Sharon Neville

Age: 57
Occupation: homemaker
Number of Cruises: 1
Cruise Line: Holland America
Ship: Volendam
Sailing Date: May 26th, 2004
Itinerary: Alaska

We took a Wednesday to Wednesday cruise to Alaska from May 26th to June 2nd. The best thing about this cruise was it was midweek and the school year had not ended so there were few children on the ship. The median age of the guests was probably 60. The ship was very clean. We were allowed to board the ship when we arrived...about four hours before sailing time, which was very convenient. I didn't feel clean the entire seven days I was on the ship because the shower water at the hottest setting was barely lukewarm. There was a hairdryer in the bathroom that was very weak and I had to run it for such a long time that the tube where you held onto it got so hot I had to use a handtowel in order to keep holding it. Also, there was no electrical outlet in the bathroom! The electrical outlet was by the desk (we had a suite) which was very inconvenient using a curling iron, plus we had a cell phone to charge and three movie camera batteries which took an hour apiece to fully charge. Only one electrical outlet in these suites is just not enough. Also, one of the main reasons we booked Holland America was that every brochure raved about their food...it was OK. I've had food just as good at a diner. The best meal was the last day on the ship...there was an Alaskan cookout by the pool and the food was made on charcoal grills...steak and salmon. That dinner was especially good. My feeling is that thiscruise ship wasn't bad but it didn't live up to their advertising. If you go to Skagway take the Yukon White Pass trainride...it's great. Make sure you only get the train ride if that's what you want. I thought I only signed up for the round trip train ride and ended up with a one way train ride and then a bus trip to pan for gold. Also, the helicoptor ride to the glacier is great. It's expensive but worth every cent. Take a movie camera if you can. You will get some great pictures.

 

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