Just Back: Alaska on Zaandam
 

Just returned from a fantastic cruise on the MS Zaandam (Holland America) of Alaska: The inside passage and Glacier Bay.

It was my first cruise and I have to say it was fantastic. The service, food, accommodation, scenery were all amazing. I highly recommend this cruise. Any questions just ask.

I agree, HAL is super- We're going on our 5/6 back to back on the Maasdam., Sept. 18 to Oct. 16, will post a review when we return.

I was reading that HAL has a new embarkation procedure in place- so you are not sitting in a 'warehouse' to board, how did that work for you.?.

After we checked in at Canada Place, we went through customs and were able to go straight onto the ship where we were shown immediately to our cabin. I don't know how this differs from any other procedure. The whole process was very organized and very prompt.

I have no prior experience with cruising but I will definitely do it again some day. I thought HAL was outstanding!

Hey Island Girl----thx for your post. How was the weather? And what did you pack re: clothing? I don't feel like packing loads of sweaters, jeans and fleece tops, but it sounds like that's what's needed on these Alaskan cruises. Please advise. Thanks.

Hi there: The weather was varied. It got quite chilly the days we were at sea. In Alaska, it was cloudy (we didn't get too much rain luckily) Even in the cities (Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan) you needed long sleeves at times. (It was between 50 and 50 degrees most of the time). The wind makes it feel colder. I would suggest packing some t-shirts, and then one or two long sleeve shirts and then a good wind/rain jacket. I know it's a pain having to pack all those clothes but I needed them! The best for me is those long-sleeved fleece shirts that you can wear over a t-shirt.

Hi, very nice report. At what time do they start boarding, prior to departure? Since scheduled arrival time is 8AM, at what time did you actually disembark?

Hi there: I saw people boarding at 2:00, we boarded at about 3.

We disembarked at about 8:30 a.m. We were not the first, but were called soon after the first passengers to disembark.

Both embarking and disembarking went very smoothly!

IslandGrl,
Did you do any shore excursions? If so, what and how were they. Also, what type of cabin did you have? How formal are the formal nights? Early or late seating? Any recommendations you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

WE took Amsterdam to Alaska this summer from Seattle. Okay, but third day our the Norwalk virus came on, so they closed the kids's club, the hot tub, the library, etc., and that was a damper. Disembarking was a total drag. Took 1 1/2 hours to get thru immigration and customs. left with a bad taste in my mouth. Surely they can do better.

We cruised for the firt time on Zandaam last week. We had a fabulous experience (in spite of rain most days). They had Norwalk the week before but none this week. Pools etc. were shut the first few days. HAL seems to do everything right!! Great experience. Embarking and disembarking were well handled. The stops certainly are "tourist oriented" given the huge ship volume in these ports. Not much real Alaska in any of them.

Are the crowd at Zaandam much older? We are looking into the same crusie in May/04. What will u say is the average age?

I would say that any cruise in May, early June, late August and Sept. would be light on kids. School is still in session.

Wherever you choose to go. We went in mid-Sept. to AK and only saw pre-schoolers.

Thank you for the reply. You are absolutely correct, didn't think about it. I have a 3 years old to take along the cruise.
One question, which part of the ship will anyone recommend to stay. I heard higher the better, middle section and even left side of the ship.

If going one way- starboard if northbound, port if south. BUT do plan on being out on the front decks for superior views. :) As for kids- all lines have significantly less than what sails the Caribbean. But all have kids programs that are good. Also look into Babysitting options. A 3 year old is usually not tolerant of extended dining etc..

Thank you to everybody's input. We are now finalizing on two options, Zaandam of HCL and Serenada of Sea of RCCL. What is better for dinner time option? We are gearing towards 8PM, any suggestion? We were at Alaska a couple years ago by car and see most of the areas we can drive thru, it was spectualar.

Interesting enough, my 3 yrs old can sit thru a 2-hr dinner w/o problem and if the quality is high, he can stay longer.

Look at time in port, glacier, route. There is more to Alaska sailing than the ship. :)