This was my first cruise on Holland America but my ninth cruise overall. I’ve also cruised on Royal Caribbean and Carnival, but I’m a loyal customer of Norwegian. Or I should say I was loyal until I found a better price with Holland America. That coupled with recommendations from friends for the HAL Alaskan cruise caused me to “jump ship.”
As I explained in an earlier post, we upgraded our cabin to a suite which was sweet. We appreciated the increased square footage in the room and on the balcony, but the bathroom was really sweet with double sinks and a whirlpool tub that I used several times.
Stateroom 6113 on the Oosterdam
Vanity area in our cabin
Our cabin looking out to the balcony
Sofa in our cabin aka Sheryl’s bed
Setting sail from Vancouver —Jim on the balcony
Sheryl sitting on our balcony
We typically spend very little time in our stateroom on a cruise but with a balcony, we actually spent more time than usual, especially once we got to the glaciers. But there’s so much more to do onboard than sit in your stateroom. When we were in port we were usually off the ship but we had plenty of time to explore the ship and experience the activities onboard.
HAL Oosterdam
Overlooking the pool on the HAL Oosterdam leaving Vancouver
HAL Oosterdam
HAL Oosterdam
An early experience included Jim as part of the show for the axe throwing competition. Instructed by a real Alaskan lumberjack on his way to a competition in Ketchikan, the two teams of four men each faced off. Jim was the first competitor and he buried his axe into the target on his first try. While Jim didn’t win the competition, the final winner was on his team.
Axe throwing competition on the Oosterdam
Alaskan Lumberjack on the Oosterdam
Jim and Jamie the Lumberjack
Sheryl and Jamie the Lumberjack
We attended several cooking classes where we learned how to cook the halibut Jim caught on his fishing excursion and the salmon we purchased in Alaska.
HAL Oosterdam cooking class
And the wine tasting was one of my favorite activities.
HAL Oosterdam wine tasting
I think we took in the entertainment every night while onboard and I was impressed by the quality of the stage shows. Photography isn’t allowed so, unfortunately, I can’t show you. But when we returned to our stateroom, our steward would often leave a little surprise when he turned down the cabin.
HAL Oosterdam towel art
Later in this series of posts from our Alaskan adventure, I’ll likely post food pictures because the food was good and the presentation was definitely photo-worthy.
But all of this pales when compared to the scenery we saw both on and off the ship in the inside passage and in Alaska. Check back next time for scenes and stories from the inside passage and our first port at Ketchikan, Alaska.
Based on events in June 2015.