sealandtraveler
May 30th, 2011, 12:06 PM
Alaskan Cruise
May 2011
The delights of experiencing an Alaskan cruise must be considered with differing perspectives. One of the blogs I read prior to my trip asked, “Are you going for the ship or Alaska?” As I divide those onboard the Ms Amsterdam they fall into three categories, a) The ship – those whose only desire is to have the delights of shipboard life, b) Alaska – those moving from port to port in search of the ultimate excursion, and c) Alaska – those desiring an independent view of each port of call. I prefer to explore the delicacies of each port by foot if possible without the assistance of any ships excursion.
This cruise was fourteen days in length round tripping from Seattle Washington to Inside Passage, Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord, Juneau, Anchorage, Homer, Kodiak, Hubbard Glacier, Sitka, and Victoria.
Having recently been on a Western Mediterranean Cruise, the intensity of a seven-day cruise was wonderful but a struggle to remember the previous day’s events. Days started early and ended with exhaustion only to begin once again in the early morn. This cruise was a mixture of great experiences in ports interspersed with days at sea for rest.
The port facilities in Seattle are designed for the ease of the traveler. We arrived by private vehicle that was left at friends in Bremerton (across the bay from downtown Seattle) that allowed our trip to begin on the Ferry (one hour) for a short limo ride to pier 91. A bridge brings you to the port area where lanes of traffic lead you to a staging area met by porters to take your luggage. A short walk to the facilities, through security and onward to the cruise desk for check in. This took us about ten minutes from the parking area to our stateroom.
A day or two before the cruise would be suggested for those traveling some distance. Pike Place Market is a wonder to be experienced from the fish throwing market to the abundance of freshly harvested flowers for sale. A full half-day should be allotted. The Needle is an area to also be explored. If you have a couple of hours to spare take a ride on one of the ferries that are available for foot or vehicular traffic at a moderate price. No need to visit the other side, but you must depart the ferry and return again at your destination. It is a great way to view the bay, experience some sea life, and enjoy a restful view of Mount Rainier.
There are arguments as to which stateroom category one should select, a balcony that added to the Inside Passageway beauty, an ocean view that provides light, or merely an inside stateroom where one spends little time but rather chooses to explore the delightful ship accommodations. The Lido deck was rarely crowded affording lounge chairs or chairs and tables. Hamburgers and pizza were offered around the pool/Jacuzzi area, while the Lido Restaurant brought a selection of plated meals, Asian, or sandwiches. Breakfast held pastries, omelets or a variety of cooked to order eggs. La Fontaine Restaurant (Main Dining Room) served breakfast, lunch and dinner with Dutch Teas in the afternoon and wine tasting on various days. The dining room held a differing selection every night that was not over powering yet nicely presented. I wore jeans to a tux on selected evening very comfortably. But on several evenings choose to eat a lighter affair in the Lido Restaurant. The difference is a cafeteria style on the Lido with a sit down meal served in style in La Fontaine. The Pinnacle Restaurant, specialty affairs, found us at a wonderful paired wine tasting to food one evening with a select menu the next. Gracious staff wonderful servers both.
There are numerous bar/lounges throughout the ship with a variety of live music venues from strings to a jazz dance trio.
The nightly entertainment was worthy of attending. The ships crew performed on two occasions with dancing, comedy, and singing on others.
Alaskan cruises begin in May continuing through September. This is my second cruise to Alaska, the first being a seven day roundtrip from Vancouver BC both in May. Forget the weather forecasts that suggest which months or times to travel. Both cruises found delightful weather that hovered in the fifties with cloudy to fully blue skies. The fourteen-day cruise held one day in Anchorage that rained. Every other port was almost short sleeve weather. I remained in jeans, a t-shirt and pullover throughout wearing a jacket in Anchorage.
The crew is predominately Filipino and Indonesian decent. They are dedicated to making the passenger’s time onboard stress less and delightful. I am in awe of their ability to learn our names and use them throughout the cruise. Every tidbit is parroted back from our shore experience to the breakfast order by these graciously dedicated crew members. Holland American offers a breakfast order to the stateroom that is delivered at your choice of times. Coffee, breads, juices, cereals and even eggs could be ordered. Nothing like a light breakfast in bed to begin the day for the port’s events.
Inside Passage – This day found us leaving Seattle’s area to the west coming back around to the east entering the area between mainland Canada and Vancouver Island. Land can be seen feet away from either side of the ship. Both are filled with forest trees, an occasional house, and birds. The trip began in a relaxful manner for those traveling long distances. A couple from South Africa was on our cruise, many from Florida (cold for them), Europe and even Australia. We did not see any whales, but the awesome beauty of the scenery did not leave you wanting.
Ketchikan – A town that is half filled with cruise shops near the port has local taintings that should be explored. We travel up the hill toward the Totem Pole museum that accommodated two hundred year old poles replete with history. Adjacent to the museum was a raptor and salmon center that provided rewarding. We then walked to the north side of the city in search of the Eagle viewing area that turned out to be at the fish cannery. The cannery was not in operation in May, being out of season. There is a short tram to Cape Fox Lodge that has a restaurant purported to have delightful King Crab ($50 per pound at our visit), so we choose Halibut Fish and Chips that proved one of the best fish and chips experienced, very lightly coated and moist accompanied by an ample side of chips. Creek Street lies between the Totem Museum and the port area is several blocks long with wonderful local shops, which house apparels (Fish and Chips – several fish around a poker table), local artisan delights, and other merchandise. We noted an electric car rental place that held small cars that were covered in clear plastic for ease of viewing to traverse the hilly roads. Ketchikan also has several shops offering canned smoked salmon that can be shipped home at a minimal cost. There is a zip line opportunity that takes you just of above a great forest area; we did not partake of this.
Tracy Arm Fjord is a day’s venture toward Seward Glacier that found us within feet of the final turn before being impeded by ice preventing our forward venture. The disappointment was mild with the beauty of the travel into the fjord and the return. Eagles abounded.
Juneau – The State Capital is a long strip that found us one of three ships in port. We docked close to the Mount Roberts Tramway that takes you up 3000 feet to view the beauty of the area, experience some great trails (sighting of bear) and a lone eagle caged. We select Orca Enterprises whale watching that has an office at the dock where they transported us to their ship in Auk Bay. Our tour was scheduled for eight, since we were assured our arrival would be 7:30 AM, but did not arrive at their office until 8:15 where they waited for all to arrive patiently. Jeff, our Naturalist, was a plethora of knowledge entertaining us with his knowledge. We found numerous Humpback and Orca whales along with seals were experienced throughout the three-hour venture. All whale watching tours offered a money back guarantee, our found whales within minutes that just kept coming. We were very fortunate as this was not the norm. We choose to take a separate bus out to Mendenhall Glacier after a wonder lunch at Tracey Crab Shack on the pier that had great beer and fish and chips. The bus took us out to Mendenhall Glacier about fifteen minutes from town. You can walk out to the Glacier viewing area, about fifty feet across a bay of water with a great waterfall. There is a visitor center that we choose not to experience. But the walk was delightful, the view of the Glacier wonderful. We finished our day with the tram ride.
Icy Strait – this entrance to the Glacier Bay area found us tendered near Icy Strait and Hoonah (a Tlingit village). The tender boats brought us to an old cannery building that housed numerous shops with high-end jewelry, apparel, local artisan items and canned salmon. The cannery is on a nice nature area with a great trail that leads you around the bay and into the interior area to view the natural area, a short half-mile in length. A short bus ride into Hoonah, a sleepy town of 760 Tlingit natives, found it a delight to experience the real culture of native Alaskans. There is a zip line (6000 feet in length) that some choose to take part in.
At Sea – from Icy Strait we crossed the Alaska sea (state one seas) toward Anchorage. So we rested our bodies in the spa area. On the first day we toured the spa area to be presented with a package that was just under $300 dollars offering a private small area with two steam rooms, a Jacuzzi, and warming beds. A limited number of these were sold the fist day providing an always-available area to relieve the stress of walking. The gym was compact but held numerous machines to keep the body intact. I found the mix of exercise and spa room rewarding.
Anchorage – Holland America and Princess have a railroad line that takes you to Grandview and back with a day. There are several choices to partake of that include; a) a ten hour train ride to Grandview and back to experience several glaciers and nature, b) a train ride with return by bus (about 8 hours total, c) a train ride with cruise around Whittier for whales and other sea life, and d) a rafting trip in the middle of the train ride. We booked directly with the Alaskan Railroad to find ourselves in the only double-decked view car. The ships excursion at $60 more dollars found them in single level cars with a box lunch. We enjoyed comfortable chairs and a table for our items. If your cruise begins or ends in the Anchorage area, a two or three day venture to Denali is highly recommended. There is also an Animal Preserve that I am told is worthy of experiencing, a choice we gave up where we would have rented a car to view this and other parts of Anchorage.
Homer – This small Alaskan town is just that, small quaint and wonderful. There is a great art shop that has fabulous local artists carvings and painting, the Pratt Museum that had a small aquarium, paintings and taxidermy animals. The ship provided a Hop-on-Hop off for a nominal fee that provided four stops in town. We found it interesting how most of the blogs noted this town to be unworthy of any time, yet we found the museums wonderful, the shops of local artists eye catching, and the walk along the coastal waters refreshing. There is an electric scooter store near the ship that would have afforded some transportation that we did not experience. We did not step foot along the Spit, which house numerous shops choosing rather to explore the local peoples and culture.
Kodiak – This is predominantly a military island that supports small town of locals. A Tlingit museum, a Wildlife Refuge Information Center, a Russian house, and a nice beer brewery that offered a selection of eight brews as a tasting from which we choose a dark pint to drink on sight. The offering included a Governor Palin beer. The walk to town was about fifteen minutes in length. Plenty of cabs were noted. King Crab began its arrival in the 1950’s and essentially departed in the 1980’s without known reason.
Another sea day
Hubbard Bay – We arrived in the mid-afternoon to the delight of several Tlingit tribesmen and a Forest Service guide who brought their extensive knowledge of glaciers and the area to our focus. We lay in the bay for a couple of hours watching the glacier “calve”, meaning chunks of the ice broke away into the water. The glacier is approximately 70 feet above the water. It left us surrounded by ice in relatively smooth bay water with mountains surrounding us. To hear the crackling of the glacier followed by the crashing of the ice into the bay was most fulfilling.
Sitka – This historic Russian community housed one of the greatest raptor centers I have had the delight to experience. It is a non-profit venture that found numerous eagles that were being nurtured back to health or were bound for a lifetime in captivity due to injuries. Owls and hawks were also on display within feet of our viewing. The staff was most knowledge bubbling with energy in their desire to be informative. This is a short half-mile walk along the coast through some forested area. The downtown area has a nice Russian Orthodox Church for viewing. The most delightful shop, the Sitka Rose Gallery, was filled with local artistry made of moose antlers, glass, rock and tusks. Some of the finest I have witnessed. Each item is accompanied by a print of the artist’s expertise.
Another sea day
Victoria
This is a city that is all about tourists. The dock greeted us with taxis, Pedi bikes, and many tour options. Having a desire to visit the gardens we were faced with a $51 one-way taxi fare. Instead we opted for a Pedi bike that would accommodate two. There were some for four. The biker took us through the historic house district and then on to Beacon Hill Park that is only accessible by foot or this Pedi bike. Lots of different trees, ducks, turtles and peacocks. We ended up in the central town area. This is filled with tourist shops. So after a nice coffee we headed back to the ship along the walking path that was along the harbor (about a forty-minute walk). Just lovely. Stopped at the Fisherman’s Wharf to eat some fabulous fish and chips at Barbs. The day was just lovely.
Seattle
Departure was easy. We completed the onboard questionnaire some days prior that provided options on times by those departing with airlines, hotels, or independent. We were independent having left our car at friends. The suggested time was 8:30 to 9:00 AM. We were instructed to depart at 8:30 AM past the gangway onto the ramp at Seattle pier 91 into their building where we located our bags by color and number tag. A baggage handler was waiting to assist with the luggage taking it through customs for us. We walked through US Customs to a cab in about ten minutes time total.
May 2011
The delights of experiencing an Alaskan cruise must be considered with differing perspectives. One of the blogs I read prior to my trip asked, “Are you going for the ship or Alaska?” As I divide those onboard the Ms Amsterdam they fall into three categories, a) The ship – those whose only desire is to have the delights of shipboard life, b) Alaska – those moving from port to port in search of the ultimate excursion, and c) Alaska – those desiring an independent view of each port of call. I prefer to explore the delicacies of each port by foot if possible without the assistance of any ships excursion.
This cruise was fourteen days in length round tripping from Seattle Washington to Inside Passage, Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord, Juneau, Anchorage, Homer, Kodiak, Hubbard Glacier, Sitka, and Victoria.
Having recently been on a Western Mediterranean Cruise, the intensity of a seven-day cruise was wonderful but a struggle to remember the previous day’s events. Days started early and ended with exhaustion only to begin once again in the early morn. This cruise was a mixture of great experiences in ports interspersed with days at sea for rest.
The port facilities in Seattle are designed for the ease of the traveler. We arrived by private vehicle that was left at friends in Bremerton (across the bay from downtown Seattle) that allowed our trip to begin on the Ferry (one hour) for a short limo ride to pier 91. A bridge brings you to the port area where lanes of traffic lead you to a staging area met by porters to take your luggage. A short walk to the facilities, through security and onward to the cruise desk for check in. This took us about ten minutes from the parking area to our stateroom.
A day or two before the cruise would be suggested for those traveling some distance. Pike Place Market is a wonder to be experienced from the fish throwing market to the abundance of freshly harvested flowers for sale. A full half-day should be allotted. The Needle is an area to also be explored. If you have a couple of hours to spare take a ride on one of the ferries that are available for foot or vehicular traffic at a moderate price. No need to visit the other side, but you must depart the ferry and return again at your destination. It is a great way to view the bay, experience some sea life, and enjoy a restful view of Mount Rainier.
There are arguments as to which stateroom category one should select, a balcony that added to the Inside Passageway beauty, an ocean view that provides light, or merely an inside stateroom where one spends little time but rather chooses to explore the delightful ship accommodations. The Lido deck was rarely crowded affording lounge chairs or chairs and tables. Hamburgers and pizza were offered around the pool/Jacuzzi area, while the Lido Restaurant brought a selection of plated meals, Asian, or sandwiches. Breakfast held pastries, omelets or a variety of cooked to order eggs. La Fontaine Restaurant (Main Dining Room) served breakfast, lunch and dinner with Dutch Teas in the afternoon and wine tasting on various days. The dining room held a differing selection every night that was not over powering yet nicely presented. I wore jeans to a tux on selected evening very comfortably. But on several evenings choose to eat a lighter affair in the Lido Restaurant. The difference is a cafeteria style on the Lido with a sit down meal served in style in La Fontaine. The Pinnacle Restaurant, specialty affairs, found us at a wonderful paired wine tasting to food one evening with a select menu the next. Gracious staff wonderful servers both.
There are numerous bar/lounges throughout the ship with a variety of live music venues from strings to a jazz dance trio.
The nightly entertainment was worthy of attending. The ships crew performed on two occasions with dancing, comedy, and singing on others.
Alaskan cruises begin in May continuing through September. This is my second cruise to Alaska, the first being a seven day roundtrip from Vancouver BC both in May. Forget the weather forecasts that suggest which months or times to travel. Both cruises found delightful weather that hovered in the fifties with cloudy to fully blue skies. The fourteen-day cruise held one day in Anchorage that rained. Every other port was almost short sleeve weather. I remained in jeans, a t-shirt and pullover throughout wearing a jacket in Anchorage.
The crew is predominately Filipino and Indonesian decent. They are dedicated to making the passenger’s time onboard stress less and delightful. I am in awe of their ability to learn our names and use them throughout the cruise. Every tidbit is parroted back from our shore experience to the breakfast order by these graciously dedicated crew members. Holland American offers a breakfast order to the stateroom that is delivered at your choice of times. Coffee, breads, juices, cereals and even eggs could be ordered. Nothing like a light breakfast in bed to begin the day for the port’s events.
Inside Passage – This day found us leaving Seattle’s area to the west coming back around to the east entering the area between mainland Canada and Vancouver Island. Land can be seen feet away from either side of the ship. Both are filled with forest trees, an occasional house, and birds. The trip began in a relaxful manner for those traveling long distances. A couple from South Africa was on our cruise, many from Florida (cold for them), Europe and even Australia. We did not see any whales, but the awesome beauty of the scenery did not leave you wanting.
Ketchikan – A town that is half filled with cruise shops near the port has local taintings that should be explored. We travel up the hill toward the Totem Pole museum that accommodated two hundred year old poles replete with history. Adjacent to the museum was a raptor and salmon center that provided rewarding. We then walked to the north side of the city in search of the Eagle viewing area that turned out to be at the fish cannery. The cannery was not in operation in May, being out of season. There is a short tram to Cape Fox Lodge that has a restaurant purported to have delightful King Crab ($50 per pound at our visit), so we choose Halibut Fish and Chips that proved one of the best fish and chips experienced, very lightly coated and moist accompanied by an ample side of chips. Creek Street lies between the Totem Museum and the port area is several blocks long with wonderful local shops, which house apparels (Fish and Chips – several fish around a poker table), local artisan delights, and other merchandise. We noted an electric car rental place that held small cars that were covered in clear plastic for ease of viewing to traverse the hilly roads. Ketchikan also has several shops offering canned smoked salmon that can be shipped home at a minimal cost. There is a zip line opportunity that takes you just of above a great forest area; we did not partake of this.
Tracy Arm Fjord is a day’s venture toward Seward Glacier that found us within feet of the final turn before being impeded by ice preventing our forward venture. The disappointment was mild with the beauty of the travel into the fjord and the return. Eagles abounded.
Juneau – The State Capital is a long strip that found us one of three ships in port. We docked close to the Mount Roberts Tramway that takes you up 3000 feet to view the beauty of the area, experience some great trails (sighting of bear) and a lone eagle caged. We select Orca Enterprises whale watching that has an office at the dock where they transported us to their ship in Auk Bay. Our tour was scheduled for eight, since we were assured our arrival would be 7:30 AM, but did not arrive at their office until 8:15 where they waited for all to arrive patiently. Jeff, our Naturalist, was a plethora of knowledge entertaining us with his knowledge. We found numerous Humpback and Orca whales along with seals were experienced throughout the three-hour venture. All whale watching tours offered a money back guarantee, our found whales within minutes that just kept coming. We were very fortunate as this was not the norm. We choose to take a separate bus out to Mendenhall Glacier after a wonder lunch at Tracey Crab Shack on the pier that had great beer and fish and chips. The bus took us out to Mendenhall Glacier about fifteen minutes from town. You can walk out to the Glacier viewing area, about fifty feet across a bay of water with a great waterfall. There is a visitor center that we choose not to experience. But the walk was delightful, the view of the Glacier wonderful. We finished our day with the tram ride.
Icy Strait – this entrance to the Glacier Bay area found us tendered near Icy Strait and Hoonah (a Tlingit village). The tender boats brought us to an old cannery building that housed numerous shops with high-end jewelry, apparel, local artisan items and canned salmon. The cannery is on a nice nature area with a great trail that leads you around the bay and into the interior area to view the natural area, a short half-mile in length. A short bus ride into Hoonah, a sleepy town of 760 Tlingit natives, found it a delight to experience the real culture of native Alaskans. There is a zip line (6000 feet in length) that some choose to take part in.
At Sea – from Icy Strait we crossed the Alaska sea (state one seas) toward Anchorage. So we rested our bodies in the spa area. On the first day we toured the spa area to be presented with a package that was just under $300 dollars offering a private small area with two steam rooms, a Jacuzzi, and warming beds. A limited number of these were sold the fist day providing an always-available area to relieve the stress of walking. The gym was compact but held numerous machines to keep the body intact. I found the mix of exercise and spa room rewarding.
Anchorage – Holland America and Princess have a railroad line that takes you to Grandview and back with a day. There are several choices to partake of that include; a) a ten hour train ride to Grandview and back to experience several glaciers and nature, b) a train ride with return by bus (about 8 hours total, c) a train ride with cruise around Whittier for whales and other sea life, and d) a rafting trip in the middle of the train ride. We booked directly with the Alaskan Railroad to find ourselves in the only double-decked view car. The ships excursion at $60 more dollars found them in single level cars with a box lunch. We enjoyed comfortable chairs and a table for our items. If your cruise begins or ends in the Anchorage area, a two or three day venture to Denali is highly recommended. There is also an Animal Preserve that I am told is worthy of experiencing, a choice we gave up where we would have rented a car to view this and other parts of Anchorage.
Homer – This small Alaskan town is just that, small quaint and wonderful. There is a great art shop that has fabulous local artists carvings and painting, the Pratt Museum that had a small aquarium, paintings and taxidermy animals. The ship provided a Hop-on-Hop off for a nominal fee that provided four stops in town. We found it interesting how most of the blogs noted this town to be unworthy of any time, yet we found the museums wonderful, the shops of local artists eye catching, and the walk along the coastal waters refreshing. There is an electric scooter store near the ship that would have afforded some transportation that we did not experience. We did not step foot along the Spit, which house numerous shops choosing rather to explore the local peoples and culture.
Kodiak – This is predominantly a military island that supports small town of locals. A Tlingit museum, a Wildlife Refuge Information Center, a Russian house, and a nice beer brewery that offered a selection of eight brews as a tasting from which we choose a dark pint to drink on sight. The offering included a Governor Palin beer. The walk to town was about fifteen minutes in length. Plenty of cabs were noted. King Crab began its arrival in the 1950’s and essentially departed in the 1980’s without known reason.
Another sea day
Hubbard Bay – We arrived in the mid-afternoon to the delight of several Tlingit tribesmen and a Forest Service guide who brought their extensive knowledge of glaciers and the area to our focus. We lay in the bay for a couple of hours watching the glacier “calve”, meaning chunks of the ice broke away into the water. The glacier is approximately 70 feet above the water. It left us surrounded by ice in relatively smooth bay water with mountains surrounding us. To hear the crackling of the glacier followed by the crashing of the ice into the bay was most fulfilling.
Sitka – This historic Russian community housed one of the greatest raptor centers I have had the delight to experience. It is a non-profit venture that found numerous eagles that were being nurtured back to health or were bound for a lifetime in captivity due to injuries. Owls and hawks were also on display within feet of our viewing. The staff was most knowledge bubbling with energy in their desire to be informative. This is a short half-mile walk along the coast through some forested area. The downtown area has a nice Russian Orthodox Church for viewing. The most delightful shop, the Sitka Rose Gallery, was filled with local artistry made of moose antlers, glass, rock and tusks. Some of the finest I have witnessed. Each item is accompanied by a print of the artist’s expertise.
Another sea day
Victoria
This is a city that is all about tourists. The dock greeted us with taxis, Pedi bikes, and many tour options. Having a desire to visit the gardens we were faced with a $51 one-way taxi fare. Instead we opted for a Pedi bike that would accommodate two. There were some for four. The biker took us through the historic house district and then on to Beacon Hill Park that is only accessible by foot or this Pedi bike. Lots of different trees, ducks, turtles and peacocks. We ended up in the central town area. This is filled with tourist shops. So after a nice coffee we headed back to the ship along the walking path that was along the harbor (about a forty-minute walk). Just lovely. Stopped at the Fisherman’s Wharf to eat some fabulous fish and chips at Barbs. The day was just lovely.
Seattle
Departure was easy. We completed the onboard questionnaire some days prior that provided options on times by those departing with airlines, hotels, or independent. We were independent having left our car at friends. The suggested time was 8:30 to 9:00 AM. We were instructed to depart at 8:30 AM past the gangway onto the ramp at Seattle pier 91 into their building where we located our bags by color and number tag. A baggage handler was waiting to assist with the luggage taking it through customs for us. We walked through US Customs to a cab in about ten minutes time total.