Best HAL ship for Alaskan cruise for first timer?

[Sigyn]

I've never sailed HAL before, and haven't considered it until today when I saw someone talking about how much they enjoyed the Koningsdam. The idea of a ship made just for Alaskan cruises with a covered pool and a crow's nest appeals to me. My husband and I are looking at Alaskan cruises for July 2023. I've done a 3-week land tour in Alaska two decades ago, but never a cruise. We've cruised other places, but we are not seasoned cruisers by any means. Which HAL ship would be the best for a couple (ages 51 and 54) who are leaving the kids at home and who like to be fairly low-key and watch the scenery, cocktail in hand, and enjoy occasional on-board entertainment, but are more into excursions and the culture of Alaska? We are active, fit adults, and also love great food and wine.

 

Our idea of a relaxing vacation is driving up the coast of Northern California, spending several days in Napa, visiting our favorite wineries, discovering a few new ones, strolling down the streets of Yountville and St. Helena to well-reviewed restaurants, taking a wine tasting class at the CIA, doing a cave tour at Schramsberg, an outdoor tasting on Spring Mountain, followed by a couple of days in San Francisco.  We like nice hotels, delicious restaurants, beautiful scenery, gorgeous sunsets and good conversation. 

 

How this translates to an Alaskan cruise, well, I'm not sure. But this is how we do vacations, so it seemed like a good thing to share.

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by njsmom

[Roz]

What are your choices of HAL ships for Alaska in 2023?  Based on the information you've provided, I think any HAL ship could work for you.  I would base my decision on itinerary, month, and fares.

[CruiserBruce]

ALL HAL ships have covered pools and Crows Nests.

 

Alaska is about scenery and natural wonders. ANY HAL ship will provide those.

[lyndarra]

I prefer the smaller HAL ships, Zaandam, Maasdam (until it was sold). Perhaps I was spoiled/influenced by my first HAL cruise on Volendam in 2012. The smallet ships seem to have slightly better itineraries but, as mentioned above, any HAL ship would be nice for Alaska. (Disclosure. My only two Alaskan cruises to date have been with Celebrity although I have one planned with HAL next June).

[DCThunder]

I did a HAL cruise to Alaska on Nieuw Amsterdam from Vancouver the last week in September and enjoyed it immensely. It was also my first HAL cruise, and it was a very nice change of pace from PCL. BC and Alaska are very scenic when seen from the deck of cruise ship.

 

If you're in NorCal, you could take a couple of days to drive to Vancouver, take the cruise and drive home.

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, Roz said:

What are your choices of HAL ships for Alaska in 2023?  Based on the information you've provided, I think any HAL ship could work for you.  I would base my decision on itinerary, month, and fares.

The possible choices (I did not look at itineraries) for 2023 are Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam, Volendam, Westerdam.

 

Itinerary aside, @njsmom, your vibe seems to agree with the smaller ships: Volendam, or the slightly larger Vista class ships, Noordam & Westerdam. We have sailed on Alaska on the Volendam and her sister ship Zaandam and had a simply stunning time! Also on the former significantly smaller Statendam -- from the Lido, you could count the whiskers on the sea otters! So there are advantages to the smaller ships.

 

A Vista class ship, the Zuiderdam, is currently my favorite ship.

 

OTOH, the Signature class ships, Eurodam & Nieuw Amsterdam, and the Koningsdam -- have different musical venues and one additional restaurant, the Tamarind (Asian fusion) that I am looking forward to on our upcoming Koningsdam sailings. (As an unrequested comment: all of the "Dam" ships will have classical music almost every evening.)

 

As far as itinerary, if you are picking from amongst the 7-day cruises, one that ports in Sitka will get you the most "real" Alaska feel. We did the 3-part Otters, Eagles, and Bears ship's excursion and got a bit of everything! Unfortunately, I think to 'hit' Sitka, you miss Skagway, and that is another favorite stop, esp. if you like train-rides or gold-rush settings. Having done both R/T and one-way White Pass RR, I would go back to Sitka. But Skagway is a close second!

 

If you can swing it, one of the 14-day itineraries (I think only running early or late in the season next year) would trump ship choice!

[Sigyn]

The two cruises I'm considering on HAL are:

 

July 8-15 - Koningsdam - 7-day RT out of Vancouver

Itinerary: Inside Passage, Tracy Arm Inlet, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, Inside Passage, Vancouver

 

July 9-16 - Noordam - 7-day Vancouver to Whittier

Itinerary: Inside Passage, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Whittier

Edited October 18, 2022 by njsmom

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, njsmom said:

The two cruises I'm considering on HAL are:

 

July 8-15 - Koningsdam - 7-day RT out of Vancouver

Itinerary: Inside Passage, Tracy Arm Inlet, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, Inside Passage, Vancouver

 

July 9-16 - Noordam - 7-day Vancouver to Whittier

Itinerary: Inside Passage, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Whittier

I would take the Noordam. 

[crystalspin]

1 hour ago, njsmom said:

July 8-15 - Koningsdam - 7-day RT out of Vancouver

Itinerary: Inside Passage, Tracy Arm Inlet, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, Inside Passage, Vancouver

July 9-16 - Noordam - 7-day Vancouver to Whittier

Itinerary: Inside Passage, Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, College Fjord, Whittier

Both of these itineraries have the MAJOR advantages of leaving from Vancouver (Inside Passage) and including Glacier Bay. 

 

Noordam has the following pluses: Ketchikan-to-Juneau-to-Skagway is my preferred sequence of ports. You are getting more and more "Alaska" as you go. Also as I said I do like the Vista Class ships.

 

Be that as it may, I would choose the K'dam: Twice through the Inside Passage. Never know when one direction may be rainy/visibility hampered. Two times is two times better. Also the logistics of round-trip flights from Vancouver should be easier and cheaper than open-end flights to Vancouver and home from Anchorage.

 

I have never sailed College Fjord, but I *have* crossed the Bay of Alaska (twice) and multiple members of my cohort were quite seasick both times! Also, there is nothing in Whittier (as opposed to Seward where HAL used to end their northbound cruises) -- you simply get on a bus to transfer to Anchorage.

 

So on the K'dam you get Tracy Arm Inlet in exchange for College Fjord, and a second CALM trip through the Inside Passage in place of a possibly rough featureless sailing across Bay of Alaska with a no-stop trip to Anchorage and costly extra flight time from there.

[leerathje]

Koningsdam, becasue you said you like food. I would be lost without the Tamarind, and sushi while on my way to Alaska?  YUM!

As well, one of the best places to grab a snack is the Grand Dutch Cafe.  The pea soup is, again, YUM!  Plus, I do appreciate the NY Pizza.

The Pinnacle class ships have better food options, imo.

 

L.

 

[TotallyCruzin]

I love the Koningsdam; great musical venues like Bill Board onboard 2 pianist alternating songs with different genres every evening, BB Kings nightclub, Lincoln Center Stage usually a quintet or quartet performing chamber music and The Rolling Stone Rock Room.  I love the different food venues like The Grand Dutch Cafe for snacks like split pea soup and sandwiches, New York Pizza and Deli, the awesome Tamarind* and Rudi's Sel de Mer* which you have to pay additional fee* but well worth it.  This is the largest category of ship that HAL sails; however it is still about half the passenger capacity of the other newer 5000-6000 behemoths that the other guys sail... Whichever HAL ship you choose I'm sure you'll enjoy it! 

 

PS. I think Hubbard Glacier is the best Glacier of all however its not on the Koningsdam itinerary.  It's Glacier calving city there at Hubbard.

[Sigyn]

6 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Both of these itineraries have the MAJOR advantages of leaving from Vancouver (Inside Passage) and including Glacier Bay. 

 

Noordam has the following pluses: Ketchikan-to-Juneau-to-Skagway is my preferred sequence of ports. You are getting more and more "Alaska" as you go. Also as I said I do like the Vista Class ships.

 

Be that as it may, I would choose the K'dam: Twice through the Inside Passage. Never know when one direction may be rainy/visibility hampered. Two times is two times better. Also the logistics of round-trip flights from Vancouver should be easier and cheaper than open-end flights to Vancouver and home from Anchorage.

 

I have never sailed College Fjord, but I *have* crossed the Bay of Alaska (twice) and multiple members of my cohort were quite seasick both times! Also, there is nothing in Whittier (as opposed to Seward where HAL used to end their northbound cruises) -- you simply get on a bus to transfer to Anchorage.

 

So on the K'dam you get Tracy Arm Inlet in exchange for College Fjord, and a second CALM trip through the Inside Passage in place of a possibly rough featureless sailing across Bay of Alaska with a no-stop trip to Anchorage and costly extra flight time from there.

I chose them because of Vancouver. I left out the Seattle departures on purpose since you don't get the real Inside Passage. I have seen College Fjord before, on my one-day cruise 23 years ago. It was impressive. I saw a lot of calving that day. Whittier was a bunch of nothing. I remember a tunnel and that's about it. I'm leaning toward K'dam, too. 

 

I'm also looking at a Celebrity cruise out of Vancouver on the Eclipse that does the Inside Passage, Icy Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Ketchikan, Inside Passage and then Vancouver, but doesn't give me Glacier Bay, or one of the many Princess cruises. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by njsmom

[Sigyn]

6 hours ago, leerathje said:

Koningsdam, becasue you said you like food. I would be lost without the Tamarind, and sushi while on my way to Alaska?  YUM!

As well, one of the best places to grab a snack is the Grand Dutch Cafe.  The pea soup is, again, YUM!  Plus, I do appreciate the NY Pizza.

The Pinnacle class ships have better food options, imo.

 

L.

 

I looked at the size and while it is large, it's far smaller than RCL and others. I like that. Even the Prima that we're sailing on in December is a brand new ship and is "only" 3,000 passengers. I simply do not want to be on a ship with 4,000 or 6,000 passengers. 

Edited October 18, 2022 by njsmom

[leerathje]

1 hour ago, njsmom said:

I looked at the size and while it is large, it's far smaller than RCL and others. I like that. Even the Prima that we're sailing on in December is a brand new ship and is "only" 3,000 passengers. I simply do not want to be on a ship with 4,000 or 6,000 passengers. 

 

Well, you have worries of that on a HAL ship.  And I agree completely with you.  I have no desire in getting liost on a cruiseship!

 

L.

 

[potatopotato]

We decided on the Koningsdam out of Vancouver for next summer. What sold us was the itinerary. Booked the excursion to go into Tracy Arm, so that becomes a bonus extra stop before Juneau! I also like that it starts and ends in Vancouver. It made it easy to book flights, and traveling out of Vancouver is simple if you need to fly. Coming back from Vancouver gets us home much faster.

[mooseridge]

Lucky you deciding on which ship/itinerary to choose for an Alaska cruise!  Holland is the way to go.  In our youth my DH & I hiked Alaska, now we cruise it.  5 times so far.

 

Vancouver is always the way to go - inside passage is so much more personal & better for seeing critters & scenery.

 

Konningsdam is wonderful.  Not to small, not too big.  Lots of entertainment choices but lot of nooks & crannies for peace & quiet.  It is a beautiful ship.  Great music choices.  Love the Lincoln Center group who play classical & classical pop.  So talented & their venue is so beautiful.  

 

The Holland's crows nest are the very best.  Great views, great coffee & drink, puzzles, etc just a great hangout.  

 

If you can, be sure to get a balcony.  You have a great chance in seeing those whale spouts from your cabin!

 

HIghly recommend the 14 day cruise if you can!  See Kodiak, Valdez, Anchorage, Prince Rupert plus the usual places.

 

We did Celebrity once.  Had a great time & the smaller ships had a kind of 'crows nest".  But even then, they used it for 'special events' & it was hardly ever open in general  Don't do them anymore.  Too restricted in public areas, too much extra buying.

 

If you do 7 day, Tracy Arm is not to be missed if possible.  They open the front deck & let you ooh & awhh.  At one point you feel you can touch the mountains on each side.

 

Hope all this works out for you!  No matter what you decide, Alaska cruising is a great choice, especially Holland.

 

mooseridge

 

 

 

[RuthC]

3 hours ago, njsmom said:

I'm also looking at a Celebrity cruise out of Vancouver on the Eclipse that does the Inside Passage, Icy Strait Point, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Ketchikan, Inside Passage and then Vancouver, but doesn't give me Glacier Bay

I don't know anything about the size of the ship or its desirability for a cruise, but this is a fabulous itinerary. Better than either of the two HAL itineraries you posted above. 

[Sigyn]

5 hours ago, potatopotato said:

We decided on the Koningsdam out of Vancouver for next summer. What sold us was the itinerary. Booked the excursion to go into Tracy Arm, so that becomes a bonus extra stop before Juneau! I also like that it starts and ends in Vancouver. It made it easy to book flights, and traveling out of Vancouver is simple if you need to fly. Coming back from Vancouver gets us home much faster.

what is the Tracy Arm excursion of which you speak? Sounds interesting

[rafinmd]

44 minutes ago, njsmom said:

what is the Tracy Arm excursion of which you speak? Sounds interesting

A little background here.  The Koningsdam is actually a combination of 2 short cruises which cannot be booked independently, but only in conjunction with a land tour that leaves the ship in Skagway and then continues overland to Denali and Anchorage.  The 3-day segment to Skagway does not offer any glacier viewing form the ship, so a small boat meets the ship at the entrance to Tracy Arm and the small boat goes deep into the glaciers, getting far closer than a large ship can, and them meets the ship about dinner time in Juneau.  It's a fabulous way to REALLY see the glaciers.

 

https://morethangetaways.wordpress.com/2018/07/21/day-y4c-3-part-1-friday-july-20-entering-tracy-arm/

https://morethangetaways.wordpress.com/2018/07/22/day-y4c-3-part-2-friday-july-20-south-sawyer-glacier/

 

Roy

Edited October 18, 2022 by rafinmd

[potatopotato]

1 hour ago, njsmom said:

what is the Tracy Arm excursion of which you speak? Sounds interesting

Here's the link to it: https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/shore-excursions/TAC/83701.html

 

It takes you right from the ship at Tracy Arm and gets up close to the glaciers. It drops you back off in Juneau at 3ish

[Sigyn]

I checked out those links from rafinmd, and the excursion, and it looks really interesting. I have some decisions to make, and some cruises to research. Thanks for all of the information!

[bennybear]

Another vote for the Koningsdam,  we found the Noordam was showing her age.  Love the Tamarind.

[Roz]

@bennybear, I got off the Noordam on Oct. 8 and thought she was in great shape.  Booked the 14-day Alaskan cruise on her for next September.  Granted, the ship doesn't have a Tamarind restaurant.

[gilboman]

On 10/17/2022 at 5:26 PM, crystalspin said:

The possible choices (I did not look at itineraries) for 2023 are Eurodam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam, Volendam, Westerdam.

 

Itinerary aside, @njsmom, your vibe seems to agree with the smaller ships: Volendam, or the slightly larger Vista class ships, Noordam & Westerdam. We have sailed on Alaska on the Volendam and her sister ship Zaandam and had a simply stunning time! Also on the former significantly smaller Statendam -- from the Lido, you could count the whiskers on the sea otters! So there are advantages to the smaller ships.

 

A Vista class ship, the Zuiderdam, is currently my favorite ship.

 

OTOH, the Signature class ships, Eurodam & Nieuw Amsterdam, and the Koningsdam -- have different musical venues and one additional restaurant, the Tamarind (Asian fusion) that I am looking forward to on our upcoming Koningsdam sailings. (As an unrequested comment: all of the "Dam" ships will have classical music almost every evening.)

 

As far as itinerary, if you are picking from amongst the 7-day cruises, one that ports in Sitka will get you the most "real" Alaska feel. We did the 3-part Otters, Eagles, and Bears ship's excursion and got a bit of everything! Unfortunately, I think to 'hit' Sitka, you miss Skagway, and that is another favorite stop, esp. if you like train-rides or gold-rush settings. Having done both R/T and one-way White Pass RR, I would go back to Sitka. But Skagway is a close second!

 

If you can swing it, one of the 14-day itineraries (I think only running early or late in the season next year) would trump ship choice!

Konigsdam and statendam also have the NY deli which is great and order ahead on app. 

 

We were on konigsdam for Alaska in May and Zaandam in Sept for New England cruise and we much prefer the bigger variety of food choices on the konigsdam (along with on demand tv but those should be installed on Zaandam by now?)

 

We just booked the konigsdam again for may 2023.. exact same itinerary too ..and yvr embarkation is great for us since we love Vancouver anyways and 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by gilboman