Westerdam

I only gave a good rating for ports in Alaska mainly due to the weather. We had drizzly days which required a rain jacket. We were told that we were actually lucky it only drizzled. Apparently it rains a lot. Vancouver was supposedly sunny, but the smoke from the fires in BC cast a blanket over the city. Since the fires won't last forever, any other time will allow you to see this great city in all its glory. Be sure not to miss the Granville Market and Victoria was interesting but made for a very long day.

Disembarkation was the worst. We were told by Rosario that we were not on the list for "straight to shuttle" when our luggage was tagged the night before with the correct tags. She turn us over to Harvey who was doing 1000 other things and said he would fix it but abandoned us. Luckily, Pam from the vancover port assisted us in getting off of the ship and to our shuttle.

I again want to bring up the dinner staff (Paulus, Mark Dig, Yohan), our stewards (Paul and Nicky), and Billboard On-board entertainment (Andy and Polina) for making our experience one that our family will never forget. We needed a great experience after the recent loss of my father and this is exactly what we were hoping for so thank you Holland America.

The suite was well worth the extra cost. The most enjoyable, and unexpected aspect of the cruise was the terrific entertainment. This includes on board-musicians, magician and comedian, as well as the excursions. We did excursions in Skagway, Ketchikan and Juneau and each time our guide was superior or even better. We learned so much more than we anticipated. Highest recommendation possible!

My first cruise and first visit to Alaska were all amazingly beautiful. We had extraordinary sunshiny days and tolerable temperatures. Only one rather rough day at sea (our only rainy day) but the ship provided lots of entertainment choices and good food. Since there are no roads in and out of most of the ports of call, cruising Vancouver to Seward is the best way to go. Met some great people along the way and had a great experience!