11-Day Holland America Line ALASKA cruise and land tour

After researching different Alaskan cruises, I chose Holland America Line (HAL) for its long history with Alaska which often gives them preferential treatment in ports, the more mature crowd, and reputed better food than on some cruises. We chose to go at the end of June. We looked forward to long days of sunshine, warmer weather, and wildlife sightings.

Pete and I experienced a Viking river cruise last summer in Europe and this was a much larger ship, about 2000 vs. 200 people. No one under 18 is permitted on Viking, but on HAL there were plenty of children and large multi-generational family groups, some wearing matching shirts. HAL has several ships touring Alaska in the summer and we were assigned the Nieuw Amsterdam for our cruise.

I booked this 11-night Double Denali tour last fall with COSTCO. Our trip included a 7-night cruise from Vancouver, Canada to Whittier, Alaska, and on the land tour, 1 night in Anchorage, 2 in Denali, and 1 in Fairbanks. The Have It All (HIA) package included Wifi, the Elite beverage package, a shore excursion discount, and 1-night specialty dining in one of the restaurants.

EXCURSIONS

We booked our excursions early for the cruise, but not much information was given at that time for the land portion. We had 3 days at sea and 3 days in port so we booked excursions for all 3 days in port. They were all AMAZING!

Read all about them later on the day-by-day entries.

Ketchikan: Wilderness cruise and Silverking Lodge seafood feast

Juneau: Dog sledding and glacier helicopter tour

Juneau: Evening whale quest with Alaska Cuisine

Skagway: White Pass Summit Scenic railroad

A few weeks before the trip, I joined several Facebook pages where people posted about this specific cruise ship, the Nieuw Amsterdam in Alaska. Some of the reviews on this site helped me to tweak my trip to be the best experience for me, my husband, my sister, and her husband. My husband had spine surgery followed by a stroke in February. His balance was affected and his knee surgery has been postponed so ensuring the trip was enjoyable and comfortable for everyone was my goal.

STATEROOM

Our 10th-floor verandah room on the starboard side offered us fabulous views as we traveled northbound along the coast of Alaska. We also had easy access to the mid-ship 10th-floor outdoor deck for viewing sights during the sea days when cruising Glacier Bay National Park, College Fjord, and the Inside Passage. We could hear the guided narration from the TV in our room and also on the outside decks.

The rooms are spacious with a small couch and table we used for room service several mornings, a desk and chair, and a queen-size bed. For storage, our suitcases fit under the bed and we used the two nightstands with drawers and the 3 closets with multiple shelves and a safe to comfortably store all our stuff.

We took advantage of the laundry package since we were doing the land portion after the cruise and would need clean clothes. It was a nice service and only took 24 hours, though they say to expect a 48-hour turnaround. Using magnetic wall hooks and an over-the-door organizer is a great suggestion we used to keep track of smaller items.

The spacious bathroom has a shower/tub combo with wall dispensers filled with shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner. A clothesline in the tub is helpful if needed to dry wet items. Two robes, beach towels, yoga mats, and blankets are all provided in your cabin for use during your stay.

The mini fridge has items that cost money but you can ask the steward to empty it. The steward comes in twice a day to tidy up the room.

DINING

We loved the 24-hour room service for breakfast and left the form on the door in the evening.

Holland America Line offers several included dining options: the main dining room, the Lido Market, the Dive-in counter service, and room service.

The main dining room on the 2nd and 3rd decks is huge and we chose flexible dining instead of an assigned time. We never had to wait more than a few minutes to be seated and the service and food were always very good.

The Lido Deck on the 9th level near the pool is a huge buffet with many choices available at each meal. The Dive-in counter near the pool services hotdogs, hamburgers, and french fries. You can order a milkshake here but it is not part of the beverage package.

One specialty dinner is included in the HIA package so we ate at Tamarind for dinner one night and loved it. The personal service, food, and atmosphere were exceptional so we scheduled dinner at the Morimoto restaurant for another evening and had lunch at the Pinnacle Grill one day at sea. I highly recommend trying out the different restaurants even though there is an additional fee.

SPA AND GYM FACILITIES

We signed up in advance for the adult-only thermal spa at $169 each. The thermal spa room has lounge chairs, towels, and a large hot tub with a reclined bench in the water. The warm water and strong jets feel great after a long day of touring. You get access to a quiet room with floor-to-ceiling windows, a sauna, and a steam room, but since it was so warm during our cruise, I only used it a couple of times.

The gym looked good but since the weather was so nice on our Alaska cruise, I used the 3rd deck to walk: 3 laps = one mile.

As an avid pickleball player, I was excited to see they had a court! The court is shared with a basketball hoop and the few times I looked, the court was filled with teens playing, sometimes pickleball and basketball at the same time. Oh well, not on this trip.

Each day HAL provides a printed guide outlining all the daily activities each day. Some exercise classes are offered for an additional charge.

Massages, facials, manicures, acupuncture, and more are available in the spa.

They seemed a little pushy in my opinion.

I signed up for a one-hour acupuncture treatment. During my treatment, the acupuncturist convinced me that I needed to be treated every day on the cruise for a package deal of $1200. With needles sticking out all over I smiled and he came back with 5 time slots he had kindly booked for me. By the time I returned to my room, and my senses, I called back to cancel those appointments and never went back.

Pete had a massage a few days later that I had booked for him in advance. He said the massage was fine, but the masseuse insisted that service didn’t count for the one I paid for and he had to come back for another massage. I had to speak to the customer service desk to cancel the new appointment. It’s nice to have the services, but the push to sell their products distracts from the zen feeling a spa treatment should offer.

My sister and I started to pack two weeks before our trip. We heard a lot about rainy days and the cold, but it turned out to be sunny and warm most of the days on our cruise at the end of June. Check out my post here for what I packed and purchased before the trip.

Packing for an Alaska cruise and land tour on Holland American Line.

DAY BY DAY TRIP ITINERARY

Vancouver

Our flight arrived in Vancouver at 9 pm on Friday and we took a $74 Uber ride to our Airbnb near the Canada Place Cruise Ship Terminal.

In the morning, we boarded the free shuttle to Capilano Suspension Bridge – admission is 75 Canadian dollars. Early in the day is best as the boardwalks and trails in the forest are not too crowded. Walking across the high suspension bridge over the canyon was a bit more rickety than I expected. We were in awe of the natural beauty of this rainforest so close to the city. I highly recommend visiting this spot in Vancouver.

For lunch, we enjoyed eating Chinese food at Mott 32. My sister and Tom then walked along the river to Stanley Park with its charming gardens and must-see Totem pole collection.

The area near the cruise ships is filled with shopping and restaurants. Dinner at the Cactus Cafe was great. It was a fun Saturday night with people out and about. We felt safe in this area.

7-Day Alaska Cruise – Vancouver to Whittier

Day 1 – Sunday: embarkment

Boarding was at noon for our Holland America Line cruise as well as for 3 other ships in port. We called an Uber Sunday morning for the ride to the cruise ship, but there was quite a delay.

We dropped our luggage off at the entrance with our luggage tags. The process of boarding the ship was organized, but there was a lot of walking. I could have arranged a wheelchair in advance for Pete. Eventually, we asked and someone brought him a wheelchair for the rest of the embarkation.

We were brought directly to the elevator on the ship. The keys were outside the door and the luggage was inside by the time we got to our room.

We unpacked all the bags and placed empty suitcases under the bed. Drawers are located in the nightstands and there is plenty of room in the three closets with shelves and a safe. We used the magnetic hooks to hang jackets, hats, and lanyards. The over-the-door hanging organizer is great for keeping track of smaller items.

While Pete rested in the cabin, I met my sister on the pool deck for the Bon Voyage party with fun drinks, snacks, music, and even line dancing. Our plan for dinner was open seating in the main dining room so we could go to dinner whenever we wanted. It was busy, but no wait and the food and service were good.

Day 2 – Monday: Inside Passage at sea

Beautiful day cruising the inside passage with narration from naturalists you can hear from the bow camera on the TV in your room or on the outside decks. Our adjacent rooms on the starboard side of deck 10 were perfect for viewing land as we headed north.

For dinner, we went to a specialty restaurant included in our Have-It-All package called Tamarind. Great Asian flair and atmosphere, impeccable service, delicious 3-course meal. The evening show was impressive with dancing and a light show on the World Stage.

Around the ship after dinner the Ocean Bar has live music, The Casino is open when at sea, The Billboard Onboard has two piano players playing together, and the Rolling Stone Lounge has a lively band and dancing.

I was surprised that the Crow’s Nest was actually the most crowded! The Crow’s Nest has seats and tables where families and adults are playing games, enjoying both cocktails and coffee drinks. Something for everyone on the ship.

Day 3 -Tuesday: Ketchikan

After room service for breakfast and enjoying our private verandah view of the ocean, I joined my sister to explore the town. It was early and we walked over to picturesque Creek Street where the red-light district was the draw during the Gold Rush era. Many folks lined up for the lumberjack show in town but we just enjoyed browsing in the shops; we may have purchased a few items as well.

Blessed with sunshine (it rains a lot here) our excursion took us on a small boat ride where we spotted several bald eagles. On shore, we walked into the woods on a boardwalk up a slight incline filled with spruce pines and a mossy forest floor. Lunch was the main event with a seafood feast featuring plenty of crab, shrimp, mussels, clams, sausage, corn, and potatoes. Yum! Ice tea and cookies, then back to ship.

It was a formal night on the ship so people who wished to dress up but many were still dressed casually as is the norm for Alaska cruises. Long pants for men in the main dining room are required, otherwise anything goes. The photography studio was busy taking pictures available for sale all week, 5 photos for $109 seem pricey but they are professionally done. After dinner, we watched the sunset around 10:30 pm while playing Scrabble in the crows’ nest.

Day 4 – Wednesday: Juneau

Best Day Ever!!

Dog sledding and Glacier sightseeing by Helicopter excursion is pricey but so worth it if you are feeling brave. We landed on top of the Norris Glacier covered in snow where the dog camp is located. We were given boots to put over our shoes and I wore my lightweight down jacket over a t-shirt as the sunshine made it a warm day even on the glacier The helicopter pilot flew us over the incredible Juneau Icefield and Taku Glacier where we could see the bright blue from inside the ice and areas where calving had left the glaciers exposed.

The helicopter landed and we were assigned to a group of 4. We each had a opportunity to stand and “drive” as our musher and her team took us on a run. After the run we pet the dogs and talked to the mushers about their experience racing and raising dogs. The flight back was quicker but the views incredible. Definitely the highlight of our trip.

Dog sledding camp on Norris Glacier

We scheduled an evening excursion, after the helicopter tour, to go whale watching and have dinner on a boat. The guides and captain knew just where to take us and recognized the first whale by the markings on her tail. Soon, we left our first whale and headed over to watch a baby humpback whale who was practicing breaching.

It was so awesome and the weather was perfect. Dinner was provided by a local caterer and was OK, but we certainly felt lucky to witness the whales and funny sea lions sitting on a nearby buoy.

Day 5 – Thursday: Skagway

Due to a landslide on the dock next to the ship, we had to take tenders to the port. These are small boats that take you from the big ship to the ports.

The White Pass train picks you up a short walk from the cruise ship port so no bus is necessary for this excursion. The White Pass train ride is 20 miles up the picturesque valley to the summit and back, about a 3-hour ride.

The scenery is spectacular with a colorful narration given by the conductor sharing tales from the Gold Rush era. Water bottles are available and you can stand outside the train car to take some great photos. I recommend you sit on the left side going up, but both sides are beautiful and you will see both sides on the trip.

On Holland America ships they celebrate the Dutch with a high tea several afternoons which is something fun to experience as well as an Orange party that everyone is invited to. Guests wear orange shirts and the main dining room serves Dutch dinner specialties.

After dinner, the Orange party continues in the Rolling Stone lounge with line dancing, tasting traditional Dutch snacks passed around by the staff, and fun music played by the band.

Day 6 – Friday: Glacier Bay National Park at sea

Glacier Bay National Park consists of more than 1,000 glaciers, covering almost 30 percent of its 3.3 million acres. The Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is a highly protected area, with strict guidelines regulating the use and amount of visitors in the area. Only two cruise ships are allowed to enter the site daily. We were lucky!

Park Rangers joined our ship for a presentation of the glaciers at sea. Commentary can be heard in the staterooms or on all outside decks. Rangers helped identify orcas, bears, and sea otters as we searched through binoculars looking for wildlife.

We enjoyed lunch at the Pinnacle Grill. Dining here is a great experience for an upcharge of $19. The attentive service and atmosphere including seats next to floor-to-ceiling windows in the specialty restaurants were well worth it.

On the ship, the comedian performed for 2 nights on the main stage and was very funny. We donated a few dollars to the casino and enjoyed listening to the piano players and live music in the lounge areas. Holland America does a nice job of providing evening entertainment.

Day 7 – Saturday: College Fjord at sea

Our last full day at sea we enjoyed the sunshine by the pool on the Lido deck and lunch at the Dive-In for burgers and milkshakes. After walking on deck 3 a few laps we discovered it was cake day in the Lido Buffet with a wide assortment of delicious cakes.

We ate an early dinner at Masaharu’s Morimoto restaurant specializing in sushi and Asian entrees, with magnificent views from 11th-deck windows. It was fun to watch the adorable otters in the water as we came close to the glaciers.

We arrived at the glaciers in College Fjord around 6 pm and commentary was provided on the outside decks and on the stateroom TVs. The ship was able to get close to the glaciers and we once again were awed by the sheer wonder of nature.

By 11 pm on our last night, we needed to have our bags packed and labeled for arrival in Whittier, and for the beginning of our land portion of the trip. Ending vacations is always a bit sad, but we were excited for a whole new adventure to embark on now…

Land Portion of Alaska Tour: Anchorage to Fairbanks

Day 8 – Sunday: Anchorage

We disembarked the ship at 8 am and walked across the street to board the glass dome train from Whittier to Anchorage through the Chugach Forest, past the Portage Glacier, and along the sea on the Turnagain Arm.

The train pulled into downtown Anchorage at 11 am and we got off the train and onto a bus for a 5-minute bus ride to the hospitality center. Unable to check into the Westmark hotel until 4 pm, all 200 of us were on our own to wait here or walk around the city on our own.

Some reviews about this day on the trip had been negative, especially if it was raining. Downtown Anchorage has restaurants, gift shops, and a museum, but it is small and has a prevalent homeless population.

We chose to rent a car.

We ate lunch at the famous Moose’s Tooth, then drove south 45 minutes along the Turnagain Arm to visit the grizzly bears, caribou, wolves, and other Alaskan animals at the Wildlife Conservation Center. The Center is a year-round sanctuary for injured and orphaned animals and provides them with spacious enclosures and quality animal care.

We stopped along the drive to take photos and look for the Dall sheep on the rocky cliffs. After visiting the animals, we went to the ski town of Alyeska to take the tram to the top of the mountain. I had skied here on my Spring trip to Alaska 2 years ago and knew the view would be awesome, but alas, they closed the tram for visitors early on Sunday.

The great thing about driving in Alaska in the summer is that it does not get dark! We stopped to look for Beluga whales at Beluga Point, then arrived back in Anchorage.

The hotel had our Holland America packets and our luggage waiting in our rooms. We walked across the street for dinner at the Glacier Brewhouse which although we were told it was an hour’s wait, did not have to wait long and the meal was great.

Checking into the Westmark we had to pay $40 to park our car and were unimpressed with the outdated state of the hotel. Not the standard we expected from such a nice cruise company as Holland America but the bed was comfortable and we were only there for one night.

Day 9 – Monday: Denali

In the morning. we placed our luggage outside the hotel room door and told the tour guide that we would be driving to Denali instead of taking the 8-hour train ride on the McKinley Explorer. HAL was fine with our decision to self-drive and our luggage was waiting in the Denali Park Village rooms when we arrived.

Two weeks before our trip, Holland America notified us that our hotel had been changed. The McKinley Chalet located near the park’s entrance and near shops and restaurants was filled.

We were rebooked into the Denali Park Village which is 6 miles from the Denali National Park entrance and the shops. Shuttle buses are available to take people into town and to the park. Due to the change, HAL gave us a credit to use on the ship “as a gesture of goodwill”.

Holland America also changed our tour from the Tundra Wilderness tour to the Natural History tour and proposed to give us Denali dollars to spend at the hotel. I was disappointed. Due to the landslide, buses can only go as far as mile 43 which is ONLY available on the Tundra Wilderness tour. The Natural History tour goes as far as an independent car can go: to mile 15.

We chose to skip the tour and explore on our own with the car.

It is not too hard to drive in Alaska as there are very few highways. We headed toward Talkeetna making a few stops along the way to check out Mirror Lake and look for wildlife.

Talkeetna is a quirky little town filled with historic buildings, shops, and places to eat. We had lunch at the Homestead Kitchen and my burger with blueberry barbeque sauce was awesome.

At the end of Main Street is a small campground for tents only and the river where we got our first view of Mount Denali as it peeked through the clouds. The people are very friendly and love to share stories which made this town even more fun to visit.

Day 10 – Tuesday: Denali

Pete stayed back to relax at the hotel while my sister, her husband I hiked the 2-mile Savage Loop trail along the river, the Mountain View trail where we saw an amazing view of Mount Denali, and the Horseshoe Lake trail where I experienced a large female moose run 20 feet from where I was sitting to join her baby down by the lake. So cool!

We picked up a well-rested Pete and found an excellent restaurant serving unique food called Moose-AKAs. After dinner, we drove into the park again, since it was still light out and we hoped to see bears in the wild.

Driving into the park, we witnessed a female moose and her baby come out of the trees and cross the highway. Luckily they made it safely across.

Holland America gave us a packet with luggage tags and instructions to have our luggage transferred to the Fairbanks Westmark Hotel. The process of leaving the bags outside the door early in the morning is convenient but some people may not like the idea of packing up so many times, especially at the end of the trip.

In retrospect, I would have scheduled this trip with the land portion before the cruise so that you could relax with all your stuff in one place for 7 days after moving around so much.

Day 11 – Wednesday: Fairbanks

We used our Denali dollars for the breakfast buffet priced at $28 per person then used the rest to shop. There is no shortage of gift shops on cruises and in port shops or hotels owned by the cruises. I easily added a few pounds worth of t-shirts, Christmas ornaments, books, and more to my luggage.

The tour bus loaded our group at 9:30 am to head towards Fairbanks and the Discovery Riverboat tour. They took our luggage to the Westmark Hotel and we planned to meet them for lunch and the tour after visiting the Fairbanks visitor center.

For the paddleboat ride, lunch is served to all 900 passengers at once and done very efficiently. Buckets of stew, couscous salad with roasted veggies, and salad are placed on large picnic tables to eat family-style. After lunch, we boarded the 4-story high riverboat and cruised downstream for a variety of entertaining and educational episodes.

We learned about bush pilots, dog sledding, discovering gold, and catching salmon. Everyone leaves the ship for an hour as we explore a guided tour of a native village replica. It was well done and I am glad we did not skip this included excursion on the land tour.

After the tour, we drove to the Pumphouse restaurant we had passed along the river and finally had Alaskan King crab – expensive but delicious.

Back at the hotel, our bags were once again in our rooms and new information was given for the luggage to be transported to the airport on our last day. This worked out well for us as all our luggage would not have fit in the car rental.

FAIRBANKS

It was tough to sleep in Fairbanks as it never got dark during the night at the end of June. I wish I had brought my eye mask. Our flight was not until 4 pm so we headed 15 minutes south to the North Pole to visit Santa and the Santa Claus House.

We stopped for lunch at an awesome Thai restaurant next to the Santa Claus House with large enough portions of Pad Thai to bring leftovers onto the flight home.

After doing some more shopping, my sister and I had a photo taken with Santa and then he borrowed my phone and made a video message for our young adult children back home.

He was great!

From Fairbanks to Tampa we had to take 3 separate flights to get home. Some delays, but all our flights arrived on time the next morning.

As if this trip wasn’t amazing enough when we landed my sister showed me a photo she took out her window on the flight home. She actually saw the Aurora Borealis in the night sky – a perfect ending and we like to think a message of love sent from our mom.

Thanks for visiting my blog and if you need ideas for what to pack on your Alaska land and cruise trip check out my packing post HERE.