I've Switch From Veendam 10-11 Bermuda, To 9-11 Westerdam, Alaska!!!

[Big Jay]

It's Official!! I've Switched My 10-11 Veendam Bermuda To, 9-11 Westerdam ALASKA!!!!:D

This Is My First Time Sailing HAL!!!

I'm Cruising Solo!!!!

The Westerdam Seems Like A Great Ship, To Try HAL!!!

I'm So Exicited!! Can't Wait To Get To Alaska!!! (Hubbard Glaicer)

Anyone Else Sailed The Westerdam?? Is It A Nice Ship?? Did You Ever Cruised To Alaska In September??? Your Thoughts On Hubbard Glaicer!!!

Your Replies, Will Be Greatly Appreciated!!!!!:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have sailed quite a few times on the Westerdam -- 2 repositioning cruises -- a few Caribbean cruises -- 1 Alaskan cruise. She is a lovely ship.

Hubbard Glacier we do like it better than Glacier Bay as the ice is bluer and we have seen more calving there.

We did cruise once the first part of September in Alaska -- we had cool temperatures and lots of rain.

[luvcruisn']

We cruised mid-August on the Zuiderdam, a sister ship to the Westerdam. We also had cool temperatures and rain. We still had a great cruise, though. Our family picked out a spot mid-ship near the Lido pool, which was used as our lunch and scenery viewing place. Most of the time the magrodome over the pool area was closed during the cruise.

[vbmom87]

Have you seen this "Live from the Westerdam" thread?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1417246

[Big Jay]

Have you seen this "Live from the Westerdam" thread? No I Haven't!!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1417246

Thanks So Much For The Link!!!

Now I'm Super Excited!!!!:eek:

[gr8gal5]

I just got off the Westerdam this morning. You will have a great time on your cruise. The ship is nice and the crew is awesome! I also was cruising solo and had a great time!

[vbmom87]

Thanks So Much For The Link!!!

Now I'm Super Excited!!!!:eek:


I thought you might enjoy it. ;)

[Big Jay]

We have sailed quite a few times on the Westerdam -- 2 repositioning cruises -- a few Caribbean cruises -- 1 Alaskan cruise. She is a lovely ship.

Hubbard Glacier we do like it better than Glacier Bay as the ice is bluer and we have seen more calving there.

We did cruise once the first part of September in Alaska -- we had cool temperatures and lots of rain.
Thanks!!! I'm Looking Forward to Seeing Hubbard Glaicer!!!!
What Are The Best Places On Ship For Viewing The Glaicer??

[M and E]

My husband and I are going on Westerdam from Seattle to Alaska in Aug. Trying to figue out what excursions to take. Please help :confused:

[vbmom87]

My husband and I are going on Westerdam from Seattle to Alaska in Aug. Trying to figue out what excursions to take. Please help :confused:

Welcome to CC. Yes, planning a cruise to Alaska can be daunting. I suggest you take a look at the Alaska forum for ideas on excursions. First place to start, though, is to look at the excursion list your ship will be offering. Decide what appeals to you and then ask questions.

Once on the Alaska forum, read the titles of the topics for the first few pages. You will likely find out alot of what you want there. If not, do a search. Go to the "search forum" on the right side of the page to the right of the solid blue line that says: "Cruise Forum : Alaska." I like to do Advanced Searches. So click on advanced search. Then type in the port name you are interested. Next, click "titles only". Doing this, you should find lots of threads on excursions and ideas of what to do in the ports your ship is visiting. Good luck!! Here is the link to the Alaska forum if you have not been able to locate it yet:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

[Sunflower&Scientist]

We've been back from the Westerdam a week. You'll love Hubbard. There's really no best place to see it as they do a great job of turning the ship so everyone can see it no matter where they are. They will head directly in and if you are on deck 11 you'll get a fantastic view. We watched it from our veranda most of the way in and then headed to deck 11.

I think a must see are the gardens in Juneau. They were fantastic.

The only problem we found was fitting everything we wanted to do into one week...just couldn't be done!

Have fun...we sure did.

[vbmom87]

I think a must see are the gardens in Juneau. They were fantastic.


Can you describe a little about your experience at the gardens and what one can expect to see. Also, about how much time do you need to see the gardens?

[Sunflower&Scientist]

Can you describe a little about your experience at the gardens and what one can expect to see. Also, about how much time do you need to see the gardens?

A guy with a nursery and landscaping buisness in Juneau decided he needed to build some green houses so he purchased some land for those. He got to digging around and saw real potential (long story they will tell you and it's really interesting) and ended up buying a lot of property and instead of building green houses he made it into a fantastic garden. When he was working with his big tractor he uncovered a bunch of trees buried from a landslide. He dug them out, turned them upside down and made huge planters out of them. They are beautiful. You are dropped off (we took the HAL tour that included the gardens and Mendenhall, don't know how else you would get to the gardens) and they spend a few mintues explaining it to you. Then you go into this greenhouse where there are hanging plants...wow...they are amazing. Then they put you in golf carts and take you on a ride through the garden and rain forest which takes about an hour. So all together it takes maybe 1 1/2 hours, but more safely 2 hours. You don't do the tour on your own, you are taken in the golf cart with a guide who tells you interesting stuff.

Our tour bus then picked us up and took us to Mendenhall. I think we were gone for 4 hours total. They drop you at Mendenhall where you wander around and then come back to the bus.

[vbmom87]

A guy with a nursery and landscaping buisness in Juneau decided he needed to build some green houses so he purchased some land for those. He got to digging around and saw real potential (long story they will tell you and it's really interesting) and ended up buying a lot of property and instead of building green houses he made it into a fantastic garden. When he was working with his big tractor he uncovered a bunch of trees buried from a landslide. He dug them out, turned them upside down and made huge planters out of them. They are beautiful. You are dropped off (we took the HAL tour that included the gardens and Mendenhall, don't know how else you would get to the gardens) and they spend a few mintues explaining it to you. Then you go into this greenhouse where there are hanging plants...wow...they are amazing. Then they put you in golf carts and take you on a ride through the garden and rain forest which takes about an hour. So all together it takes maybe 1 1/2 hours, but more safely 2 hours. You don't do the tour on your own, you are taken in the golf cart with a guide who tells you interesting stuff.

Our tour bus then picked us up and took us to Mendenhall. I think we were gone for 4 hours total. They drop you at Mendenhall where you wander around and then come back to the bus.

Thank you. We will have a rental car so would be able to go on our own. Was just trying to decide if it was worth it or not. Some of the earlier cruisers said there wasn't much to see at the gardens in May, so I that is why I was wondering if it was worthwhile. It sounds like it might be.

[Himself]

I hope this is the first of many cruises on HAL. She is a great line and I am sure you will love the m.s.Westerdam

[Big Jay]

I hope this is the first of many cruises on HAL. She is a great line and I am sure you will love the m.s.Westerdam

Thanks!!!

I Shall See In September!!!:)

[Big Jay]

I'm SO Ready To Cruise!!!!!!;)

[catl331]

We enjoyed our Baltic Cruise on the Westerdam but now I have decided I like the smaller ships. We did Alaska on the Statendam one September. We did Hubbard Glacier on the AMsterdam July one year. Hubbard had the better calving. Winter starts coming quickly in Alaska with day hours reduced and plants starting their decline. Bring layers of clothing for rain and cool weather and even a warm day here and there. No matter when you go you will find Alaska interesting.

[catl331]

On our Sept. cruise many of the stores in Alaska were having 70 % off sales. coming from FL. we didn't need all that warm clothing but I did buy a pair of wool socks with moose on them. Sure nuf, I needed them last winter here in the South!;)

[ann1bell]

We loved the Veendam to Bermuda. Sailing from NYC was awesome! Maybe you can do that later! Have fun!