Holland America Alaska Cruise - Part 2
Written: Jun 06 '00 (Updated Oct 02 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Luxurious, Fun, Great Food, Wonderful Service
Cons: None
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| gpatters's Full Review: Holland America Ryndam |
Continued from Holland America Alaska Cruise - Part 1
Clothing
Your trip is in late May, and it's still pretty chilly most of the time. You brought along a polartec vest, a light weight polartec jacket, long sleeved turtlenecks and knit tops, and lest we forget, silk undies. You normally don't need all of this at one time, but there are days... You need something to wear for formal nights, but you see folks in lots of different things. You just looked in your closet for your favorite dress, and it was fine. Your spouse can wear a dark suit, rent a tuxedo, or wear a sport coat and tie on formal nights (2). You take wrinkle free dress shirts for hubby, and one or two warm shirts, and a polartec vest for him as well. Think "khakis" - the non-wrinkle type, they are perfect for onboard wear, and jeans (better make 'em stretch jeans after all this food) for your excursions. Tennis shoes or walking shoes are great anytime except in the evenings. You've packed it all home, but you should have left about 1/3 there. You need less than you thought. You find you can just recycle. Hey, how dirty can you be if you bathe every day.
Things To Do
You have a couple of days at sea before your first stop in Sitka. You explore the ship to try to get your bearings, and to discover every nook and cranny that you can. You attend a lecture on "Sitka" in the Vermeer Lounge. You also watch the "shore excursion lady" from your TV. You go to the casino, without any luck, but good for a little fun. For lunch, you head to the beautiful Lido Deck to eat near the domed and heated swimming pool where children are having a great time. The staff is carving huge ice sculptures for tonight's dinner display. This is a really fun thing to watch. You have a hot dog for lunch, nothing too heavy. You want to save room for the Dutch High Tea at 4:00 and dinner a little later.
Great Dining
What can you say, the food is wonderful. You can have grilled salmon every night if you like. Every night the menu is different including the dessert menu. Chocolate and raspberry seem to jump out at you from every turn. On the last night, you choose lobster tails. Your dining steward, "U" from the Philippines, tells you that you can have more. You whisper, "Can I have 10?" He giggles at you, but comes back later to check on your table. You ask him if you can have just one extra lobster tail, and back he comes in two seconds. Ah, this is even better than the baked Alaska awaiting you. You forgot to mention that you did get a table for four next to a window, perfect. Your dining mates are wonderful company, and you enjoy getting to know each other over the week's time spent eating together.
The Ryndam
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. I recommend you go to this site to see the Ryndam. It has photos of all her rooms. The ship was built in 1994 and is a sister ship to the Veendam.
www.hollandamericapreview.com/fivestarfleet/ryndam.htm
The ship is beautiful with huge vases of flowers and beautiful artwork at each turn. Lots of wonderful sculptures and lots of brass along with soothing colors make this more than pleasing to your eyes. This is a relaxing and luxurious way to travel. You can do lots of things, or you can do nothing but relax and soak up the spectacular scenery of Alaska. You've never seen any place like it before. You see mountains, glaciers, wildlife, and historic ports. You learn a great deal about Alaska while you are enjoying your cruise.
You cruise the famous GLACIER BAY the next day. Park Rangers come aboard to tell you all about it as you stand outdoors and take in the beauty. Your camera and binoculars are constantly busy. The glaciers just continue on, one after the other. The vistas are sometimes just overwhelming.
Sitka
Your first stop is beautiful Sitka. You enter it by way of a tender from the ship. It is a beautiful town, surrounded by islands, with Russian influence most any place you look. You see the New Archangel Russian Folk Dancers who are wonderful. You've never experienced Russian dancing closely before, and it's a treat. You can easily walk the streets of the town, and the shopping is fun. Many shops have faberge eggs for sale, but the souvenirs that you brought home were beautiful Russian doll ornaments purchased from the Russian American Company just minutes from the dock for $12. There are several beautiful stores in this little shopping mall and even an elevator to the second floor.
www.russianamericancompany.com/
At the store next door, they were having a sale on the beautiful calendars "Southeast Alaska." You purchased about a dozen to take home. The photos are wonderful in this particular calendar. Calendars have always been a favorite gift of yours to share with your family and friends.
You love the onion-domed St. Michaels' Cathedral. Nearby, you find a cyber cafe hidden behind a little restaurant. You ask the locals, and they give you directions to it. It's fun to write email as you travel along.
You are having dinner as you're leaving Sitka. As you look out the window, from the starboard side of the ship, you see Mt. Edgecumbe. It's an extinct volcano with a beautiful snow cap. It's quite a beautiful site with the sun pouring in your window.
Juneau
Juneau is the capital city of Alaska. It's a modern city of about 200,000. I recommend that you read:
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-77F9-6B04642-39245103-prod1 for more information about Juneau. There are many excursions possible from Juneau. Don't worry, you'll be fully informed about them on the ship so you can choose. One of the highlights of your entire Alaska vacation was the trip to Taku Lodge by seaplane. Here is a site where you can read more about it:
www.alaskaviews.net/taku.htm
Ketchikan
Next stop, Ketchikan, a wonderful fun place to visit. You can walk anywhere. Creek Street is really run. It's been restored and was formerly the red-light district. You have a wonderful lunch in a small cafe overlooking the rushing creek and facing the restored houses on the opposite side of the creek. You loved seeing all the totems at Totem Bight.
There are many wonderful excursions you can take from Ketchican. You regretfullly don't take the Misty Fjords tour. Mendenhall Glacier is close by, and a tour is available.
Vancouver
The last stop for you is Vancouver. You disembark early, meet your luggage on the dock, and take everything through a long line through customs (thank goodness for those airport-type carts), and eventually to your transportation to the airport. The 45-minute bus ride through Vancouver whets your appetite to return here at a later time. It's a beautiful city, and the rhododendron are in full bloom. Every home seemed to have a yard just full of beautiful colors. Even the airport in Vancouver is pretty, but it's going to be nice to sleep in your own bed tonight.
Please take a moment to leave me a comment. I love comments!
Recommended:
Yes
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gpatters
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Location: Mid-Missouri
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