HAL Zaandam Alaska - Inside Passage June 19 -26, 2004

We just returned from a 7-day cruise on the HAL Zaandam and wanted to post our review of the trip and itinerary. For general information, this was our tenth cruise so we are by no means experts, but we have cruised enough to be able to make general comparisons based on our personal experiences. Prior cruises have been on the Carnival Inspiration - Southern Caribbean, HAL Veendam - Western Caribbean, HAL Veendam - Alaska Inside Passage, Sea Princess - Western Caribbean, RCI Radiance of the Seas - Pacific Coast, Celebrity Millennium - Eastern Caribbean, Sun Princess - Mexican Riviera, RCI Enchantment of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean and HAL Rotterdam - Southern Caribbean and Panama Canal. This was our fourth cruise on HAL and our second this year, having been on the Rotterdam in January. We had previously cruised the same itinerary four years ago on the HAL Veendam, but this was a family cruise with parents and brothers. My parents selected the cruise. I prefer the Caribbean, but Alaska is also enjoyable.

We always fly in a day early, but we love Vancouver, so we flew in two days early to give us more time there. We were able to get a great rate of $69 per night on Priceline for the Downtown Hyatt Regency. I had called the hotel directly to request a room with a view of the port and they put us on the 17th floor with a great view. We booked the cruise through our travel agent but booked our own air. We flew on American and had no problem with our connection at DFW and arrived in Vancouver by 1:00 p.m. I should note that there was a long, long line to get through Canadian Customs. In fact, it took us almost 45 minutes to get through this. It seemed like a lot of planes were landing at the same time and this could be formidable for anyone who is uncomfortable standing in line. My mother had requested a wheel chair and was able to go out through another area and avoid the wait. If you have any concerns, you should definitely go that route. It was a $25 (w/tip) cab ride from the airport to our hotel and we spent the afternoon in Gastown and Robson Street. Weather was warm and sunny so we were really able to get out and enjoy the city. On Friday we spent the entire day exploring Stanley Park. We went to the aquarium, which was a bit disappointing. They have a great beluga whale show, but other than that it consists of one dolphin, one sea lion and a bunch of aquariums. I would not do it again. We then hiked around the park on the sea wall. This is a very enjoyable walk, but will take a couple of hours. The park is beautiful and they have a nice totem pole exhibit. Views of the city and port are incredible. That night we enjoyed dinner in Gastown at the Spaghetti Warehouse with my parents and brothers. Read more