With over 75 years of experience taking their passengers to Alaska, we knew that when the time came to visit this iconic cruise destination there was no better cruise line to choose to go with than Holland America. With most of their voyages starting from either Vancouver or Seattle we were invited to join one of their round trip week long cruises starting and ending in Seattle. Since we were travelling from the UK we took our own advise and made sure to arrive in Seattle the day before the cruise was due to leave. Our flight arrived late afternoon which just gave us enough time in Seattle to explore the Space Needle and have a meander through the surrounding parks before jet lag got the better of us.

With an early embarkation slot the next day we made our way to the cruise terminal after a leisurely breakfast and were on board the lovely MS Eurodam enjoying a drink around the pool by 11.30am. The weather in Seattle was remarkably warm so we stayed on the pool deck enjoying the sunshine and a delicious burger and fries from the Dive In before heading down to our room to unpack and get freshened up for our early sailaway at 3pm. Out on the open decks we had a lovely view of the Seattle skyline as we left the port making our way past the beautiful little islands north of Seattle, heading up to the Crow’s Nest to enjoy a cocktail as we headed out to the open sea.

Even though the next day was a lazy sea day, jet lag woke us both up ridiculously early so Rich headed out to get us a hot drink to have out on the verandah. Whilst we were out there we started to spot some activity in the sea and that was it, we were there for the next two hours watching pods of dolphins passing by and even the odd whale in the distance. Eventually hunger got the better of us, so after the port talk we made our way to the main dining room for the Alaskan brunch, the highlight of which was the smoked chowder bread bowl.

Being a sea day that evening was one of two ‘dressy’ evenings and we had a reservation for dinner in the fabulous Pinnacle Grill. Neither of us could resist our favourite starter, the signature candied bacon clothesline, choosing the signature beef tenderloin and the Alaskan salmon for our main courses, both of which were delicious before finishing our meal with We finished with a chocolate soufflé.

For more on the dining options available on the Vista class ships take a look at our Dining Guide blog or click on the link below.

After the meal we had just enough energy to pop along to BB Kings for the first set of the voyage which was pretty packed out and very good indeed. Then even though the clocks were going back giving us another hour in bed, jet lag again got the better of us and we headed off to bed. However, we just thought we’d have one last look outside before hitting the sack and were treated to a beautiful sunset and a very lively whale jumping around in the ocean just in front of our balcony - spectacular! What a wonderful end to our first full day.

Waking early again the next morning meant we were able to make the most of the scenic sailing through the Inside Passage, arriving into Juneau at lunchtime. On board the ship we had an expert naturalist who hosted whale watching from the promenade deck but since this was literally taking place just below our balcony we were able to make the most of his knowledge, overhearing what he was saying from the comfort of our balcony. Stocking up on hot drinks and snacks from the buffet, we wrapped up warm and made ourselves comfortable on our balcony watching the world pass by. With an excursion booked in Juneau we grabbed a quick pizza for lunch then headed ashore for our small group whale watching excursion.

There were only 20 of us on the tour and we met our guide Zoe shoreside who herded us to the minibus for our 20 minute coach ride to the bay where our small ship was docked, stopping on the way for a quick scenic view of Mendenhall Glacier. We boarded the boat for a two hour trip, starting with a little bit of citizen science by pulling up a crab pot to see what sealife was in the area. We particularly didn’t want to find any European green crabs that are danger to the local Dungess crabs. Thankfully we didn’t find any but Zoe was excited to pull up two rare types of starfish which she had never seen before.

Having done our bit for Citizen Science we moved on to find some whales, getting up close with plenty of whales and even witnessing a groups of at least 8 whales bubble net feeding and swimming around together. After a fabulous hour or so of whale watching we headed back to Juneau with enough time to have a wander around this vibrant shoreside town, visiting some of the local shops, bars and the lively Deckhand Dave’s for delicious fish tacos and a local beer.

From Juneau we sailed overnight towards Glacier Bay for what must surely be a highlight of an Alaskan cruise, a morning of scenic sailing towards the magnificent Margerie Glacier. With the crows nest being very busy we decided to watch the scenery from our balcony, listening to the commentary from the Park Rangers on our cabin TV. As we approached the glacier we wrapped up warm and headed to the bow of the ship for a more all round view and we were glad we did, the view of the glacier was incredible. There were hot drinks up there it keep us warm and mid morning the traditional pea and ham soup came round to sustain us all.

As the ship sailed away from the Margerie Glacier and back out to open sea, we enjoyed the scenery over a delicious lunch at the Pinnacle Grill restaurant. Later that afternoon we arrived into Hoonah where we had booked an excursion to go on the hunt for brown bears. We met our guide Madison and boarded a coach for a half hour drive to the Spasski river. Along the way Madison told stories from the Tlinglit tribes and explained what it was like to live in Hoonah. When we arrived at the river we made the walk through the marshlands along the boardwalk to the river front. As soon as we reached the river we spotted two large brown bears on the other side of the river who we watched for the next half an hour as they jumped around in the river chasing salmon, play fighting with each other and generally living their best lives along the waters edge.

After another incredible shore excursion we were back on board MS Eurodam just in time to join in with a Holland America signature event, the Orange Party in BB Kings. We donned something orange, ordered cocktails and sat at the bar people watching and listening to the music while snacking on delicious Dutch snacks.

Despite the temptation we had to go easy on the cocktails as we had another early excursion booked the next morning for our stop at Sitka. Meeting up with our fellow guests booked on this excursion we were suprised and delighted to see that there were 8 of us on this tour which started with a visit to the Fortress of the bears, a bear orphanage and home to eight orphaned bears, 3 black and 5 brown. We watched as the bears played around in the water and on land in their enclosures.

Since we had heard that the best thing to do in Sitka is to head out on the water, the next part of our excursion was a boat trip out to a remote homestead in Silver Bay. We boarded a rather swanky boat which Henry, our captain, sped us along to Silver Bay, stopping first at a salmon fisherie where there was so many salmon jumping around in the water that it attracted the bald eagles who were hanging around in the fir trees on the shoreside. As we we’re just about to leave Henry spotted a lone brown bear on the other side of the water. We couldn’t believe our luck, he was just wandering along the waters edge, occasionally stopping to catch a salmon to eat, what a sight!

Although we were all mesmerised by the bear we eventually had to move on to our next stop, the family homestead, another very swanky residence located at the end of the bay. We docked up and went ashore for salmon blini snacks and a look around the home stead before heading out the back to the open fire located right on the waters edge where we made our first ever s’mores. It was so idyllic and we didn’t really want to leave but since we had an early afternoon departure from Sitka, we eventually had to make our way back to the ship.

Back on board that evening we had a dinner reservation at Canaletto, the extra charge restaurant located in the lido buffet, the perfect location to enjoy the sea views as we sailed along the coast towards Ketchikan while savouring a delicious, leisurely Italian meal. Having been on board now for a few nights we decided that this evening would be the night that we finally got round to visiting Billboard Onboard to enjoy an evening of piano entertainment.

We arrived into Ketchikan quite early and since we were only there until noon we got up early and headed ashore to visit Creek street, the oldest street in Ketchikan and historic home to brothels of days gone by. We walked along Creek Streets starting at the bottom and making our way right to the top, following the masses of salmon that were doing the very same thing. It was quite stressful watching the salmon try to make their way up the fast flowing downhill stream but we were amazed when we got to the top to see how many had actually made it.

Apparently Ketchikan has some of the biggest rainfall in the US but we would never have guessed as the skies were blue and the sun was shining as we made our way back to the waterfront to do the ‘tourist’ thing and go to the Lumberjack Show. The hour long show was a lot of fun, very loud and entertaining.

When the show finished we we set sail away from Ketchikan enjoying the warm afternoon around the aft pool. That evening was another dressy night and we had decided to try out the last of the extra cost restaurants, Tamarind, starting with a cocktail in the Tamarind Bar. The food was so good we booked to go back again the next evening, our last evening on board as we sailed back towards Seattle.

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DISCLOSURE: We were invited on board as guests of Holland America Line who covered the costs of our outbound air fare, cruise fare, excursion costs and speciality dining. We received no fees or remuneration for producing media during and after this voyage and any resulting videos have been produced without influence or expectation from Holland America Line and we had complete editorial and artistic freedom. Holland America Line had no prior preview of this content, all our videos contain our personal and unbiased opinion. Please ask us if you want to know more . Thank you and we hope you enjoy the content as much as we did creating it.

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