Westerdam Review
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Additional details
My husband and I traveled on the Holland America Westerdam to Alaska in May (2018). Both of us were very pleased with the trip. Though we were embarking out of Vancouver we flew into Seattle and took the Amtrak Cascade. What a great way to travel! We found a fun, funky hotel (Moda) near the cruise terminal which was inexpensive and had a great restaurant/bar attached. We explored some of Vancouver and would love to go back and see more.
All of the advice that we read was to get to the cruise terminal, Canada Place, early but my husband works at the port here and based on his experience we waited until about 1:30 to go. It was a smooth process and took less than an hour to get on board. We did hear from quite a few people on the cruise that their embarkation took a long time and they had issues but they all got there super early. Based on our experience I would wait until later to go (and yes there were 4 ships leaving from there that day).
The ship and crew were great. Yes, it was a cruise of predominantly older folks and I do not think I would recommend it for families. For us though it was fine. If you want excitement every minute you won't get that either but if you are ok with relaxing, sitting on the deck and just enjoying the ride than you will be fine. We were not that impressed with the stage shows but the talent t BB Kings and Billboard On Board were great and we spent each evening in one of those two places.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Ocean-View Verandah Stateroom
Cabin had plenty of space and storage. The bathroom had a small medicine cabinet and shelf under the sink so there was plenty of room for things. There were 2 closets and drawers in the night stands and desk. The balcony was nice but we did not use it much as it was still pretty chilly out. The array of towel animals was too fun!
Port Reviews
Vancouver
Really pretty city. Easy to get around and lots to do.
Ketchikan
Loved this funky town! We took the city bus to Totem Bight state park and Potlatch Totem city park. I have always wanted to see totems and these places did not disappoint. Beautiful setting and good educational signage. City bus was easy and cheap (around $5).
The town itself had fun shops (not the touristy ones by the port but Creek Street and around town). I would have liked more time to explore the hiking trails.
Seward
Alaska Sea Life Center was phenomenal as was Exit Glacier. This is where we started the land portion of our tour.
Glacier Bay
Just amazing!