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Our review of the 14 day Alaska Amsterdam cruise--6-22-14

rajkr74

By rajkr74,
in Holland America Line

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rajkr74

rajkr74

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We just completed the 14 day Alaska cruise from Seattle on 6-22-14 thru 7-6-14 on the Amsterdam. This is the second time on this itinerary that we loved it so much in July of 2011 that we booked it again this year. We had exceptional weather in 2011 and “hoped” for the same this year.

 

We had friends who live 45 mins. outside Seattle that we stayed with the night before the cruise and they took us to the dock on Sunday. Embarkation on Pier 91 was one of the best we have experienced out of our 7 cruises. We arrived at 10:30 at the pier and there were no lines as we drove up. We hauled our luggage into the terminal and right to the scanner with no delays…pretty easy. We then took our camera bag and one carry on suitcase to the check in line. Again….NO LINES. We walked right up to the counter and handed the HAL check-in rep our passports who then pulled us up on the computer very quickly. We signed the no sickness forms, got our room cards and proceeded to the waiting area. Boarding started right at 11:30 am and within 10 mins. our number was called.

 

Our cabin, 3334, was easy to find since it was on the same level as the gangway. It had easy access to the Promenade deck if we wanted to get out for a quick view of what was going on outside. It was the same category as we had in 2011 but we chose to separate the beds this time which opened up the center of the room for more roominess and allowed us to walk up to the window to look out. Due the fact on our previous cruise it was tight getting around the sides of the bed. It was a typical ocean view cabin, met our needs and we were very comfortable with it. Before we went to the Lido for lunch we checked on obtaining reservations for a shore excursion and the Pinnacle for our 40th wedding anniversary dinner in Anchorage.

 

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Cabin before beds are moved.

 

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Cabin after beds are moved apart...lots more room.

 

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Rest of Cabin.

 

We will post more of this review in the coming days.

 

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PathfinderEss

PathfinderEss

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Enjoying the beginning of your Amsterdam review. Looking forward to the rest. Thanks for taking the time to write and post it. Like your idea about splitting up the bed, makes perfect sense.

Please think about sending your cabin pictures/HAL info to: pictures@halfacts.com

 

Edited by PathfinderEss
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rajkr74

rajkr74

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Enjoying the beginning of your Amsterdam review. Looking forward to the rest. Thanks for taking the time to write and post it. Like your idea about splitting up the bed, makes perfect sense.

Please think about sending your cabin pictures/HAL info to: pictures@halfacts.com

 

 

This is the first time that we separated the beds and it made a huge difference in the room. We will forward our pics to Halfacts, thanks. More pictures of the cruise to follow.

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PathfinderEss

PathfinderEss

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This is the first time that we separated the beds and it made a huge difference in the room. We will forward our pics to Halfacts, thanks. More pictures of the cruise to follow.

 

Can't wait, your cabin pictures are great. We did this cruise a couple of years ago, love it, and especially the Amsterdam. Such a beutiful ship.

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Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

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Thanks for making the effort to do a review with photos. We've been looking at doing a two week cruise out of Seattle, so we're anxiously awaiting your upcoming posts!

 

 

We have done this itinerary twice on the Amsterdam -- it is really great.

Next year this itinerary will be done on the Statendam.

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rajkr74

rajkr74

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Ports:

 

Seattle:

It was a beautiful day for sailing to Alaska. We ate lunch in the Lido and by getting on board early the Lido was pretty quiet. Everything went very well including the life boat drill. Most people were on time but there were a few that were late. It went quickly with little disruption and no need for the captain to tell people to be quiet. The shore excursion desk opened at 1:00pm so we could book an excursion for Sitka since we were not able to book it when we got on board earlier.

 

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Waiting area pier 91.

 

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Aft Lido Pool mid afternoon.

 

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On our way from Seattle.

 

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Sailing away from Seattle with Mt Rainer in the background.

 

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Sailing from Seattle.

 

Sea day. A little bit of a choppy seas going north on the outside of Vancouver Is. and it turned cloudy, signs of things to come weather wise. Just needed to relearn the “Zig Zag” walk one does down the hallways. Our Cruise Critic Roll Call had 92 people posted to it and the Meet and Great was held on Monday the first sea day. It was very well attended, over ½ the Roll Call number and we even had some ships officers attend. The standard coffee, tea, water and cookies were provided by the ship. We met a lot of nice fellow cruisers there. Sadly, with that many travelers, we could not meet and talk to everyone. On the first sea day was the Dutch High Tea in the MDR for a quick stop. We then went to a digital class being held at the same time. Picture of Dutch High Tea to follow in next posting.

 

 

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Meet and Great in the Crows Nest.

 

Edited by RAJKR74
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rajkr74

rajkr74

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Here is the picture of Dutch High Tea from the previous posting.

 

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Dutch High Tea.

 

Ketchikan. Well the rain begins. We sailed into the port with rain coming down. It showered on and off all day, out came our rain gear. We got off ship and went to a few stores close to the ship. We then walked down a block and took the Silver bus in front of the Popcorn Emporium to Totem Bight Park. It leaves there at 26 minutes after the hour each hour. It costs $1.00/person one way total of $4.00 for two people round trip. You need exact change for the driver, he has no resources to make change. It was very easy to get there and the bus driver was very helpful answering any questions we had. But once at the park it was hard to get photos of the totem poles as we had to fight all the group tours in the park and the rain and the wet camera lenses.

 

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Docking in Ketchikan.

 

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Downtown Ketchikan statue.

 

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Totem Bight Park.

 

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Totem Bight totem pole.

 

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Totem pole downtown.

 

 

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rajkr74

rajkr74

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I guess the honeymoon is over with those separate beds:D;):D. Does it always rain in Ketchikan? Sure seems like it. I think you and your lovely wife should join me in November on the NA.

This is what happens to the beds after 40 years of being married. :D No it doesn't always rain in Ketchikan, in 2011 we had a sunny day there....but not this year. :mad: Sorry we won't be able to join you in Nov. we will be in Hawaii. But you could come with us in April 2015 to the Caribbean???? ;)

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cruz chic

cruz chic

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This is what happens to the beds after 40 years of being married. :D No it doesn't always rain in Ketchikan, in 2011 we had a sunny day there....but not this year. :mad: Sorry we won't be able to join you in Nov. we will be in Hawaii. But you could come with us in April 2015 to the Caribbean???? ;)

 

That a nice itinerary but I'm not overly fond of the older ships. I think I'll likely do Princess to Mexico In April but it's something to think about. The review is great. Love the pics.

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rajkr74

rajkr74

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Juneau. Dressed in rain gear (again) we left the ship for our Photo Safari excursion. On the dock in Juneau as we got off there were three tents to stand under keeping the rain off us as we waited for our bus. We took a bus north to another harbor with 10 other people. This tour would have only a max of 14 people on it. We go into the boat which was set up for photography. The windows opened up into the boat and could be secured to the ceiling for unobstructed views out to take pictures. This was a very nice setup and worked well for everyone. There was also room on the bow for 4-5 people of which we chose to use. The rain eased off as we left the harbor to start our excursion and it did not rain the whole time we were out shooting wildlife, someone must have paid off the rain gods for us. We got shots of Bald Eagles, a pod of Orcas and humpback whales bubble feeding…outstanding. After the boat photo excursion we took a nature walk on the "Trail of Time" at the Mendenhall Glacier which ends at the visitor center. The bus back to town dropped us off at the ship which gave us an easy walk to do a little shopping. We went thru the shops in the old “hanger” building, stopped by the Alaska Hotel and bar, and then to the Alaska Brewing Co. store to buy a couple of pint beer glasses.

 

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Arriving in Juneau.

 

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Red Bog Saloon.

 

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Mendenhall Glacier on the "Trail of Time" nature trail.

 

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Mendenhall Glacier.

 

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Immature young bald eagle.

 

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Bald Eagles.

 

More photos on next posting.

 

Edited by RAJKR74
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vbmom87

vbmom87

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Thanks for taking the time to write and post your review. You photos are simply outstanding. What deep colors and clarity. You must have a great camera to go along with fantastic photography skills.

 

Did you take the photo excursion in Juneau through the ship or did you book it independently. How long was the tour? Seems like you had a great time.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

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utahtea

utahtea

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Juneau pictures continued....

 

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Pod of Orca whales.

 

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More pics of Orcas

 

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Whales bubble feeding.

 

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Whales Feeding.

 

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Tail fluke on a diving whale.

 

Pretty COOL day on the water!!!!!

 

WOW...you did have a great tour in Juneau!

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SunLakesBob

SunLakesBob

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We have done this itinerary twice on the Amsterdam -- it is really great.

Next year this itinerary will be done on the Statendam.

 

While we were on the Amsterdam, we booked next year on the Statendam. 14 days is the only way to see Alaska.

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