Can't decide!! which Itinerary?

[B&J1]

After reading the boards I THINK I've narrowed it down to HAL (2 itinerarys' listed below). Which itinerary do u think is best. This will be our first Alaska cruise & first with HAL. Have been on RCCL & Carnival, & prefer RCCL but understand that for AK it's all about the ports. We r active & in our 40's. We typically plan our own tours & will be spending about 5 days for land tours on our own before cruising....any help is appriciated :)

 

VEENDAM

 

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART SunJun21Anchorage (Seward), AK 8:00pmMonJun22College Fjord, AK (Cruising)6:00am9:00amTueJun23Glacier Bay National Park, AK (Cruising)10:00am7:00pmWedJun24Haines, AK 6:30am9:00pmThuJun25Juneau, AK 8:00am6:00pmFriJun26Ketchikan, AK 2:00pm8:00pmSatJun27At SeaSunJun28Vancouver, BC, Canada 7:00am

 

 

RYNDAM

ITINERARY

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART FriJun26Anchorage (Seward), AK 8:00pmSatJun27Hubbard Glacier, AK (Cruising)2:00pm5:00pmSunJun28Sitka, AK 8:00am5:00pmMonJun29Skagway, AK 8:00am9:00pmTueJun30Juneau, AK 8:00am6:00pmWedJul1Ketchikan, AK 2:00pm8:00pmThuJul2At SeaFriJul3Vancouver, BC, Canada 7:00a

[Yukon]

There comes a time when you're splitting hairs, and you've reached that point. You've got 2 excellent itineraries and even I would have to just flip a coin to pick one. While I love Hubbard Glacier and Sitka, College Fiord, Glacier Bay and Haines in 7 days is tough to argue against.

[vbmom87]

After reading the boards I THINK I've narrowed it down to HAL (2 itinerarys' listed below). Which itinerary do u think is best. This will be our first Alaska cruise & first with HAL. Have been on RCCL & Carnival, & prefer RCCL but understand that for AK it's all about the ports. We r active & in our 40's. We typically plan our own tours & will be spending about 5 days for land tours on our own before cruising....any help is appriciated :)

 

VEENDAM

 

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART SunJun21Anchorage (Seward), AK 8:00pmMonJun22College Fjord, AK (Cruising)6:00am9:00amTueJun23Glacier Bay National Park, AK (Cruising)10:00am7:00pmWedJun24Haines, AK 6:30am9:00pmThuJun25Juneau, AK 8:00am6:00pmFriJun26Ketchikan, AK 2:00pm8:00pmSatJun27At SeaSunJun28Vancouver, BC, Canada 7:00am

 

 

RYNDAM

ITINERARY

DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE DEPART FriJun26Anchorage (Seward), AK 8:00pmSatJun27Hubbard Glacier, AK (Cruising)2:00pm5:00pmSunJun28Sitka, AK 8:00am5:00pmMonJun29Skagway, AK 8:00am9:00pmTueJun30Juneau, AK 8:00am6:00pmWedJul1Ketchikan, AK 2:00pm8:00pmThuJul2At SeaFriJul3Vancouver, BC, Canada 7:00a

 

I was in your position a year ago. I chose the glacier bay/college fjords itinerary. One of the reasons I went for that itinerary was the fact that it included two glacier viewing days: Glacier Bay and College Fjords. Both were phenomonal. From reading this forum, I read that on occasion a glacier area could be fogged out, or in Hubbard's case, iced or fogged out. With two glacier viewing days, if one is fogged or iced out, you still have a second opportunity to see glaciers. Since I didn't know if I would ever get another opportunity to see Alaska, and glaciers were a priority for us, we chose the itinerary with two glacier viewing days. That was my logic for us and our interests.

[Eileen G]

I think what might help you decide is weather you want to spend two days on the ship looking at glaciers(actually one of them is only for a few hours) with three day in ports or spend one day on the ship looking at a glacier(again for a few hours) and four days in port. How much do you want to see glaciers? After touring it might be nice to have two days on the ship. Either way it will be a fantastic trip!

[Budget Queen]

Yukon says it best. Just choose one. :)

 

You may want to do your homework and research the ports and find out what may be of interest for your touring. Then go with that.

 

With HAL, at the very least, get to Seward in the morning, so to have the day to tour. It is an absolute gem, not to be missed. Why go all the way there and bypass some extra touring?? My top pick is definately a Kenai Fjords Boat tour, grossly superior to anything seen from your ship.

[jhannah]

I'd opt for the Glacier Bay itinerary on the Veendam. It's a must-see, IMO.

[Nancyquilts]

On a clear day, Colege Fjord is hard to beat. And Haines would be a nice low-key change from Diamonds International. Nancy

[St. Louis Sal]

Although I love the Ryndam I would do the Veendam for the itinerary. IMO Glacier Bay is much more scenic than Hubbard and you'd get to do College Fjords too. Your time in Haines will give you the opportunity to take the Fast Ferry (where I saw as many whales as on my whale watching cruise in Juneau) to Skagway and ride the White Pass. You will be missing Sitka but . . .that means you'll just have to come back.

 

St. Louis Sal

[CC Help Michell]

I think those are both great itineraries, and we loved our HAL experience. On the whole, though, I agree that I'd go with the Veendam's itinerary, especially for a first time Alaska cruiser. Having been there once now, we're looking at itineraries with Sitka, Hubbard, etc. for next time. But Glacier Bay and College Fjord are extraordinary, and I agree with the comment about 2 glacier days giving an extra chance for great weather. Plus on the Veendam if you are lucky you will have Captain Albert. :)

 

Glacier Bay on a super weather day -- we were so close to the glacier that when it calved we could feel the waves:

 

 

 

 

College Fjord on a truly spectacular day -- this was one of my favorite shots of the whole trip (it's currently my desktop):

 

 

 

We also thought Haines was a great place to visit, and we'd love to go back some day. I don't think you can go wrong with either choice, though. :) I also second Budget Queen's recommendation of arriving in Seward in time to do one of the Kenai Fjords tours -- that was another highlight of our trip, including glaciers and lots of wildlife.

[DougH]

Either one is good but I'd choose College Fjord, Glacier bay and Haines. I also agree with BQ and would suggest a day in Seward pre cruise if possible to do the Kenai Fjords boat trip and Exit Glacier

[NancyIL]

We were on the Veendam in July 2008 (VERY nice ship), but it did the itinerary that the Ryndam will do next year. However, we cruised north, and the Ryndam went to Haines instead of Skagway on its northbound cruise. I enjoyed Glacier Bay and College Fjord on our Princess cruise last year, but I preferred the extra port town to the extra glacier day. Therefore, my vote would be for the Ryndam - especially for Sitka.

[B&J1]

LOL>>>>ok u guys :) Was all ready to book the Veedam til I read NancyIL opinion :confused: ......lol j/k OK, will talk with the wife & make our decision.....was already planning on doing the Kenai Fjords tour the day of embarkation. Thx for reinforcing that decision!

The extra day of cruising may be good to recooperate after the busy land tour.....we r planning on 5 days prior at this point with most likely a packed schedule. :) Thx again for all your help, u guys r great!!

[vbmom87]

LOL>>>>ok u guys :) Was all ready to book the Veedam til I read NancyIL opinion :confused: ......lol j/k OK, will talk with the wife & make our decision.....was already planning on doing the Kenai Fjords tour the day of embarkation. Thx for reinforcing that decision!

The extra day of cruising may be good to recooperate after the busy land tour.....we r planning on 5 days prior at this point with most likely a packed schedule. :) Thx again for all your help, u guys r great!!

 

Everyone has their own priorities, and you will need to decide what yours are. Nancy prefers ports to cruising glaciers. My DH and I prefer the scenic glacier viewing over ports. You need to decide what you prefer and then it should be easy to make the decision. We actually found the cruising itinerary more tiring than the land portion. We did a 9 day independent land after a 7 day cruise.

[Marie321]

I would vote for the Ryndam because Sitka is my absolute favorite port!

[poolwife]

I agree with the previous poster about Sitka. Cruising into Sitka with all of its dotted little islands is just so beautiful and picturesque. Hopefully, you have a clear day and with the volcano mountain also there, it is truly beautiful and awe inspiring.

 

If you really want to see College Fjords the 4 1/2 hour "26 Glacier Cruise" out of Whittier through Prince William Sound will take you all through college fjords. We loved that tour out of Whittier. It is a side trip you could take and then still take the Ryndam cruise incorporating Sitka and Skagway. A lot of people like to rent a car and drive the highway to Emerald Lake out of Skagway. it is much cheaper than taking the train also.

 

You will love the scenery of Alaska and most likely will want to come back like the rest of us.

[NancyIL]

Itineraries aside, the Veendam and Ryndam are the same class of ship. However, the Veendam will be the first to get a new "facelift" of sorts in spring 2009 with a 4-week drydock, so it will be in pristine condition next summer: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=847007&highlight=Veendam

[lvtotrvl1]

I would also vote for the Veendam...for your first time to Alaska, I would not want to miss Glacier Bay. Can I ask if you have looked at Princess? Might be more to your liking given your age group and activity level...just a thought.

[NancyIL]

I would also vote for the Veendam...for your first time to Alaska, I would not want to miss Glacier Bay. Can I ask if you have looked at Princess? Might be more to your liking given your age group and activity level...just a thought.

 

I thought the Coral Princess was great for Alaska, but I liked the Veendam in Alaska even better than Princess. While Princess had the glitzier ship, the Veendam had better viewing areas on open decks. It also had a retractacble roof over the pool - which the families with kids seemed to appreciate. It's also true that HAL gets THE best docking locations. Our Princess ship was 2-3 blocks from the Mt. Roberts Tram in Juneau, whereas the Veendam was as close to downtown Juneau as a ship could be. I also prefer Seward over Whittier as a departure/arrival port, because the train between Seward and Anchorage is one of the most scenic you will ever take.

 

Hmmm...myabe I should look for a bargain cruise on the Veendam next year! :D

[B&J1]

Breifly looked at Princess but prices r about $200 more pp so I haven't seriously considered them. The DW was no help with the decision...lol...she wants to see Sitka & have 2 opportunites to see glaciers :confused: I guess we'll probably have to do another trip to AK in 2010.

[robinsegg]

Glacier Bay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nancyquilts]

Oops - I missed the reference to Sitka. Our favorite port. Now it gets harder. Nancy

[B&J1]

ahhh yes, my dilemma as well :)

[Justgottago]

We really appreciated readind this thread and the opinions offered. We are please to find that most of you prefer Glacier Bay. We are planning on taking the Northbound voyage on Veendam on June 28 following B&J1's Southbound choice, and your posts tend to validate our decision.