Alaska - Gulf of Alaska Cruise Reviews

This cruise was awesome and we would return in a heartbeat.  We loved The personal attention afforded us and loved the smaller size of the Zaandam.  We have been on larger ships and they lack the up close and personal experience we had on this ship.  I would also like to note that the Holland ships are so tasteful and beautiful.  We so appreciated all of the awesome floral arrangement throughout the ship. Entertainment was professional and just plain fantastic.  The experience we had at Glacier Bay was unmatched and enhanced by the Ranger's overview and environmental expertise.  We were enamored with the ports of call on this cruise and would love to return with family members.

Great connection service  to the air port from the port. 

Great foods and great entertainment. 

Great on board crews. 

But wish thet have translator for different languages. ...

Great staff, great food, overall great time.  We requested foam pillows due to our allergies and the room steward changed them out right away.  We still suffered allergy problems, possibly from feathered comforters or all the fabric in the room that collects dust particles.  Hopefully, some day cruise lines will make the rooms allergy friendly for sufferers.  We sail again in November on Princess.  The watch store manager gave me a great deal on a new watch.

Had a wonderful tour\cruise.  One major contributing factor was the excellent weather allowing max visibility and comfort.

All tours were arranged through Princess lines and each tour bus was close to the ship, timely and informative. Last cruise booked two cruises thru Crusiesonly and were a bust.

The natural history tour was only fair. Suggest take the wildlife tour as those raved about diversity of animals seen. 

Wonderful cruise. We were lucky with beautiful weather. Glacier Bay National Park and the cruise out of Skagway in the evening were breathtaking highlights.  I would definitely recommend this trip to others.

I have been on many cruises but upgrading to the Aqua Suite and being

able to eat in the Blu Restaurant gave this cruise 5 stars. 

The food was absolutely fabulous.  Every night the food was just as delicious

as the next.  The waiters and waitresses were outstanding the entire week.

We were addressed by name which was amazing.  The Blu is a small

restaurant so the servers gave up personal attention.

I am lactose intolerant.  I was asked to place my menu for the next day

so the chief knew not to add dairy to my meal.  It was sad to have to

say goodbye to the muffin man who greeted us every morning with a

smile on his face and a plate full of scrumptious muffins.

We never had to wait in line for breakfast or dinner and most of the time we were able to eat by a table by the window. 

If you are someone who enjoys a Turkish bath, sauna and hot spas,

the "Garden" is a place for you. 

The gym was terrific.  Upgraded equipment, yoga, pilates, and spin

classes were available.  Very clean

I enjoyed the art auctions.  The first auction I won a piece of art work

which was very exciting.  If you enjoy art, you have to attend at

least one auction.

The most disappointing day and as far as I am concerned was the day

at the Icy Strait.  Not much to do and too much time spent.  My daughter

and myself went on the ATV which was very scary for me since the

passenger side did not have a seat belt.  I addressed the problem and

was told to hold on.  It was rather dangerous as far as I am concerned.

I heard the zip line was fun.

I would have liked to have fish at lunchtime on the 10th floor cafe but it

was not very good.  The rest of the food  ate I enjoyed.

There was a problem keeping the coffee hot.  Most times it was luke

warm and passengers complained.

The entertainment was quite good.  I only missed one show since I was tired.

My favorite shows where, Almost Elton John, Savannah Smith who was terrific, and ballroom dancing.

Our stateroom was terrific.  We were given 2 warm bathrobes, slippers,

ice tea during the day, appetizers in the late afternoon and fruit. 

When we arrived the bed was made into a double but as soon as we

called for room service to split up the beds it was taken care of.

Whomever I talked to on the ship was just as helpful and full of smiles as

the next.  I could see that everyone on the ship worked exceptionally hard

to give us a wonderful vacation.  I want to say thank you to all!

I enjoyed being able to go up to the Rendezvous Cafe after dinner and before

the show every night for entertainment.

Overall this cruise was everything we had hoped.  The Alaska landscape was magnificent and we were very fortunate with the weather.  The cruise ship Millennium was a good size so that it did not seem overly crowded and was easy to get around.  The staff was friendly and the entertainment in the theater was very good and professionally done.  The food in the main dining room was very good and we did not feel a need to upgrade to the specialty restaurants, though some of our friends did and they raved about them - especially Qsine.  We had plenty of time in the ports to take the excursions and still had time to shop and explore on our own.

The service was great overall. The buffet was just ok but the dinner restaurant "Blue" was excellent. All of the ports were amazing. I would recommend this cruise 

Ship was in great shape.  Meals were excellent!  Entertainment was great as well. Embarkation in Seward was very fast.  People need to realize that you are entering Canada for disembarking.  You must have a passport.  Some folks had to fly out of Ketchikan because they didn't have passports.  Birth Certificates are not used to cross the border anymore.

This was my first cruise with Norwegian and I was thoroughly pleased. The size of the ship was perfect. The crew members were professional and very helpful. I was pleased that the entertainment for the most part was PG-13 or below and the cast was excellent! Some of the best I've seen on a cruise ship. A very relaxing, restful, refreshing vacation. The views in Alaska are breathtaking! It really felt as though I was sailing through a postcard.

Enjoyed the cruise overall. Great food, wonderful staff, excellent ship and beautiful scenery.  The drink package was a nice option.  Wished we received the reduced rate listed above for our group of 10.  The itinerary was changed last minutes and we did not visit Skagway, went to Sitka instead, very small port.  We had a group of 10 excursions to see the Mush Dogs cancelled.  We did received a $50 refund per passenger due to mechanical delay with the anchor.  We hope to do the same trip again at the reduced rate.  NCL's transportation from Vancouver port to airport was very overpriced.  A call to NCL representative never provided any options either!  We know better now.

The sights of Alaska were stunning and the cruise staff, from room steward to casino dealers were as helpful and friendly as any cruise staff I have been associated with.. I was very disappointed in the food, the choices were good, I visited 4 of the 5 specialty restaurants, and found the menus lacking and the food just good, not great.

This cruise was wonderful.  We had an added treat of visiting Sitka instead of Skagway.  the scenery was beautiful from both sides of the ship all the way from Seward to Vancouver.  The food was good, the staff accommodating and the overall voyage was pleasant.  This was our first cruise on NCL so not sure what to expect.  The beds were comfortable, the food in the dining room was good with lots of options on the menu.  We also enjoyed the specialty dining as well.  The entertainment was a bit disappointing as far as musical talent in the lounges and theatre performances; and shopping options was minimal as well.  The shopping was not as important on this particular cruise though as you were in ports each day.

Overall very good, bus from Seward to Anchorage was over 3 hours, rainy and foggy (it IS a rainforest) but pleasant. Cruise was a blast, go on the pub crawl! Shore excursions were great, saw orcas, whales sea lions, glaciers, eagles etc.       

Started out with a land journey.  All our research recommended this option.  Agree it was best choice.  Cruise portion much better orchestrated than the land portion.  Enjoyed warm, sunny Alaskan weather all but one day of cruise.  Activities and entertainment were good. Food was good with some nights having too many great choices that were not repeated.  Possibly due to hectic land schedule,  7 days did not allow us to get into the relaxed rhythm as we did on previous cruises. Glad we did see Alaska in it's finest.      

Wonderful Trip and Cruise.  Thanks Julie for putting it all together.  The Coral Princess was wonderful. The crew was fantastic.  Breathtaking trip. 

Consistently good.  weather was good with some rain.  All the staff was great!

Dining staff was super.  Randy and Willie are pros!  Entertainment was good and show times work out with the dining schedule.

Location location and location is the theme of a cruise like this.The boat is another story.This boat needs to go in dry dock for a major overhaul and updating of things to do on ship.The Wifi is a joke less than 1mbps per speed test.Thats when you stay on and not disconnected.The workers on this boat are great and try to make the best trip possible.The main dining hall food is great the windjammer is the same food for 7 days.The ports of call are great with the exception of Icy Strait Point not much to do besides the zip line.The other ports have great excursions and plenty of shopping for the usual tourists type.I was told the Northbound cruise was the best because they take supplies on only once in Vancouver for both north and South and run out of supplies going South(never been southbound just told by crew member once on cruise).Once and lifetime cruise.

Staff was great and the performance from the singers, dancers and their special performers were excellent.Considering their lower budget (comparing it to their larger ships]. I was a little bit disappointed at the age and the lack of frills the ship had to offer. I guess i am spoiled by their larger and newer ships that sails the Caribbean on their 7  night cruises. 

This cruise exceeded expectations. Alaska is truly the last frontier. Every port had it's own special beauty and there was plenty to do no matter what your level of activity or interest. It has everything from adventure, to history, to natural wonder and awesomeness. The highlight was cruising the Hubbard glacier on our last day at sea. It was just truly stunning and amazing to see it up close. The cruise ship is smaller and older than the newer mega ships that are being built, but the cruise director and activites manager keep everyone engaged and have lots of things planned to keep people happy and busy. The cruise director Steve was a theater manager and is very talented! But really you could just spend hours looking out at the wonder of the landscape and never get tried of it. I can't recommend it highly enough, so if you are thinking about doing it, just book it and go…you won't regret it.