"Live from" ms Volendam to Alaska! My First HAL Experience

[lovely_serenity]

Although this is answering a question, here are my tips I have compiled thus far.

 

Alright, here I go :) :

 

- Pack to dress in layers. The weather is pretty iffy, it can range from sun to snow (glacier stop). Ports are chilly with rain normally, so be prepared. Don't wear a super huge jacket for glacier day, until you are literally about to step outside. You'll sweat to death. For Twin Sawyer glacier: chilly/cool weather. Hubbard Glacier: cold. Glacier Bay: freeze to death.

 

- Attend as many afternoon teas as you can. The special teas especially. They're fantastic. Check out your daily On Locations guide for them. It'll say something other than "Afternoon Tea".

 

- Have breakfast and lunch in the dining rooms. Better food. After your meal, THEN go up to the buffet to check it out.

 

- On Ketchikan day, go up to the buffet on Lido at the time that the ship leaves shore. There (I'll show it later in the report) is a very special Indonesian themed snack/meal thing **after Teatime and before dinner**. One of my favourite meals of the cruise. Very relaxing and plays Indonesian music. Everyone is dressed up :D

 

- Don't skip out on any of the shows. Especially the "Northern Lights" one and the Boys vs Girls blah blah showdown singing thing. Both musical performances.

 

- In room service, if you check off (example) Croissant. They will give you A BASKET FULL. NOT ONE, NOT TWO ... TWENTY.

 

- Wipe down drawers before you use them, they were kinda gross.

 

- Make use of the behind the door magnet and leave the bathroom door stuck to it.

 

- The prime rib was yucky.. don't order it. Get the duck... And the Surf and Turf...

 

- The dessert was hit and miss, be careful o_o .. DON'T GET MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM... OR THE LEMON TART.

 

- The Lido desserts were often better than the dining room dessert.

 

- Main Dining Room hot food is was better than Lido (obviously)

 

- bring a bathing suit. Upper deck was closed on top of the pool so it was warm enough to swim.

 

- On Glacier Park day, go to bow of the ship. (Got outside deck 3 and all the way forward. Go into doors labelled bow, follow path). You could go out there too when approaching Juneau or something.

 

- It gets really cold outside. Be prepared.

 

- Bring a tripod for family photos. They have random pretty scenes to take pictures at.

 

- Everything is on deck 4, 5, and 8.

 

- Bring a power bar. You get ONE plug.

 

- Also bring something you can tell time on. There's no clock in your room.

 

- When you hear announcements from the cruse director and you're in your stateroom, go open the door a bit to hear him. You can't really hear him in your room.

 

- At night time after dinner, go roam deck 5 and listen to live music, there are 3 locations with it. They are very cleverly located, so the music never overlaps in your ears as you walk by them.

 

- All meal times are on deck 5 (basically). Only Mariner's brunch was on deck 4.

 

- On deck 4, you can only walk until before the dining room. It's cut off there (a wall) and you must go up a floor, go forward, AND THEN, go down to deck 4 dining room. Be aware.

 

- The elevators are touch screen (metal), so don't go trying to press the thing into the wall. You'll break it.

 

- Luggage arrives VERY quickly, so don't go panicking when you don't see any luggage in the hallway, they're in the stateroom.

 

- Rooms (and this goes for all ships) in the back will have more vibration due to the engine. I hate that. Therefore, I'm an forward person.

 

- There are literally no good cold drinks on board. Do not be tricked by the refreshing looking iced tea. It's tea ... with ice cubes.

 

- ask for your pasta to be stir fried at the pasta station. Way better.

 

- Potato chips are left side sandwich bar. Sweet potato fries too. YUM.

 

- Hard ice cream flavours change every few hours, check it out. It's great.

 

- Change the table (in your stateroom)'s height by pressing on it/not & pulling the lever. It's moved via pressurized air.

 

- Drawers in your stateroom DON'T HAVE HANDLES. DON'T DO WHAT I DID AND TRY TO PRY IT OPEN WITH YOUR NAILS. It hurts :( Pull by the indent underneath it.

 

- Bring a highlighter to check off what you want to do the next day on the On Locations Guide.

 

- In room televisions play the daily movie on a loop on a certain channel. Find it.

 

- You have no fridge in your room. Don't look for one. (unless you have a suite or something)

 

- You also have a radio in your room that plays from a speaker on the ceiling. Activate via button on the wall above your night stand. (OUTSIDE STATEROOM POV)

 

- From the ceiling speaker, alarms go off from there. If you are woken up by a crazy alarm going off, do not be alarmed. An Irish lady will say it's a crew fire drill or something.

 

- on the night stand, there will be a directory for how to call everyone.

 

- There's a hidden compartment behind the mirrors of your bathroom to store stuff.

 

- typical simple excursions are way cheaper to buy on land than by the cruise line. Ex. city tours, etc

 

- Bring a lot of camera footage. You can run out.

 

- Whenever the ship cruises out to an area which makes contact with the ocean and you aren't blocked by islands, there will be waves. Enough waves to make you queasy. It'll be fine again after you go back to inside passage.

 

- There are random draws and stuff at the jewelry shop. Take part for free.

 

- The appetizers at dinner are almost always better than the entrées/desserts.

 

- The Main dining room is often short staffed, so be patient. Don't be like those old biddies that scold their servers. They can't do anything about it! After you scold him, the chefs will scold him too! Don't be mean :(

 

- There are long, long line ups for EVERYTHING. Especially special teatimes. Line up 5-10 minutes early.

 

- Breakfast juices are diluted. I tried it twice, never again.

 

- Often, lunch time burgers (most lunch time menus are very American foods) are quite dry.

 

- If any lights are busted in your room, ask the room cleaning people, they'll fix it pretty fast.

 

- Explorer's Café is a pay-for drink place. Snacks are free, only the first time.

 

- On Day 2, hair dryers and bathrobes magically appeared in our rooms in the middle of the day

 

- Slow down when approaching automatic doors, or else you'll run face first into it (I almost did a few times)

 

- When watching a movie, as soon as the movie starts, look to the left. There should be a table with water & bags of popcorn sitting there. Help yourself (:

 

- Don't go to Dancing with the Stars show. It was bad.

 

- If you're into it, the music playing in the Lido is always current music (ie. P!nk, Bruno Mars, Adele, Katy Perry etc)

 

- Don't be surprised if the servers that don't serve you, don't smile at you

 

- Photos taken by professionals are laid out in a stupid way. 6 pictures on one sheet. 1 big one and 5 little ones stuck together -_- Like.. why?

 

- The basketball court is located right above the Lido restaurant, so during the day time, you will hear BAM BAM SHAKE CRASH above you. Do not be alarmed. It's people playing basketball.

 

- If you're not super old, you will find nothing to do on board. o_o (In a kid's POV)

 

- Excellent disembarkation, took literally minutes to scan your card, get off the ship, show your declaration cards to the people/passports and get out.

 

- The special looking area in buffet is for Cannaletto. Closed off at night, don't sit there right before dinner, they have to set up. Other times in the day is ok.

 

- Muster drill is basically roll cal, then get out

 

- They have tennis, ping pong, giant chess, shuffleboard and basketball

 

- Be outside right after your muster drill and you're leaving port (Vancouver). You'll want a video of you passing underneath the Lion's Gate Bridge. The scenery is amazing afterwards to (if weather permits).

 

- In the Hudson's room (exit end of casino, non lobby direction), there is mahjong available. We were a bit silly for playing on a velvet surface (can't slide pieces), when there were paper mats or something to put on top of table.

 

- lunchtime MDR has a lot of line up too. Don't be discouraged, as soon as doors open, line up is gone.

 

- at 7:45pm day 2, go to Franz Hal Lounge (The theatre) and go do the Captain's Toast before dinner (if you're late dinner). No seats will be available though. Stand or something LOL if you're slow.

 

- If you're celebrating something, be sure to let them know. If it's a birthday, they'll sing to you in Indonesian.

 

- During lunch time of afternoon tea, ALWAYS request a table by the window. There's a change of seeing wildlife., dolphins and whales and stuff.

 

- Room service is worth ordering once. See if it's for you, because the 50 minute wait, sure wasn't worth it to us. We just went to the Lido instead. It works if you want to eat at midnight or something though.

 

- Sometimes only half the Lido is open, check.

 

- Everyday at 11pmish, there's a simple, different themed late night snack every night.

 

- On day 5, there's a Dessert Extravaganza right when the late show starts. Picture time at 10:15pm, otherwise, just go after the show.

 

- GET THE COUPON BOOK OFFERED AS YOU'RE GETTING ON TO THE SHIP. IT'S GIVEN OUT BY A DUDE WITH A PAMPHLET STATION. TAKE IT. HE'S LOCATED RIGHT BEFORE THE SHIP PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO'RE TAKING YOUR EMBARKATION PHOTOS. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. IT HAS EVERYTHING IN IT. Bring it with you on every port.

 

- All cruisers under the age of 16 have alarms go off every time they scan their cards to get off the boat. Don't be alarmed, it's just to make sure they're leaving with an adult and not by themselves.

 

- The kid's clubs are deserted and stupid. Don't do it.

 

- CHECK MEAL TIMES IN THE ON LOCATIONS GUIDE. THEY CHANGE. SOMETIMES BREAKFAST OR LUNCH IS OPEN FOR SHORTER PERIODS OF TIMES AND DIFFERENT TIMES.

 

- Also, listen to the cruise director when he says to move your clock back or forward an hour. It's important.

 

- If you're a Mariner, you will get your tile at your Mariner's Society brunch.

 

- Fill out a room service form the day before disembarkation day. It's a good idea.

 

Here's my shot of what we got every single night, except, this was of the last night.

 

 

Instead of: Room Service thing, On Locations Guide, Chocolates, a good night card

 

We got: a Room Service thing, chocolate, and A CRUISE LOG.

 

This sheet provides a detailed analysis of how our ship moved, how much fuel it used, when we arrived at different ports, the weather, the direction of the wind the day, YOU NAME IT. I was very pleased with this parting gift. (:

 

&& Don't worry, toward the end, I will scan all of the papers and fun stuff I've collected throughout my cruise.

Edited June 2, 2013 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

New to Alaska cruise...any tips...

There you go (: the most in depth, I've ever answer a question. Shortest question I ever got too o_o

[peppajay]

We will be on the Volendam 28th August. Thanks for the tips, will be very useful. Am really enjoying your blog and all the pictures:)

[Krazy Kruizers]

As usual -- great review and great pictures.

[jbhcw]

Great tips list...one of the best I've ever seen:):):)

[Tinknock50]

Hi Sarah,

I checked more into the train from the airport. There is actually a different station coming FROM the airport than going TO the airport.

The going to fit your description, but coming from the airport is a different station a couple of blocks away. Still not a bad walk though. :)

[vbmom87]

As for bringing your own power strip, technically this is not allowed. However, upon embarking, head to the customer service desk and they will provide you with one. In 2011 there was a $25 deposit. If you returned the strip, you were not charged.

[lovely_serenity]

We will be on the Volendam 28th August. Thanks for the tips, will be very useful. Am really enjoying your blog and all the pictures:)

 

You're welcome! :) & yay! i'm glad! ^^ I hope you have fun on your cruise c:

[lovely_serenity]

As usual -- great review and great pictures.

 

Thank you (: & nice to have a loyal and avid follower such as yourself reading my report ^^

[lovely_serenity]

Great tips list...one of the best I've ever seen:):):)

 

Oo, thank you! :D it took quite a while to squeeze all of these tips from my brain!

[lovely_serenity]

Hi Sarah,

I checked more into the train from the airport. There is actually a different station coming FROM the airport than going TO the airport.

The going to fit your description, but coming from the airport is a different station a couple of blocks away. Still not a bad walk though. :)

 

Whaat? The SkyTrain is literally stuck to the airport! You simply wait for the train that says "to Waterfront", that'll take you to thr big station a block away from Canada place. Don't get on the one that says "to Brighouse", that takes you into Richmond.

[lovely_serenity]

As for bringing your own power strip, technically this is not allowed. However, upon embarking, head to the customer service desk and they will provide you with one. In 2011 there was a $25 deposit. If you returned the strip, you were not charged.

 

O_o I've actually never heard of this before. Why would that be not allowed? Seems illogical..

[startwin]

O_o I've actually never heard of this before. Why would that be not allowed? Seems illogical..

 

We've always taken our own. In fact, HAL advised us to once, along with an extension cord, for my DH's C-PAP machine.

[lovely_serenity]

We've always taken our own. In fact, HAL advised us to once, along with an extension cord, for my DH's C-PAP machine.

I know right? Passengers can usually take anything they want on board (normal household stuff), why would it be technically not allowed? That just doesn't make sense!

[Tinknock50]

Whaat? The SkyTrain is literally stuck to the airport! You simply wait for the train that says "to Waterfront", that'll take you to thr big station a block away from Canada place. Don't get on the one that says "to Brighouse", that takes you into Richmond.

 

LOL....I am not talking about the airport station at all. That is extremely simple.

 

I am talking about at Waterfront Station.

 

I am researching it again now. :)

[lovely_serenity]

LOL....I am not talking about the airport station at all. That is extremely simple.

 

I am talking about at Waterfront Station.

 

I am researching it again now. :)

 

Okay, let me try again LOL. Okay, so from the Waterfront Station, it connects to a couple other train lines. One being the Canada Line (Sky Train that goes to Richmond/YVR) and another being the Millenium Line.

 

The glass box you can see from Canada Place leads to the last (I believe) stop of the Millenium Line. You would walk through there to get INTO Waterfront Station and take the Canada line from there to go to YVR.

 

The Millenium Line is the train that takes you around Vancouver & goes all the way to Metrotown mall.

Edited June 2, 2013 by lovely_serenity

[startwin]

Okay, let me try again LOL. Okay, so from the Waterfront Station, it connects to a couple other train lines. One being the Canada Line (Sky Train that goes to Richmond/YVR) and another being the Millenium Line.

 

The glass box you can see from Canada Place leads to the last (I believe) stop of the Millenium Line. You would walk through there to get INTO Waterfront Station and take the Canada line from there to go to YVR.

 

The Millenium Line is the train that takes you around Vancouver & goes all the way to Metrotown mall.

 

And just to add for confusion:D.... don't forget the Expo line, which goes to Surrey! (from Waterfront).

[lovely_serenity]

And just to add for confusion:D.... don't forget the Expo line, which goes to Surrey! (from Waterfront).

oh yeah, that one too LOL. So 3 trains are connected to Waterfront ^^

[Tinknock50]

Okay, let me try again LOL. Okay, so from the Waterfront Station, it connects to a couple other train lines. One being the Canada Line (Sky Train that goes to Richmond/YVR) and another being the Millenium Line.

 

The glass box you can see from Canada Place leads to the last (I believe) stop of the Millenium Line. You would walk through there to get INTO Waterfront Station and take the Canada line from there to go to YVR.

 

The Millenium Line is the train that takes you around Vancouver & goes all the way to Metrotown mall.

 

Again....I am not talking about going TO the airport. I have done that before so I got that down.

 

Anyway, it's all good. Wherever they leave us off at the waterfront is fine. Easy to just head downhill to the port from the station :)

[lovely_serenity]

We wrapped up our brunch and decided to go out the back door of the Lido to check out the view of Ketchikan from there. And O.M.G was it windy. 0_0

 

The strength of the wind was strong enough, that it pushed my body backwards every time it blew. Which was scary because it changed directions frequently. So basically, I got thrown around for a couple minutes.

 

As we stepped outside, a strong gust of wind slapped us in the face. While approaching the railings for my pictures, a chair (for the seating area near the door) came flying from my left a slammed into a pile of loungers:

 

 

(That wooden framed chair right there)

 

O_O It was briefly in the air when it ran out of deck to screech across. When it ran into the loungers, it lifted off the ground briefly before settling back down. Everyone started shouting "WOAH!"s and "OMG!"s and

other sorts of words that I will not type (:

 

Mom & Dad ran back inside and left us kids behind to battle the wind. I turned to my right and saw the Ketchikan city skyline that I was waiting to take pictures of. Suddenly, I noticed an obstacle that blocked my way.

A partially constructed railing. o_o It was missing the top brown chunk and had a sign draped on it saying to "Be Careful" or something. =_= Challenge accepted.

 

As I inched forward toward the 3 meter wide construction zone (to yet again, risk my life for you guys), something stopped me dead on my tracks. As my original plan was to inch forward and stay a couple feet away

from the danger zone to take my pictures, a GIANT GUST OF WIND STARTED PUSHING ME FROM BEHIND. >:O OH MY GOSH, DON'T DO THAT!!! I scrunched up my face and braced myself for the force as it pushed me

closer to the scary zone of "if I fall down there, I die. That's concrete right there". I backed up a foot and spread my footing a bit & lowered my stance to keep myself from lifting off the ground or something.

o_o I seriously feared for my life for a second there.

 

That mean wind was trying to push me to my doom, so I took the hit until it lessened. I then quickly hopped forward a foot and started taking REALLY FAST pictures.

The wind hit me while I was leaning forward with my camera, and I just braced myself, hoping it wasn't strong enough to throw me over the edge.

o_o I''m not that big you know, only 5 foot 1-2"ish. So a lot of wind could throw me.

 

Here is a compilation of 3 "I'm-2 feet-away-from-the-non-existent-railing" shots.

 

 

and then here, is my "I-got-hit-by-the-wind-while-I-was-leaning-over-the-railing-and-almost-died" shot:

 

 

I hope you all appreciate it -_-'

 

After I finished these shots, I turned back around because I heard a familiar weird noise. I whipped around and saw that same wooden chair being thrown by the chair once again.

Except this time, it was in my direction. O_O OH MY GOSH. WHY.

 

I ran away and saw that it was veering more toward the left of where I was standing. It smashed into the railings next to my initial standing point, mini lifted off the ground, flipped over and then wound up lying face(?),

flat on the floor. o_o' Poor chair... being picked on by the wind and all. Oh wells, not my problem c:

 

After a couple more "OH MY GOSH! 0_0!"s and "WOOAH!!"s and other creative words from my siblings, I ran over to the other side of the ship to take some ocean photos since after all, we were docked.

I had 2 scenes to get shots of. One land and one water :D

 

I shuffled over to the starboard side and got a whole bunch of shots. Here's compilation #2 of my scenery shots ^^

 

 

Once I finished that, I took a couple more shots toward the back side of the ship

 

 

Edited June 2, 2013 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

Again....I am not talking about going TO the airport. I have done that before so I got that down.

 

Anyway, it's all good. Wherever they leave us off at the waterfront is fine. Easy to just head downhill to the port from the station :)

Are you talking about, after getting off the SkyTrain and arriving at Waterfront. How to get to Canada Place? or from Canada Place to Waterfront?

Edited June 2, 2013 by lovely_serenity

[lovely_serenity]

Okay, answering another question (correctly hopefully)

 

How to get from Waterfront Station to Canada Place; your cruise terminal for Vancouver :)

 

Here's a couple maps I created.

 

So after you've got off of the Canada Line (Sky Train) and have arrived in Waterfront Station (*KEEP YOUR TICKET, DON'T THROW IT AWAY YET).

 

Exit where everyone else is going and follow the crowd to the main building part of Waterfront Station. (There are 2 sets of Escalator/Stairs. A metal elevator is smack dab in the middle if you need it).

 

Here is a map of Canada Place, relative to Waterfront Station:

 

 

THIS IS THE MAP YOU FOLLOW IF YOU WANNA EXIT THE WATERFRONT STATION BUILDING AND WALK TO CANADA PLACE VIA OUTSIDE ON THE SIDEWALKS AND STUFF. **DON'T TRY TO CUT CORNERS, JUST WALK IN AN "L" SHAPE TO CANADA PLACE. WE TRIED. IT'S BLOCKED OFF.

 

BUT. There is a short cut. That opening I've indicated above is like one of the holes in the ground that connect to subways. That opening connects to Waterfront Station and literally halves your walking time. Be warned, this short cut is only for those who can walk. There are only stair cases and escalators beyond this point.

 

The path that I will describe to you, will be depicted via the GREEN line:

 

 

I will bring you from underground, out through a subway-like exit, RIGHT IN FRONT of Canada Place.

 

KEEP YOUR TICKET IF YOU WANNA TAKE THE SHORT CUT. IF YOU DON'T, JUST FOLLOW PICTURE #1 AND WALK TO CANADA PLACE. It takes ~15 minutes walking outside. About half the tie via shortcut. It's really helpful when the weather hot and you're carrying a suitcase! ^^

 

So here is the shortcut:

 

- Once you ride to the top of the escalator and the room opens up into the - - Waterfront Station, you'll see to the left, more lit up turn style entrance things that obviously mean, there are more trains there.

- Go through that place that'll take you to where more trains are.

- Follow the crowd until you reach a 2 way road. One will take you to the Millennium Line and the other will take you to the Expo Line.

- Turn left and go to the Millennium Line.

- Go down the escalator and walk STRAIGHT. Pass the people waiting for the train, pass the train itself.

- Walk THROUGH the train stop and go out the exit at the other end.

- Go up some stairs THEN KEEP GOING STRAIGHT up another escalator. DO NOT TURN ANYWHERE.

- You will then be greeted by a cool breeze that is, fresh air, right in front of Canada Place (:

 

You can repeat the process backwards too. Just remember to buy a train ticket before going in the area with trains, or risk getting charger a fine.

 

(for those who know what I'm talking about, yes, it IS the glass box :D)

 

Here is my shot right after exiting the glass box opening from underground. (I took this on my Disney cruise 2 years ago):

 

 

Pass the Dim Sum cart and do a semi-circle loop to the BIG crosswalk. *Watch for cars!

Follow the direction of the orange arrow to the crosswalk.

 

Next, to get to the cruise terminal. The squiggly arrow coming from the right is where you cross the road.

 

 

As soon as you cross the road, make a SHARP RIGHT and go around the pole that is indicated above (circled). It will lead VERY MUCH DOWNHILL. It may look weird BUT GO THERE ANYWAYS. Just follow the path all the way down. You'll start to see cruise line banners and whatnot. Keep walking to the place that indicates where passengers check in and stuff. There's also a place to check in luggage too!

 

DO NOT GO INTO THE BUILDING. YOUR CRUISE IS NOT THERE.

 

I hope this helps all first timers coming to Vancouver for an Alaskan cruise! After doing 3 of them, we've got the hang of it now (finally) ^^.

Edited June 3, 2013 by lovely_serenity

[mpes53]

Thank you for your posts! It's helping us a lot. Would you mind a coupla questions?

 

1) Think its possible to push the twin beds together, into a queen, and against a wall? The baby and an adult will probably sleep in them, and I'd like to minimize the risk of her rolling off.

 

2) Were there hair driers available?

[lovely_serenity]

Thank you for your posts! It's helping us a lot. Would you mind a coupla questions?

 

1) Think its possible to push the twin beds together, into a queen, and against a wall? The baby and an adult will probably sleep in them, and I'd like to minimize the risk of her rolling off.

 

2) Were there hair driers available?

 

You're welcome! c: And naw, I wouldn't mind!

 

1.) Yes, yes you can. Just tell the people that clean your rooms. They'd be happy to set it up like that for you! :)

 

2.) Yup! In every bathroom, there is a hair dryer that looks like a telephone. Grab the handle and just pull it off the wall. The hair dryer air part is just stuck to it by a magnet. When you pull it off its base, it automatically turns on. Likewise with putting it back on. It turns it off.

 

Also, Day 2, magically, a seperate normal looking hair dryer appeared in our room for our use o_o never used it but nice to have.

[JamesEM]

Thanks for your info list, very informative.