Exceptional cruise! The itinerary was amazing; very satisfying. The ship was great; our wheelchair accessible lanai cabin was perfect and met every expectation and need. Five-star service.
21 Night Ultimate Alaska & Pacific Northwest Adventurer (San Francisco Roundtrip)
Sail date: May 28, 2019
Ship:
Maasdam
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 367
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
Simply spectacular itinerary. Overall great cruise with great service.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Could not have been easier. Our cabin was ready at 11:30 AM when we boarded.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
MDR was excellent. Best service in 27 cruises; Dia was an exceptional waiter. Food was very good. Lido was just fine, although seating was quite crowded at peak times. DiveIn burgers and fries were quite good. Did not feel the need to do specialty dining.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
exc in depth programming was really good; loved the lectures, and guest artists. Camera time on the bow was great. Went to the spa’s thermal suite almost every day and loved it; never crowded (passes are limited to avoid crowding: but in advance). Enjoyed daily happy hour with trivia in the Crow’s Nest.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
All entertainment was well above expectations. No production shows on the exc itinerary, but enjoyed many of the featured singing groups, magicians, and comedians. Adagio, the string quartet, was excellent. The jazz combo in the Ocean Bar was pleasant. The Indonesian crew show was a highlight.
Children's Programs
No kids. Very few on board.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Wow; just wow. Could not have been better in any way.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Love the smaller ship layout. Spotlessly clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Wheelchair accessible lanai cabin. Met every expectation and need. Very large cabin with plenty of room for 2 power wheelchairs to move around freely. Large roll-in bath featuring an enormous shower with bench. Well-placed grab bars. Refrigerator. Two power outlets, and HAL also supplied a power strip. Lanai door was a power door operated by a button from the inside, and a card key from the outside; easy ingress and egress with reserved deck chairs. Interior Cabin door was extra wide. Four closets, with ample storage and hanging space with shelves, and drawers, which more than made up for almost non-existent storage in the bath. Bed was too firm, but our steward supplied us with a thick mattress topper on the second day.
Ship tip
Crow’s Nest is the place to be in the afternoons! The 7:30 Showroom is crowded, but there is plenty of seating at the 9:30 show.
Gorgeous port with a cute town with lots to see. The port provides free umbrellas and free bus to town (about 12 minutes). Bald eagles EVERYWHERE! Breathtaking sail-out scenery.
A really fun day. Loved that we could sit in our reserved promenade deck chairs and a cart came around every 10 minutes or so serving coffee or hot chocolate, with several liquors available to add. On sail-out, once we turned North toward Valdez, we could clearly see Canada’s highest peak, Mount Logan, at 19,551 feet. It was very prominent to our East.
The town itself is tiny, with little to see or do in the town itself; highly recommend either an excursion or renting a car. The area around is stunningly gorgeous. We really liked the Thompson Pass and Worthington Glacier bus tour.
Love Homer. The spit is close to the pier, which is itself just covered with nesting Kittiwakes. Short free shuttle to the spit shopping/restaurant area. There is a large walkable beach with more spectacular scenery. Did not do an excursion, but there were great ones available; would have liked to do the kayaking excursion. On sail-our toward Anchorage, could clearly see both volcanoes Mt. Rodoubt and Mt. Spurr, which was puffing fumes.
I really like Anchorage, having been there dozens of times. The pier is a few short miles from downtown, with a free shuttle. Highly recommend an excursion or renting a car to see Lake Hood and Potter Marsh at least. The trolley tour from the visitor center is good at a minimum. If it’s your first visit, I’d text the Portage Glacier and Alaska Wildlife Center tour. I’ve been to both multiple times, and the drive as well as the attractions are great. Downtown does have good shopping.
This is a great port. Another stunning beauty. Lots of fishing action. Saw the most wildlife here: lots of whales (humpbacks and orca), dozens of otters close-up, bald eagles, lots of tufted puffins, fall porpoises. Took the Kodiak Marine & Wildlife Sightseeing boat tour and it was great. On sail-our toward Haines, we were surprised by the almost constant sightings of fall porpoises; it was like a fall porpoise highway!
Very nice little town in another stunning setting. Took the Naturr and Wildlife Photography excursion, which took us to the Chilkat River and Chilkat Lake; both were really pretty. Again, lots of bald eagles. The tour itself was a bit of a disappointment. Chilkoot Mountains on sail-in were in-your-face gorgeous.
Touristy ad expected. The pier is chock-a-block full of cruise line-owned and staffed jewelry stores. Stores on the main road behind the pier-front were better. The Red Dog Saloon is worth a visit if it’s your first time. It was too foggy and Misty to enjoy scenery on this visit, but would have otherwise taken Mt Roberts Tramway and visited Mendenhall Glacier Park. Tons of excursions available: would recommend a whale watch.
Did not go into town, but rather took the best excursion EVER. Stickine River Jet Boat to Shakes Lake full of icebergs, and Shakes Glacier, where we were again sure one icebergs and beefy bits, and had a lovely little picnic with wine. This was a great, great, tour. Saw eagles and lots of harbor seals.
Pretty town with Canadian style. Took the City Tour and Butchart Gardens excursion, which was very good. The gardens themselves are really pretty as expected.
The town rolled out the red carpet for us. Didn’t take an excursion, but instead visited the street fair that was set up for us. Would have liked to have gotten up to the mountains.
The day began with Mandatory US Immigration and Vustoms, which went very smoothly. Nice little town. $6 ho-ho bus to downtown was a good deal. Visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum, which was small but interesting and worth the visit. There was a nice street fair going on with lots of local arts and crafts. Those who took the Seaside and Cannon Beach excursion said they were disappointed because of the Father’s Day holiday crowds.
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