Alaskan Disappointment
Noordam Cruise Review to Alaska - Gulf of Alaska
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 9
Helpful Votes: 438
Review summary
Hard to say anything negative about Alaska - the views are always amazing and there's no shortage of places to relax. With that said, we were beyond disappointed with this trip. The cruise portion was great as always, but the land portion was a huge let down. We were very excited to go to Denali and have 3 days "on land" to really explore Alaska. The extra money for the land part was truly a waste; we didn't get to do anything even though we had full days/overnight at each stop. Lost luggage, broken train engine, canceled excursion (without refund!!) and 8 hours sitting in hotel lobby - we will be cruise only to Alaska from now on. Tip - take the money you would spend on land package and upgrade your cabin or extend your cruise.Embarkation
Surprisingly simple
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Food was good, service was great. 1 star off due to reduced hours.
Onboard Activities
Did not participate
Service and Staff
Service was superb! Crew definitely wanted passengers to know they appreciated them being onboard.
Ship Quality
Very clean - someone always cleaning something somewhere. 1 star off because the ship needed maintenance even though she was fresh out of dry dock.
Cabin / Stateroom
Extra long balcony was great. Cabin very barrow - barely room to pass between foot of bed and wall, made room service difficult. Full size shower is always nice.
Ship tip
Use the stairs for easy access to dining when you have an aft cabin.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia
Very expensive city, can'tspend less than $50 even for breakfastor lunch (2 people, no alcohol). Had to fly in night before due to airline changing flight so we rented a car and got to play tourist.
Great views although limited wildlife sightings - can't blame Nature so no deductions. Did see some whales from our balcony.
Our usual Get Dirty cart excursion did not disappoint- only port it rained which is exactly what you want for this excursion. Great views, newbie guides so glad we knew what to expect.
Pretty, nothing disappointing except we didn't have time to go to our favorite restaurant and had to eat on ship.
Beautiful scenery, saw and heard glaciers calving. Never disappointed- stay on your balcony for the duration - this is Mother Nature at her finest!!
Absolutely worst experience in Alaska- didn't think that was even possible. Spending the night and basically having 2 full days, we were looking forward to having unlimited options to enjoy. We had even reserved a car rental so we could explore. Had to cancel the car due to arrival time. No excursions available. We ended up spending $70 on taxi to the zoo and $70 to return 2 hours later. Had to eat at the hotel then spent 8 hours sitting in hotel lobby waiting for airport shuttle because there were no excursion options that timed with flights. It was a very expensive miserable experience.
Disembarkation
Easy, quick, no issues
Traveler Photos
