Last minute booking on Amsterdam; first time on HAL

I just booked the Amsterdam to Alaska out of Seattle on May 31. Since it leaves in 10 days I got an excellent last-minute deal. This is my first time on HAL (I usually sail Royal and have also sailed NCL and Carnival) so I'm looking forward to something a bit more upscale and on a smaller ship.

I'm taking my mother for her 70th birthday, which is later this summer. She prefers Celebrity and I think she will like this. We've both sailed to Alaska but this will be our first time going to Sitka and Victoria.

Any suggestions that an almost-70-year-old can do while aboard to keep her busy? I can make my own fun but I want to make sure she has something to do. I was looking for copies of the daily newsletter and I couldn't find any.

Great that you booked a good last minute deal for this super cruise!

If you look for posts by Crew News, who is in Alaska right now, you will find links to everything you need in programs and menus, too

Enjoy!!

Watching the Culinary Demonstrations are fun for all ages. Sometimes the florist makes a presentation. These are held in the Culinary Arts Center AKA the Wajang Theater. Anything hosted by the Culinary Arts Center host is good and there are usually a couple a day on sea days. There will be a Wine Tasting or two (with a fee) on a sea day. Of course there is bingo and trivia. There are limited activities on port days IMO. Amsterdam is a great ship - enjoy your cruise.

This is a fairly port-intense cruise so she will enjoy her few sea days. HAL always has something going on for activities from trivia, lectures (and not the port shopping type but more like whale migrations and behaviors, etc), cooking classes, movies, jigsaw puzzles, life style classes from meditation to tai chi to acupuncture to nutrition, lots of games. And there is always the spa! My problem is usually trying to decide what to do as there are many choices. There will be an abbreviated newspaper provided each day and depending on the passengers, you may get more than a few different ones as they print these for Canadians and other nationalities. These are usually in racks by the front desk and the US and Canadian ones are usually available in the Lido for breakfast. The daily NY Times is accessible on the computers in the library free of charge.

Have an awesome time!