarding time the night before we boarded, showed up just a few minutes early for our assigned 12:40 departure. It was the fastest, most efficient boarding we have EVER experienced (our 7th cruise!). There were no lines, just a couple of people in front of us and we walked from station to station, without stopping, for about 20 minutes until we were on the ship. It was marvelous! I'd recommend doing as much online before you leave home. We did early check in, got QR codes and confirmations online. We showed those QR codes and confirmations and sailed through. We also had paper copies "just in case", but didn't have to show them. When we embarked 5/8/22, we had to have proof of vaccination, proof of negative covid test, and approval from Canadian Immigration. We used ArrCAN, Verifly and uploaded everything into the HAL app. I'd recommend you do the same. You go to your cabin to get your key which is outside the door. Then you go get your lunch! You'll need the card if you order a cocktail. We ate in the MDR which was open 11:30 - 1pm, although the Lido deck was open for buffet. The food was amazing throughout our cruise. We sailed at 50% capacity, which we didn't know until a few days later. We did notice it was exceptionally uncrowded. That may have changed in the last couple weeks. Our luggage arrived before sailaway, which was a pleasant surprise. We were able to unpack in a leisurely fashion and freshen up for dinner. The MDR was also not very full at all. HAL has a much different vibe to the other cruise lines we've experienced. Our cruise had a much older crowd, several walkers and wheels around us. Our sailaway was very quiet, no music on deck, in fact he deck was empty (it was cold!!). There was lots of classes, educational experiences, classical music, BB King Blues club and jazz. Have a great cruise!

Yes there was, but we never got there - we were usually somewhere else on the ship. The room was actually quite small, so one had to get there early to get a seat.

As this was a bucket list trip for us, and been cancelled two years in a row thanks to covid, we got an Aft balcony on the 7th deck - well worth the money! When it got too cold to stand on deck, we were able to be in our warm cabin and sit for hours looking at the majesty of Alaska! We'd heard that Rotterdam, the 7th deck was the best deck for service as it's where Neptune and Pinnacle Suites are. The service was very good, but to be honest, we've never had "bad" service on any of cruises. We make sure and leave a tip each day in our cabin and genuinely thank them, and our experience has always been positive. We were so disgusted to see "some" people being rude, and contemptuous to the brown skinned servers and polite to the white servers/staff. Seemed like it was the same 2-3 couples we kept running into doing this, so we noticed it (the ship was only at 50% capacity, so it was easy to keep running into the same people). When I said "hey, he's just doing his job", I was met with a hostile stare. The staff were amazing, hardworking, polite, friendly, they are worth every penny, and a lot more, in my opinion. They're obviously well trained by HAL too, because they handled such odious behavior with dignity and professionalism. On Glacier Bay Sea Day, a national park ranger came on board and talked through the PA system all day. It was really nice to be educated as we looked at glaciers - quite spectacular I might add, and the highlight of our cruise. The captain opened up the very, very front (bow) of the ship on Deck 5. We had to go through the long corridor, past all the cabins, and step over a tall metal rim to get there. (Not handicapped accessible) You could feel the artic breeze coming through that door at the other end of the corridor! It was well worth it, and it was nice to get to be in a part of the ship that is generally closed to passengers. They served hot pea soup and had a bar ( a little brandy helped to stay warm!) on that deck all day. Did I mention it was cold? LOL - but the light and sunshine was phenomenal. Who knew that glacial breeze is a real thing. The side nearest the glacier was windy and cold, the opposite side was calm and a bit warmer. We saw it calve - PHENOMENAL! and the sound Kaboom! as it hit the water - happened too fast to get a photo, we were glad we spent hours standing/sitting and looking. I also saw a humpback whale in Glacier Bay - in love with Alaska! Hope this helps!

In Ketchikan, it was a cold, rainy day (typical Alaska in May!), and we were not interested in any of the excursions on offer. It's a pretty small town, we walked around Creek Street, found a local diner to grab some coffee and cake and talk to a local. We bought some boots, one of a kind, handmade at Weavers - looking forward to wearing those in the fall! We bought a $20 warm jacket, marked with Alaska - not really "shoppers" but there wasn't much else for us to do. In Juneau, we took a whale watching tour in Auke Bay which was fabulous! Saw 2 humpbacks (we also saw an Orca off the ship), saw Mendenhall glacier, took a short walk to Nugget Falls - this was a great day, beautiful, sunny (and cold!) In Skagway we took another HAL excursion to the White Pass Yukon Route, the train was wonderful! heated, clean bathrooms, free bottled water. We got our best photos from the outdoor platform, although it was cold. We went panning for gold and hit paydirt! That was fun, the BBQ lunch was fine, but nothing special. We walked back to town, as it was a bright, pretty day (but chilly in May), but most of the shops were closing. It's like an old cowboy town. Our guide Matt, a young man from Texas, was wonderful! Fresh fruit/veg in May is expensive, so when we gave him a banana with our cash tip, he was very appreciative! Luckily, I carry fruit in my bag for snack (they deliver it to my cabin each morning) and hadn't eaten that day's ration! We had a fantastic first time HAL, first time Alaska cruise, and would definitely do it again, although not sure we'd go with HAL again. Hope that helps!

We carried a backpack each, and it stowed easily above our seats (along with our coats, jackets and scarves) and didn't have any difficulty. The CPAP we took with us fit easily in our carry on suitcase (45 linear inches) which was sent ahead to our hotel room from the ship. Hope that helps!

We were in the Visitor Center for about 30 minutes, it was informative but I would skip it if I were to do it all over again.

We were on the short trail for less than an hour, probably 30/40 minutes.

We stayed at the Belltown Inn, on Bell and 3rd Avenue. We walked from Westlake Rail station, walked to Pike Place Market and Space Needle. It was very reasonable, very clean and had great service. We would def. stay there again. We ate at La Parisienne on 2nd and Marrakesh Moroccan on 3rd, both around the corner. Loved it and highly recommend it.

Agree! We were there 2 weeks ago, and it was not pleasant.

We arrived at Canada Place on May 8th, via Yellow Cab from our hotel. Cab took us straight to Holland America check in, unloaded our cases, HAL took them and never saw them again until we got to our cabin. The check in was fast, efficient, NO CROWDS, and we were on the ship in 30 minutes (our check in was scheduled for 12:30 and we arrived about 15 minutes early. I don't know how many ships were there that day. We used Verifly and AmeriCAN, those QR codes were a godsend, and the reason everything flowed so quickly I think. (That and the fact that May 8 was the beginning of the season).

We were there 2 weeks ago and loved the Belltown Inn on Bell and 3rd Avenue. It was very reasonably priced, super clean and great staff. We used the Light rail and it was cheap and very efficient. In Alaska, you absolutely MUST SEE Glacier Bay National Park, it was the highlight of our cruise. Ketchikan was a nice little village, with shops (and ancient brothels on Creek Street!). We found a nice shop (Weavers) and bought a pair of one of a kind, hand made russian tapestry boots. Juneau was a bit bigger of a town, bald eagles all over the mountain where the cable car ran (we didn't take it). Also, we did a whale watching tour in Juneau on Auk Bay - it was cold in mid May!! But we did see a whale or two, such elusive creatures, but it's not guaranteed!

We stayed at the Blue Horizon on Robson Street, on the 27th floor with views of English Bay and loved it! It was reasonably priced, close to restaurants. We took a Yellow Cab to Canada Place, which was also a 5 minute drive and very reasonably priced (we had luggage!). On the way from the airport to the hotel, we used the train and it was very efficient, cheap, but a bit of hassle with luggage.

We were just there 2 weeks ago and stayed at the Belltown Inn on 3rd Ave and Bell. Short walk to Westlake rail station, Pike Place Market and Space Needle. Very reasonably priced, very clean, great staff. The homeless in Seattle seem to be all over the place, but nobody hassled us, just not nice. I would stay at Belltown again as it's also near to restaurants we liked. La Parisienne for breakfast, Marrakesh Morrocan for dinner as well as other choices on 2nd Avenue.

We were there 2 weeks ago, and stayed at the Belltown Inn on 3rd ave and Bell. Short walk to Westlake Station, easy walk to Pikes Place Market and Space Needle. Very reasonably priced, very clean, polite staff, would def. stay there again. Had great breakfast at La Parisienne and dinner at Marrakesh Morrocan around the corner. Lots of homeless all over Seattle, (including near the tourist spots) but we had no issues, just not nice.

We stayed (2 weeks ago) at the Blue Horizon for 2 nights and loved it! On the 27th floor, with 3 huge windows and a balcony, we could see our ship come into English Bay. It was very reasonable compared to the hotels near to the cruiseport / Canada Place. Robson Street is very nice with shops and restaurants. We walked to the cruiseport on our first day but on embarkation day, with luggage, we took a Yellow Cab, which was very reasonable - he drove us right into the Holland America section and our luggage went from the car, to HAL (we had pre printed labels) and we didn't see them again until we got to our cabin. I would definitely recommend Blue Horizon - and eat at Earl's Kitchen - a couple of doors down the street and on the upper level.