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Fantastic Time on Statendam! Alaska June 13 Review and Photos

purplenorway

By purplenorway,
in Holland America Line

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purplenorway

purplenorway

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I have just returned from a fantastic time on the Statendam in breathtaking Alaska! Absolutely loved it! I’ll be posting my day by day experiences and photos here as I sort through my memories and thousands of photos. So here we go!

 

Saturday, June 12, 2010

 

The Vancouver airport is very nice. There are waterfalls, canoes, totem poles—clearly they went all out for the 2010 Olympics! The customs line was quite long, but once we made it through and found our luggage, we took the train from the airport to near Canada Place. Just so you know, they only sell day passes in the shops. We also walked the wrong way from the station and had to go down all kinds of steps with our luggage. Combine that with lack of sleep and hunger and it is bad news. I think I would have taken a taxi instead.

 

We stayed at the Pan Pacific hotel. They upgraded us to a suite and it was beautiful! The view of the city from the 23rd floor is amazing. We had access to a lounge that looked down on Canada Place and it was interesting to see the Zuiderdam from that high.

 

We walked the waterfront and watched the Zuiderdam and a Princess ship sail away. Then, we went to the Top of Vancouver revolving restaurant for dinner. The view was great! We had chicken Tuscana and chocolate terrine for dessert.

 

Sunday, June 13, 2010

 

We had a lovely breakfast of fruit, adorable mini pastries and ramekins of scrambled eggs from the hotel’s suite lounge. The concierge gave us a later check out time and we took the Vancouver Trolley Company that picks up right next to Canada Place. We got off at the Rose Garden in Stanley Park. So pretty! I love a good flower photo and these were complete with water droplets on the petals!

 

We also stopped at the totem poles and watched Canada geese on the shore. The next trolley was full, so we decided to walk to the next stop since it looked close on the map. Close turned into three miles or so.

 

There just wasn’t anywhere to get off the trail along the seawall. It was a scenic walk with birds, an otter eating a fish and a raccoon on the rocks. We went under the Lions Gate Bridge and a ways later, made it to the Tea House and a trolley stop.

 

The hotel concierge took our luggage to be sent to the ship and all we had to do was go to the hotel’s lower level. The Celebrity Mercury was also at the pier and passengers were combined for security and customs. After that, check in was easy.

 

We boarded and staterooms were ready. We had deluxe verandah suite 016. It has been beautifully updated—new couch, carpet, bathroom counter, curtains and more. It was very spacious and had tons of cupboards and closets.

 

We went to the Lido for lunch and explored the ship. I loved the new Mix lounge.

 

This was the first cruise I’ve been on where we didn’t have to wear lifejackets at the drill! Awesome! The woman next to me asked me, “So we have to take our lifejackets with us when we go down to eat?” “No,” I said. “So we have to take them with us if we walk here around deck?” she asked. “No,” I said. “They stay in your closet. Just so you know where they are.” She was serious. Must have been new to cruising.

 

We had 8:00 fixed seating at a table for four next to the window. Our dining stewards were Rudi and Gede. I had two excellent soups and the parmesan crusted chicken. For dessert, I tried the Gold Rush Baked Alaska. Well, there was no gold dust as the menu said. There was a tiny brownie with five tons of meringue. I asked for the hot fudge and berries as toppings. The hot fudge was a blob of cold chocolate pudding and the cooked berries did not look appetizing. Both sauces were this way throughout the cruise and the “hot fudge” could be found at the ice cream station and mutilated berries at the waffle station in the morning. This is really my only food complaint for the entire week! Everything else was quite good!

 

Check out my Vancouver photos here: http://cid-ca633c0f714227b5.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Vancouver

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Winters in NZ

Winters in NZ

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Excellent photography. I love the Maasdam 06 shot taken in Montreal with the majestic Sun Life Building in the background.

Re your comments about the Vancouver Airport : It is probably the most inept airports when dealing with customs, in spite of the canoes, fantastic art, and other diversions. Long lines/waits. Frustration. And you always get to re-live the experience at Canada Place for your Alaska bound cruise.

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dulcetto

dulcetto

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I have just returned from a fantastic time on the Statendam in breathtaking Alaska! Absolutely loved it! I’ll be posting my day by day experiences and photos here as I sort through my memories and thousands of photos. So here we go!

 

Saturday, June 12, 2010

 

The Vancouver airport is very nice. There are waterfalls, canoes, totem poles—clearly they went all out for the 2010 Olympics! The customs line was quite long, but once we made it through and found our luggage, we took the train from the airport to near Canada Place. Just so you know, they only sell day passes in the shops. We also walked the wrong way from the station and had to go down all kinds of steps with our luggage. Combine that with lack of sleep and hunger and it is bad news. I think I would have taken a taxi instead.

 

We stayed at the Pan Pacific hotel. They upgraded us to a suite and it was beautiful! The view of the city from the 23rd floor is amazing. We had access to a lounge that looked down on Canada Place and it was interesting to see the Zuiderdam from that high.

 

We walked the waterfront and watched the Zuiderdam and a Princess ship sail away. Then, we went to the Top of Vancouver revolving restaurant for dinner. The view was great! We had chicken Tuscana and chocolate terrine for dessert.

 

Sunday, June 13, 2010

 

We had a lovely breakfast of fruit, adorable mini pastries and ramekins of scrambled eggs from the hotel’s suite lounge. The concierge gave us a later check out time and we took the Vancouver Trolley Company that picks up right next to Canada Place. We got off at the Rose Garden in Stanley Park. So pretty! I love a good flower photo and these were complete with water droplets on the petals!

 

We also stopped at the totem poles and watched Canada geese on the shore. The next trolley was full, so we decided to walk to the next stop since it looked close on the map. Close turned into three miles or so.

 

There just wasn’t anywhere to get off the trail along the seawall. It was a scenic walk with birds, an otter eating a fish and a raccoon on the rocks. We went under the Lions Gate Bridge and a ways later, made it to the Tea House and a trolley stop.

 

The hotel concierge took our luggage to be sent to the ship and all we had to do was go to the hotel’s lower level. The Celebrity Mercury was also at the pier and passengers were combined for security and customs. After that, check in was easy.

 

We boarded and staterooms were ready. We had deluxe verandah suite 016. It has been beautifully updated—new couch, carpet, bathroom counter, curtains and more. It was very spacious and had tons of cupboards and closets.

 

We went to the Lido for lunch and explored the ship. I loved the new Mix lounge.

 

This was the first cruise I’ve been on where we didn’t have to wear lifejackets at the drill! Awesome! The woman next to me asked me, “So we have to take our lifejackets with us when we go down to eat?” “No,” I said. “So we have to take them with us if we walk here around deck?” she asked. “No,” I said. “They stay in your closet. Just so you know where they are.” She was serious. Must have been new to cruising.

 

We had 8:00 fixed seating at a table for four next to the window. Our dining stewards were Rudi and Gede. I had two excellent soups and the parmesan crusted chicken. For dessert, I tried the Gold Rush Baked Alaska. Well, there was no gold dust as the menu said. There was a tiny brownie with five tons of meringue. I asked for the hot fudge and berries as toppings. The hot fudge was a blob of cold chocolate pudding and the cooked berries did not look appetizing. Both sauces were this way throughout the cruise and the “hot fudge” could be found at the ice cream station and mutilated berries at the waffle station in the morning. This is really my only food complaint for the entire week! Everything else was quite good!

 

Check out my Vancouver photos here: http://cid-ca633c0f714227b5.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Vancouver

Hi Purplenorway

 

Thanks for your review,sounds like the cabins are lovely ,we have 024 on our 15th August sailing and so looking forward to our first cruise,sounds like the Statendam has been spruced up really well.

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RuthC

RuthC

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Parmesan crusted chicken? It's back! Yippee! I haven't seen this on the menu in quite a while. Hope it's on the Amsterdam's Alaska cruise menu, too.

 

As always, I am enjoying your review, and look forward to more. Thanks for posting.

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purplenorway

purplenorway

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Monday, June 14, 2010

 

We slept well, but it was a little noisy in the morning. I could hear some kind of service door opening in the hallway and deck chairs scrapping on the Lido deck above. But at least this got us up at a decent hour. On this particular morning, we looked out and saw a rainbow.

 

We went to the dining room for breakfast. The Swiss style muesli was outstanding! It can vary from ship to ship and they certainly know how to make it on Statendam. It took a long time for the entrée to come. Maybe one of the longest breakfasts we’ve ever had. They were very busy.

 

There was a galley tour and then a suite lunch in the dining room. We met Captain Tim Roberts, Hotel Manager Henk Hoekstra and Cruise Director Gene Young. It was an Indonesian lunch with spicy soup, a salad, different types of meat with rice and rice pudding for dessert.

 

It was quite rocky and we had fun watching the Lido Pool water sloshing around. We went to Dutch High Tea and didn’t have to lift a finger. They carried our plates to a table after we went through the spread of little sandwiches and pastries and swarmed us with tea choices and hot water as they placed our napkins in our laps.

 

Later, the seas smoothed out. We walked the Promenade and saw tons of whales!

 

We went to the Crow’s Nest before dinner, but you would have never have known it was formal night. I guess everyone was just too busy watching the whales to dress up. We went to the Ocean Bar and there were only a handful of people there.

 

Dinner was very good. I had Southwestern-style manicotti and cheesecake.

 

The show that night was Bob Mackie’s Broadway. The captain was also watching and told us it was a new concept. There were four male singers, two female singers and two dancers. It was more simplified with no set changes. Very good. Similar to the Broadway Moves to Queens/Vista they have done on ships in the past.

 

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

 

In Ketchikan, we walked around Creek Street for some shopping and returned to the ship for lunch. We bought tickets for the Lumberjack Show. The lumberjacks competed against each other with sawing, chopping, log rolling and climbing. It was really funny and they got the audience into it. It was also very cold, but it didn’t rain and they say any day where it doesn’t rain in Ketchikan is a good day.

 

There was a cocktail party in the Crow’s Nest. I was impressed by how many officers and staff attended and how friendly they were.

 

We went to Canaletto for dinner. The lasagna was so good! We watched the show, Street Singin’, which featured just the four male singers.

 

View my Ketchikan album here: http://cid-ca633c0f714227b5.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Ketchikan

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purplenorway

purplenorway

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Wednesday, June 16, 2010

 

In Juneau, we took the ship’s excursion to the mushers’ camp. The bus brought us to Douglas Island and then we took vans through the forest. They dropped us off and we got on a wheeled cart that held about eight people. The 16 dogs ready to pull us couldn’t wait! They were barking like crazy and jumping straight in the air!

 

Dad and I sat in the front because no one else wanted to. “Yes, I have the perfect view for photos!” I thought. I should have gotten the hint when they gave us plastic to cover our legs. Little did I know what we were in for.

 

We shot off at full speed and I was thankful for the seatbelts. I felt raindrops hitting my face. I then looked at Dad and realized it was mud! It was flying off the dogs’ fast moving feet and the cart’s wheels. I then knew there would be no pictures during the ride. Instead, I futilely tried to cover my face.

 

Mud was everywhere! Even in my ears! We took photos and looked pitiful.

 

After the ride, they introduced us to our sled dog team and brought us to two shelters for talks on musher equipment and races. Then, we held puppies! They were adorable!

 

The vans then took us back to a bus and we stopped at a lookout of Mendenhall Glacier. We then returned to the ship and cleaned up. Thank goodness for free laundry service. Bless them, they washed Mom's shoes, even dry cleaned Dad's hat and video camera case.

 

After some shopping at the obligatory Alaska T-Shirt company, we bought tickets at a nearby booth for Juneau Tours shuttle to Mendenhall Glacier. It is $7 per person per way, but they gave it to us for $10 total per person. The bus driver was a hoot!

 

At the glacier, we walked the trails and went a mile or so to the waterfall. Right now, the regular trail is under construction, so take the one that says something like, “This is not an established trail.” It was confusing. The waterfall was gorgeous and you could feel the mist.

 

It felt good to shower later and get rid of the last of the mud.

 

At dinner, I had the tomato and goat cheese tart, farmers vegetable puree, prime rib and chocolate decadence cake which was supposed to have, “a spray of fresh berries” but was of course the usual mutilated berries. We went to the Indonesian Crew Show at 11 pm.

 

See my Juneau photos here: http://cid-ca633c0f714227b5.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Juneau

 

Thursday, June 17, 2010

 

The town of Skagway has basically one main street of shops. Very charming. We booked a tour at a booth. There were just seven people in our bus and it took us up the highway. We stopped in the mountains at the “Welcome to Alaska” sign. It was absolutely freezing! We got off in Fraser, British Columbia (you must bring your passport) and met the White Pass Yukon Route train.

 

We had a train car for just our seven people plus one ofther couple, so we had our choice of seats. The bus driver suggested we sit on the right side. I enjoyed standing on the outside platform for the best view; although we were going fast enough that you had to hang on. The scenery was amazing! We saw a caribou and a black bear with her cub.

 

At dinner, I had beef and chicken satay, Italian wedding soup and turkey roast. For dessert, our waiter Rudi recommended the Big Blitz. I learned to trust him because he was always right! This pie was fantastic! Chocolate, caramel, peanuts, Snickers and a cream cheese filling!

 

The show of the night was juggler/comedian Barnaby. The audience was hilarious and the interactions he had we them made me practically cry from laughing so hard.

 

Check out my Skagway pictures here: http://cid-ca633c0f714227b5.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Skagway

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SwissMyst

SwissMyst

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Just signed up for the Statendam and the Panama Canal for Nov/Dec. Love hearing all these good things about this ship and really looking forward to getting back to the small HAL ships again. Hope we still have your same good crew at the end of the year.

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clyde55

clyde55

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Really enjoyed your review as we are doing the same route on the Volendam on 4th August(so excited)Photos are fabulous and I was so glad when you told me that you used a digital camera(point and press) as this is what I have and was a bit worried that I would not get good enough pictures(have been practicing since I bought it)but I feel a bit more confident now.:p

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IRL_Joanie

IRL_Joanie

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Absolutely loved the review and your photos!!!!

 

Thank you so very much for all the info and photos. We will be doing the same itinerary in Sept 2011 (different ship though) and your photos definitely help me to decide on what I want to see, excursion wise.

 

May I use you stateroom and public areas photos and descriptions for the HAL Stateroom/Cabins Pages?

 

Joanie

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cruz chic

cruz chic

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Good to hear things are getting better on the Statendam. As always, your pics are excellent. I sounds like HAL is making some better desserts:). I hope I see them in Oct. They've left a lot to be desired my last few cruises.

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purplenorway

purplenorway

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Friday, June 18, 2010

Rudi and Gede said we should wake up at 6 am to see whales as we entered Glacier Bay. Again, they were right. There were tons of whales! So close, we could hear them.

The water turned into a milky green and smoothed out like glass. We saw beautiful blue glaciers and a good amount of calving. Some calving was quite large and made gaping crevices in the ice. We could hear the cracks and pops like fireworks and thunder. There were eagle and seal sightings as well. It was freezing and Dutch pea soup was served on the bow to warm us up.

We had lunch and went to cupcake tea. The chocolate ones were pretty good, frosted with chocolate mousse and topped with strawberries.

It was formal night and there was a suite farewell cocktail party in the Crow’s Nest. There was probably more staff there than guests. I don’t know where everyone was.

The dinner menu didn’t look very good to me, but I was pleasantly surprised. I tried coq au vin for the first time and it was so tender and tasty. I also had green chile and corn chowder and Aunty Jean’s cherry pavlova.

The show was Encore. Two singers did classical/opera songs with the band and strings. It was impressive. Then there was the dessert extravaganza at the Lido Pool. The best part is eating the chocolate decorations from the top of the cakes. Just ask.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

The ship was at sea and the Mariner’s brunch was held in the dining room. Honestly, we get a little tired of the same menu at this brunch every time. So we asked if we could order off the day’s lunch menu instead.

Later, we went to a Q & A session with the hotel manager and cruise director. The common comment was how wonderful Phillip the head deck steward is! I was happy everyone knew him and noticed what a great job he does. He is always busy doing something—mopping up water that sloshed out of the pool, helping ladies walk across the water, setting up for events, straightening out deck chairs—and he is so pleasant and takes time for a conversation. They said he is being promoted to the beverage department. I also thought the cruise director was a sweetheart. Such a nice guy and very visible.

We cruised College Fjord and it was very misty with low clouds. Still, we saw many glaciers, seals, otters and an eagle perched on an iceberg.

We had a cocktail party in our suite and Eric the concierge arranged it nicely with appetizers.

The Master Chef’s Dinner was that evening. The menu is mostly puff pastry and mushrooms. There is even a chef’s surprise for you with, you guessed it, puff pastry and mushrooms combined. The staff danced and juggled and it was quite funny to watch. During dinner, I spotted some orcas and suddenly half of the dining room was next to me. There was the usual Baked Alaska for dessert, but we requested the Big Blitz and they made it for us! My goodness I love that pie.

I should also mention how great Nugie, our assistant dining room manager, was. He kept busy helping out at all the tables and was very entertaining as well. He always had funny comments. When we saw a gorgeous waterfall, he said, “That is the view from my house.” When two seagulls were following the ship, he said, “One of them is mine.”

The final show was a Vegas theme with the singers. We then went to Mix and listened to Daryl at the piano. Finally, we crammed everything into our suitcases and went to bed.

See my Glacier Bay & College Fjord photos here: http://cid-ca633c0f714227b5.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Glacier%20Bay%20%5E0%20College%20Fjord

Sunday, June 20, 2010

We had breakfast in the dining room with a pretty view of sunny Seward. It was quite empty compared to other disembarkation day breakfasts. I guess most people were leaving after lunch for land tours and sleeping in.

We took the tour/transport to Portage Glacier. Our bus driver was a lot of fun and played quiz games with us for prizes of postcards and candy.

The bus dropped us off at a lake; we boarded a boat and went close to numerous waterfalls—I still can’t believe how many waterfalls are in Alaska this time of year! We also went along the glacier a couple of times. It only calved a few crumbles.

After an hour cruise, and after the boat slammed into the dock (don’t know what the captain was watching), we went back to the bus. During the day’s ride, we saw five moose! One was right outside of Seward, one had two babies and one was at the Anchorage airport.

The bus took us to the convention center in Anchorage. We checked our hand luggage there and went to the nearby mall food court. I took the last bus from the convention center to the airport at 6 pm since my flight didn’t leave until after 9 pm. We flew over so many fantastic glaciers and mountains!

Take a look at my Seward & Portage Glacier pictures here: http://cid-ca633c0f714227b5.photos.live.com/browse.aspx/Seward%20%5E0%20Portage%20Glacier

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LadyFurn

LadyFurn

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Ah, it was so nice to re-live the cruise with Becky! We are still in Fairbanks and leaving tomorrow. We were given a super tour guide named Kelly who was very knowlegeable and very pleasant. They should clone her! Actually, we have met many people on this cruise and on the land portion that were very good and very friendly. HAL should be very proud of these employees! Back to home and reality soon...:(

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cruisecrasy

cruisecrasy

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Many thanks for posting the great review..

 

Curious if u noticed any odors onboard as had been mentioned in another thread - of course that was before she was 'spruced up'? :)

 

Did u get to the Neptune Lounge during your cruise and if yes, what was your impression re: drinks, food & service?

 

Thanking u in advance for any info..:)

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IRL_Joanie

IRL_Joanie

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Thanks for the nice comments! For those of you who have cruises coming up, have a great time!

 

Joanie, sure, you may use my photos!

 

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! The additional photos of Portage Glacier, the Mooses, should that be Meeses??? and the Eagles on the Ice.... Are Gorgeous!!!!!!!

 

I HAVE TO DO THIS LAND CRUISE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I'll get those photos and your stateroom comments up sometime today or tomorrow. Thank you so much!!!

 

Joanie

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