Live From HAL's Zuiderdam August 3-10 Alaska Inside Passage

[chefestelle]

Hello all! I'm so excited about this upcoming cruise that I decided to start a Live From thread. I know the internet is really poor as we cruise north but I will do my best to post my first experiences of Alaska. 

 

I am travelling with my sister. Her birthday is August 4 so this is her birthday cruise and my 60th birthday present to myself. We're going to have a blast. This cruise was on her bucket list and I was happy to tag along. Any cruise is a good cruise!

 

Over the last few days I have started receiving information about vaccine requirements, boarding time, and changes to the itinerary. I've also been reading other live reports to see how things are doing in Alaska right now. There have been some excursion cancellations and itinerary changes that seem to be driven by labour and supply issues. Hopefully these will be sorted before August! If not, we will have to roll with the changes. 

 

We are in a signature suite - I'm too uncomfortable with closed spaces for an inside or ocean view. After booking a veranda, my TA found a deal on suites. So I took it. I do love the suites on HAL. 

 

Sis has occasional mobility challenges with long walks, so we are bringing her walker. But our excursions are both on boats, so there won't be any problems there. We booked the Tracy Arm Inlet for the Juneau stretch, and salmon fishing in Ketchikan. She is an avid fisher and I like it well enough to join her. We are also looking forward to the sightings of wildlife on sea, air and land. 

 

I'm already planning my packing list and have added all three spots to my weather app. Let's hope for some of the gorgeous weather the spring cruisers had! I'm coming prepared, though, because I gather August is the rainy season. 

 

And that's all I have for now. One month and seventeen days to go!

 

[oakridger]

Hey thanks!  I'll be watching for your posts.

 

~Nancy

[CruisinGirl777]

I just came off this cruise so I will be interested to watch. 

[chefestelle]

35 minutes ago, CruisinGirl777 said:

I just came off this cruise so I will be interested to watch. 

Any observations you want to share? Things to watch for/prepare for either good, bad or just interesting?

[rkacruiser]

On 6/17/2022 at 3:53 PM, chefestelle said:

We are in a signature suite

 

You will love it!  Since your sister will be using a walker, there will be ample room for her to move around in the suite even if the beds are separated into two singles.  (I experienced this when my traveling companion was using a scooter.  Ample--just--room for the two of us and the scooter.)   Plenty of storage space and a very nice sized veranda.  Try to enjoy Breakfast on your veranda at least once, if possible.

 

Looking forward to your reports!  Thanks for making the effort.  

[chefestelle]

15 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

You will love it!  Since your sister will be using a walker, there will be ample room for her to move around in the suite even if the beds are separated into two singles.  (I experienced this when my traveling companion was using a scooter.  Ample--just--room for the two of us and the scooter.)   Plenty of storage space and a very nice sized veranda.  Try to enjoy Breakfast on your veranda at least once, if possible.

 

Looking forward to your reports!  Thanks for making the effort.  

Thank you! That's great info about the size of the suite. At least a walker folds too. I love breakfast on the veranda (I have only been on two prior cruises with HAL and had verandas both times). So for sure if it's not raining we'll be doing that! Thanks again. I'm so excited for this trip.

[CruisinGirl777]

On 6/18/2022 at 11:03 AM, chefestelle said:

Any observations you want to share? Things to watch for/prepare for either good, bad or just interesting?

It was an amazing cruise. It was our first time on HAL and we really enjoyed it immensely (cruised all the major lines). For this cruise I would recommend going to the bow for Glacier Bay then warm up in the Crow’s Nest if necessary - they serve pea soup there. Also we took the helicopter tour to a glacier and did the dog sledding (over snow) and it was the best excursion ever! Great afternoon tea and the lounge was marvellous until it switched over from BB King Blues lounge to Rolling Stones lounge; then it was empty. Watch the “Earth” show in the main stage with the small orchestra; sit in the Billboard lounge for the duelling pianos and be sure to dress appropriately for the weather (it was cold and wet, yet sunny on days too). Food was great and service was good. Enjoy! 

[Kristal Blade]

I will be following your report, chefestelle,

We are on Zuiderdam later in august with our daughter and her family. We have booked them a Neptune suite and we have an outside on deck 1. 
Have a great time and I look forward to reading your report.

[chefestelle]

6 hours ago, CruisinGirl777 said:

It was an amazing cruise. It was our first time on HAL and we really enjoyed it immensely (cruised all the major lines). For this cruise I would recommend going to the bow for Glacier Bay then warm up in the Crow’s Nest if necessary - they serve pea soup there. Also we took the helicopter tour to a glacier and did the dog sledding (over snow) and it was the best excursion ever! Great afternoon tea and the lounge was marvellous until it switched over from BB King Blues lounge to Rolling Stones lounge; then it was empty. Watch the “Earth” show in the main stage with the small orchestra; sit in the Billboard lounge for the duelling pianos and be sure to dress appropriately for the weather (it was cold and wet, yet sunny on days too). Food was great and service was good. Enjoy! 

Thanks! This is great. I love afternoon tea and it sounds like it's still good. I've wanted to try BB King lounge and I've heard a lot about the Earth show. Definitely taking them both in. Thanks again!

[LJProk]

We were on Noordam and did Whittier to Vancouver, amazing trip and would recommend to anyone! when you sail past the glaciers on Noordam they opened a forward deck on 4 that is normally closed. They had a bar set up outside but more people were eating the pea soup they were serving than ordered drinks. It was rainy and 48 that day! Skagway we did the white trail pass which fun, and the summer sled dog excursion which was a favorite for us. Juneau was whale watching and mendenhall glacier. And Ketichikan we did the misty fjords boat trip (do not recommend). Have fun, wish I could go back and we've only been home a week!

[chefestelle]

3 hours ago, LJProk said:

We were on Noordam and did Whittier to Vancouver, amazing trip and would recommend to anyone! when you sail past the glaciers on Noordam they opened a forward deck on 4 that is normally closed. They had a bar set up outside but more people were eating the pea soup they were serving than ordered drinks. It was rainy and 48 that day! Skagway we did the white trail pass which fun, and the summer sled dog excursion which was a favorite for us. Juneau was whale watching and mendenhall glacier. And Ketichikan we did the misty fjords boat trip (do not recommend). Have fun, wish I could go back and we've only been home a week!

That pea soup sounds legendary! Thanks for the input. I'm just getting more excited!

[chefestelle]

I've been in a couple of good storms at sea without any negative effects but I don't think my sister ever has! I am looking at alternatives to meclizine (it is not made or sold in Canada anymore). We are not prone to seasickness but would not want a rollicking storm to impact any part of this cruise. What do you use/recommend? 

 

[rodndonna]

1 hour ago, chefestelle said:

I've been in a couple of good storms at sea without any negative effects but I don't think my sister ever has! I am looking at alternatives to meclizine (it is not made or sold in Canada anymore). We are not prone to seasickness but would not want a rollicking storm to impact any part of this cruise. What do you use/recommend? 

 

 

I take ginger root capsules on an ongoing basis when I am flying or cruising to prevent motion sickness as I had some problems many years ago. I have never had problems since taking Ginger root but to be honest my prior bad experiences were in REALLY rough waters, one was a ferry and one was a cruise that was essentially just a converted ferry boat (Easycruise).

 

[chefestelle]

Thank you. I've always taken ginger Gravol along just in case. But no one's ever had to use it so I wasn't sure if it even worked!

[rodndonna]

5 minutes ago, chefestelle said:

Thank you. I've always taken ginger Gravol along just in case. But no one's ever had to use it so I wasn't sure if it even worked!

 

It is supposed to be more preventative, so i take daily (I get the large GNC bottle of it). So far so good - knock on wood!

[Kristal Blade]

I have “Seabands”. Little stretchy wrist bracelets with a bead that you put on your wrist pulse point. Acupuncture to prevent nausea. I pop them on if I feel a wobble from the ship.

 

It’s maybe just all in the mind, but they work for me. The only thing is, they’re not very elegant!

[mahi mahi]

Just came off the Zuiderdam last week - we thought it was one of the best cruises we have ever done, if not at the very top.  We have done a lot of cruises, Europe, British Isles, Caribbean, transatlantic and one prior Alaska over several lines (Carnival and Norwegian once each and no more).  We prefer HAL and Celebrity with the edge to HAL.  We chose this one after cancelling a Med cruise on Osterdam a few days before final payment as we were just not comfortable with the covid situation.  Embarking in Vancouver and flying in from our local airport was much less stressful and we felt very safe overall.

 

We flew in the day before.  HAL wanted us to download Verifly but due to comments on these boards we did not and it turns out that was no problem.  We arrived at the port an hour before our boarding time and went straight to the ship.  We also had a signature suite, on deck 6 and absolutely loved it, very roomy with a great balcony.  We tend to spend time in our room anyway and with the covid situation this was a great decision.  There were only 1200 passengers on our cruise and there was no fighting for elevators - we used the glass ones almost exclusively and were the only passengers the majority of the time.  We ate in the dining room 6 out of 7 nights, reserving the same 2 top as soon as we boarded.  Food and service were fantastic!  We ate in Pinnacle Grill once and honestly would not waste my money again, although it has been really good in the past.  Hubby's strip loin was 'chewy' and my halibut was just okay.  Sides to 'share' were a joke, barely enough for one person (think 1/3 cup of mushrooms!).  Even with our Mariner 25% discount I wouldn't do it again given the main dining food was so good.  I love fish and had the salmon 4 of 6 nights, different prep each time and halibut once which was way better than the Pinnacle version.

 

We had room service breakfast twice which was wonderful (a little too chilly to enjoy on the balcony) and it was also great, hot items hot and cold items cold.  Other breakfasts were in lido as well as lunches on board but we would often grab a sandwich, pizza or salad and enjoy in our room.

We had lunch at the Fish House in Ketchikan which was fantastic, highly recommend!  Don't be put off if there is a line at the door, it moves pretty quickly.  You order at the counter and they give you a numbered sign.  You choose a spot to sit, usually at long tables with others and they bring your food to you.  We both had halibut and it was to die for.

 

We are envious you get to do Tracy Arm - we watched people boarding the boat from our balcony then heading into a fiord to get up close to the glaciers.  Definitely on our bucket list for next time.  The only port we did an excursion in was Skagway as it was a new port for us.  We did the Denver Valley hike and White Pass rail, which was an all day thing.  The hike through the rain forest was really special, pretty strenuous but so worth it.  The guides were great, recognizing that some of us old folks would prefer a slightly slower pace in order to take in the surroundings rather than bounding along like we were out to win Amazing Race!  Five of us opted to slow down about half way and we were able to stop along the way to take photos and ask questions.  The train ride was very scenic and we found out a lot about the gold rush.

 

The day at Glacier Bay was spectacular.  The weather unfortunately was cloudy with some drizzle here and there but we were able to see I think 5 glaciers in total.  Definitely head to the bow for the best view and have some pea soup.  I have to say our previous cruise out of Seattle did not provide the best scenic cruising as this inside passage one but our day at the Hubbard Glacier on that cruise was wonderful - we were very close to the glacier (huge) and the weather was sunny while we were there and there was a LOT of calving going on.  This time not so much however there was lots of wildlife that made up for it, I swear there were sea lions on every piece of ice as well as sea otters swimming near the ship.  

 

Wildlife viewing on this trip was truly wonderful - that's really a highlight of any trip to Alaska.  We saw pods of whales near the ship several times, sea otters, brown bears on the beaches and once there was a piece of something floating by (part of a dead animal maybe???) with what looked like several small penguins standing on it!  Not penguins of course....looked it up, maybe auks?

 

HAL has always excelled in the service department and their reputation is definitely intact on that score.  Our cabin attendants were stellar (Ono and Ida) as were our dining room waiters (Iwan and Ambrullah).  Really everyone we encountered, from the shy little pizza guy in lido and the lovely girl giving me my muesli at breakfast to the maintenance people I would see on my sprints around the outside deck 3 - EVERYONE went out of their way to be friendly.  The Zuiderdam may be an old lady but she is beautifully maintained and squeaky clean.

 

We have talked about doing this same cruise every year but I suspect it may be even sooner.  Our previous cruise to Alaska was the end of September and the weather then was pretty nice so not out of the question.  Maybe it was because it's been 2 1/2 years since we had cruised that we had such a fabulous time but whatever, can't wait to do it again!  Inside passage out of Vancouver is the way to go for sure.

 

Sorry this post is so lengthy....can you tell I am still excited about it and excited for you to be doing it soon???

[chefestelle]

Wow! Mahi Mahi, that is a great review! Thank you. I know we want to do room service a couple of mornings and I am really happy to hear that it was so good. I had room service on Eurodam a couple times but the ship was full and the delivery slow. Thanks for all the helpful tips! I can tell you loved it and my excitement is barely contained too!

[mahi mahi]

I forgot to add that motion on this itinerary was pretty nonexistent.  Unless you are very sensitive it's unlikely you will need any meds.

 

Also, entertainment is pretty focused on nature - we enjoyed the EXC talks and the BBC Earth show.  There was no BB King on board this trip, not sure why.  Other than the Step One shows on the main stage and the nature talks etc. we did not do Billboard Onboard or the Rolling Stone Lounge but did listen to the Lincoln Centre group although the venue isn't the best compared to newer ships.  We tend to be up at the crack of dawn (on this trip the sun comes up around 3:30 am) and sets VERY late (one of our hike guides showed us a picture she took kayaking at 1:30 am!).  In August this will change of course.  One of my best memories is that first early morning cruising along almost silently with the sun rising and mist floating by little islands, with mountains in the distance.

 

Our biggest takeaway from this cruise is that there are still places on the planet that are incredibly beautiful but so untouched by humans....so far.  Pretty humbling.

[rodndonna]

22 minutes ago, mahi mahi said:

Our biggest takeaway from this cruise is that there are still places on the planet that are incredibly beautiful but so untouched by humans....so far.  Pretty humbling.

 

Alas, although they 'appear' untouched, we as humans have an impact on those areas due to climate change, and should give that some thought when we are visiting these places we otherwise don't see or think of in our daily lives.

 

OK - I'll step down off my soap box now ..🙃. 

[*Miss G*]

2 hours ago, rodndonna said:

we as humans have an impact on those areas due to climate change, and should give that some thought when we are visiting these places

 

You mean, like, “I hope this cruise doesn’t impact the ecosystem of this untouched place”?  😜 🙃

[wdw1972]

3 hours ago, mahi mahi said:

 

Also, entertainment is pretty focused on nature - we enjoyed the EXC talks and the BBC Earth show.  There was no BB King on board this trip, not sure why. 

The reason is the Vista class ships (Zuiderdam is one of those) recently changed from BB King to Rolling Stone Lounge.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[chefestelle]

Thank you! I expected entertainment would be geared toward the beauty of the area. I do have some angst about cruise impact and I do get the side eye from my daughter. It's not something I've reconciled yet!

[sandiego1]

Is there smoking in the casino on the Zuiderdam?

[Crew News]

Mescaline is available at the Front Desk.  Taking it after you are motion sick is futile.  I always have a bag of ginger drops just in case. 

 

I have been on many Alaska cruises and always wear my sea bands the first evening until bedtime.  By the morning, my body has adjusted to the sea and i don't need them for the rest of the cruise.

 

The pea soup is served around 9:30 AM at several locations onboard.  My visit the aft Lido deck for my pea soup and take it back to my aft balcony for consumption.

 

Tip:  Avoid the allegedly "seared" scallops in the Pinnacle Grill.  Fillets were excellent as was the beet side dish.

 

I have posted the daily activities, MDR menus, and the Late Buffet menus for Zuiderdam Alaska in 2022 at the right link in my signature below.