My cruise review with pix. Zuiderdam 7 day inside passage

[ginkang]

Thank you this board for the great help. I learned a lot before the cruise.

 

I will give the short description about the trip:

 

Just came back today 7 day inside passage HAL Zuiderdam June 9.2012 to June 16.2012

 

Embark and Disembark: Vancouver

 

Including myself, 5 people.

 

Ship: HAL Zuiderdam. The ship is little old but well maintained. Amazing staffs. I would take HAL again anytime!

 

Vancouver : Got to the Canada Place at 10:30am. One hour to get into the boat. By 12pm in the room.

Do not go there 12 to 2pm. Lot of people. 3 ships are embarking at the same time.

 

Juneau: Mendenhall Glacier: MUST Go. Rented a car at “rent a wreck.” Friendly staff but the car is OK. About $50 to rent. I would rent from National next time. Better quality of car (New) and location.

Near The Shrine of St. Therese, you might see whales from the land. (some sightings)

 

Tracy Arm: if you have money ($215 per person) for the shore excursions then do it. Am I going to doing it again? NO. Glacier bay is better.

 

Skagway: White pass train: MUST. I did the 3.5hour and also rented a car (AVIS) to go to Yukon in the afternoon. People are so friendly there.

Taking the train, I saw about 10 mountain goats far away.

Taking a rental car, saw about 3 bears and mountain goats.

 

Glacier Bay: WOW! You have to go. MUST. I saw Lamplugh Glaceier, Margerie Glacier, Grand Pacific Glacier. We had a suite with veranda so stayed in our cabin. Book Port side! I think the captain stayed more on the port side.

Saw many whales.

 

Ketchikan: Just looked around the city and went shopping. Oh, Alaska beers. They are so good!

I have attached some pictures to see. Also attached Cruise Log (weather and so on)

 

Total: I saw about 10to 20 mountain goats, 3 to 4 bears, about 5 whales (orcas and humpbacks)

[erewhon]

Thank you for your review and photos.

Great picture of the bear.

[PetNanny]

Thanks for your pictures and review.

[ttjtmomma]

Great review. It is giving me hope for next year. Thanks for taking the time.

[cellyml12]

Thanks for the review. I do have a question. We are thinking about going to the Shrine in Juneau. We're still having the great debate over a taxi or renting a car. I was wondering how easy it is to get there & about how long did it take to get there. Happy to hear about whale spotting there. We would rather do the Shrine then a whale watching cruise, but it would be fun to see some whales from land. Also, did you go anywhere else in the area or just the Shrine? Don't mean to sound nosey, this is still the port we are trying to map out for next year. Thanks!

[Northshorecruisers]

Thanks for the review. We'll be doing this cruise in 6 weeks and I can hardly wait!!

[Assateague Island Princes]

We rented from RAW last August, drove out to Mendehall to see it from land (we had been on a self-guided kayak excusion in Mendenhall Lake that morning - amazing excursion with Above and Beyond Alaska), then we went to the fish hatchery, which was really interesting and fun. Watched massive amounts of salmon swimming up the ladder and really enjoyed the sea lion at the bottom of the ladder with his own private smograsbord;). Next stop was the brewery where my niece's boyfriend wanted to sample some Alaskan Ale, alas it closed at 6PM (we arrived at 6:05PM), so no brewskies for Bill:o. Then we went to the Shrine, beautiful serene setting and yes, sometimes whales are seen right off shore, though we weren't so lucky. Our last stop was out the road to Eagle Beach where we saw a ton of (you guessed it) Eagles! And again, plentiful salmon - niece almost caught two with her bare hands! It is gorgeous there - the sky goes on forever, the mountains, trees, and spectacular views are mesmerizing. We walked around a bit enjoying the beach then just sat to enjoy the views. All in all, a wonderful but tiring day in Juneau. Next time, we'll rent the car and head over to Douglas Island and see some of the other sights we missed on this trip.

[ginkang]

Thanks for the review. I do have a question. We are thinking about going to the Shrine in Juneau. We're still having the great debate over a taxi or renting a car. I was wondering how easy it is to get there & about how long did it take to get there. Happy to hear about whale spotting there. We would rather do the Shrine then a whale watching cruise, but it would be fun to see some whales from land. Also, did you go anywhere else in the area or just the Shrine? Don't mean to sound nosey, this is still the port we are trying to map out for next year. Thanks!

It is very easy to drive around. If your main intention is to see the whales, I would recommend shore excursions with local groups. It is hit or miss from land to see the whales. The rental office will tell you where to go and see the whales from the land. The only reason why I rented was because of 5 ppl including 4 yr old son.

About 15 to 20 min to Mendenhall G. (free parking)and another 15 min. to the shine.

The ship arrived at 1pm but because of the Tracy Arm Excursion, we got to Juneau around 3:30pm to 4pm.

Taxies are everywhere. Buses are everywhere too. If only my wife and I, I would have done bus and taxi or tour guide.

With kid and grandparents(close to 85yr), recommend renting a car.

 

Save money with rental cars, go with rent-a-wreck (used car) about $50. Walked about 5 to 10 min. to get to the office.

Newer cars, go with National. They will pick you up at the dock . About $110.

I would prefer National next time.

To get the gas, there is a Costco gas before reaching the Mendenhall G. Also there is Walmart too. Walmart is the last place I would visit especially during the vacation but……:D

Just follow all the buses and vans if you get lost. All going same places. Hehehe

 

I saw bold eagles, whales while there. First 3 pix are fr Tracy Arm, last 2 are from Juneau

[c-legs]

.

 

 

I have attached some pictures to see. Also attached Cruise Log (weather and so on)

 

 

Many thanks for your good review.

Re; the cruise log: is there a way you could post a '' full size'' or an image that we can enalrge ? I'd be interested in that sort of thing.

Cheers

[ginkang]

Many thanks for your good review.

Re; the cruise log: is there a way you could post a '' full size'' or an image that we can enalrge ? I'd be interested in that sort of thing.

Cheers

 

I will try to attach as a PDF here.

shiplog.pdf

[cellyml12]

To A Island Prin. thank you for the info. Ginking, thank you so much for answering questions. We don't have to see whales, but if we come across a chance to see them from shore, we'd consider it a huge bonus. Sounds like we have a lot to consider. Thanks again everyone!:D

[ttnc4me]

Great review. Thanks for the pics and the write up. We are considering this itinerary too.

[JaniceB]

Thanks for mentioning the Alaska beers, brings back memories. We toured the brewery, tasted the beer and enjoyed the story of how the Alaskan Brewery came into existance.

 

I agree that Glacier Bay is a must see!

[flowerfox]

Thanks for the informative review. We will be on the Zuiderdam to Alaska on July 28,1012. We are having some trouble deciding on excursions [especially during the land tour portion]. I was hoping to find some reviews for the Denali self drive jeep excursion. Can't really tell if you can drive far enough in Denali to see any wildlife or if it is a waste a money. Will be taking the 8 hour bus excursion in the park the following day but looking for something to do the afternoon/evening before. :p

[cruzdaddy]

Thanks so much for your review.We leave next Saturday on the 21st and are soooo excited!!! Your comments, recommendations and pictures really helped!!

[Keith1010]

Thanks for sharing your review.

 

Keith