Table Of Content
All five dishes Rob and I shared were melt-in-mouth delicious and perfectly seasoned with heavenly sauces. Before we even set sail, HAL sent us lists of every excursion available at each port. I highly suggest reading through the activities and pre-booking them before you sail. The food service staff were cheerful and happy to serve you. The hospitality staff kept the activities light-hearted and fun. Dining here includes extra touches like a biscotti with your cappuccino and baskets of freshly baked bread on the table.
Our Options
Those who choose a set dining time are given tables on the third deck, while those with flexible times are seated on the second. We did enjoy the choices in the Lido – there were tacos, Asian food, and steak… lots and lots of steak choices everyday. A difference though – you have to wait in a queue for someone to serve you your dinner portions. You can’t just get the food on your own (except maybe for the dessert table).
Room Service
We enjoyed dining together and lounging in many of the ship’s seating areas. And our lazy mornings enjoying room service in bed is a memory that will last us a lifetime. If you’re traveling to Vancouver for your cruise, you’ll likely arrive a day early and want to stay overnight. We stayed at the Pan Pacific Vancouver hotel which is at Canada Place and connected to the cruise port. I’ve cruised enough times to know that I’m not a fan of group cruise tours with a bunch of other people. That’s why we decided to choose a jeep rental and go explore some of Juneau on our own via an automated guide.
Excursions
The ship has two swimming pools; the aft Sea View Pool, and Lido Pool with a retractable roof. Since the Alaska weather was much cooler in May, I didn’t use the aft pool. I enjoyed breakfast from the Lido each morning because it was fast and easy. Gluten-free bread, waffles, pasta, and sweet treats were readily available onboard. Cruising on a vessel with food allergies can be challenging, so my review focuses on the cruise line’s ability to handle my allergies and keep the meals tasty.
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Imagine you’re sitting on a balcony, sipping on a freshly made latte while sailing past an electric blue glacier. Suddenly, you spot an eagle resting on a piece of floating ice. Later that day, you see dolphins, whales, and sea otters jumping through the waves as the mist breaks to reveal snowy mountains and tree-coated islets. There doesn’t appear to be anything around for miles, and it feels like it’s all unfolding in perfect harmony. That all happened within one day on my weeklong Alaska cruise while my son napped on the other side of the door, and I will never forget those magical moments. There’s a huge library on the ship, and I think it’s called the New York Times lounge.
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Additionally, when you want to watch the sunset from your patio, you can have your dinners delivered from the main dining room. Check with the attendant on duty in The Retreat on the first day of your cruise to book. Spa facilities are located on the Lido deck of the ship. The fitness room has a nicely equipped weight room with treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, and other typical machines, along with free weights. Each evening, you receive a menu of the following day’s ship activities. A handful of pre-teens/teens hung out on the pool deck and were occasionally seen walking the hallways or playing ping-pong.
Juneau Helicopter and Glacier Trekking
What I mean is that you won’t find activities on the schedule at 2 a.m. There’s also no nightclub/DJ, although there is a dance floor at B.B King’s and entertainment that can span well past midnight. I’d say over 90% were American (whereas on our Norway trip, the majority were Dutch).
During your time in Glacier Bay, a park ranger will board your vessel and give commentary on the area, glaciers, and wildlife. Many of the tours are limited, so I highly recommend booking in advance before your cruise. Unlike Caribbean cruises, many cruisers want to book excursions. I noticed that many of the premium experiences like glacier float plane tours and dog-sled adventures were sold out by the time we got onboard. The small”ish” size of the Holland cruise ships can be a big benefit for Alaska cruises as it lets them dock in the ports when larger ships have to tender. Tendering can take up valuable time in port and is less convenient for taking second trips back out to explore.
So even though the outdoor lounge spaces are limited, with the cool weather of Alaska, the window indoor seating can be preferable. I’ll admit that the rooms felt a bit small, so carefully check the square footage when deciding what type of cabin to book. Finally, we toured several of the exhibits in the Museum of Pop Culture.
Though, our meals at the restaurant were certainly better than expected. The seafood tower offered some sweet crab meat and a light shrimp and lobster cocktail. The boiled lobster was flavorful; although, I could have sworn it was grilled.
But kids will also fall in love with the animals and the storytelling is gripping and keeps you engaged. One of the most popular spots is the Crows Nest lounge on one of the top decks (deck 12), which features cozy seating along with a bar and coffee shop. Do you have a Holland America Line Alaska cruise review to share? Drop us an anchor below to share what you love about this cruise line.
You can use the computers to read New York Times articles (Peter did, almost daily) or you can also check the ship’s activities in advance. You can borrow a book and take it to your stateroom or you can read in the lounge. Also, a good friend of mine lives in Juneau, so we definitely had options and activities. Also saw a humpback whale near the ship, so that was a plus. Ketchikan was where we did the Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s tour with crew from the Deadliest Catch reality show. It was the highlight of our trip and this gets a 10 out of 10.
It wasn’t anything unique versus other ziplining tours, but always nice to be in the green forests of nature. Our guides were fun and encouraged some adventurous zip techniques, like hanging upside down, which I haven’t seen encouraged in the past. We still had enough time to do a little shopping in Juneau and eat at the Alaskan Brewing Co before we had to be back on the ship.
Know that availability is limited, so booking early is recommended if it’s something you want. You’ll find a variety of stations including a taco corner, salad bar, meat options, bakery, and desserts including ice cream. Seating can get crowded during peak mealtimes however a bit of patience had us always able to find a table, and many times it was next to a window.
It helps you find what’s happening each day as well as the hours for each of the restaurants. Plus, you can order food and some of the restaurants in advance via the app. Our family is used to big ship cruising, so the Koningsdam felt a bit smaller than some of our recent cruise ship experiences. However, the Koningsdam is still the 3rd largest Holland cruise ship and is essentially very close in size to the largest, the Rotterdam. We recently had the opportunity to take a 7-day Alaskan Inside Passage Cruise in August aboard the Holland America Koningsdam ship. With my teen onboard, we reconnected with each other and with the beautiful nature that makes Alaska a coveted tourist destination.
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