Wonderful cruise to a beautiful part of the world!

Overall this was a wonderful trip! The Westerdam was a lovely ship and the scenery in Alaska is breathtaking! I can see why many people repeat Alaska many times over. We were also truly impressed with Seattle. Prior to this trip, we had never been further north on the west coast than San Francisco. What a wonderful town Seattle is and it warrants an extra few days if you can spare them.

The food on the Westerdam was very good. Pinnacle Grill was fabulous and most meals in the MDR were very good. DH, being Chinese, especially appreciated that congee was served at breakfast in the lido buffet EVERY day; that alone may bring him back again and again to HAL when the price and itinerary fits. LOL. I did think the lido could have better dinner selections; I really missed the Indonesian buffet; it was only offered as a late night snack on this trip and not for a full meal. Lido was great for breakfast and lunch though.

Service was wonderful as is typical of HAL. We borrowed quite a few DVDs on this voyage and the front desk staff knew us by name by the second visit. Our room stewards were great and all our dining stewards were friendly.

Ship was in very good condition. It is 12 years old but still looked great. Of course there was a carpet or two that could use replacing but nothing was terribly tattered or frayed. Crew was constantly polishing the brass, cleaning the glass, and touching up paint on the promenade deck; all without intruding on guests' space or enjoyment.

The shows we saw were good; dancers great with singers being average.

Glacier Bay is AMAZING and I now know why people say it is a much for a 1st visit to Alaska. Don't miss it!

Sitka and Ketchikan were both lovely. Sitka is less visited than other Alaskan ports so still retains the feeling of authenticity without all the chain stores from the West Indies. Ketchikan has an interesting history and is charming but more time in port would be preferable. Juneau was nice but not as impressive as the other two cities.

Tasteful decor and decent size. I did miss having a sofa though; the older HAL ships have sofas even in the inside staterooms but the Vista-class and newer, unfortunately, do not.