Trip Report - 7 Day, July 14-21 Inside Passage on HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam

Just a quick trip report!

Last month my extended family and I (9 of us total) did our first Alaskan cruise together. It was actually the first cruise for some of us (my wife and I included). Our party consisted of my parents (my Dad is 89!), my siblings and our spouses (ages 41-89). I (the elder brother) got the job of researching all of our options (note: we only started planning in February). A huge THANKS to all of you here on CC as this site was a gold mine in my research.

First, we landed on this specific ship/route because:

• Time / Family / Cost - I wasn't sure my Dad could do a cruise longer than 7 nights so the "Denali" bit was out, plus the cost goes up commensurately. As a side note, we lived in Anchorage for 3 years when I was a kid and actually did visit Denali back then so that took some of the sting out of missing it this time around.
  
• Inside Passage / Scenes / Smooth Sailing - The inside passage route was really INSIDE. Coming out of Vancouver meant sailing inside of Vancouver island as opposed to around it. This would hopefully mean calm sees and cool land views for much of the voyage.
  
• Route / Stops - This was one of the few ships that sailed both Glacier Bay and "stopped off" at Tracy Arm. I figured we had the opportunity to see BOTH with this route. I was definitely prioritizing glaciers.
  
• # of Passengers - I liked the idea of less people on a ship that was still a decent size. The NA has about 2000 passengers vs. 3000 or more on some of the competition. The NA also seemed to have a better passenger to crew ratio as well.
  
• Recent Refurbishment - The NA had come out of a recent dry dock refurb back in December and had received good reviews.
  
• "Fit" for us - All cruise lines probably have a "demographic" or at least areas they focus on more than others. We weren't traveling with little kids so any items in that area would be lost on us. Most reviews seem to indicate cruise ship entertainment/shows are hit or miss so I didn't prioritize that very high. Food is something we all enjoy and would be partaking in so that ranked a bit higher. The "older demographic" of HAL was fine for us, and there were still plenty of middle-aged and a bit younger folks as I understand is common for Alaska.
  

Now, on to the journey!

Friday

We flew into Vancouver from Dallas and San Diego a day early to ensure no issues. We had some grand plans to try and see a bunch of sites, but we were pretty pooped and really just ended up doing dinner and hanging out at the hotel (Hyatt Regency downtown - pretty nice place and close to Canada Place). If I had it to over again, we would have come in an extra day early and done Victoria/Butchart gardens...or, if we hadn't, I would have just skipped the rental cars and taken cabs around since we only used them to get to the airport and then to Canada Place the next day (which meant hassling with Avis downtown return office).

View from our room at the Hyatt

Saturday

My brother and I dropped our family off at Canada Place and then returned the two rental cars to Avis' downtown location. The plus for the latter was that it was close, the minus was...well, everything else. The service was slow, they have a weird underground parking situation whic was poorly marked, etc. We didn't get back to Canada Place until over an hour later (and it is 2 blocks from there). This was one of the few snafus on the trip.

We embarked from Vancouver on Saturday under sunny skies. Canada Place wasn't the madhouse we feared (there was one other ship there), and boarding went smoothly. They were nice enough to accelerate boarding for my parents so no line waiting for them...that was nice. We immediately went to the Seaview pool area to hang out, take pictures, etc. Weather was just warm enough for me to put my feet in the pool. Sailing out of the harbor was ridiculously picturesque. Glassy smooth water...awesome.

We did dinner this night (and EVERY night) in the MDR as a family. We had the 8:00 PM seating which we worried would be too late for us, but actually worked out pretty well.

Sail away:

Lido Pool (the only time the roof was open the whole trip):

See you in a few days Vancouver

Glassy waters and beautiful sunset

More to come...

Sunday

This was a sea day. Seas were calm, but we did experience a little rolling later in the day as we cleared the cover of Vancouver Island. I was glad we had chosen the "inside" Inside passage!

We enjoyed relaxing, exploring the ship, and, of course eating. The food in the Lido buffet is basically just "OK". The key is to find the winners so I recommend sampling small amounts of a few different things in order to zero in on what you really like. My winner for lunch was actually the Dive-In hamburger stand by the Lido pool. Others here on CC had recommended it and I agree! The New York Pizza stand by the Seaview pool, conversely, was in the "loser" camp.

A few more shots:

Relaxing on the balcony (we had a suite):

The main theater:

The chandelier:

Monday - Tracy Arm Fjord / Juneau / Helicopter to Mendenhall Glacier

So even though the ship is nice, we were here for ALASKA as much as the cruise itself and Monday was our first foray into it. Unfortunately, this is where our weather turned (we knew it was coming so it wasn't a shock). The rain had moved in, but ultimately, it just didn't matter! Yes, the scenery would have been even more spectacular, but it wasn't like everything turned "ugly" just because of a little rain.

We started the day by offloading from our ship onto a smaller boat (about 100-150 people) which then headed into the Tracy Arm Fjord while the Nieuw Amsterdam sailed on to Juneau. This might have been my favorite excursion. Despite the weather, it was very scenic and hanging out by Sawyer glacier was great (note: we only saw one end of it as out ship was running late and they had to cut the excursion a little short. We even saw a whale on the return (which I was hoping for since we had no other "whale watching" excursions specifically planned.

After we got back to Juneau, five of us grabbed a quick bite at Tracy's Crab shack (King crab for the win) and then waited for our helicopter excursion pickup. It began to rain and we were fearful they would cancel, but by the time the van got us to the Heliport, the rain had stopped - hooray!

Our helicopter excursion was through Northstar Trekking. I selected them because they allow more time on the glacier than some of the other operators. After a short outfitting and safety session, the 5 of us boarded the helicopter and flew out to the glacier. The flight out was almost worth the hefty price tag alone. It is all so dang scenic. The contrast of the green foliage and white ice field of the glacier is breathtaking. I could have done twice as long of a flight (and this from someone prone to motion sickness). The "walkabout" hike on the glacier was surreal. I mean...you are on a glacier for Pete's sake! We were just trying to soak it in. Alas, pictures just can't capture it. Well worth it.

A few pics!

Tracy Arm

More Tracy Arm and Sawyer Glacier Pics

More pics!

Returning from Tracy Arm to the Nieuw Amsterdam (note: there were FIVE cruise ships in port) in Juneau

Helicopter to Mendenhall Glacier

And even more pics...

On the glacier!

For some small sense of scale...look closely at the people walking along the lower rideges

Over too soon:

It was almost 9:00 pm before we got back to the boat, but the 5 of us still managed to squeeze in a late dinner in the main dining room. The rest of our family were just about to finish up and due to our late arrival we had to eat on the lower floor of the dining room (which we were happy to do as the MDR is much better than the Lido was for lunch. Actually, it just occurred to me that the Lido might have offered different food options for dinner! Oh well, we were always happy to eat our dinners together!

A great day overall!

Tuesday - Skagway - White Pass Railroad and Ziplining

So we pulled into Skagway early Tuesday morning. We did the White Pass railroad train in the morning. My Dad, unfortunately, wasn't feeling well so he and my mom stayed on the boat - we were bummed they could not make it.

The train boards right by the boat so it is only a short walk from the pier to the train. We boarded easy-peasy and were off. It is a slow, leisurely ride up the pass and fairly scenic. Truth be told though it just didn't compare to Tracy Arm or the helicopter ride. If you had to prioritize where to spend your money, the train would be a bit lower on the list than some IMO. The longer train ride to Bennett Lake / Carcross might be a better bet - especially one combined with kayaking or at least the bus ride back down for different scenery and stops for photo ops.

After the train ride, some of us did a fish and chips lunch at a local restaurant and then headed out to some Ziplinung with the local Adventure park. None of us had ziplined before so we were all novices. It was definitely more strenuous than we expected as we had to walk up the hill to the lines, and did some rope bridge walking, etc. We all made it though and, despite some trepidation at points, really did have a good time and made some great memories. The guides (all young girls) were generally great and earned their pay for sure (much more so than your typical excursion guide).

Enough talk...some pics!

And a few more pics as we depart Skagway:

Wednesday - Glacier Bay

So Wednesday was Glacier Bay. It was, unfortunately, both cold and a bit rainy (with commensurate cloud cover). While this does dampen (literally) the experience a bit, you have to put it into perspective...YOU ARE STILL IN GLACIER BAY! It would definitely have been more picturesque w/o the low cloud cover, but it's still seriously cool to be there. I am glad we did the Tracy Arm excursion though to offset some of what we missed in GB (in terms of scenery). Zero regrets choosing this trip route to ensure we saw both.

Pics!

Thursday - Ketchikan - Bering Sea Crab Tour - Crab Feast

We encountered some rolling seas Wednesday night on the way to Ketchikan, but nothing too bad. This would, however, be a good time to note that we did experience some vibration in the ship while at night when they cranked the speed up on the ship (above 21 knots typically is when it manifested). I have a separate post here n CC in the HAL board if you want to check that out.

Anyway, we pulled into Ketchikan around 10:00 AM and headed out onto different excursions. My wife and I did the Bering Sea Crab tour while my siblings and parents did either the crab feast at the George Inlet lodge or the combo Wilderness Exploration and crab feast. We also walked around Ketchikan a bit although we had limited time as we departed at 6:00 pm.

I get the impression the Bering Sea Crab tour was the winner in these tours, but it was pricey. Still, seeing the Eagles was great and we even got lucky and saw a whale!

Pics:

Friday - Sea Day

A relaxing day at sea (got a little chilly).

Ultimately, the trip was awesome. We had a great time and wondered aloud how in the heck we were going to top this trip. Indeed, I can see now why people do MULTIPLE Alaskan cruises!!!

How cold was it on the Tracy Arm Excursion?. Have that planned next week What type of jacket did you wear?

How cold was it on the Tracy Arm Excursion?. Have that planned next week What type of jacket did you wear?

It was definitely a bit chilly. The boat is at speed for part of the journey so it is windy when you are outside. In our case, it was also raining lightly. I wore an undershirt, flannel shirt and a rain jacket of I remember correctly. I also wore gloves and a stocking cap.

The rain definitely contributed to the cold, so that will make a big difference.