Veendam - My thoughts on Alaska! Good N Bad

[davismm]

Hello - I returned about a week ago from my first Alaskan Cruise and Vacation! I thought it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been!!! Next time no cruise, just land!

 

I am going to share my experiences and thoughts. Again these are my opinions but think they may help people.

 

My cousin and I (note we are both female in her mid-thirties) took HAL Veendam Northbound from Vancouver to Seward! This was my first cruise, it was enjoyable but after 7 days on a ship I was ready to get off.

 

HAL - Veendam

- GREAT Things - the food, the beds!, the staff was nice, thought the Casino staff was the friendliest.

- The $11 per a day per person grat charge is a bit much I think. Our service in our room was below average. They couldn't even clean out the drinking glasses once. We got fresh ice every night but it never occured to them to give us a clean glass. I have complained but that made no difference. I think they can lose the towel animals and focus more on the actually cleaning.

- Shower - just ok, it kept getting stuck and most mornings the water was only lukewarm at best.

- Activities on board - lacking! The classes in the gym were not good and if you went to a seminar that was free, of course it turned into something to get you to spend more money. The wine tasting for $20 was some of the worst wines I ever tasted and really I didn't learn much. The spa was overpriced for the service, the girl didn't even explain what she was doing to my face. If you wanted to use the "thermal" room you had to pay ontop of your $120 spa treatment... I think not. Nightlife - casino and shows, that is it.

 

Ketchikan

- We did the deadliest catch Bering Sea - totally worth the money. We saw tons of wildlife and the stories were genuine and not fake. If you want to see birds, fish and enjoy a good time go! Just dress warm, it was freezing out there!

- Town of Ketchikan - was cute, but not much to do. I will be honest, I had no idea the towns were like the Carribbean towns with jewlery, souvenier after souvenir and alot of other crap I could do with out. I was expecting some cute places.. that was my most disappointing thing about Alaska.

 

Juneau

- We took the public bus to Glacier Gardens. The bus took a long time, it is a very local bus that goes through the "real" Alaska. It was only $1.50 but you have to have exact change. The Gardens were beautiful, they take you up in a golf cart to the top of the forest with a guide. The guide was a little disneyesque, think they could just talk normal and it would be better. It was $25 and you are only there for a 1/2 hour... The bus trip round-trip to downtown was longer then the Gardens Tour.

- We wanted to check out the brewery but the bus did not run frequent enough for us to get there so if you have an afternoon tour, no way you can do both.

- Allied Marine - we booked our whale watching through the ship with Allied Marine. I did not think it was over crowded or anything. It was GREAT! The mother whales were teaching the baby whales to eat, it was a once in a lifetime event. We also got to see sea lions and Orcas! Totally worth it.

- The town again, alot of stuff I didn't need. We went to the Red Dog Saloon - food and beer was good! It was not crowded, all the other ships left earlier then ours so we just sat at the bar.

 

Skagway

- We did the train to Yukon combo for 8 hours. The train was boring to be honest. The fog was really bad and you couldn't really see anything. The bus drive up into the Yukon was great. I book with Chillroot tours and we had Terrell. He was a Hoot! Lots of stories and jokes, made the tour fun and the bus was filled but only 25 people vs. the large grayline buses of 50. I could have done without that Caribou crossing stop. The food was good, but the dog sled place was upsetting. There is no one there with the puppies they are just there for thousands of people to pick them up one by one and take their picture and give them a milkbone biscuit. Someone should be there to regulate what is going on. I didn't do the dog sledding, there were only two people running that and lots of dogs barking. The taxidermy exhibit is really nice, lots of animals to see. Our guide told us this was a slow day usually there are more people. An hour is more then enough time here. We then stopped at some carcross, again no need. I would have rather stopped and paid the $20 for the supension bridge. The Yukon is gorgeous country!

- Skagway town - again - same shop different town. We went to the Red Onion and had nachos and beer. They were good!

 

Glacier Bay

- gorgeous! The glaciers were beautiful, we saw calving and waterfalls and birds. Great day

 

College Fjord

- our ship pulled right up to the Glacier, it was amazing. The captain said this was the closest he has ever been! It was beautiful. You are only there for about 2 hours. The rest of the day you are sailing

 

Seward

- really wish we had time to spend here, it was a cute town. souveniers are definetely cheaper here so save your $$ and buy here. The bakery was great!

 

Up to Denali

 

Park Connector bus

- we booked independently not with HAL. The park connector bus was good but it is a long ride to denali. Took longer to get up to Anchorage then it should of as it was a Sunday and traffic. The bus gives you the free pass to the museum, we didn't use it this day we actually saved it and went a different day as it is not dated or anything. The mall is right there so we ran there to get lunch at the food court and pick up a few things we needed. ONly had 45 minutes.

- We got up to Denali about 8:30pm and left seward at 10:30am.... have your ipod ready!

 

Princess Lodge

- it was ok for the money, a few people told us tourism is down 30% and the place is usually over crowded, so we were kinda happy

- $14 breakfast buffett - waste of money. Cold food and limited choices. Go inside and get their cinammon roll and cup of coffee for $5 it is worth it.

 

Kantishna Bus tour

- we took the 12 hour bus tour all the way into Denali to the lodge. Note everyone will tell you they don't feed you on these tours bring a lunch, if you do the 12 hour tour they give you a nice lunch at the lodge. It is the shorter tours you need the lunch for!

- I think they can cut down the time, too many stops for the bathroom, they should poll the bus and I don't think you need to stop for caribou each time. Seen 10 caribou seen them all.

- We saw alot of caribou, only one bear and lots of birds

- Scenery of denali is gorgeous! We got to see the tip of McKinley!

- Lodge is nice, the lunch was really good then you can listen about the Iditarod from a young guy who's father did it or gold pan. The Iditarod presentation was good. Then they show you the dogs.

 

Salmon bake

- the restaurant in the little village, geat Alaskan beers on tap and good food. Reasonably priced

 

Again the village is souvenir shops and the ice cream is not alaskan, they have alaskan ice cream in the princess lodge.

 

Rafting

- was good, the water is COLD!!!! Had a great time

 

Train back to Anchorage

- was long, something was wrong on the tracks so took 10 hours to get back to anchorage. The scenery is ok, saw one caribou that is it. Food was ok, was glad to have a 15% off coupon.

 

Anchorage

- we used our free museum pass, it was worth it museum was great but still under renovations.

- Glacie brew house - good food and beer again!

- Again alot of souvenier shops, best thing to do is rent a bike and get around town.

- Millenium hotel - it was nice, lots of taxidermy in the lobby public space, beds were comfortable, bar food was good. I pricelined it for $125 so was worth it.

 

Airport

- get there early, they don't have the automatic swipe and go machines, you have to stand on line. There is only one gift shop very limited

 

Overall I loved Alaska. I was surprised by the number or repeaters on the ships, most of the people don't get off the ships or get out of the towns. One person told me they were on their 5th trip and have never seen a Whale. I saw them when we were eating in the dining room, so not really sure what was going on. Was also surprised by the number of people turning around and taking the cruise back to the same places. I honestly would cry! One person said to me " you must like wildlife" - not sure what else your suppose to see or do in Alaska but wildlife and outdoor stuff. The tour guide told us out of 1 million visitors, only 10% get off the ships to see Alaska. I think they need to re-do their campaign and get the young people and families up there. The rafting people told us that they have seen an increase this year in families and people our age. They are happy to see it. I think it is because Alaska is cheaper with the recession so we can afford it. There were alot of families and a good number of 25-50 year-old on our ship. I put in a suggestion for them to have a 25-50 meet and greet so you can meet people in that age range. Most people we met were 60 and over. Next time I am going to rent a car and do Seward, Denali and some other places on my own. Also going to do a float plane, and maybe a glacier. Those things are pricey so need to be done indenpendently.

 

Any questions let me know.

[Newbie0210]

I have to respond to the part of this review that mentioned the dog area at Caribou Crossing (CC). My nieces and nephews did the dog sled ride and I had gone into the area to take pictures and waited in there for them to come back. During that time I talked with a lady who I thought was waiting for someone else on a ride, but she was actually a friend of the couple who run the dog area there. This friend said she had spent a couple days with them there at CC. Eddy and Michelle are the couple who run the area. They are both racers and plan on running the Iditirod this year. Michelle is a musher champion (I think that's the right term).

 

They have 90 dogs total. 30 of the older ones live there at CC. 30 of the older ones live at Eddy and Michelle's place and are brought in each day. all 30 of the puppies are brought in each day from their house. Their friend told me that each morning they spend 2+ hours caring for the dogs before coming to CC to care for the dogs there. There are 2 other ladies who help out with the dogs while at CC.

 

All that barking...it's because the dogs got so incredibly excited when a sled was being hooked up for a run. All of them wanted to get out there and lead the sled. But only about 8-10 of them can go on each sled. Once the sled was completely hooked up, all the dogs quieted down until the next sled was getting ready. They weren't barking because they were hungry or hurt, they were barking because they were excited.

 

I agree it's a lot of dogs in one place, but based on my observations and my discussions with Eddy and his friend, I wasn't at all worried about the dogs. It was a fun place for the kids in our group to see them and learn about the Alaskan sledding. It's an important part of Alaska culture and I'm glad that those nice folks are sharing it with the tourists.

[davismm]

thanks for sharing your experience with the dogs. That makes me feel better. As I said the day I was there, no one was near the puppies, it was just tourists like myself and everyone trying to get the dogs out from below the sled.

[vegs1]

I have to respond to the part of this review that mentioned the dog area at Caribou Crossing (CC). My nieces and nephews did the dog sled ride and I had gone into the area to take pictures and waited in there for them to come back. During that time I talked with a lady who I thought was waiting for someone else on a ride, but she was actually a friend of the couple who run the dog area there. This friend said she had spent a couple days with them there at CC. Eddy and Michelle are the couple who run the area. They are both racers and plan on running the Iditirod this year. Michelle is a musher champion (I think that's the right term).

 

They have 90 dogs total. 30 of the older ones live there at CC. 30 of the older ones live at Eddy and Michelle's place and are brought in each day. all 30 of the puppies are brought in each day from their house. Their friend told me that each morning they spend 2+ hours caring for the dogs before coming to CC to care for the dogs there. There are 2 other ladies who help out with the dogs while at CC.

 

All that barking...it's because the dogs got so incredibly excited when a sled was being hooked up for a run. All of them wanted to get out there and lead the sled. But only about 8-10 of them can go on each sled. Once the sled was completely hooked up, all the dogs quieted down until the next sled was getting ready. They weren't barking because they were hungry or hurt, they were barking because they were excited.

 

I agree it's a lot of dogs in one place, but based on my observations and my discussions with Eddy and his friend, I wasn't at all worried about the dogs. It was a fun place for the kids in our group to see them and learn about the Alaskan sledding. It's an important part of Alaska culture and I'm glad that those nice folks are sharing it with the tourists.

 

Have to agree with you.....the dogs are well looked after. This was our favourite part of the day. My daughter loved those puppies! I was sure she'd try to sneak one home! They looked happy and were all sleeping when we first got there so no one bothered them. When we were done our ride, most were up so we went to see them. Someone was in there watching everyone but pretty much left you to your own.

 

It was a great experience.

[trooper 1]

(Edited) Hello - I returned about a week ago from my first Alaskan Cruise and Vacation! I thought it was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been!!! Next time no cruise, just land!

I am going to share my experiences and thoughts. Again these are my opinions but think they may help people.

 

davismm: IMO your comments are well thought out and fair. I lived there. Some of the stops are being turned into St Thomas, Virgin Islands, North with all the hustlers. Fishing and timber industries have taken a back seat to the tourist industry in Southeastern Alaska. The idyllic villages are still up there but you do have to get off the tourist trails. Hope people read your comments with an open mind but the Alaska cheerleaders will probably take us on for daring to criticize anything about "our" Great Land.

[minpin04]

davismm: IMO your comments are well thought out and fair. I lived there. Some of the stops are being turned into St Thomas, Virgin Islands, North with all the hustlers. Fishing and timber industries have taken a back seat to the tourist industry in Southeastern Alaska. The idyllic villages are still up there but you do have to get off the tourist trails. Hope people read your comments with an open mind but the Alaska cheerleaders will probably take us on for daring to criticize anything about "our" Great Land.

Thank you both for sharing your thoughts! trooper, if you had 5 days around Seward, what off tourist, idyllic towns/sites would you suggest visiting? Would you suggest that area or Denali? We plan to be on land the 2nd week of June.

 

Kim

[trooper 1]

Thank you both for sharing your thoughts! trooper, if you had 5 days around Seward, what off tourist, idyllic towns/sites would you suggest visiting? Would you suggest that area or Denali? We plan to be on land the 2nd week of June. Kim

 

"That area" (Kenai Peninsula) or Denali??? No contest IMO. Rent a car and tour the Kenai Peninsula. Absolutely spectacular mountain scenery. You can google Kenai Peninsula and get a Milepost at a bookstore(google) and get lots of information about scenic sights and lodging. The highway from Anchorage, Turnagain Arm, Portage, Johnson Pass, over to Hope and down to Seward and from Seward, Soldotna and to Homer (my favorite city in all of Alaska) are two of the most scenic drives in North America. From Soldotna to Homer you will see smoking volcanoes across the inlet on your right. I also like Ninilchik down there and its beautiful situated Russian Orthodox church high on a hilltop.

[TracieABD]

Thanks for the excellent review. We did the train in Ketchikan, and I thought it was sort of boring too. I liked the van ride with Chilkoot much, much better.

[davismm]

I agree do the kenai pennisula, there is lots to do! I wish I had another week just to do seward and Kenia fjords. I am going to do that for next time!

[wizard-of-roz]

Thank you for sharing your review of your cruise.....We'll be doing our first cruise to Alaska, in September.

I'm a bit "put-off" with the description of the "touristy" look of the villages. But, not surprised. It's really what "tourists" want.....stores to buy souviners in...I know it makes for a more commercialized feel....but, if Alaska didn't offer it people would complain that they couldn't find any place to buy something and, they wouldn't go.

Truly a "catch 22" situation.

I'll try and look beyond it and search for the beauty of the land and all that it has to offer.

We plan on taking the city bus in Ketchikan and go and see some totem poles...we can't do the dog sledding or visit their environment because we travel with a Service Dog and it would be way to stressful for her and confusing for the dogs who live there.

We're taking the White Pass Railrway in Skagway and, even if there's nothing but fog, train travel, especially through this magnificent country will be a treat all in itself!