KathiB

Thank you all. We have definitely decided to go with a Vancouver departure. It is clear that the Vancouver departure will get us more interesting ports. They both offer: Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and the Inside Passage. Now just torn between the newer Nieuw Amsterdam and the smaller, older Volendam with only 1432 passengers. Just wondering the differences for my two daughters, 25 & 29. Is it necessary to have a verandah on the Volendam? Lanais are sold out so a private verandah would be next and is pricey. Is the deck space ample on the Volendam? Thank you all very much.

Thank you all. I am now deciding between the Nieuw Amsterdam and the Volendam leaving from Vancouver. It is clear that the Vancouver departure will get us more interesting ports. They both offer: Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and the Inside Passage. Now just torn between the newer Nieuw Amsterdam and the smaller, older Volendam with only 1432 passengers. Also the Volendam sailing is a Wednesday departure and some say that will result in less people in port. Just wondering the differences for my two daughters, 25 & 29. Is it necessary to have a verandah on the Volendam? Lanais are sold out so a private verandah would be next and is pricey. Is the deck space ample on the Volendam? Thank you all very much.

Thank you all so much. I had not thought about the importance of the mid week departure. I will look further into the Volendam.

Thank you for all your suggestions. We are now looking at Vancouver round trip as the Seattle round trip has a stop in Victoria and my husband and I spent two days there once before. The Vancouver itineraries are: Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and Inside Passage. The two ships that sail around the same date with the same itinerary are the Nieuw Amsterdam and the Volendam. Both HAL, but one built in 2010 and one is 1999, respectively.

I know the ports are important but we don't get to travel with our grown daughters very much so this is more about being together and seeing something new for us all together. My husband and I will likely do many more Alaska cruises so I dan see what I miss on other trips.

Not sure if any other line has round trips from Vancouver but most are much larger ships so I have limited it to HAL. Your continued advice is welcome if you have advice between the two ships or the two itineraries. Thanks.

I started a thread on the Alaska forum but wanted to ask the question specifically to HAL cruisers. We have just done a very few cruises and our daughters, ages 25 and 29, have cruised with us once in Europe. We enjoy land actions and hiked the Inca Trail 2 years ago! We like smaller ships and would go on an Un-Cruise if we wanted to spend more money! We are looking at 2 cruises in June 2016. One on the Nieuw Amsterdam and one on the Volendam. My girls don'y need lots of action onboard as I know each day will be pretty busy. Since the itineraries are the same (round trip Vancouver: Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, Inside Passage) which would you recommend?

There is also a 7 day round trip from Seattle on the Westerdam that is similar but instead of Skagway and Tracy Arm it has Sitka and Victoria. We would be driving to the port from California so it doesn't really matter. We are interested in scenery, good active activities in port, good food, and friendly fellow travelers. For our first time is Skagway and Tracy Arm better than Sitka and Victoria (my husband and I have been to Victoria and spent 2 days there). Any advice is welcome!

Thank you all. I will look into both books mentioned as I totally agree we need to know more about each port. BudgetQueen, I did not say the two itineraries were identical. I said all the ports were the same with the exception of one doing Glacier Bay and one doing Skagway. They both include Sitka, Ketchikan, Juneau, Victoria. I think for us it is all about the scenery. If it were just my husband and I we would be doing an Un-Cruise to get even closer to nature and the scenery. But for 4 of us we need a less expensive option.

Some are mentioning a Vancouver round trip instead of Seattle. We could do that. We live in Northern CA and one daughter lives in Portland. Our plan is to drive to Portland and then to the cruise departure city and stay overnight. The other daughter will fly there to meet us. We could drive the extra 3 hours to Vancouver if that route would afford a better itinerary.

I will order one of those books right away so I can get more research done. We are limited to 7 days due to work schedules and want to stick to Seattle or Vancouver round trip. Thanks for all your advice!

Good point about the port times. What would you consider minimum times needed at each place to get to the most out of it? I will look into that more closely. looks like we should stick to the itinerary with Glacier Bay. Thanks!

Thank you both for your replies. The itineraries are almost identical. Westerdam is Seattle, Juneau, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria, Seattle. Carnival Legend is the same but substitutes Skagway in place of Glacier Bay. So any comments on the one difference in itineraries are welcome. The girls being 25 and 29 actually do not need tons of activities as they are not big party girls. I am more concerned with the quality of the experience. Would be open to other lines but am not interested in very large ships. Thank you.

We are considering taking a 7 day Alaska cruise next summer (round trip Seattle) with our 2 daughters, aged 29 & 25. For Alaska I do not want to be on a ship over 2000 people. If we could afford it we would do an Un-Cruise with only 80 on board! We are looking at June or August and would like to know the pros and cons of each. Looking at the HALs Westerdam and Carnival Legend, primarily as they at mid-sized ships. My girls don't need lots of action. Our needs are good food, friendly fellow travelers, good itinerary, and well maintained ship. Have been doing research and now seek suggestions form you experts! I welcome any advice on ships, etc. Thank you.