8/24-8/31 Volendam Northbound Alaska Cruise Report

[KSSTravel]

Warning! Very long report..

 

Just got back from an 8/24-8/31 northbound cruise on the Volendam. Thanks everyone for all of your generous help and guidance. - This was our first cruise, and we had a wonderful time.

 

Bacground: We have a group of 4 - my sister, my parents, and myself. We are all first time cruisers, age ranged from low thirties to high sixties.

 

The Volendam: My first impression of Volendam as we walked into our cabin - I felt like walking into a hotel in the 80's, and a little "inferior". Soon that feeling was washed away. Our cabin was pretty good size with a lot of storage and the bed extremely comfy. The public areas were elegant and immaculously kept. The food was GREAT.

 

Our cabin steward was personable, polite and hardworking - our cabins were always spotless, and we got lovely towel animal every day ;)

Service in the Dining Room was good too. I found that the Indonesian crews work very hard, they work 10 months without any holiday or break in between and then off from work for two months. Our cabin steward said that he works even when he is sick (as long as he is allowed to), because otherwise his co-worker will have to pick up his workload. We had open seating, sometimes we made reservation and at other time we simply walked in but never had to wait for the table. This worked well for us as we didn't get confined with a fixed meal time.

 

One thing I particularly like about Volendam is that the ship has a lot of public areas both outside and inside the ship (with fall to ceiling windows) so one can easily find a spot to enjoy the scenery without the obligation to buy a drink. I spotted some whales while exercising in the gym, having lunch in the dining room, and during breakfast in Lido! Eveyone from my group really like the Volendam, I would have given it a rating of 9 out of 9 should we have docked on time in Juneau.

 

Some posters got discouraged with the older crowd on HAL ships, I found my fellow cruisers onboard quite friendly. The atmosphere was pleasant everywhere - People were clapping along with the shows, masterchef dinner, and sing along at the bar. One night I saw some couples dancing at the crownest - how romantic and lovely! This reminded me the phrase "happily ever after".

 

Food: I like the dining room better than the Lido Restaurant (buffet), food was good too at Lido, but we felt more relaxed at the dinner room and we were pampered with good service. We had lunch and dinner there most of the time - both lunch and dinner were 4 course format, although sometimes we made it 5 course when we were desperate to try both the appertizer and soup and our requests were always happily fulfilled :p. The cold soups were not to be missed. While some posters mentioned that the Lido served the same menu and desserts, I found that the food in the dining room are more inviting and desserts taste better.

 

There was always a line at the Lido. Eventhough we only needed items from 1 station we had to wait in the long queue to get it. I wish there were separate queue for each station. However for breakfast we still ate at the Lido. they have fresh squeezed orange juice there, which was not available in the dining room and the food was good variety :P I also like the Mueslix there. There was a pizza and taco bar in the Terrace Grill which I didn't have a chance to try. They looked good though. We got room service for lunch one day, it got delivered in 30 minutes and the food was just as good!

 

Pinnacle Grill: We had dinner at Pinnacle Grill one night, IMHO food was comparable to the dining room or maybe tidbit better, the chocolate Volcano cake is to die for! If I ever go to Pinnacle Grill again, it would be for the Volcano cake :P

 

On board activities: There were show and movie every night; cooking, napkin folding demo and naturalist talks during the day; and other paid activities like beer/wine tasting, hands on cooking and fitness classes. While I did go to the cooking demo, a couple shows and a movie during the early part of the cruise, I found myself spending most of my free time out at the deck taking pictures and enjoying the majestic scenery the rest of the cruise. I also used the gym a couple of times and the hot tub once, they were both good and not crowded. Probably due to the bonine medication, I felt more tired than usual during the cruise so I wasn't as energetic as I thought. But I don't think I'll need more activities anyway, to me I would rather spend time enjoying the scenery than other activities.

 

Shore excursions: I planned all the excursions myself rather than going through the cruise line. Thanks to everyone's help on this board!

I noticed that there was always a line at the excursion desk and only a couple of associates worked there.

 

 

Weather: As this had been the coldest and rainiest summer in Alaska since 1970, I went prepared for the worst. The weather turned out to be a lot nicer than I thought.

 

While it did pour on the day we embarked the ship and on the 1.5 days while we were in Seward, it was nice and sunny while we were in Juneau and also the two scenic cruising days in Glacier Bay and College Fjord. We got a some drizzle in Ketchikan but was still able to do the sightseeing with our rain coat on, and in Skagway it was really windy but the weather got somewhat nicer when we got to Yukon. All in all I am happy with the weather. The weather wasn't as cold as I thought, probably because we were prepared and dressed properly - thanks to your advice.

 

Motion Sickness: Our cabins were at the forward starboard side. I am prone to motion sickness, so took 1 bonine tablet everyday since the night before we boarded the ship. While the bonine made me more tiredm than usual, I felt completely okay through out the cruise - the ship did get a little wavy at times. There was one evening toward the end of the cruise I forgot to take the the bonine medication, I felt okay all next day until at dinner time I noticed that the ship got a little more wavy and some quesiness almost set in. I quickly took the bonine tablet and was okay then. I think I wouldn't have survived the trip without the bonine medication ;)

 

Fri, Aug 22 - Sat, Aug 23 Precruise - Vancouver

 

 

Fri, Aug 22 - Flight Departure at 8.10pm Ohare to Vancouver/ Arrived at 11pm+

 

We stayed at Holiday Inn Express Vancouver Airport. I selected this hotel due our late arrival time, the hotel's location, and the complimentary 24 hours transportation from the Airport (in case we had flight or custom delay and the car rental has closed). If you arrive after hours, call a cab at the airport, keep the receipt and you will be reimbursed for the costs. The hotel was good - clean, comfy beds, and came with hot buffet breakfast. Complimentary secured parking was available but spaces were limited. Both nights we returned to the hotel past midnight and had to park at the space along the wall.

 

Thanks to info provided by VBMom87, we switched our car rental from Avis to Alamo since Alamo has a location at the Cruise Terminal (the Pan Pacific Hotel at Canadian Place) where we could drop off the car there without additional charge. While Avis does provide shuttle service from its downtown location to the cruise terminal, there is only one shuttle and it was on a first-come-first-serve basis so one might have to wait or walk the 5 blocks. We booked a full size car and got a Chrysler 300, the trunk was just big enough to fit in our 3 medium size luggages and one duffle bag, not without proper organization.

 

Sat, Aug 23 Precruise - Vancouver Sightseeing

 

Weather: Started out cloudy and cleared in to a nice and sunny day after 11am.

 

We were going to drive to Stanley Park but got lost and ended up in Granville Island. So, we spent the morning in Granville Island instead, took the 40 minutes cruise False Creek Ferry which was okay. Then we headed over to Chinatown, spent a couple hours strolling the bustling area and then had lunch at a restaurant there. The food was good but not cheap compared to Chinatown in Chicago..

 

At about 3pm we headed to Capilano Suspension Bridge (3735 Capilano Rd (604) 985-7474 / 1-877-985-7474 $28.95) The park was quite crowded the parking lot was full. We had to park at offstreet about two blocks away at the residential area. This was the highlight of our Vancouver trip. The suspension bridge was fun, the park was huge and aside from the main one there were a few smaller ones in the park!

 

At 7.30pm we headed to Grouse Mountain for the sunset, it was a clear day and the view from up atop was good but not much to do there. It got chilly when we got to the top. (Admission: $34.95. 604.980.9311. Directions: Follow Georgia Street through Stanley Park and across the Lion's Gate Bridge. Take the North Vancouver exit to Marine Drive, then left up Capilano Road for 1 mile to Capilano Bridge or 3.1 miles to Grouse Mtn.)

 

Overall we found it expensive in Vancouver due to the decline in US currency. We also found that liquor (including beer) were not sold in grocery store or gas station. They were only available at liquor store!

 

Sun, Aug 24 Cruise check in at Vancouver Ship departure at 5:00 pm

 

Weather: Rainy all day.

 

Our original plan was to visit Stanley Park and the downtown area in the morning before checking in the cruise. Couldn't do much due to the rain.

 

Rental Car Return was easy - we dropped off our parents and all the luggages at the cruise terminal at Canadian Place, return the rental car at the rental car level, then met our parents at the cruise terminal and had the luggage checked-in.

 

Our cabins were ready as soon as we onboard the ship. We booked 2 category G guaranteed cabins and at about 3 weeks prior to the cruise we got complimentary upgrade to category E. This as a $650pp value, what a treat! We then head to the Lido for Lunch Buffet, which was opened for an extended tim till 4pm on embarkation day. With the pouring rain the sail away was nothing special, no waving Bon Voyage at the deck :(

 

Mon, 8/25 First day at sea-some rain. Formal Night.

 

I was quite tired on our first sea day and took a nap after lunch (probably due to the Bonine - I found myself a little more tired than usual through out the cruise), I didn't pay attention to the detailed cruise route. I believe I have missed the most scenic part of inside passage which the ship passed by early in the morning, oh well. We did passed by some very scenic areas and then some waterfalls in the late afternoon before entering Grenville Channel . We all dressed up for the formal night, not too seriously though. We noticed that quite many people just had business casuals. The food served during the formal night were as good as the other nights.

 

Tue, 8/26-Ketchikan

 

Weather: Drizzle upon entering port. Rain stopped at 9:20. At about 12:40, it became cold and showery, temp felt about the high 40's. But we could still walk around.

 

We decided to take the blue line bus out to see the Totem Bight Park and then the walking tour of Creek Street and the City. When we got to Totem Bight Park, we tooked the wrong trail and ended up in Potlatch Park (I saw the Grayline bus and a few tour groups there, so I suspect this is a commercially owned park specifically for tour groups). But anyway we got a warm welcome by the crafter there, she even asked that we take a walk around the park and visit the clanhouse. The park setting was quite pretty, we like that more than the Totem Bight Park.

 

The walking tour route suggested by Budget Queen (Thank you!) was better than the one I found in the Frommers.com, it was much easier to take the funicular up and walk down the married man trail than the other way round. Ketchikan has the most souveniur shops and at the best price. However since I had a short port time, I only spent a quick few minutes to pick out a few things. I did get an ulu knife set there at almost half the price I saw in Juneau ;D

 

Below is the info I gathered from this forum which I found very helpful:

 

Blue Line Bus To Totem Bight Statepark: Tel# 907-225-8726 / 907-247-5541 runs hourly 7:45, 8:45, 9:45, 10:45 etc / Return 9:15, 10:15,11:15, 12:15 etc. Walk to the Tunnel on Front St (about 5 minute walk-you could see the tunnel from the ship dock) or from the eagle statue (heading north) and caught the Blue Line Bus Northbound. This route goes to Walmart too. It took about 30 minutes to get to Totem Bight Park 907-247-8574, the bus stop is right next to the park office and there are other tourists get off here so you won't miss it. Or you can ask the bus driver to let you know when to get off, our bus driver was very helpful. The ride is $1 each way, it requires exact change so be sure to have two $1 bills with you to take the ride roundtrip. On our way back, we asked the bus driver to let us off at the Federal Building bus stop, across from the Fox Croft funicular and right by Creek Street, which saved us some walking.

 

Walking Tour: Pick up walking tour map at visitor center 907-225-6166 Located at Cruise Dock Berth 2 & 3 Open at 6am. Take the Fox Lodge funicular up, go out the back, nice totems and return via the Married Man's Trail. Take it to the end, turn right on Park, walk to the salmon ladder, go to the Hatchery/Totem Heritage Museum etc. Continue through the city park and return via Deermont. Turn right and a couple blocks, you are at the other end of Creek and can do Dolly's House tour (907/225-6329).

 

Wed, 8/27-Juneau

 

Weather: The day in Juneau started out cloudy and chilly but cleared into a sunny

and pleasant day in the afternoon.

 

My priority was the Adventure Bound Tracy Arm cruise (1-907-463-2509 / 800-228-3875 adventureboundalaska.com). However, the Volendam docked at 7:45am and when I got to the Adventure Bound's dock at 7:50am the boat had already left. We had to execute our plan B, since M&M Tours had attempted to help us out on booking the Adventure Bound cruise before, we decided to book the Helicopter Tours through them. Mariann at M&M Tours (907-523-1999) was able to put us on a 10am flightseeing with Coastal Helicopter.

 

At 9:20am the Coastal Helicopter rep shown up and informed us that our tour was cancelled due to the weather. We rebooked a 4pm tour since the forecast said that the weather would clear up and we didn't want to waste our day waiting/keep getting cancellations. We rented a car with Rent-a-Wreck, they picked us up by the Mt Robert Tram. The driver was very nice, he shown us the major whereabouts along the way. Connie at the office was very helpful too. Aside from giving us the map she also recommended us the Sandbar by her office for some very tasty Halibut Basket.

 

We then headed out to Mendenhall Glacier. As soon as we arrived, we saw a brown bear walking by in front of us! The ranger was there "directing traffic". I thought it was cloudy when we were at the Mendenhall Glacier but my pictures turn out great! We followed some people to the Glacier Loop trails, we hiked over 1 hour and still didn't make it to the top so we decided to turn back and we sure glad we did because we didnt have much time left.

 

We went to Sandbar for the Halibut Basket - yummy! Then we made a quick stop at the scenic Shrine of St Therese before heading to the airport for the helicopter flightseeing. This was my first helicopter ride, it's terrific compared to the fixed wing plane. I was assigned the front window seat, the view was spectacular the entire trip! The experience of walking on a glacier atop the mountain range was simply owesome, although I wished there were more snow on the mountains.

 

 

After the helicopter ride we drove around trying to find the scenic spot to view Mendenhall with fireweeds in the foreground. We drove along Montana Creek road and got to the Mendenhall Lake and it was quite scenic there. Then on our way back, we found the scenic spot with fireweed foreground - it was at the scenic look out area on the Egan Expressway between the two Mendenhall Loops Road junctions.

 

We then drove across the Douglas Bridge to the Douglas Island. From there we could see the town of Juneau and the Volendam docking there. With a little bit of time left we took a short drive in slopy the downtown of juneau.

 

After returning the car at 7:30pm by parking it in the parking lot in the Juneau Library building, we took the Mt Roberts tram. The timing was perfect and the sunset view was spectacular!! We were back at the ship at 8:50pm, just in time to head over to the dining room for yet another relaxing dinner with great food :P

 

MichellP and VBMom, thanks again for posting the Volendam's delay in this forum, while I did miss the Tracy Arm cruise, at least I was prepared and had plan B in hand.

 

 

Thu, 8/28-Skagway

 

Weather: no rain, overcast. Very windy. In low 50's.

 

 

Since we already took the helicopter flightseeing in Juneau, our plan today was to do the Yukon Tour with Dyea Dave (907-209-5031) either Rail/Van or Van roundtrip, depending on the weather.

 

We met up with Dyea Dave at 7:45am. Since the cloud was low, we decided not to take the 8am train and hoping that the weather will clear up later. Dave took us to the Visitor Center to watch the interesting National Park Service video about the gold rush. Then he got us the tickets for the complimentary walking tour at 9am. The ranger was excellent in telling the story of the gold rush and showing us around. After the tour, we went back to the ship and found that the Lido wasn't open so we ordered some quick bites through room service.

 

We met Dave again at 11:40am. Unfortunately the weather wasn't much better, we decided not to take the train. Dave was the most honest salesman I have ever met, he even warned us that we might not have a great trip going by van either. We decided to go anyway. He started the tour by making a stop by his house and served us some home grown berries, yummy! Then we headed off to Yukon, he made numerous stops and served as our camera man. The scenery was great all along the way!

 

In Carcross we stopped at the Post Office for a souveniur stamp in our passport, and said Hi to his neighbor who had a summer home there. Emerald Lake was our destination and it was spectacular with the yellow/green fall color. On our way back we got a stamp on our passport as we crossed the border. What a memorable personalized trip! At $50 per person this tour is the best value. Dave truly priortized based on our interest. I would not hesitate recommend Dyea Dave to anyone.

 

Fri, 8/29-Scenic Cruising Glacier Bay. Formal Night.

 

Weather: Started out cloudy and chilly, cleared into a georgeous day at Glacier Bay!

 

 

This and the College Fjord were the highlight of our trip! The scenery was breathtaking. I was out on the entire time except during lunch. I got so tied up with the scenery that I forgot about the hot pea soup. I heard it was excellent :P I asked for it during lunch but they didn't have them anymore. Anyway, we got quite close to the glacier, I heard we were only 1/4 mile away.

 

Sat, 8/30-Scenic Cruising College Fjord

 

Weather: Similar to Glacier Bay, it turned out to be a nice day at the glacier.

 

Tonite we had the Masterchef dinner, I was glad we picked the 5:30pm seating. As soon as the dinner was over, we made a quick stop in our cabin to put on our gear and headed out to the deck for glacier viewing. Terrific glacier scenery, so close that we felt we could reach out for it! Most people I talked to while on the ship were surprised by the beauty of College Fjord - probably because the ship got closer to the glacier than in Glacier Bay. Some even said that College Fjord was better than Glacier Bay.

 

Sun, 8/31- Mon, 9/1 Post Cruise - Seward and Anchorage

 

Weather: Started out cloudy then nonstop rain continue to the next day. Pouring really bad at Portage Glacier. Partly cloudy no rain in Anchorage.

 

This was the "lowlight" of our trip - the weather wasn't cooperating..

The ship arrived in Seward at 6am. We opted the expedited disembarkation and left the ship at 8am. Our plan was to to do either the Norwesthern Fjord or the 6 hours Kenai Fjord Cruise today. Unfortunately the sea was high and the storm was coming in, all boat tours to Kenai Fjord were cancelled for the next 3 days. Left luggage at Hertz and took the shuttle to Sealife Center, an interesting aquarium. We then did the Exit Glacier hike with the ranger at 2pm (it was indeed rain or shine). The Exit Glacier Guides shuttle service was not available that day, so our only option was taxi. (other than renting the car for an extra day at very expensive rate). We hired PJ's taxi to take us to the glacier. It was a standard price $60 roundtrip for up to 7 people. The ranger gave some interesting educational talk about the changes in the area along the way. Exit Glacier wasn't as impressive as I thought, may be because of the best glacier scenery we had 2 days ago and it was rainy with plain white sky in Seward. The next day we had breakfast at the Marina Restaurant then did the scenic drive to Anchorage. It was pouring very bad when we arrived at Portage Glacier so we didn't see much there, the visitor center was worth a stop though.

 

Conclusion: We enjoyed our first cruise and the glacier scenery in Alaska very much. To us, the cruise was a good value. I highly recommend the helicopter flightseeing with glacier landing. I enjoyed the scenery along the cruise very much, it was spectacular at Glacier Bay and College Fjord. For Skagway, Emerald Lake is not to be missed! Alaska's weather is unpredictable, while we don't have perfect weather everyday, we feel lucky that we had great weather on the scenic cruising days and in Juneau. Next time I go to Alaska, I will go during late May for different scenery and statistically drier weather. Hopefullly I will be able to do the Tracy Arm cruise then ;)

[mom2agr8boy]

Thanks for posting. I can't wait for my trip.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for taking the time to write your review.

 

Enjoyed reading it.

[vbmom87]

What a wonderful review. I was so happy to hear that you had a wonderful cruise on the Volendam. It sounds like you made the most of your trip inspite of a few glitches. Your review brought back memories of our wonderful trip on the Volendam in June.

[NancyIL]

Thank you for your review! It's too bad you missed the Tracy Arm excursion. Did the boat leave earlier than you expected? It's great that you thought about a Plan B and were able to do the helicopter trip.

[OJ46]

What a very well done and easy to read review with very valuable information. You really did your research and sounds like you were rewarded with a wonderful trip. Thank you for taking the time to share your vacation with us.

[CC Help Michell]

Like vbmom I also had fun reliving our trip on the Volendam through your review! Sorry about Adventure Bound, but glad you had a "plan B" you were able to enjoy. Thanks for taking the time to post your review. :)