mahi mahi

I forgot to add that motion on this itinerary was pretty nonexistent. Unless you are very sensitive it's unlikely you will need any meds. Also, entertainment is pretty focused on nature - we enjoyed the EXC talks and the BBC Earth show. There was no BB King on board this trip, not sure why. Other than the Step One shows on the main stage and the nature talks etc. we did not do Billboard Onboard or the Rolling Stone Lounge but did listen to the Lincoln Centre group although the venue isn't the best compared to newer ships. We tend to be up at the crack of dawn (on this trip the sun comes up around 3:30 am) and sets VERY late (one of our hike guides showed us a picture she took kayaking at 1:30 am!). In August this will change of course. One of my best memories is that first early morning cruising along almost silently with the sun rising and mist floating by little islands, with mountains in the distance. Our biggest takeaway from this cruise is that there are still places on the planet that are incredibly beautiful but so untouched by humans....so far. Pretty humbling.

Just came off the Zuiderdam last week - we thought it was one of the best cruises we have ever done, if not at the very top. We have done a lot of cruises, Europe, British Isles, Caribbean, transatlantic and one prior Alaska over several lines (Carnival and Norwegian once each and no more). We prefer HAL and Celebrity with the edge to HAL. We chose this one after cancelling a Med cruise on Osterdam a few days before final payment as we were just not comfortable with the covid situation. Embarking in Vancouver and flying in from our local airport was much less stressful and we felt very safe overall. We flew in the day before. HAL wanted us to download Verifly but due to comments on these boards we did not and it turns out that was no problem. We arrived at the port an hour before our boarding time and went straight to the ship. We also had a signature suite, on deck 6 and absolutely loved it, very roomy with a great balcony. We tend to spend time in our room anyway and with the covid situation this was a great decision. There were only 1200 passengers on our cruise and there was no fighting for elevators - we used the glass ones almost exclusively and were the only passengers the majority of the time. We ate in the dining room 6 out of 7 nights, reserving the same 2 top as soon as we boarded. Food and service were fantastic! We ate in Pinnacle Grill once and honestly would not waste my money again, although it has been really good in the past. Hubby's strip loin was 'chewy' and my halibut was just okay. Sides to 'share' were a joke, barely enough for one person (think 1/3 cup of mushrooms!). Even with our Mariner 25% discount I wouldn't do it again given the main dining food was so good. I love fish and had the salmon 4 of 6 nights, different prep each time and halibut once which was way better than the Pinnacle version. We had room service breakfast twice which was wonderful (a little too chilly to enjoy on the balcony) and it was also great, hot items hot and cold items cold. Other breakfasts were in lido as well as lunches on board but we would often grab a sandwich, pizza or salad and enjoy in our room. We had lunch at the Fish House in Ketchikan which was fantastic, highly recommend! Don't be put off if there is a line at the door, it moves pretty quickly. You order at the counter and they give you a numbered sign. You choose a spot to sit, usually at long tables with others and they bring your food to you. We both had halibut and it was to die for. We are envious you get to do Tracy Arm - we watched people boarding the boat from our balcony then heading into a fiord to get up close to the glaciers. Definitely on our bucket list for next time. The only port we did an excursion in was Skagway as it was a new port for us. We did the Denver Valley hike and White Pass rail, which was an all day thing. The hike through the rain forest was really special, pretty strenuous but so worth it. The guides were great, recognizing that some of us old folks would prefer a slightly slower pace in order to take in the surroundings rather than bounding along like we were out to win Amazing Race! Five of us opted to slow down about half way and we were able to stop along the way to take photos and ask questions. The train ride was very scenic and we found out a lot about the gold rush. The day at Glacier Bay was spectacular. The weather unfortunately was cloudy with some drizzle here and there but we were able to see I think 5 glaciers in total. Definitely head to the bow for the best view and have some pea soup. I have to say our previous cruise out of Seattle did not provide the best scenic cruising as this inside passage one but our day at the Hubbard Glacier on that cruise was wonderful - we were very close to the glacier (huge) and the weather was sunny while we were there and there was a LOT of calving going on. This time not so much however there was lots of wildlife that made up for it, I swear there were sea lions on every piece of ice as well as sea otters swimming near the ship. Wildlife viewing on this trip was truly wonderful - that's really a highlight of any trip to Alaska. We saw pods of whales near the ship several times, sea otters, brown bears on the beaches and once there was a piece of something floating by (part of a dead animal maybe???) with what looked like several small penguins standing on it! Not penguins of course....looked it up, maybe auks? HAL has always excelled in the service department and their reputation is definitely intact on that score. Our cabin attendants were stellar (Ono and Ida) as were our dining room waiters (Iwan and Ambrullah). Really everyone we encountered, from the shy little pizza guy in lido and the lovely girl giving me my muesli at breakfast to the maintenance people I would see on my sprints around the outside deck 3 - EVERYONE went out of their way to be friendly. The Zuiderdam may be an old lady but she is beautifully maintained and squeaky clean. We have talked about doing this same cruise every year but I suspect it may be even sooner. Our previous cruise to Alaska was the end of September and the weather then was pretty nice so not out of the question. Maybe it was because it's been 2 1/2 years since we had cruised that we had such a fabulous time but whatever, can't wait to do it again! Inside passage out of Vancouver is the way to go for sure. Sorry this post is so lengthy....can you tell I am still excited about it and excited for you to be doing it soon???

Just got off Zuiderdam Wednesday and we had chocolates and towel animals every night!

Just got off Zuiderdam this week and only lobster available was for upcharge. We ate in Pinnacle the first gala night and have to say would not waste my money again - very disappointing. My husband's NY strip was "chewy" as he put it (he eats anything) and my halibut was just ok. We ordered 3 sides "to share" which was a joke. Maybe a half cup of mushrooms, 2/3 cup of mashed potatoes and a couple of baby beets cut small. In contrast the main dining room was wonderful! I had the daily salmon 5 times, different each time. The culinary council dinner was the 2nd gala night and the halibut I had put the Pinnacle to shame. Prime rib was excellent too. We both had the shrimp cocktail in Pinnacle which consisted of 3 shrimp in an artful presentation. They were good but the one in the main dining room on 2nd gala night was the traditional presentation and there were 4. The cruise was fabulous all round! Passenger count was only 1200 and although there were signs everywhere saying masks were recommended I'd say maybe about a third complied. We did not hear anything about covid and despite there being rumours beforehand of deck 6 forward being used for quarantine of covid positive passengers we did not encounter any locked areas (we were deck 6 near the midship elevators) and I think we walked every deck during the week. The staff were amazing and clearly happy to be back, as were we!