2016 Alaskan Cruise- Juneau

Our first port was Alaska's capital city of Juneau. We arrive mid-morning and had several hours to explore the town prior to our planned excursion.

Here are a few initial shots from when we exited the ship. The statue is of a bull terrier puppy named Patsy Ann, who helped out on the port during the 1920's. She is a legend in Juneau.

I don't go on cruises to shop, but apparently this is a huge part of cruising for many people and jewelry is a focus. Like other port towns, Juneau had the same jewelry scam going on, with stores offering little trinkets and aggressively trying to grab our attention. We played a game where we avoided these stores in pursuit of our souvenir magnet that we like to buy. The town is cute, but really mostly a tourist trap. I imagine locals steer clear of this area during cruise season.

For lunch, we went to Deckhand Dave's, a fish taco food truck parked in the port. Fresh fish with fluffy batter = delicious.

Crows are everywhere in Alaska! We also saw wild bald eagles, but the crows rule the city. They are very clever birds.

Pretty wild flowers.

For our afternoon excursion, we hopped on a tour bus and headed to the Juneau Sled Dog Discovery and Musher's Camp. Located in the Tongas National Rainforest, we visited a training facility for dogs and mushers preparing to compete in the Iditarod.

In the summer, the dogs train with sleds that run on dirt. We were given a short ride in one of the sleds. The barking, howling, and whining prior to running is ear-splitting. You've never heard such a ruckus. The huskies are so excited that they can't help but make noise, but when they run, they are completely silent and focused. All you hear is the sound of their feet hitting the dirt and the musher's calls.

After the ride, we saw a presentation on the equipment used and the logistics regarding the Iditarod.

The Tongas National Rainforest is lush and beautiful. We were able to take a few pictures before heading to the final portion of our excursion.

Saving the best for last, we went to meet the puppies! We held puppies ( both a few months old and a few weeks old) and snuggled them. We also got to see the older puppies run in a giant hamster wheel like contraption. They loved it! You just can't feel anything but pure joy when cuddling puppies. So soft and sweet.

Time with the puppies was over too quickly. If they had let us, we'd probably have ditched the cruise and moved in with the dogs!

After our short bus ride back to port, we had just enough time to ride the Goldbelt Mount Roberts Tramway, an aerial tram that rises to 1800 feet above the port. At the top, we found a gift shop, restaurant, and a raptor center.

A few pictures that I have to comment on. First, look at this brown bear paw print. Yikes! We saw many bear warning signs in Alaska and if this paw print doesn't make you take the warnings seriously, nothing will!

Dan thought this log was rubbish! Just before the cruise, we had a one-ton Timothy Oulton log coffee table installed in our house. No log will ever compare to our log!

See the hang glider? This was very close to the aerial tram and bald eagles were also soaring in the vicinity. It was quite the show.

One last picture of Juneau, posing in front of our ship.

2016 Alaskan Cruise- Around the Ship

Here's a tour of Holland America's MS Amsterdam from our 2016 seven-night cruise to Alaska. The pictures were taken over the course of the entire trip, so in some cases, there are multiple shots of the same location taken on different days. You'll notice this with the main pool, which is shown both with the retractable roof open and closed.

The MS Amsterdam is considered a medium-sized cruise ship, with just 1380 passengers. Since we managed to get the last available room on the ship, I'm assuming that we sailed close to or at maximum capacity. The public spaces were never crowded, we could relax in a lounge chair on the deck and not see anyone else for long stretches of time.

Holland America attracts an older crowd and although we are middle-aged ( late 30's/early 40's), we were definitely among the youngest passengers on this cruise. It was late May and most schools were still in session, so only a few children were on our cruise. However, based on the vibe of Holland America and ship's offerings, I would bet that this isn't a first pick for families. We are traveling to Alaska with my step-kids this coming summer and we opted for Princess Cruise Lines.

Here are outside deck shots. Notice how few people were on the decks? It was like this for most of the trip.

On the first day of our cruise, we ran around and snapped shots of the interior, including many of the night clubs and lounges. As I mentioned, the ship skewed older, which was reflected in the evening entertainment. It was more low-key than other cruise lines that I've vacationed with; on the MS Amsterdam, the musical entertainment that we experienced included a trio playing jazz standards, early evening classical music, and popular music prior to 1990-ish. All of it was very good, but it was definitely geared toward an older crowd. The ship was very quiet after eleven pm. This is not a party cruise!

Here is a picture of the main show room. We met here prior to all of our excursions. We also saw an evening show that included a stand-up comedian. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name, but he was funny. It was clean comedy and I remember him having a patriotic bent, including sharing his memories of entertaining the troops during a USO tour.

We spent a couple of nights in the casino, where Dan had a run of luck at the roulette table. He had a big win with our lucky number 7 and became a mini-celebrity with other passengers who saw the win.

A unique feature on Holland America is their Culinary Arts Studio presented by Food and Wine Magazine. The Culinary Arts Studio features cooking demonstrations by one of the head chefs on the ship and after each demonstration, they provide recipe cards. I'm not huge into cooking, but I enjoyed the presentation enough to go on two different days. One featured appetizers, like crab cakes and the other was all about desserts. Truthfully, I just went for the food samples!

The MS Amsterdam has two pool areas. On the first day of the cruise, we experienced the "Sail-Away" from Seattle with Mai Tais at the adult-only pool.

Here are pictures of the main pool, which has a retractable roof. It was chilly during our cruise to Alaska and only a few brave people went swimming. We didn't swim, but we did enjoy the great poolside burgers at Dive-In. I also love the bear statue!

Hands down, my favorite part of the ship was the Explorations Cafe. Explorations Cafe has enormous coffee cups, excellent lattes, and delicious cakes. It was easy to make this our afternoon snack spot.

The cafe is located in the library, which was well-stocked with books and comfy chairs. This may be surprising, but the MS Amsterdam is the first cruise ship that I've been on that has had a magnificent library. A fabulous library should be mandatory on all cruise ships! I have to compare this to my experience on two different Royal Caribbean ships, which had maybe fifty books and lots of empty shelves. The Royal Caribbean libraries were used as a place for teens to hang out. On one Carnival Cruise, the library had books (old, dusty books), but it was located next to a noisy night club! Luckily, Holland America has done it right and I'm officially dubbing it the cruise line for book lovers.

In addition, they had tables with New York Times crossword puzzles, that could be wiped for the next player and the puzzles were refreshed every day. The games cabinet was well-stocked and we had highly competitive games of Battleship.

Coming next, port and excursion reports.

2016 Alaskan Cruise: Ship Dining

One of the best parts of any cruise is the food. On our seven night cruise, we tried several of the dining options aboard Holland America's MS Amsterdam.

Savvy cruisers know to book specialty restaurants in advance of boarding the ship. Where as the main dining room and casual buffets can serve all of the passengers, the specialty restaurants are small, providing an intimate dining experience. Booking in advance can guarantee that you won't miss out on a special experience.

Since we booked just a few days prior to sailing, we were blocked from making advance reservations. Savvy cruisers also know, that there are certain times that you might be able to snag a last minute reservation at a specialty restaurant. Here are a few tips for those last minute reservations -

1. Dine at a specialty restaurant on formal night. The main dining room usually puts on the glitz during formal night with fancier entree options and the servers putting on a show. Those who decide to dress up want to show off their attire. It's generally the busiest days for the main dining room.

2. Pick an off-time to dine. This is conventional wisdom for any restaurant, land or sea. While it might be difficult to grab a reservation at 6:30pm, you could get one if you're willing to eat early or late.

3. Dining while in port. If you're not getting off the ship, this may be the easiest option for dining in a specialty restaurant. However, be aware that some restaurants may not be open while in port. Double check in advance.

4. Dine in the specialty restaurant on the first night of the cruise. Much like formal night, people often want to dine in the main dining room on the first night. If they're sitting at a table with strangers, they usually want to meet these potential new friends. The first night is a great time to sort out any dining room issues and to get to know your waitstaff, who often serve you for the duration of the cruise. If you're not fussed by this, go for the specialty restaurant.

We utilized the fourth option and we were able to get a reservation at Pinnacle Grill for the first night of our cruise. Pinnacle Grill is the steakhouse option on the MS Amsterdam and it was fabulous. Dan ordered steak and lobster, while I went with crab legs. This was my favorite meal of the trip. One of our dessert choices was Baked Alaska: of course!

On formal night, we skipped the main dining room and went to the Italian restaurant, Canaletto. The meal was very good, but not spectacular like Pinnacle Grill. If we had been on a longer cruise, we definitely would have dined at Pinnacle Grill twice. At Canaletto we ordered an antipasto starter and ate lasagna for our main. I enjoyed the tiramisu for dessert. The best part of Canaletto was the ocean view.

I love traditional afternoon tea and I was thrilled to see it offered on our cruise. Afternoon tea was held in the main dining room and didn't require a reservation. It also didn't have an additional fee, like the specialty restaurants do.

The tea was themed to Indonesia, paying tribute to the former Dutch colony. The cakes, some with coconut and some deep-fried, were colorful, like Easter eggs. I enjoyed the treats, but this was a busy "get in and get out" type of experience. It was not what I imagine when I think of having a traditional afternoon tea. Not relaxing. It was awesome that it was not an upsell experience, but I would have paid a fee for a proper afternoon tea. By the enormous volume of cruisers that showed up, they totally could have made it a fancy, specialty experience for a profit.

We had dinner in the main dining room once. It was okay. This was our first time cruising with Holland America, but in general, with other cruise lines, I've found a decline in the quality of both food and service in the main dining room. Since we booked late, we were not able to secure a specific table or dining time, so it was awkward just showing up. We were seated at a table with a young couple on their honeymoon, who were nearly done eating when we arrived. It was uncomfortable for all, as we made small talk and ate our courses at different times. Most nights, we went to the casual buffet instead, which was better. It's just nice to choose our own things and eat when we desired.

Dive-In, the poolside grill was one of the best finds. I'm not sure what the ingredients are, but the special "Dive-In Sauce" that they put on the burgers in addictive! It's now a year later and I'm still craving it. Dive-In has odd hours, but it's worth the effort.

We visited four ports and with each stop, we dined off-ship. When you visit amazing places like Alaska, you definitely want to try the local cuisine. More on those meals, during my individual port reviews.