We were "cruise virgins" up until July 2016 when we embarked on our First Cruise Ever. Holland America's 14 day Alaskan cruise wins my vote for the best first cruise anyone could ever wish for. The embarkation process was a cinch and the MS Maasdam quickly became our home away from home for two glorious weeks. Our cabin was comfortable, with ample room to stow all our clothes and belongings with room to spare. Having never been on a ship before, I had a bit of trouble on the first night, trying to take a shower. I thought the faucet was broken and so I called the front desk. That's when this cruise virgin learned of a clever thing called a "marine shower" which regulates the flow and temperature of the water separately. After I got the knack of it, there was no further trouble. The next couple days, we sailed through the clear waters of the Inland Passage to Alaska, passing impossibly blue ice floes along the way. There were seals basking on the floes; we even watched a seal giving birth on one! But because of the floes, the ship's captain wisely chose not to go through Tracey Arm, but took another route to see Dawes Glacier. That thunderous sound of ice cracking was thrilling and I got a lump in my throat from seeing the majesty of it all.

The little towns of Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point (Hoonah) and Juneau were our favorite stops, mostly because of their picturesque ambiance, but also because none of these stops required a shuttle to get into the town. The ship docked right there at the town, making it an easy walk to see all the sights, shops, museums and landmarks. This is not to say that a shuttle was a big problem; most of the towns offered free shuttles which would take you to the tourist district where there were interesting shops, galleries, historical churches, and beautiful visitor centers where the admission was always free. Being retired and on a budget, that was a very nice way to see the villages without having to shell out for an on-shore excursion.

What was so nice about Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point and Juneau, was that the ship docked right there at the town, making it an easy walk to see all the sights, shops, museums and landmarks. In Ketchikan, we enjoyed the historic Creek Street district, home of the infamous Dolly's House "where men and salmon came upstream to spawn." We walked to the Totem Heritage Center, a short distance up a hill and enjoyed the museum of old totems. The entrance price was inexpensive, under $5. We learned that Ketchikan has a free city shuttle which makes a circuit about every 15 minutes, so we hopped on that for a ride back down the hill to the main part of town where we went to the interesting little Tongass Historical Museum ($3 admission.) Read more