Holland America Cruise 08/23/10 through 09/06/10

Check out the summary which is the last posting. Images are inserted from first to last for each article. Page down to skip the text just to view the images. We have extensive editing yet to do on our journal for next few weeks. Images are inserted in front of each article topic and above each image is a brief description.
NOTE: Except for the map and ship, you can click on any image for a larger view.

We have examined and selected the "story telling" images that are samples of all photos taken. As we examine images from the larger collection, we will upload them to a photo sharing site and announce the posting here. Glaciers and flowers were the main attractions at the ports. It is almost worth the trip to see the flowers in Alaska. The glacier's are awesome to say the least.

Of the places we visited, the town of Sitka was our favorite. The best view of a glacier was in Juneau. Homer was keen for fisherman, but not for tourists.

A side note:
We learned that many shop owners and those making a living from the tourist are "snowbirds" that move to the lower 48 in the winter, although some of the coastal towns do not get as cold as we might think.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Summary and Comments on Holland American Alaska Cruise


Holland America Route
Alaska Cruise 8/23 - 9/6 10

Ms Amsterdam

Summary_Comments on Alaska Cruise

http://alaska14days2010.blogspot.com/2010/08/cruise-journal.html
Arrived in Seattle on 8/21/10, staying at Fairmont Olympic Hotel for two nights before
boarding the ship on 8/23/10. We disembarked the ship on 9/5/10 and stayed at Hilton Seattle Airport hotel through 9/8 and then returned to Austin.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
First of all the selection of location of our stateroom was a good choice as we
were midships and needed only to walk half the length of the ship..that is when
we were aware which direction we were headed : )

Next, we included Holland America pre-cruise and post-cruise hotels with the
view that luggage handling would be less of a hassle. That was true for our
pre-cruise hotel, but not for our post-cruise hotel. If we were repeating the trip
we would have selected Holiday Inn Express as a post-cruise rest stop, which by the way was just a block or two from the Hilton Seattle airport. And Denny's is next door to Holiday Inn Express. We walked a couple of blocks to have breakfast a Denny's from Hilton Seattle Airport Hotel.

And third, in research ,I read that offshore excursions using locals was far less expensive than contracting offshore excursions. If we had one thing that we would do differently that is it. At Juneau we decided on a view of Mendenal glacier, fish hatcheries and a salmon bake. Quite expensive. At the dock a tour guide advertised $7 RT to glacier. So for $14 we could have spent most of the day at the glacier and walked close to it's base. Lesson learned!.
The Mendenall glacier is 15 or 20 minutes from Juneau and it is a sight to behold, especially when you can get so much closer to it that the glaciers at glacier bay. If you have an opportunity to go to Juneau, focus on the main attraction - the glacier and the glacier waterfalls.
pictures of the glacier at Juneau will be listed in the Juneau article below.

We have more than 400 still images using the pocket camera and more from the
video camera, including two cartridges, mostly of the glaciers.
Our next chore is to organize the photos and place a few of the best ones within this journal and the others on a photo sharing site. We will post the link here when this is
done. and point out the articles where images have been uploaded to this journal
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Our custom itinerary:
Welcome Sammy Exit
Call your travel professional or 1-877-932-4259
My Custom Itinerary Print this page
Cruise Departure Arrival
14-DAY ALASKAN
ADVENTURER on the ms
Amsterdam
on August 21, 2010
Seattle, Washington, US

on September 07, 2010
Stateroom: LARGE, C #3367
Dining: OPEN SEATING, Any Table Size
14-Day Alaskan Adventurer on the Amsterdam
Your Custom Itinerary shown includes the travel schedule plus all of your

booked and pending activities.

Guest 1: Mr. Sammy Amsler Guest 2: Mrs. Laveta Amsler

Date Port/City Time Activity Guest 1 Guest 2
Aug 21 5:50 PM Air Travel - AUSTIN (AUS) to SEATTLE (SEA) on ALASKA AIRLINES

Flight 669
Aug 21 Seattle, Washington, US TRANSFER AIRPORT/HOTEL
FAIRMONT OLYMPIC HOTEL

Aug 23 Seattle, Washington, US TRANSFER HOTEL/SHIP
5:00 PM Ship Departs

Aug 24 Inside Passage 6:00 PM Pinnacle Grill Dining Experience - 2 guests

Aug 25 Ketchikan, Alaska, US
7:00 AM Ship Arrives
5:00 PM Ship Departs

Aug 26 Sitka, Alaska, US
8:00 AM Ship Arrives
12:30 PM Excursion: Colonial Russian America & Cultural Tour
Replaced excursion with cruise of the bay where we observed whales, etc.
City is our favorite stop! Spend more time in city and avoid excursions.
5:00 PM Ship Departs

Aug 27 Skagway, Alaska, US
7:00 AM Ship Arrives
9:00 PM Ship Departs
(visited city)

Aug 28 Glacier Bay
7:00 AM Ship Arrives
4:00 PM Ship Departs
(Many photos and video)

Aug 29 At Sea 6:00 PM Pinnacle Grill Dining Experience - 2 guests
Aug 30 Anchorage, Alaska, US
7:00 AM Ship Arrives
11:00 PM Ship Departs

Aug 31 Homer, Alaska, US
10:00 AM Ship Arrives
12:30 PM Excursion: Gull Island & Kachemak Bay Cruise
Cancelled Excursion - took $15 rt ea bus ride around three stops and back and

found nothing worth spending any time.
6:00 PM Ship Departs

Sep 01 Kodiak, Alaska, US
7:00 AM Ship Arrives
8:30 AM WAITLISTED
Excursion: Kodiak Sightseeing & Russian Tea
Cancelled excurson and visited the city.
1:00 PM Ship Departs

Sep 02 Hubbard Glacier
12:00 PM Ship Arrives
4:00 PM Ship Departs
(Many photos)

Sep 03 Juneau, Alaska, US
8:00 AM Ship Arrives
9:15 AM Excursion: Alaska Salmon Bake, Mendenhall Glacier & Hatchery
Mendenhall Glacier was awesome and we were within a mile to view.
5:00 PM Ship Departs

Sep 04 At Sea 5:30 PM Pinnacle Grill Dining Experience - 2 guests

Sep 05 Victoria, British
Columbia, CA
4:00 PM Ship Arrives
11:00 PM Ship Departs

Sep 06 Seattle, Washington, US
7:00 AM Ship Arrives
TRANSFER SHIP/HOTEL
HILTON SEATTLE AIRPORT
Sep 07 Seattle, Washington, US HOTEL COURTESY TRANSFR HTL/APT

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Our first Alaskan cruise was in June of 1997. We Flew to Anchorage, took a train to Fairbanks, visited Denali enroute, and boarded a tour bus to Whitehorse Canada, then train to Juneau were we boarded ship home. We missed several of the ports that we experienced with this cruise which was the reason we chose this one taken 13 years later.
<<>>

Ref:
My Custom Itinerary Page 2 of 2
https://book.hollandamerica.com/itinerary/viewItineraryAfterPurchase.action



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