Review of Alaskan cruise, May 2017, aboard the Zaandam

Hi, I thought I would give some information from my recent trip to Alaska. We just got home yesterday. I must say that this was my favorite vacation ever. My husband and I loved every minute.

The ship: The Zaandam is an older, smaller HAL ship. There was definitely some need for updates, but overall we had nothing to complain about. The staff was outstanding. The food was delicious. Our Vista Suite room was lovely and we had a perfect location in the midship. There could have been a tad more activities, but we were fine. I will say that I am glad that this was not our first cruise as I think we might have been slightly disappointed in the ship. However, we have cruised HAL before and were thrilled to sail again with them.

The ports:

Ketchican: We booked a fishing day, independently. We were very lucky that the weather was perfect. We had a blue sky with not one drop of rain. The locals kept saying how lucky we were. I was nervous booking this, as it's not salmon season yet. My husband caught a rockfish and I caught a flounder. After fishing, they took us to a wilderness area where they cooked the fish and a delicious meal for us. We had about an hour or so to walk around town. The line to get back on the ship this day was insanely long and I have never had to wait that long on any cruise before.

Juneau: We started out on the Mt Roberts Tramway. I recommend buying tickets to this on the ship as they are cheaper. I did not do this but would have if I had known. I also recommend doing this as early as you can before a long line appears. We spent about 60-90 min on the top. Afterwards we headed to Tracy's Crab Shack for a snack. We then did the float plane tour to Taku Lodge. We both loved this and lunch was great. We were lucky enough to get a bear siting. We then went on the evening whale watch tour. We saw plenty of humpback whales and even a bear. The weather here was also amazing. We had no rain.

Skagway: We did the helicopter to the glacier/dogsled tour. This was my favorite thing we did on the trip and I would recommend it to anyone. It was expensive but worth every penny. Somehow we were the only people booked at that time and were there by ourselves. We then took our rental car to Emerald Lake. This drive was long but beautiful and scenic. The lake was gorgeous but there are no facilities or anything at the lake. It is literally a pullout to get out of your car and take pictures. You cannot get to the waterfront. We did also stop in Carcross. There is not much to this town. We did get coffee and scones at Caribou Coffee. Caribou Crossing was also ok. We paid to go see the wildlife and puppies. The puppies were 4 months and not too playful. We did walk around town in Skagway before our helicopter ride. There isn't much here so make sure you have plenty of plans for the day.

Glacier Bay: This was beautiful. We were incredibly grateful for our balcony. The deck gets crowded with people. It was cold and rainy out this day so we were dressed with many layers.

Seward: We had plenty of time to kill before our flight so we did a 6 hour Kenai Fiords Boat Tour. This was actually pretty great as we saw plenty of orcas, humpbacks and many other wildlife. There were times that the water got rough and I think that people were getting nauseated. Lunch was served. After lunch the ride got a little long and I felt like people were getting anxious to get off. After this, we got on a bus to the Anchorage Airport. This was our coldest/wettest day, especially while outside on a moving boat.

Clothing:

On chillier days I wore leggings under my jeans. On top, I wore a Eddie Bauer thin t-shirt, some sort of sweatshirt, an Eddie Bauer thin down zipped up jacket (I feel like half the people we saw had these) and then a heavier jacket (not a winter coat) to wear on top on the coldest days. I only wore my heavier jacket in Skagway, while outside cruising Glacier Bay, and in Seward on the boat ride. I wore gloves and a hat/hood those cold days as well. I packed way way way too many clothes and yet still had laundry done on the ship because I found which clothes I loved wearing. I also found that HAL was very lenient with clothing for dinner. We wore jeans with dress shirts most dinners. On the Gala night we were some of the fanciest dressed with a dress and leggings and my husband in a sport coat with collared shirt and slacks. We were fine with the leniency.

What I brought and didn't wear: any dressy short sleeved or sleeveless shirt, most of my dresses, capris. I did wear sweatpants and sweatshirts on sea days. I also wore my tennis shoes almost everywhere.

I think that's it. I appreciate everything I read on here to help plan my trip because I feel that it did make a difference.

One more thing. We flew into Vancouver the night before. We took the train down to the waterfront and walked to our hotel. We stayed at the Delta Vancouver Suites. This hotel room was amazing and frankly I can't believe I got such a great price. I booked this through the name your price on priceline so didn't know which hotel we would end up with. It was a four block walk to the pier. We got up early the next morning and ate breakfast and some highly rated Yelp restaurant for breakfast that was delicious. We then walked to Stanley Park and rented bikes to ride around. Unfortunately it poured the entire bike ride so we didn't get to enjoy it as much but I would have still done it knowing that it was going to pour.

The boarding process in Vancouver was the longest boarding process of any cruise we have done. It took well over an hour and honestly the line kept getting longer.

Ok I think that is all for real now.

Thank you for your report. We are cruising in 2018 at this same time of year and your insights are very helpful.

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Thank you for your review!!

We are also booked at the Delta Marriott in Vancouver. Glad to hear you enjoyed the hotel. Can't wait to get there!!

I enjoyed your review.

Thanks for taking the time to post a review.

Thanks for the review! We will be on the Southbound Zaandam in August

Nice review!

We were on the Zaandam May 14th, 2017 for 7 days, then went to Denali. Thanks for review.

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The ports:

 

 

Juneau: We started out on the Mt Roberts Tramway. I recommend buying tickets to this on the ship as they are cheaper. I did not do this but would have if I had known. I also recommend doing this as early as you can before a long line appears. We spent about 60-90 min on the top. Afterwards we headed to Tracy's Crab Shack for a snack. We then did the float plane tour to Taku Lodge. We both loved this and lunch was great. We were lucky enough to get a bear siting. We then went on the evening whale watch tour. We saw plenty of humpback whales and even a bear. The weather here was also amazing. We had no rain.

 

y.

Really very very bad idea. What if you buy the tickets and the weather is lousy and you will not be able to see anything. Will the ship give you a refund. How much do you save buying on board as opposed to buying at the tramway ticket office?

DON

Thank you for your review. We're on Zaandam in September for the cruise/land trip and really looking forward to it. Can I ask if there were independent excursion tours that you can book once you get to the ports? We've only cruised the Caribbean before and know that when we get off the ship at the port we can always find an excursion without pre-booking through the ship.

Hi, I thought I would give some information from my recent trip to Alaska. We just got home yesterday. I must say that this was my favorite vacation ever. My husband and I loved every minute.

 

The ship: The Zaandam is an older, smaller HAL ship. There was definitely some need for updates, but overall we had nothing to complain about. The staff was outstanding. The food was delicious. Our Vista Suite room was lovely and we had a perfect location in the midship. There could have been a tad more activities, but we were fine. I will say that I am glad that this was not our first cruise as I think we might have been slightly disappointed in the ship. However, we have cruised HAL before and were thrilled to sail again with them.

 

The ports:

Ketchican: We booked a fishing day, independently. We were very lucky that the weather was perfect. We had a blue sky with not one drop of rain. The locals kept saying how lucky we were. I was nervous booking this, as it's not salmon season yet. My husband caught a rockfish and I caught a flounder. After fishing, they took us to a wilderness area where they cooked the fish and a delicious meal for us. We had about an hour or so to walk around town. The line to get back on the ship this day was insanely long and I have never had to wait that long on any cruise before.

 

Can I ask what company you booked your fishing day with?

Thanks for the report. We will be on the Zaandam with a group of 14 heading north in July!

Thank you for your review. We're on Zaandam in September for the cruise/land trip and really looking forward to it. Can I ask if there were independent excursion tours that you can book once you get to the ports? We've only cruised the Caribbean before and know that when we get off the ship at the port we can always find an excursion without pre-booking through the ship.

Juneau and Skagway definitely had tour operators near the port to book with. Not too sure about Ketchikan.

Can I ask what company you booked your fishing day with?

Baranof

Really very very bad idea. What if you buy the tickets and the weather is lousy and you will not be able to see anything. Will the ship give you a refund. How much do you save buying on board as opposed to buying at the tramway ticket office?

 

DON

Ehh I think you are being a smidge dramatic. They make these things called weather reports. Ours was actually spot on for the entire week. I'm not sure of the cost difference, I just know that people like to save money when possible. You can buy one the day before. It saves money and time in line. But honestly, people can do what they want. It won't make or break the trip.

According to HAL site and Mt Roberts Tramway site they're both showing $33. pp. Weather on the west coast, especially Alaska area can change rapidly. I'll get our tickets after we get off the ship and if I think we can see something other than clouds from the top.

Did the Zaandam a few years ago which was great. We are doing RCI next summer so I wanted to know who booked the helo trip with in Skagway?

Did the Zaandam a few years ago which was great. We are doing RCI next summer so I wanted to know who booked the helo trip with in Skagway?

We booked it with Temsco. They are out of Juneau and Skagway.

Juneau and Skagway definitely had tour operators near the port to book with. Not too sure about Ketchikan.

Thanks! September will be here before we know it and I need to start planning. Thanks again for your review :D

Thanks for the review. You did most of the excursions I am planning! Fishing, Helicopter dog sledding, rent car for scenic drive. Can't wait!

Thanks for the great review. We're doing the Skagway rental car to Emerald Lake in a few weeks. I was under the impression it would take most of the day (save for maybe dinner back in town) so I was surprised to read that you did a helicopter tour first. What time was your heli tour and any sense of how many hours you were out with your rental car? Thanks.

Thanks for your review.

-Frank

Thank you for the review. We are looking forward to the ship and are going in July. We have a couple of ranger led walks scheduled for the morning so will begin our drive afterwards. Were there many tour buses along the way when you were on the road?