Favorite Ship for Alaska?

[KatWag]

Hi Everyone,

If you were recommending an Alaskan trip to someone, is there a particular HAL ship which you would suggest? We were in Alaska a few years ago on Princess. I'd love to go back, but I feel that HAL really is able to offer more for that itinerary. Even when we were there, HAL definitely had priority docking, etc. They really seem to be the industry leader for Alaska. We haven't had the opportunity to try this line, but definitely want to do so.

Also, HAL offers such a wealth of land tours for Alaska. Looking through the brochure is both exciting and overwhelming. :)

Any which you've taken and absolutely loved?

Thanks in advance,

Kathy

[jhannah]

I see you've been on large ships and smaller ones. Which do you prefer? HAL sails both in Alaska. The Oosterdam is one of their larger, Vista class ships and will offer a bit more space and more variety of boutiques than the S class ships. I don't think you'll go wrong either way.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have been to Alaska several times - Princess, NCL, and HAL.

We loved our original cruise to Alaska - the original Star Princess - 14 days round trip out of San Francisco.

But our latest Alaskan cruises have been on the Ryndam.

We even did back-to-backs on her one year.

And we did not get priority anything anywhere. On the trip north we were anchored in Juneau and had to tender in but on the trip south we were able to dock.

[Mary Ellen]

The itinerary we chose for this years trip is the Volendam's. Other than the Oosterdam (a Vista class ship) all the HAL ships in Alaska are pretty similar.

[Esme]

Volendam

[bepsf]

I think that the most important consideration sailing HAL to Alaska is probably the timing and itinerary more than the ship itself unless there are particular amenities only available on the larger ships that you're looking for.

As much as I love Oosterdam, I was perfectly content sailing aboard Amsterdam.

Let us know what you decide!

[Himself]

I would recommend that you go to the HAL website and pick out a ship that goes into Glacier Bay National Park. It is breath-taking and to use a word overused by the teens: It is awesome!
Himself

[Sage]

Volendam. The ship and crew are incredible.

[KatWag]

Thanks everyone!

jhannah, I guess if I had to choose, I'd say I prefer smaller over the really large ships. Some of the new Princess ships would be too big for my comfort level. That's another that sounds appealing about HAL. I like what I've read about the sizes of their ships. You rarely hear someone complaining about getting lost for three days or feeling overwhelmed by the number of passengers. :)

Thanks again for taking the time to respond, everyone.

Kathy

[wblynch]

I don't want to upset anyone by recommending a non HAL ship but we took Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas to Alaska last August and it was great.

The ship is new and very quiet. It has electric propulsion and leaves almost no wake.

The absolute highlight was the cruise through the Misty Fjords.

Silently running through the Fjords with its tens of thousands of waterfalls, mists and rainbows was utterly magical.

If you're going to Alaska, get on a ship that explores the Misty Fjords outside Ketchican.

[bepsf]

I don't want to upset anyone by recommending a non HAL ship but we took Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas to Alaska last August and it was great.

The ship is new and very quiet. It has electric propulsion and leaves almost no wake.

The absolute highlight was the cruise through the Misty Fjords.

Silently running through the Fjords with its tens of thousands of waterfalls, mists and rainbows was utterly magical.

If you're going to Alaska, get on a ship that explores the Misty Fjords outside Ketchican.

Nobody's upset here - viewed the Travel Channel's show about Radiance in Alaska again last night and I completely understand how folks would enjoy the Radiance-Class ships.

Misty Fjords - That was so enjoyable aboard Amsterdam! Because of the massive windows wrapping around 3 sides of the main dining room we were able to see all the waterfalls and double-rainbows from our table while we enjoyed Indonesian Luncheon!

BTW - all HAL ships built after Rotterdam have the electric-drive azipods, and all Vista-Class ships have the gas-turbine generators for diesel-free running in places such as Alaska.