Cheadle_Chick

Yes I probably would have done the same. Don't ever take them if you've got a connecting flight, especially if it's through the Toronto airport.... Unless you want to miss your connection AND lose your luggage. It's just terrible. Mind you, Toronto is one airport I'll do my best to avoid no matter what airline I'm flying.

That definitely would be better!

Movie night on the ship, Ketchikan, the Lumberjack show and Crusing the inside passage

Glacier Bay

Skagway, the Gold Panning & Dogsled tour

Watching the ship come in, the pool and our cabin with the top bunk down.

We just returned from a week on the Koningsdam to Alaska with our 2 younger kids and 18 other family members. We had a fantastic time and really no complaints! I've noticed that there isn't much information on cruising with kids or the Vista Suite with the top bunk, so I thought I'd post our thoughts and some pictures. First off, is Holland America Line a good cruise line for kids? Absolutely! I was a bit worried they'd be bored and might not have enough for them to do but I was definitely wrong. The kids had a great time. In our group we had kids aged 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 11. My kids were two of the younger ones on board. I'm not sure where to start so perhaps I'll go day by day and write down what pops into my head. Sept 1 - Arrival in Vancouver We flew into the Vancouver airport and then took the Skytrain directly downtown. Highly recommend this! It's cheap and fast. Hooray for a city with a very effective public transit system. Our kids were free and it cost us a total of $6 for both adults. We joked that the Skytrain was the cheapest "excursion" on the whole cruise! We actually ended up getting downtown faster than family members who had taken a taxi or shuttle downtown. The Skytrain station is only a block or so from the cruise ship terminal so it wasn't a terrible walk. (I figure I can say this considering we had 2 small kids and way too much luggage and we made it without any trouble). We stayed at the Pan Pacific hotel the night before the cruise and the kids loved the view and the pool. There is lots to see and do right there and it's a fairly "safe" area. Vancouver definitely has some areas nearby that I wouldn't personally walk to as they have a lot of homeless people and drug issues but the area we were in was nice and we had no issues. The kids loved the pool and there was nice deck space for the adults to hang out and visit. The view from our room was phenomenal, we could watch the sea planes landing and taking off, see Stanley Park and the Lion's Gate Bridge. It was pricey but since we hadn't booked much for excursions, we figured it could be counted as part of the experience. Sept 2 - Embarkation Day We got up early and got to watch the ship come in to port. It was pretty special to watch it come under the Lion's Gate Bridge as the sun rose. I'm always amazed at how well those great big ships can maneuver into port. We took the kids down to the pier and watched as the ship docked, which they really enjoyed. A quick coffee and breakfast at Starbucks and we repacked our bags to embark. An extra bonus of staying at the Pan Pacific hotel is the luggage service! You call the porter, they come and get your bags directly from your room, they staple your luggage tags on and take them directly to the luggage drop for the ship. We really appreciated not having to drag luggage and manage the kids. The check in/security/customs line ups were terrible. The kids were very over standing in line up after, line up. Luckily once we got to the seating area, we were allowed to board the ship quickly. We did call the week before and requested an earlier boarding time so we'd have as much time to enjoy the ship as possible. Once on, we went to the Grand Dutch cafe for our first beverage and some cookies and then went straight to the pool! It was a fantastic sunny day and they had the top open. We REALLY really enjoyed all the options for food right around the pool, this came in SO handy with the kids. My youngest was happy to eat pizza every chance she got and my oldest loved the burgers. We all gathered as a family as we left the port and enjoyed all the people standing on the pier waving to the ship. After we'd gone under the Lion's Gate Bridge we saw SO many humpback whales! What a treat! Our suite (Vista 6114) was definitely bigger than a normal balcony cabin but still pretty snug with 4 people. The top bunk was nice and spacious and my oldest thoroughly enjoyed having his own bed tucked up and out of the way. The sofa bed was more than big enough for my youngest as well. We really appreciated how quiet and dark the rooms were. Great for sleeping at night or afternoon naps for the kids as needed. Our room stewards George and Sigit were lovely! We can't say enough good things about them. (They also made some pretty amazing towel animals!) It's truly the crew that make for that special cruise feeling. Our family were in Vista Suites and some in Inside cabins. I will say, the inside cabins that are wheelchair accessible are HUGE! My grandmother was in one and I couldn't get over the space she had. (We ended up storing our luggage in her room.) Sept 3 - Day at Sea For breakfast we went up to the Lido, which was insanely busy. I'll say that the food was good but I didn't enjoy the crush trying to get food or find tables with young kids. We ended up sitting out by the Seaview pool with our breakfast because it was just too busy. I wish they still had trays to carry food as it made for multiple trips back and forth to get food for the kids, drinks etc. But breakfast was good! I'd been looking forward to the omelets on board since our last cruise. It was quite rough and you could really feel the ship moving. We went for a bit of a tour after breakfast to show the kids around and in the World Stage and Crowsnest you could REALLY feel the ships movement. Definitely pack some gravol, we took some that day and then didn't have an issue afterwards. The kids tried the kids club out that afternoon and their initial impression was pretty "meh". I think more from the lack of kids on board than anything. Some of the other kids in our family group really, really loved it. I think my kids just wanted to be in the pool the entire time! It was still excellent to have somewhere they could go so we could have some non-kid time. The kids club was open 9-12, 1-4 and 5-7pm daily which was nice. We didn't use the kids club near as much as we probably should but we found it a bit tricky with excursions, naps and meals to fit more kids club time in. The first dressy night was really fun and food in the MDR was great. We really appreciated the special attention the wait staff gave the kids. Their meals always came very quickly so they weren't waiting and getting restless. We noticed that staff around the ship really made an effort to acknowledge the kids and make them feel special. The kids loved the special fruit bowls they got each night in the MDR. Sept 4 - Juneau Juneau was a bit of a bust for us, my oldest wasn't feeling the best so he stayed on the ship. I got off with my youngest and my grandmother and we did a bit of wandering and shopping. I wasn't enthralled with Juneau as it's just over the top touristy. It was neat to wander around but it seemed that there wasn't a lot of charm to the town as it had been taken over by miles of touristy shops. We found a few interesting souvenirs but a lot of it was the same stuff over and over again. My youngest enjoyed the jewelry shops though (tiny magpie!) and when she discovered that most of them give out free "charms", she was running from one to the next. So that was fun for her. We hadn't booked any excursions on this day but quite a few of our family members had and they really enjoyed them! Several went on the Taku Lodge Seaplane adventure & feast, a few others had gone whale watching and some others did a sled dog adventure. Overall for us, it was a pretty quiet day but we didn't mind. We did end up going to a dance show in the World Stage that night and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it! After that we went to the Rolling Stones Rock Club and we were SO impressed by the band! They were phenomenal! My youngest was having the time of her life dancing. If you were on the ship with us, I'm sure you know exactly who she is! Sept 5 - Skagway We enjoyed Skagway and felt like the scenery coming in to port was nicer than Juneau. In the morning we did the Gold Panning & Sled Dog Tour and this one was fantastic for the kids. From the time we got on the tour bus, our guide was in character and quite funny. The tour and explanation of "Dredge town" was well done and interesting for kids and adults alike. My oldest enjoyed finding large chunks of "gold" as we toured around. The sled dog portion of the tour was really interesting and you could tell the people presenting were very passionate about their sport. Everyone enjoyed meeting the dogs and especially the puppies, who were very well behaved. Watching the dogs run was impressive, boy can they run! We really enjoyed all the interesting stories they had to share with us. Then it was on to trying our hand at gold panning. "Bedrock Bill" showed us how it was done (again, he was hilarious) and off we went. We were a bit sad that we only got one pan of "paydirt" to pan but it was still pretty exciting for the kids to see the gold flakes show up. We ended up with $62 worth of gold! The cookies in the gift shop were quite good afterwards. Back to the ship for lunch, a quick swim and then we popped the kids into the kids club, designated a family member on board for our contact and all of the parents of the younger kids went back into Skagway to do some shopping and have a beverage. Skagway was a neat town, its retained it's old fashioned charm and the wooden boardwalks really add to the feel. It really does feel very remote. The town was quite busy with 2 or 3 other ships in port at the same time. We attempted a beverage in one of the saloons in town but as one of our group forgot her passport on the ship, we had to go elsewhere. We did try the Red Onion saloon but it was just so busy and we had to be back to pick the kids up by 4:00, so we carried on. We picked up some good t-shirts here for probably the best prices and there was some nice more "artisan" type stores to peruse. We did dinner in the MDR and it was nice and quiet, so service was quick! Meals in the MDR were enjoyable every time. No complaints and I really enjoyed the portion sizes, nothing is huge so you're not stuffed. Though I will say, I appreciated knowing that I could order more than one appetizer (and did so a few times) because at times there were too many good options! Sept 6 - Glacier Bay Cruising into Glacier Bay was amazing. The scenery is something else! We didn't see a lot for wildlife (a few seals) but the day was beautiful and clear. It was a fairly quiet day, we did play some Bingo and the kids participated in the Junior Ranger Program. Some of the adults spent some time in the hot tubs at the back of the ship and took in the scenery as we left Glacier Bay. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. That evening was Dressy night #2 and we had dinner in the MDR again, then off to another show in the World Stage and the Rolling Stones Club again for some dancing. Did I mention the band was fantastic? They absolutely nailed everything they played. Honestly the best live band I've heard in quite some time. We did try out the Blues club and it was ok but found that it was over the top loud. So loud it wasn't enjoyable. And the piano bar was "meh". Sept 7 - Ketchikan I think Ketchikan was by far our favourite town. The town itself has a LOT of touristy stuff but it's maintained it's charm. The kids enjoyed exploring the town. Our first stop was the Salmon Walk up the river to see the salmon spawning and the fish ladder. I couldn't believe how many salmon there were! This was absolutely a hit with the kids. They actually asked to go back and have another look later on again. Creek street is definitely a must to check out, it's so interesting and we enjoyed watching the seals catch (or play with) fish down below. Lots of neat artisan type shops and galleries in Ketchikan. I personally liked the local art and the book shop where we found some neat books for the kids on local culture and stories. In the afternoon we went to the Lumberjack Show and we had a feeling it was going to be pretty fun. You could hear the cheering from all over town. Highly, highly recommend this show. It sounds kinda cheesy but I'm telling you, they do a great job. The banter back and forth got everyone laughing and they really had everyone participating (cheering your team or booing the opposite team was encouraged!). This was absolutely a hit with the kids, though at times my son said it was too loud. My youngest ended up winning a "souvenir" made by one of the lumberjacks, a tiny (and heavy) wooden chair. It was a good laugh but sadly we left it behind. For the price, this one was well worth it. We thought it was one of the more reasonably priced excursions offered. One thing to note, there is not transportation from the ship over to the show, you have to walk. So leave early because there was quite a line up when we arrived. Also good to know if you have mobility issues. That evening we did dinner at Tamarind which was phenomenal! Service was maybe a touch slow but we didn't mind, we did have a fairly big group after all. The restaurant wasn't super busy, which was nice. Our meal was fantastic, it was hard to choose what we should have and many of us ended up ordering multiple appetizers. The, scallops, duck and the thai curry were delicious! Just watch how much spice you order. Mine was a medium on the curry and it was quite hot! The dessert was by far our favourite here. We really enjoyed watching the scenery from this restaurant as we left port. After that we went to the pool and watched the evening movie while the kids swam and enjoyed the hot tub. This is a super fun feature! It was raining so they had the dome closed and it was very comfortable inside. They serve popcorn and other snacks poolside in the evenings. The one thing I'm just realizing now is that we never did try out the gelato! Darn! We'd heard it was very good! One thing to note is that we did bring lifejackets for our kids so they could have a bit more freedom in the pool, it was a bit of a pain packing them but I'm glad we brought them. Sept 8 - Sailing the Inside Passage This was another fairly quiet day and everyone's mood was a bit sad being our last day on the ship. We watched the morning presentation of "City at Sea" in the World Stage and then the kids spent a good portion of the day in the pool and then napped. We had our final meal in the MDR which was the best prime rib I've had in a long time! They also had escargot that was fantastic! One thing I'll say, I wish we would have dedicated some time to packing our bags that morning instead of leaving it till the evening. The kids badly wanted to go dancing one last time but unfortunately we didn't get a chance to go as it took us quite awhile to pack. Sept 9 - Disembarkation Day We were sad to leave the ship but we enjoyed one last breakfast in the MDR. I will say, this was the only day we didn't feel the service was amazing. You could feel that they were trying to serve us but also prep the ship for the next bunch of passengers and were a bit distracted. Breakfast came quickly though and was good. Disembarkation was quick and easy and we found our luggage with no issues and breezed through customs. We did disembark with my grandmother who needed some assistance and the help was fantastic. They escorted her off the ship, right through customs, found us a porter to help with all of our luggage and took her right to the front of the taxi line. I was a bit worried about how all of that would go but it was no issue whatsoever. After she was safely on her way home, we walked to the Skytrain station a block away, jumped on the train and were on our way to the airport. We ended up beating family members who had gotten off the ship earlier than us and paid for a shuttle/luggage service to the airport. So definitely Skytrain for the win if you're able and game! Again the kids enjoyed the train, sit up at the very front if you can. The airport wasn't bad but we apparently arrived "too early" and had to wait for an hour before we could check our luggage and go through security. That wasn't ideal with the kids as they were tired and getting grumpy. Security was a bit of a zoo but moved quickly. We flew Flair home and were quite impressed, it was about half the price of Westjet or Air Canada, the plane was brand new and they actually offered more for food and drinks (for a fee of course) on board. We'd definitely fly with them again! Other Notes and Stuff That Didn't Fit in Above I had booked the week pass to the Thermal Spa and only ended up using it twice, which was a huge disappointment to me. It was wonderful though! The heated loungers looking out to sea were so relaxing and the steam room was really enjoyable! Would I book it again? I'm not sure that I would, we were just too busy to use it enough that it was worthwhile and I think a soak in the hot tubs in the evening would've been just as good. Would I book more excursions next time? Maybe. I'm not sure. With the kids being as young as they were, I thought a lot of the excursions would be lost on them or be too long. And many the kids couldn't go on due to their age/minimum weight restrictions. We were really happy with the ones we had chosen though. Good length, decent price and very entertaining. So many of the excursions are incredibly pricey and for a family of 4, they add up in a hurry! For our kids, just being on a ship and all that goes along with that, was more than enough. Photos. These are a complaint for me. The photos were fun but the prices on them were over the top. We had cruised the carribean in 2014 and the prices of photos have gone up exponentially. I did end up buying a few but that was about it. I would have probably bought a few more of the candid shots if they had been more reasonably priced. A bit of a shame considering they print out so many photos and probably end up throwing them out or recycling them. By the end of the cruise I was pretty tired of the feeling that the cruise line was trying to extract every $ they possibly could from you. Several of our family members had booked a photo session with a photographer and unfortunately the prices weren't clear beforehand, they were a bit blindsided by the exorbitant prices they wanted for even 6 photos ($600 US and apparently this was a "deal"). Not even the most amazing photos. We had hoped to do some more photos with our kids but once we found out the cost, we skipped this. We had the "Have it All" package and this was great. It was really nice to have the dinner credit as well because we ended up enjoying dinner at Canaletto and Tamarind. We were able to buy the kids' specialty drinks with this as well. The wifi was handy for staying connected too. We could text family members on board and discuss plans or meet up with ease. I think this resulted in us all doing a lot more together than we might have otherwise. Definitely download the Holland American App before you go. It's incredibly handy to have. With so many in our group, the messaging app was handy and if you don't have a wifi package, you can still use this app to chat with others and figure out where they're at. You can also make dinner bookings, you can look at all the photos they've taken of you on board and purchase them, you can leave feedback, look at the schedule for the day etc. It really was very handy to have. Overall, we really enjoyed our cruise on the Koningsdam! It was fantastic for the kids, as you can see there was plenty for them to do and see. The food was amazing, the drinks were great, I don't think we had any actual "negative" experiences.

We just returned from an Alaska cruise on the Koningsdam with our family and agree with what you've said. We had a great time overall though. I may or may not have had 2 orders of those escargot! They were so good! On a side note, Air Canada is beyond terrible, we've avoided them for years. We tried Flair airlines on the way home and were pleasantly surprised. Yes they do charge you for any and all baggage, however our flights were still half the price of Westjet or Air Canada, so can't complain about that. No snacks or drinks offered unless you want to pay (Which they're up front about) but with only an hour long flight for us, it wasn't a big deal. Gone are the days of flights being luxury experiences.

You are SO right! I'm honestly not even sure why that thought crossed my mind, I should know that the kids are more work than the adults!

I’m fairly sure they said BC but perhaps she meant something else. We have 2 other families sailing with us that have 2 adults and 2 kids and they’re both booked in a signature suite I believe.

Thank you! I’ll give it a go on board!

can I ask how long before the cruise you upgraded? And how much extra it cost?

Yeah that's kinda what I thought.... Seems like a LOT. And it was just to a BC suite... not even a Neptune suite!

That's kinda my vision... We're going to be crammed in there like sardines. It's still going to be a treat, I just thought I'd look into what might be possible.

Sorry I read this wrong... We leave Saturday (Sept 2)