Preparing for A Holland America Alaskan Cruise
Note: This post has been updated on May 10, 2022.
One of my bucket list travel items was to take a week-long Alaskan cruise and I finally made it happen in August of 2018. While I had cruised many times before, I had not been on a Holland America one, which I found to be a very different experience.
To help you prepare for your own, I’ve included information on how to get to the Seattle port, if that is where you are embarking from, and how to navigate the experience on Holland America’s Eurodam.
where to stay overnight/getting to the pier
My cruise on Holland America’s Eurodam left from Pier 91 in Seattle. While there are other locations you can leave from, I knew I’d want to end my trip with a few days exploring much of the city and its surrounding areas before going home (see my Seattle post for my itinerary).
I flew in the day before the cruise, which I recommend (especially if you're coming from any point east) and stayed at the Sheraton Four Points Seattle Downtown. It's a perfect location to stay at as they have a $7 shuttle (per person) to get you to the cruise ship terminal (they also run shuttles to football and baseball games).
EMBARKATION PROCESS
Out of all the cruising embarkation processes I’ve experienced, this definitely was the smoothest. Prior to boarding the ship, after you check in online, the cruise line sends you your luggage tags, as well as final information on when your designated embarkation time is. Simply print all of that out and have it ready for embarkation.
The day of, I handed them my passport and embarkation printout and within a few minutes, I received my cruise card and was on the ship!
STATE ROOMS
I chose an inside cabin, since I thought I'd mostly be off the ship, or at least somewhere else on the ship - this was a mistake. It's so cold and so rainy, and the ship rocked so much, that I: 1. spent more time in my room, sleeping, than I initially thought I would, and 2. was feeling rather ill from all of the rocking. Having a room with a view definitely makes the room feel larger and more comfortable (at the very least).
room upgrades
I booked my room almost six months in advance as I heard Alaskan cruises sell out. The balcony rooms went on sale (big time) about one week before sailing. They also offered major deals on upgrading rooms a week before as well. If you want to play it safe, book a cheaper room and take the upgrade when it's offered. I tried to ask Guest Services for an upgrade, when the ship left the port, and it was unfortunately too late.
NOTE: You aren’t able to ask for room upgrades at the embarkation desk .
Gratuity for room stewards
Gratuity is that one hidden fee that hits you hard after a cruise is near completion. You will be charged around $15 per person, per day, the evening before you disembark. This is an automatic charge. If you are concerned with these fees, see guest services prior to disembarkation day.
DINING
MAIN DINING ROOM
If there was one thing that was great on the ship, it was the incredible talent of the chefs at the main dining room and the specialty restaurants. With that being said...
If you have allergies, TELL THEM. Since I have Celiac (and it's severe), I have to let everyone know. The main dining room was incredible about it, offering for me to pre-order my dinner and lunches the day of, as the chef could make anything gluten-free, providing me even faster service for my meals. Thus, I'd recommend set dining times in this case so they know when/what table to deliver it to.
Notes On Gratuity
I tipped my server at the main dining room $80, or $20 for each evening I ate there, and handed it to him in cash. It was such incredible service, especially with how he accommodated my needs, that I felt it appropriate. Otherwise, they do not receive tips for these services.
If you go to a specialty dining place, they will automatically charge 20% gratuity to your bill (since those restaurants charge extra for your meal anyway).
TIP: Get a 7pm seating so you have plenty of time to eat dinner and go outside to catch all sunsets!
BUFFET ON LIDO DECK
There was one designated section for gluten-free baked goods, but they weren't cooked well, so I only went to that station once. Overall, if you have allergies, you need to be VERY vigilant on what you're eating. For example, I wanted a turkey sausage link, but they were cooking it over bread to absorb the grease. This would have made me very ill. When in doubt, definitely ask someone.
SNACKING
The Lido deck buffet is NOT 24 hours, though the outdoor pizza, hamburgers, and hot dog areas are open longer than just traditional meal times. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave much for Celiac people. Thus, there are two tips to get you through it:
Room service is available for snacks
If you go to the dining hall, ask for extra of anything during lunch or dinner - you have a mini fridge to store it in.
BEVERAGE PACKAGE
I am grateful to the bartender that told me each person would have to consume at least 6 alcoholic drinks a day to make the package worth it. I also learned that at $60 per day, I wasn’t able to choose days, but would have to buy for the entirety of the cruise. Given that 1. I’m not a huge drinker and 2. I was off the ship a fair amount, I declined.
Instead, I ordered a bottle of wine at dinner to consume wherever and whenever I wanted during the trip, equating to maybe $40 per person, per every other day. Wine is incredibly reasonable, even after the 20% automatic gratuity (which is also charged at the bars, per tab).
TIP: Really ask yourself if you're going to drink that much. Chances are, it's going to make more sense to purchase drinks as you need them.
ENTERTAINMENT
Holland America says they don't offer much in the way of entertainment and it's true. So much of their evening entertainment is mediocre, which either landed me in bed early, to my room to read, at the casino (for all of five minutes), or at the gym.
It was also noted that this cruise line is meant more for retirees than anyone else, which explains why there wasn’t a ton to do. During the day, many classes were focused on how to do things, like Microsoft sponsoring how to navigate Windows, as well as America's Test Kitchen sponsoring how to make simple things.
I opted for the wine tasting events ($15 per person + 20% gratuity for the short Italian wine tasting and $25 per person + 20% gratuity for the wines from around the world tasting), which were pretty stellar and are highly recommended.
SPA
The spa on Eurodam was one of the best ship spas I've ever seen HOWEVER, that's where it stops. I paid for a pedicure, which went fro $59 to $109 in the blink of an eye. While I know it's their job to up sell, during whatever service you've selected, their method was annoying enough that I agreed to their recommendations to get them to stop complaining about my feet (my last pedicure was like two months prior) :-) So unless you've got thick skin or aren't easily annoyed, then make sure you're prepared for not the most relaxing time.
CELEBRATING SOMETHING SPECIAL?
In my case, it was my 40th birthday, which the ship knew about, yet did nothing to recognize it, other than send me mail for future spa discounts (right after I had my pedicure) and an offer for a free photo. I felt less than celebrated by them, which was the first time that had ever happened in my history of cruising. As it turns out, if you want them to help you celebrate, you can pay $50 for four balloons taped to the door.
If it wasn't for me hinting to the waiter that I was on this trip to celebrate my new decade, I never would have gotten this:
PORTS OF CALL
I went to the following ports of call on this trip, which was a bit hit or miss, due to weather. Click on each to discover more about my experience:
Ketchikan (the weather was so bad this day that no one left the ship - there is no page for this one)
WHAT TO PACK
In August, you need to pack for every season imaginable, as the weather can be pretty wild:
Seattle: Jeans and short-sleeve tops/tanks with a light sweater/jacket
First Day at Sea: A long dress for gala night (men are required to wear a suit without a tie), yoga pants, tank, long-sleeved top/sweater, rain coat, knit hat
Juneau: Lined yoga pants (long underwear and athletic pants work too), tank, long-sleeved shirt, sweater, gloves, knit hat, rain coat, two pairs of socks. For dinner, I chose to wear a more casual dress.
Glacier Bay: See above, though add another layer and a rainproof coat if you plan on being outside. For dinner, I chose to wear a more casual dress.
Sitka: Same attire as Juneau. For dinner, I chose to wear a more casual dress.
Ketchikan: It rains there almost the entire year, so wear what I wore in Juneau, and bring an umbrella! It was also gala night, so I packed another long dress.
Victoria: Jeans, long-sleeved shirt, light jacket.
OTHER THINGS TO REMEMBER TO PACK
Passport if you're headed to Victoria. Otherwise, your ID is fine.
A travel adapter - the rooms only handle 115V. While they have hair dryers in the rooms, it certainly can't handle straightening irons and curling irons.
Motion sickness tablets/patches - it's rough in Alaska!
Books/iPad - you'll want forms of entertainment.
Plenty of cash for excursion tips/quick purchases.
Extra battery pack for your phone or other small devices - it saved me so many times.
A waterproof purse/bag to carry your items in, unless you plan on storing everything in waterproof coat pockets.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While cruising on Holland America wasn't that bad, it just didn’t offer enough for my taste. In the future, I will be using Princess cruise lines for smaller ship cruises.