Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

14 Day Land Explorer May 22 - June 5 Review

crazytomatoes

By crazytomatoes,
in Holland America Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

TheCalicoCat

TheCalicoCat

Posted
Posted
Kodiak was our next stop, it is a charming port and we really enjoyed it. When we arrived we grabbed cab and took it to Fort Abercrombie.

 

Glad to hear this was an easy & enjoyable choice in Kodiak. This is our plan B if the weather is not good enough for our flight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
crazytomatoes

crazytomatoes

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Some final thoughts...

 

We really enjoyed this cruise. The itinerary was fantastic, we had been to Alaska before and this checked a lot off our list. The only problem was I don't think I can every go back to a 7 day cruise now that I have experienced a 14 day cruise!! As I mentioned previously we felt that we were a bit young to be on Holland America. Would I cruise with them again, yes if the itinerary was right, but I think we will wait a few years. It is not that we need a lot of bells and whistles, we enjoy a small ship and we appreciate the classy nature of Hal, however, we really felt that at times our little group stood out and many people commented that we were a bit young to be there. Even my parents felt they were a bit young to be there! Having said that many of our fellow travellers were gracious and kind and we enjoyed the people that we meet along the way.

 

In our opinion the entertainment was a little lacking as well. We tried attending a few shows and they were just OK. Luckily for us we were travelling with our family and many of our evenings were spent together, playing cards and enjoying each others company. As well, you go to Alaska to see the beauty of Alaska, so not much entertainment is needed. We are also very laid back and we enjoy quiet solitude, sitting quietly reading a good book. I myself finished three and started my forth book on board. We did really enjoy the pianist and violin duo and sought them out on multiple occasions.

 

The food was very good and we enjoyed almost all that we tried. A few favourites were the eggs Benedict, the bread pudding, the steaks, almost any soup to name a few. My son loved the taco bar at lunch and the burgers were pretty good as well. The service in the MDR was fantastic, from our dining stewards and wine steward we were treated royally. We went to the Pinnacle Grill a few times and were underwhelmed. The service wasn't the best and we truthfully thought it was better in the MDR so we cancelled our final dinner in favour of going back to there instead.

 

I can't say enough of how much we enjoyed the Vow Renewal, it really was special. If you are thinking about doing a Vow Renewal don't hesitate!

 

Holland American staff work very hard and it is evident all over the ship. The ship is very clean, someone is always cleaning wherever you go. Many staff go out of their way to make your journey special. One example was Nestor our wine steward was especially kind to my daughter who was 1 month shy of being 21 for this trip. Where we live the drinking age is 18, you can only imagine how annoying that would be when you are a young person. Having said that she was fine having soda instead of beer. Every night Nestor would bring my daughter "surprise" drink for her meal, he made a big deal of every non-alcoholic drink her brought her. It seems small but it really made her feel special and we all oohed and awed at the special concoction he would come up with.

 

We witnessed that kind of service and special attention everywhere we went and we had a wonderful vacation. It is a great joy to travel with family and we value the time we were able to spend with each other. Anyone who has young people appreciates getting to spend this kind of time with them as their lives are so busy with work and school.

 

Thank you for coming along on this trip report. It was fun for me to relive the moments. For those that are patiently awaiting their upcoming journey, it will be here before you know it.

 

Charlene

Link to comment
Share on other sites
beaniele

beaniele

Posted
Posted
Some final thoughts...

 

We really enjoyed this cruise. The itinerary was fantastic, we had been to Alaska before and this checked a lot off our list. The only problem was I don't think I can every go back to a 7 day cruise now that I have experienced a 14 day cruise!! As I mentioned previously we felt that we were a bit young to be on Holland America. Would I cruise with them again, yes if the itinerary was right, but I think we will wait a few years. It is not that we need a lot of bells and whistles, we enjoy a small ship and we appreciate the classy nature of Hal, however, we really felt that at times our little group stood out and many people commented that we were a bit young to be there. Even my parents felt they were a bit young to be there! Having said that many of our fellow travellers were gracious and kind and we enjoyed the people that we meet along the way.

 

In our opinion the entertainment was a little lacking as well. We tried attending a few shows and they were just OK. Luckily for us we were travelling with our family and many of our evenings were spent together, playing cards and enjoying each others company. As well, you go to Alaska to see the beauty of Alaska, so not much entertainment is needed. We are also very laid back and we enjoy quiet solitude, sitting quietly reading a good book. I myself finished three and started my forth book on board. We did really enjoy the pianist and violin duo and sought them out on multiple occasions.

 

The food was very good and we enjoyed almost all that we tried. A few favourites were the eggs Benedict, the bread pudding, the steaks, almost any soup to name a few. My son loved the taco bar at lunch and the burgers were pretty good as well. The service in the MDR was fantastic, from our dining stewards and wine steward we were treated royally. We went to the Pinnacle Grill a few times and were underwhelmed. The service wasn't the best and we truthfully thought it was better in the MDR so we cancelled our final dinner in favour of going back to there instead.

 

I can't say enough of how much we enjoyed the Vow Renewal, it really was special. If you are thinking about doing a Vow Renewal don't hesitate!

 

Holland American staff work very hard and it is evident all over the ship. The ship is very clean, someone is always cleaning wherever you go. Many staff go out of their way to make your journey special. One example was Nestor our wine steward was especially kind to my daughter who was 1 month shy of being 21 for this trip. Where we live the drinking age is 18, you can only imagine how annoying that would be when you are a young person. Having said that she was fine having soda instead of beer. Every night Nestor would bring my daughter "surprise" drink for her meal, he made a big deal of every non-alcoholic drink her brought her. It seems small but it really made her feel special and we all oohed and awed at the special concoction he would come up with.

 

We witnessed that kind of service and special attention everywhere we went and we had a wonderful vacation. It is a great joy to travel with family and we value the time we were able to spend with each other. Anyone who has young people appreciates getting to spend this kind of time with them as their lives are so busy with work and school.

 

Thank you for coming along on this trip report. It was fun for me to relive the moments. For those that are patiently awaiting their upcoming journey, it will be here before you know it.

 

Charlene

Thank you so much for your review. I love doing Alaska for 14 days. Not many cruise lines do that time anymore. We did Regent and Oceania for 14 days a few years ago. So when I saw this I was ready! Was worried about the ship, seeing reviews of tired etc. but it sounds lovely. Can not wait for Aug 14. Thank you and Congrats on your wedding vow renewal, sounded wonderful.

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
crazytomatoes

crazytomatoes

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Thank you so much for your review. I love doing Alaska for 14 days. Not many cruise lines do that time anymore. We did Regent and Oceania for 14 days a few years ago. So when I saw this I was ready! Was worried about the ship, seeing reviews of tired etc. but it sounds lovely. Can not wait for Aug 14. Thank you and Congrats on your wedding vow renewal, sounded wonderful.

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

 

 

We were very impressed at how clean everything was, the ship did not look old and tired at all in our opinion.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites
beaniele

beaniele

Posted
Posted
We were very impressed at how clean everything was, the ship did not look old and tired at all in our opinion.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Just so excited. We board on Aug 14th😀Thank you!

 

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 8 months later...

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...