Volendam Review - Sept 6-13 Inside Passage

[ghisl]

This was our 5th cruise but our first with Holland America. We've sailed with Carnival, Royal Carribbean and Princess before. We took my 73 year old parents with us and this was their very first cruise.

 

Wednesday, Sept 6th - Embarkation

 

We drove to Vancouver and parked at Cruise Park. It was efficient and easy. They shuttled us right to the door at Canada Place and took care of our luggage. One week's parking cost us about $100. It was about 1 PM and probably right in the middle of the busy time because I did find it hectic and the line ups a little long. My parents were pretty tired from our 5 hour drive at that point and were very anxious to get on that ship. We finally did and after a light lunch at the Lido, we explored the ship a bit and found our cabin. For this cruise, we decided to save some money and book an inside cabin. In the past, we've stayed in outside rooms and balcony suites so we were a little worried about our decision but in the end, I'm glad we did. We were on deck 3 (the Lower Promenade Deck) and only a few feet away from stepping out onto the deck so it was great. Funny how for the first few days, I kept wanting to open the curtains thinking there was a window there. We really didn't spend a lot of time in our cabin and the best viewing is from the outside decks so I felt it was a wise choice. The mandatory drill went very well and I must say that this is the most professional and well run drill I've ever been through. We sailed away shortly after under a beautiful sunny sky in Vancouver. Sailing under Lion's Gate Bridge was pretty neat.

 

Thursday

 

We are at sea and we're rocking! My father unfortunately is quite ill and I'm very worried that this is not a good start to our week. I can tell that many other people on the ship are ill as well. This being our 5th cruise, I've only ever encountered rough seas once before (off the coast of Mexico) so I'm quite surprised ... but thankfully, around noon for some reason everything calmed down, Dad is feeling much better and I am very relieved. He was never ill again - he said he just needed to find his sea legs! It is a dreary dull day at sea unfortunately so we find lots to do on the ship. The naturalist on board is a very good speaker and we enjoy her lecture. The captain's party is held tonight and we dine on Alaskan King Crab Legs. Yum!

 

Friday

 

We sail through Tracey Arm and I am in awe of its rugged beauty. They open up the bow of the ship for us for the viewing and serve hot chocolate and liqueurs. It was spectacular. We arrive in Juneau and disembark the ship. We quickly find a tour operator that will take us on a city tour of Juneau, drop us off at the Mendelhall Glacier for an hour and also make another stop at this historical wooden chapel for $15/person. The bus was old and a little smelly but our driver was hilarious making a lot of jokes and keeping us in stitches all the way. Not bad for a 2.5 hour tour. After the tour, Mom and I do a little souvenir shopping and I wish we had done all our shopping here because the next two ports were disappointing. A lot of things are half price being the end of the season.

 

Saturday

 

We arrive in Skagway and quickly disembark because we have reservations for the White Pass Rail Tour. We didn't book this through the ship - saved a few bucks that way. It's a quick 10 minute walk to the depot and we board a train car along with about 15 other people. There was plenty of room for everyone to sit on the left hand side. My father really enjoyed this tour because he's such a history buff but for me (and hubby), I'm not sure it was worth it. It's not that I didn't enjoy it - I just think I would have enjoyed a different tour much better. Regardless, I'm glad I did it but I wouldn't do it again. After the train tour, I walked up and down the Skagway main street. It was very quiet and some stores weren't even open for business. Maybe because we were the only ship in port? I was hoping to see a lot more of the fun historical stuff that I had read about with people in costumes...etc. but I guess we came at the wrong time. The shopping was quite non existant as well. Some shelves were completely bare. I liked Skagway though and someday would love to return when it's a little more exciting.

 

Sunday

 

Glacier Bay National Park. Wow! That's all I can say. Again, we were on the ship's bow for the viewing where they served pea soup and wine and cheese. The pea soup was free - not the wine and cheese. We sailed into John Hopkin's Inlet and viewed incredible calving of its glacier. It was mesmerizing. Definitely one of the highlights of this cruise.

 

Monday

 

Arrived in Ketchikan in the pouring rain which I guess is normal. Honestly, didn't care much for Ketchikan. The many jewelry shops and fur stores were a bit much (how many of those do you really need?). Do that many cruisers buy fur coats and jewelry? The prices here were still at regular price even for the tackiest souvenirs. Thankfully, I prebooked a floatplane tour with Island Wings. Dad and I flew to Misty Fjords and it was magnificent. Highly recommend this tour - expensive yes, but after saving some money elsewhere, I really didn't mind spending the money on such a wonderful excursion. Highlight #2 of this cruise for sure.

 

Tuesday

 

Wonderful day at sea with warm sunny skies (yes!) sailing along BC's beautiful coast and Vancouver Island. Spent most of our time outdoors enjoying the weather and scenery. Stretched out on a deck chair and did my favourite cruise activity - napping to the sounds of the water and ship!

 

Wednesday

 

Disembarkation. This was definitely the most efficent and quickest disembarkation we've ever encountered. Within an hour of getting off the ship, we were on the Trans Canada Highway and leaving Vancouver.

 

General comments about the Volendam and Holland America - Loved the ship size and will probably never cruise on a mega ship again after this experience. It just made things so much easier. The ship itself is as nice as other ships we've sailed on (like Princess and RCCL). What I loved were the extra touches such as plaid wool blankets on decks to keep us warm, the pea soup on deck, the staff being so caring and helpful. I was stunned on my first day when they insisted on carrying my food tray to my table. It's those little extra things that make the trip so much better. The cabin itself was nothing special but again it was the extras that made it great - the really comfortable beds, the luxurious linens, the thick towels, flat screen TV, fruit basket...etc. I would sail HAL again without a doubt.

 

General comments about an Alaskan cruise - the big difference between this cruise and all the other cruises we've ever done is that your days at sea are the highlights (Tracey Arm and Glacier Bay). The ports were nice but you really need to get out of town (except for Skagway which I found charming) to experience Alaska. I live within an hour of the Rockies so I was a little worried about not really enjoying an Alaskan cruise but I must say that I truly did enjoy it tremendously and would do it again in a heartbeat. I welcome any questions and comments.

[NancyIL]

Thanks for your review, and welcome back! The Volendam has a great itinerary in 2006. I always like reading rave reviews about Island Wings, because that will be our splurge next June in Ketchikan.

[Ifloat]

Nice review! I agree, the scenery on the sea days was probably what I will treasure the most from our cruise.

 

I wonder if we were on the same Island Wings excursion as you. I was a five foot tall lady stuffed into the back seat.

[ghisl]

Oh hi! Yup - all three ladies were stuffed in the back with men up front. Wonder why?

 

Would love to hear about your cruise too. Were you also on the Volendam?

[Ferry Watcher]

I believe that the flight crew needs to distribute the weight load equally throughout the plane.

 

The smaller passengers would be in the rear.

[Ifloat]

I loved my seat in the back because I could take photos out either side window. The seat was only a few inches off the floor though, and I kind of had to sit cross legged, so it was a little awkward and I kept snagging my feet accidentally in the seat belts of the ladies in front of me. Sorry about that.

 

That flight with Island Wings was the best time I've had in years. I love the photos my husband and I snapped through the windows. I felt very confident in our pilot's abilities, and I appreciated her informative comments. Plus she let me pet her dog afterwards.:p

 

We were on the Spirit, so we played tag with the Volendam all week long. I did a review here in the Alaska topic.

 

Glad you had such a wonderful time. It was certainly a trip to remember.